At the beach and Coconut Cake

My husband says I can over-complicate a chicken sandwich.  

The first time I spent the day with him and Grace, The Girl (pictured below), I invited them to a beach picnic at Hammonasset.  I had snacks, appetizers, hot food, champagne, sparkling pink lemonade, champagne glasses and dessert. 

Too much? 

That was just the food.  I also brought an 8 foot umbrella, towels to sit on, towels to dry off with, a cooler, a grocery bag, three chairs, and a table, and plates and utensils.  All matching.  Oh, and a garden trowel to dig out the sand for the umbrella. 

Chris still insists that I bring more to the beach than Hannibal brought when he crossed the Alps, but I think I’ve cut down.  Mostly on the amount of food and beverages.  Not because I want to, but because it’s really hard to bring Coconut Cake to the beach.