Category: ThrowbackThursday

NY Times and USA Today bestselling romance author Caridad Pineiro shares photos and stories from the past.

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#ThrowbackThursday City Kids in the Woods

We had a friend in college whose family owned a resort in Pennsylvania. He was kind enough to invite us to come and visit for a weekend. We packed up two cars and I went with my then boyfriend (now hubby) from Brooklyn out to the wilds of Pennsylvania.

I guess the local folks weren’t used to city folks or Long Island girls. When we went on a horseback ride, our guide asked my hubby’s younger brother how he had broken his leg. He explained that he’d gotten hit by a car while riding a moped in Brooklyn. That prompted our guide to ask if we were with the Fresh Air Fund.

Back then the Fresh Air Fund used to run all kinds of ads about sending poor inner city children to the country for the summer. They still offer that program if you’re interested in donating to a worthy cause.

Go figure. It made for a funny and unforgettable memory. Here’s a picture of us with our college friend during that weekend. I’m the one all the way to the right and hubby-to-be is right next to me. Hubby’s younger brother is in front while my sister-in-law and brother-in-law are off to the left.
FreshAirFund

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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.

CarmenMomMe

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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.

Mister Softee Truck 1.JPG
“Mister Softee Truck 1” by Rjsswf8 – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

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#ThrowbackThursday RWA 2012 & My Buddies

This Throwback Thursday is a photo from RWA 2012 in Anaheim! My wonderful friends and fellow authors KM Fawcett and Cathy Tully came by to wish me well at the book signing. KM and Cathy are awesome ladies and they have a fabulous new release out – Beauty and the Curse.

We had a fabulous time together down in New Orleans as well and I’m looking forward to spending more time with them this year in San Antonio! Thank you for your friendship and support, KM and Cathy!

KM Fawcett & Cathy Tuttle KM Fawcett & Cathy Tuttle[/caption]

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#ThrowbackThurday Man Candy Fun at RT Convention

Today’s Throwback Thursday is from 2009 RT Convention! This is a photo of me and my editor Selina McLemore together with some of the Ellora’s Cavemen. I had such a blast hanging out with Selina and enjoying all the parties and panels at the convention.
forever1

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#Throwback Thursday Colonial Williamsburg

One of our favorite family vacations was to Colonial Williamsburg. I’d been there many times as a kid since my mom really wanted us to learn everything we could about the United States. I loved all the times we went there!

My hubby and I did a trip together when we were first married and then took our daughter there. We had a blast. We got involved in a militia, did a court case, got shackled in the square and ate at each of the different restaurants. They were really interesting since each one represented a different class of people and showed you what they were likely to eat, their entertainment, etc.

If you get a chance to visit, please do so. You’ll really enjoy it. Here’s pictures of us on this #Throwback Thursday.

cw2

CW1

Also, check out the new and funny Colonial Williamsburg commercials!

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