642 - Vol I

'Your most transcendent Ice Cream experience.'

When I was about 12 we stayed at Club Med Bali. My most favourite memory from this trip was of me putting flippers on my feet and dancing around the pool while my mom laughed. I guess I've always liked making people laugh. I also remember using the sewing kit from our room to string together Frangipani flowers and make necklaces. For the record, this is a terrible idea. Frangipani flowers often let out a milky fluid that is highly irritant. It will cause a rash. It will itch. You will be uncomfortable.

Anyway, on that same trip I was old enough to finally have the freedom to go & get ice cream from the "bar" at the hotel on my own (it was all-inclusive). I was allowed to do a lot of things on my own that year, and I walked around the hotel a lot, hoping people (boys?) would look at me and think "Wow, look at that lady, she looks beautiful & independent, she is definitely here on her own & is going to have some very glamorous adventures." I also pictured the ocean wind blowing through my hair and thought that my linen bathing suit pullover (with giant tie-dyed rings) was the coolest. So I stood at the end of the bar & the man read aloud the list of flavours & I oh-so-cooly tried not to flinch when he said Rum Raisin. Had he just offered me liquor???? I am sure I said something like "Hmmm Chocolate or Rum Raisin?" to feign disinterested. And then, in my most aloof voice, I probably said "I guess I'll have the Rum Raisin..." and then hoped & prayed he wouldn't question my selection. It wasn't until I was halfway to the beach that I stopped, feeling secure that no one would run up behind me demanding to see my I.D. And that is when I first tried Rum Raisin ice cream, 100% convinced that it was chalk full of rum. And it was delicious. And I have loved it since. 

Rum Raisin ice cream still feels like "The Ice Cream Of Grown-Ups" and even though my husband scoffs at the idea of raisins, it is my favourite. 

Rum Raisin Forever.