Well I should have known my little one would become enamored with the beach, given the surroundings that we had.  As far as the eye could see it was dark blue sky and stark white sand.  This year we got fortuitously upgraded and our hotel room overlooked the sea.  When our little one woke up she made her way to the window and started pressing her little hands against the glass, eager to feel the froth of the tides underneath her tiny toes.  As I prepared to slather us up for a day at the beach the hubs asked if he could be released to go visit historical places.  “Sure,” I said, “I’m not the vacation police.”  And so, after a delightful buffet breakfast of soft scrambled eggs, grits smothered with Tabasco sauce, and stoneground oatmeal heavily powdered with brown sugar, the baby and I made our way back down to the beach.  Burk departed off on his own adventure.  I could never understand why people thought she was a boy until I revisited this picture.  I was essentially bald until I was three and so was she.  Only my red-headed mother became IRATE whenever someone called me a boy.  Apparently she dressed me all in pink with ruffles and they still thought I was a boy.  It had never bothered me why some well-meaning person thought my baby was a boy until about this time.  Looking back, I can sort of understand why they still did.  Nevertheless, my little one and I passed a delightful early afternoon floating on the alligator raft which some older boy wanted but the cute cabana boys gave to my girl.  After a few hours along came my beloved, looking awkward with his swimsuit and rumpled newspaper, wanting to join us.  Of course we were delighted!  We all had lunch at the hotel beachside cafe located up several layers of wooden floating steps.  I had a veggie burger, the hubs had a hamburger, and our little one had applesauce.  It was the first time she’d ever had it and — wait for it — she remembers it to this day!  When I told her this year we would be going back to Naples (after a two year hiatus) the first thing she asked was if she could have applesauce.  WOW.  The American chef Homaro Cantu said:

“Most of us have fond memories of food from our childhood.  Whether it was our mom’s homemade lasagna or a memorable chocolate birthday cake, food has a way of transporting us back to the past.”

I thought it was crazy that my little one associated applesauce with the beach.  But nevertheless she did.  And I was so grateful to associate the beach with my baby.