#ThrowbackThursday – A Day at the Beach

I grew up on Long Island and we spent most of our summers either at the town pool or going to Jones Beach. I love the water and love being near the ocean. When the kids got older, we regularly did trips to Ocean City, Maryland for a vacation at the beach or to Ocean City, New Jersey. This is a photo of my daughter during one of those vacations! So much fun to see my little girl who’s grown into such a wonderful young lady (who’s about to get married in a few months!). I’m really looking forward to more time at the beach in the future!
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#WriteWed Inspiration for UNDER THE BOARDWALK

I was born on an island: Cuba. I grew up on an island: Long Island. I work on an island: Manhattan. Plus I’m a Pisces so you can kind of say that I have an affinity for the water.

But once I moved out to New Jersey, work and family obligations kept me from exploring the amazing Jersey Shore. It wasn’t until a birthday celebration weekend at the lovely Beacon House in Sea Girt that hubby and I discovered that part of New Jersey.

Once we discovered it, there was no turning us back from moving there and I am so glad that we did. I love taking long strolls on the boardwalk and spending summers reading under my umbrella. Even the winters months are great and the flavors of each of the towns in our area are unique and special.

My love for this part of the Jersey Shore is what inspired me to set UNDER THE BOARDWALK in Asbury Park and Ocean Grove. Today I’m sharing some photos from those towns and I hope you will get to visit one day and come see me if you do! P.S., my daughter’s shop – OG Surf & Skate – is right in the heart of Ocean Grove.

UNDER THE BOARDWALK is available in the SUMMER HEAT Box set which is specially priced at 99 cents for a limited time and is now available at:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1SXcNjW
BN: http://bit.ly/1VIZ7qJ
iBooks: http://apple.co/1Ovw5MB
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1XPUCvS
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/20CGJBa
SummerHeatAuthors.com: http://bit.ly/1oI4s7c

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#ThrowbackThursday Magical Days of Youth

Sometimes there are days that just stick out in your memory. These photos are from one of those days when we were kids. We hadn’t been in the U.S. all that long. Two or three years at the most. My family and some friends went out to Long Island for picnic. It was a glorious day and my sister, brother, and me all remember it well.

I remember those saddle shoes as well. I hated them. I’d always manage to scuff up the white and my saintly grandfather would clean and polish them to whiteness again.

And my parents, in immigrant fashion I think, always dressed sis and me alike. Kind of Sound of Music-style, right? Still, none of that could detract from the memories of this fun day.

In the first picture, that’s my mom in the middle. My dad is off to the left behind sis. My brother is in the maroon shirt behind me in the first photograph and then behind sis and me. A dear family friend, Albertico, is off to the far right in the first photo.
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#ThrowbackThursday Fun Family Times

I don’t really remember when this was taken, although I remember the day! My parents took us out to one of the Long Island parks to relax and have some fun. That’s my younger sister Carmen to the left, my mom Carmen in the middle, and me to the right, all just hanging out having fun.

The three men in the back are my dad, my older brother, and a family friend.

We had such a good time heading out to “the country.” LOL. My mom would always pack a big picnic lunch for us and we’d spend the day out on Long Island before heading back to Queens where we were living at the time. We eventually moved out to “the country” and I grew up there.

For those who are wondering, my sister and I are not twins. My parents just used to dress alike. I think it was a thing back then and I always felt like I had stepped out of The Sound of Music or something like that. I hated those Mary Janes. They’d come home scuffed and dirty every day and my poor granddad would have to make them look spiffy again.

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#ThrowbackThursday Levittown & Mr. Softee

I grew up in Levittown, Long Island, the first planned suburb in America. Some will bad mouth it by saying it was bland, homogenous and sanitized, but to me it was heaven and the American Dream.

My family was able to buy a home and we had good public schools that prepared us for the future. We had friendly neighbors after some initial issues with being Cuban and all in all, things were wonderful.

The community had little village greens with community pools and we were just minutes away from Jones Beach. Summers were spent playing outdoors and going to the pool or beach. Summers were also spent waiting for the visit of Mr. Softee, today’s Throwback Thursday memory. Of course, that just made me remember that the Good Humor man would also visit on another day, but that’s for a future post. LOL!

My family wasn’t well off, after all, we were political refugees who’d been in America for less than nine years when my parents moved us to Levittown. How’d they do that? The old fashioned way: hard work.

But money was tight and it wasn’t unusual that dinner was fried eggs and rice and we ate cream cheese and jelly sandwiches for lunch. If we even ate lunch. I don’t really remember eating breakfast or lunch in the summer. We were too busy playing outside.

Anyway, having enough money for Mr. Softee was a big deal. A BIG DEAL. Back then, you could get an ice cream cone for about 15 cents, but I loved their sundaes, so I’d save up the 15 cents my grandfather would give us and wait until I had the 35 cents for a sundae!

My sister would always get the Brown Cow, an ice cream cone dipped into some kind of magic liquid that produced a hard shell on the cold ice cream. I sometimes opted for the Cherry Cow if I was really impatient.

After we bought our ice creams, we’d sit on the curb and talk as we ate our treats before heading off to play with our friends again.

Those were the good times and it’s nice to remember them on this Throwback Thursday.

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“Mister Softee Truck 1” by Rjsswf8Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

#ManCandyMonday, The Pen is Mightier than the Storm and The End of the World!

So much to do today and so little time so let’s start with the Man Candy! Today’s choice is Justin Tuck, defensive end for the New Jersey Giants (sorry NY. They play in JERSEY!!).

Justin is a fabulous ball player and also involved in a number of charities. This picture has him in serious mode, but he’s got a great smile. You may recognize him from the Subway television commercials. I love watching him chase after the quarterbacks and it’s no wonder he’s been selected to the Pro-Bowl for his feats on the field!

Photo Credit: Daniela [email protected]

Next up! Thank you to my lovely friend Steph and everyone else at Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust for letting me visit with them today. I’m sharing my thoughts on Hurricane Sandy and the damage to the Jersey Shore. We’re also having a giveaway of a copy of THE FIFTH KINGDOM (one of my favorites!) for one lucky participant.

Last, but not least, the end of the world is almost upon us! Visit with me and Bianca D’Arc at the International Heat blog as we chat about what we’d love to do and whether or not our alien overlords will arrive on December 21. Follow the instructions on the blog for a chance to win one of the many prizes being offered as part of the End of the World party!

Who’s the Boss? Why Tony Danza of course!

Today’s Guilty Pleasure Monday is a blast from the past: Tony Danza. I always loved him in WHO’S THE BOSS and TAXI.

Tony was discovered for his role in TAXI at a local boxing gymnasium, but actually went to college on wrestling scholarship. He was born in Brooklyn, but grew up on Long Island. Tony was nominated several times for the Emmy and Golden Globes and was also a People’s Choice Best Male Performer Award for WHO’S THE BOSS.

Tony had a talk show and more recently released a cookbook with his son: Don’t Fill Up on the Antipasto: Tony Danza’s Father-Son Cookbook.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Guilty Pleasure Monday!

Photo Credit: [email protected]