#CTBlogger – The View from Lajeune

My Current Situation Part XIV

It’s Hotter than July in the smallish state of Connecticut and right now the residents are inhaling smoke from the Canadian and Minnesota wildfires. Chief Meteorologist Gil Simmons from News Channel 8 in New Haven, CT has been delivering the “Smoke Index” all this week so folks will take the dimmed sunlight seriously. When I’m outside my eyes feel like I am wearing yellow rose colored glasses (smile). But seriously I would much rather be in this position where we are only mildly affected by the smoke as opposed to living in a part of a state or country that’s quite literally on fire…yikes!

Are these sunglasses really yellow rose colored?!?

The other strange phenomenon this month is that suddenly eating lettuce, some fresh produce, vegetables and herbs has become risky business. Wait, what?!?

I live for my once-a-week salad with protein (smile)

By consuming these foods you may come down with Cyclosporiasis which is caused by a parasite that is found in the above mentioned foods. To combat catching Cyclosporiasis, we are being asked to wash our fruits and vegetables thoroughly or cook our vegetables at high levels of heat to kill the parasite. Otherwise we may wind up on the toilet for an inexplicable amount of time (smile).

My iPhone goes with me everywhere (smile)

Gas in Connecticut is a tiny bit below $4.00 a gallon which is not saying much considering it averaged just $3.15 a gallon this time last year. The job market is dependent on what industry you are in. Healthcare is booming but in the media industry jobs continue to fall by the wayside due to mergers and acquisitions. I am so thankful and blessed that I have been working in the media industry now for almost 40 years so things for me are starting to wind down…

Health wise I just found out from my new APRN (no more Primary Care doctors now, just APRNs as apparently they are more plentiful in Connecticut) that I have high blood pressure so she prescribed Amlodipine (5mg a day for 30 days) at the end of which we will see whether I can stop taking the pills altogether or continue on for an indefinite period of time. This diagnosis came out of an Echocardiogram test that I received as part of my full physical a month and a half ago. It showed that I may have leaky heart valves. Keep in mind that this is no doubt a family medical history diagnosis as this girl works out 5 days a week at Orangetheory Fitness Center in Hamden, CT, she quit drinking wine 6 years ago, she doesn’t indulge in drugs, she quit smoking cigarettes 30+ years ago and she eats clean most days (smile).

Here’s where I’m at hobby wise: In my last blog post I mentioned that I had taken up reading non-fiction books for the Summer and after reading Elin Hildebrand’s Paradise series I promptly booked a trip to St. Thomas, USVI with my partner in love (smile). So now I just finished reading Kennedy Ryan’s Hollywood Renaissance series and I could not, for the life of me, put these books down! Ryan’s writing is so relatable and I learn so much about a new health issue every time I read one of her books. She is truly an award-winning author!

Other than that I am living my life, trying not to take myself too seriously and keeping in touch with my loved ones as no one is promised anything, most of all time.

Sincerely,

TVFL

Before my entry into the media Industry

In my latest blog post Back to Broadcast Media Sales! of the Broadcast and Media Industry series, I ended with how much the media industry has changed over the past 35+ years and how it continues to evolve due to the impact of the internet and streaming channels. You should really read the aforementioned blog post before you continue with this one…

But I need to back up now because my real beginning in the Media industry was at the tender age of 22 at a community led public broadcast TV station in Bridgeport, CT.

I graduated from college back in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Media Studies from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. Media Studies was an interesting field because we were taught a little bit about different media industries such as Public Relations, Television, Radio, Newspaper, Magazines and Photography. It was just enough to peak your interest in what you might want to pursue further. In my case I was fascinated my both Broadcast Television and Broadcast Radio.

However, once I earned my college degree, I continued to work the next 3 to 4 months in the same sales support position I held in college. It was at a Bridgeport, CT financial services firm. I also continued with my internship from the Summer before where I worked at a Bridgeport, CT Public Broadcasting TV station for a Minister from a local African American Baptist church. Minister John and I collaborated on this gospel TV show called Lifeline Gospel Videos. He was the host of the show and I was responsible for interviewing gospel artists over the telephone, writing up and editing their biographical stories and broadcasting these stories on air in 2 to 3 minute increments. My segment was called Bio-Line Gospel Videos. And it took me all week long to write, create, produce and serve as the talent for one segment. This was back in the 80s so the videos stories were saved on Betacam and converted to VHS for home use. Working on these video stories with the gospel artists was truly a labor of love. I am particularly fascinated by everyday peoples’ stories and I also love to share them with others so this opportunity was Win/Win. What wasn’t Win/Win was that this was an internship so I did not get paid one thin dime and as much as I loved my job, it did not pay the rent or the bills so consequently when it came time to put in my notice to the financial services firm so I had time to devote to the field I just earned a degree in, I quickly shed the public broadcasting TV station internship as well.

In my mind I was still on the right track though as the goal post college was to gain as much experience in the media industry as possible so by starting early with the Public Broadcasting TV gig, I had a little leg up on building my resume. I called myself being “paid in experience” so I could command a certain salary for when I entered the field of Media. In my opinion, back in the 80s, the media industry was like a closed fist. There were lots and lots of people looking to get in and very few openings. So it took a lot to pry open that “fist” and receive an open position (and this was both behind the scenes and in front of the scenes) as the demand exceeded the supply. And this was at a time where the pay scale in Media (especially for behind the scenes positions) was extremely low but this did not deter people from trying to get into what was perceived as the “glamour field.”

As I mentioned, post college was when I discovered that living in Bridgeport, CT was not working for me anymore as I needed to be closer to a TV station and the closest, WTNH “Action News 8,” was located in New Haven, CT. As luck with have it, my sister Casandra and her husband Alfredo were living in New Haven, CT at the time. They had not yet purchased their forever home in Ledyard, CT so they were living in a large 2 bedroom apartment in the Edgewood neighborhood. I asked Casandra (since my plans of moving to the Washington, DC area after college and working in Media recently imploded) if I could stay with her and Alfredo until I got on my feet and they both graciously agreed. I stayed with the two of them all Summer long rent free while looking for work as well as looking for an apartment. Casandra was instrumental in finding me my first apartment, a Studio apartment on Whitney Avenue in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven, CT. The rent was $375 a month plus utilities for essentially one large room with a teeny tiny kitchenette, a teeny tiny dining area and a separate full bathroom. I bought a tiny dining table and chairs for the dining area, a daybed for the living area because it served the dual purpose of a couch in the daytime and a bed at night. The kitchenette was way too small to fit in any furniture. Oh and yes, housing was very affordable back then and this unit was perfect for me (smile).

My apartment was located right on a bus line which was ideal because my car had died on the Merritt Parkway earlier that Summer and I really had no other way to get around.

As far as work, I chose to register with an employment agency so I could make money while focusing on finding a job in Media. Right after registering, I was sent by the agency the following day to Easter Seals Goodwill Industries in New Haven, CT to work as a Job Coach. As it turned out, the supervisors and Administrators loved me so much that they tried to convince me to stay and make a career of it. I made it clear to them that I was on a mission to break into the Media industry and nothing was going to get in my way (smile). I liked everyone there and I believed in their mission but not working in media was not an option (double smile).

As luck would have it, a few months down the road I spied a Want Ad in the Classifieds section of the New Haven Register newspaper for a Local Sales Assistant at WTNH Action News 8! I was overqualified so of course I got the job (smile).

I was elated. This was my first entry into Broadcast Media as well as my first real paying job in the Broadcast Media industry so life was good – for reference please read My Entry into Broadcast Media Sales.

In the next entry of the Broadcast and Media industry blog post series I will chat about the differences between working in the sales departments of Print Media, Broadcast TV and Broadcast Radio stations.

Sincerely,

TVFL

Don’t Call Me A Senior!

We are roughly one month away from the end of the year – another year flying by way too quickly. And, as it turns out, my birthday (Valentine’s Day which falls on the second holiday of the New year) is quickly approaching. So I will turn 64 years old on February 14th, 2026 God willing. Which brings me to my dilemma. I don’t consider myself a Senior Citizen. And I say it with a straight face (smile).

Technically speaking I am not yet a Senior Citizen since the state of Connecticut defines a Senior Citizen as a state resident who is 65 years or older in terms of program eligibility like Social Security, Property Tax Relief, Medicare and other state aid.

There are, however, some programs and/or services in the state of Connecticut which consider 55 as the starting age. As a matter of fact 13 years ago when I turned 50, AARP had the nerve to send me an unsolicited membership card! I tossed it in the trash (smile). Clearly they had confused me with my next door neighbor who, at that time in my life, was most certainly a Senior Citizen (smile).

Another thing. My name Le Jeune means ‘The Young’ in French so that might have something to do with my age obsession (smile). True story: While reading Jet magazine, my late mother Jean found my name attached to a very popular African American model who had just won an award in Cannes, France. The model’s name was Le Jeune Hundley and, as it turned out, she traveled to France because it was easier for a black woman from the United States to find modeling work in France then it was in the U.S. At any rate my mother loved the name, but changed the first E to an A, dropped the capital in J, closed the letters together and Voila! named me (her 5th daughter) after this model. Here is a picture of Le Jeune Hundley on the cover of Jet magazine:

By the way her name was misspelled here by Jet Magazine…

Another concern of mine is that scientists have identified the 5 stages of the human brain and 66 (or the mid-60s) is when the so-called Early Aging phase begins. This is the phase when people face increased risk for a variety of health conditions that can affect the brain, such as hypertension. Hence why I wake up 5 days a week at the crack of dawn (430am) to work out from 5am to 6am at Orangetheory Fitness in Hamden. I’m usually one of the oldest members in my class but I can still keep up with everyone (smile).

And also why I (as of the Covid Pandemic of 2020) completely cut alcohol (in my case – Wine) out of my life and continue to work very hard to eat clean and nutritious meals. It can be harsh (especially around the holidays) so I allow myself to cheat from time to time. Like the other day when I went with my girlfriends Sherry and Thais to see Wicked 2 at the Cinemark movie theater and treated myself to a Medium popcorn with extra movie theater butter (smile).

I truly believe life is for living and I have reiterated it as much in more than one of my previously written blog posts. I will continue to not act my age and just enjoy life to the fullest. So unless I am getting a serious Senior Citizen discount, you will not know when I am in fact a Senior Citizen.

I will be a selective Senior Citizen (smile)

Sincerely,

TVFL

Island Hopper

I was born in a blizzard in Newport, RI on Valentines Day, 1962 so it comes as no surprise to anyone that I have spent the majority of my birthdays bundled up in winter coats, gloves, scarves and snow boots. So this year, as my 63rd Vday Bday was fast approaching, I decided to switch things up and spend my special day sunbathing in the United States Virgin Islands.

For our 7 days/6 nights island getaway, James and I departed Bradley International Airport on Sunday February 9th and returned on Saturday February 15th. By the way, it snowed in Connecticut both ways (smile).

St. Thomas was our island dream destination, but we had previously discussed that while on this island we would travel by ferry on day trips throughout the week to both St. Johns, USVI and Jost Van Dyke, BVI. My mother-in-law Irene, who was born in St. Thomas but grew up in Jost Van Dyke, reminded us to bring our passports. I’m so glad she did as we would not have gotten on that island without them. Jost Van Dyke is part of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) so you need your passport to get through Customs and Immigration.

We rented a car for this vacation which we picked up at the airport (it makes sense to rent a car on St. Thomas because there are no Ubers or Lyfts and taxis can get pretty pricey pretty quick) and James drove us on the wrong side of the road (smile) to our hotel, the Island View Guesthouse. We normally stay in resorts when we travel to tropical islands and if necessary, we get around by Uber or Lyft so it felt different staying in an actual hotel and using a rental car. What really sold me on this particular hotel was the free daily breakfasts, plus the hotel’s proximity to downtown Charlotte Amalie which featured a waterfront, local shops and restaurants and nearby beaches.

Our rental car in St. Thomas – a brand new 2025 Nissan Sentra

Our hotel suite at the Island View Guesthouse – a funny story – not so funny at the time…

Since I used a 3rd party app (Expedia) to book our travel, I chose the bundle package which in our case consisted of airfare (United Airlines), a hotel (the Island View Guesthouse) and a car (Budget Car Rental). I would not recommend using a 3rd party app to book your travel anywhere because as I found out from Libby, the friendly and accessible owner of the Island View Guesthouse, the 3rd party app folks take 20 to 30 percent off the top of your bundle packages which in my case meant we were put into the tiniest room at the hotel with no amenities and the car we rented came without GPS. James quickly took care of the hotel room issue the very next morning when he had a talk with Eileen, the Island View Guesthouse Manager. Eileen was a dream – she not only upgraded us to the largest suite in the hotel for 3 nights, but she also managed to upgrade us into 2 more spacious hotel rooms over the final 2 nights of our week long vacation. Libby, the hotel owner, arrived with her Executive Chef Husband Marshall on the Wednesday of our vacation and ensured that the remainder of my Vday Bday week went off without a hitch. Libby and I hit it off right away and even shared a similar sober conscious story that begun at the height of the Pandemic. I can’t begin to thank both Eileen the Manager and Libby the Owner for attending to all of our needs and would highly recommend anyone looking to book a hotel on St. Thomas to make their reservations at the boutique style Island View Guesthouse.

The view of Charlotte Amalie from our hotel room window

Sunday — Day 1 – Travel Day

All things considered, the trip to St. Thomas, VI from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT was not too shabby. There were no delays and the time spent in the air was, for the most part, uneventful. We flew from Windsor, Connecticut to Washington, D.C. in record time and the same can be said for our 2nd flight from Washington D.C. to St. Thomas, VI.

The very first restaurant we ate at was The Greenhouse – it was okay – popular for tourists because of its location…

My dinner at The Greenhouse – I was starving so anything would have tasted good – and St. Thomas is one hour ahead of Connecticut so I was “hangry” by then (smile)

Monday – Day 2 (Coki Beach at Coral World on St. Thomas)

Coki Beach is a small and very quaint public beach on St. Thomas (one of the 11 beaches on the island!). The sand is silky smooth and the water, crystal clear. We rented a large beach umbrella and 2 beach chair loungers for just $40 dollars. Thank goodness we did because it rained off and on all day with blustery winds. The large umbrella saved us from running back to our car for cover.

All smiles in between the raindrops at Coki Beach

What I could not help but notice at Coki Beach were all of the yachts that were parked in the beautiful crystal blue water annoyingly blocking our view…

Tuesday – Day 3 (Trunk Bay on St. Johns)

The first of two day trips that week was to St. Johns. And everything I heard about it was true. It is truly paradise, the weather was picture perfect and it was not too crowded. We drove to the Red Hook marina to catch our island ferry – the round trip fare was only 16 dollars and the entire ferry ride took all of 20 minutes. We then caught a trolley/cab to Trunk Bay (one of the 10 beaches on the island!) and spent the entire afternoon there. Trunk Bay Beach is gorgeous with fine, silky smooth sand and crystal clear baby blue water. It was 80 degrees outside but the sun did not seem that strong so we laid out on our beach blankets and soaked it up.

Love the contrast of the green mountains against the crystal blue waters

This soft and supple sand feels so good between my toes

The snack bar where we ordered lunch – the food was soooo good! There were outdoor Tiki bars selling exotic drinks but I did not indulge since I gave up alcohol 5 years ago at the onset of the Covid 19 Pandemic…

Wednesday – Day 4 – Downtown St. Thomas – Charlotte Amalie (Walking on the Waterfront, Shopping for gear and Lunch at Gladys Restaurant)

Wednesday was primarily a rainy day (way too much rain to dry up on the beach) so we turned it into a shopping day – there are a ton of shops downtown in Charlotte Amalie (mostly local merchants) selling lots of wares. By the way, if you are looking for any kind of jewelry, downtown Charlotte Amalie is the place to be to buy gold, silver and diamonds all in one central area and best of all everything is tax free!

James and I finally seated at Gladys’s Restaurant (smile).

Gladys’s Restaurant did not disappoint – I all but inhaled the brown stew chicken, plantains, fresh cabbage and peas and rice!

Thursday – Day 5 (Magens Bay Beach on St. Thomas)

We spent our 2nd to last day at Magens Bay Beach which had come well recommended by the trip advisors. It truly is a beautiful must see and do beach. Magens Bay was super crowded the day we arrived with rows and rows of beach chairs and umbrellas lined up in formation. There was also a sun and surf rental shop, a souvenir shop and an indoor/outdoor bar and grille. Lots going on. We were in the mood for peace and quiet that day so we headed further down the mile long beach where there were no beach chairs, and very few people. Another well thought out idea…

That evening we went out for a late dinner in downtown Charlotte Amalie to a restaurant that was recommended by one of the locals in town. It was called the Sugarcane Grille at Bunker Hill. It was way up a hill on a narrow winding road with no parking. We lucked out though because we managed to squeeze our rental car into a tight space. The restaurant was so cute. We had to walk a bunch of stairs to get there but at the top was the dining room with a view of a well-lit swimming pool. The food was awesome. Our super friendly waiter even talked me into a delish mocktail made with Ginger, yummy!

Love the ambience in the dining room and the Caribbean dishes were delish!

Friday – Day 6 – My Vday Bday – Jost Van Dykes, British Virgin Islands

We popped out of bed at 530am that morning to catch the 730am ferry leaving from Red Dock marina to Jost Van Dyke, BVI. There are only 3 ferry rides a week to Jost Van Dyke so if you miss one, you have to wait a few days for the next one. It’s much more involved than going to St. Johns. First of all you need your passport. Second it’ll cost you $120 round trip per Adult to ride the ferry plus 10 dollars to enter the island and 20 dollars to exit it. Third, you have 7 hours on the island to spend as you wish and believe me, the time flies by. We spent half the day on White Bay beach which we had to catch a cab from the harbor to get to. White Bay beach was breathtakingly beautiful. I felt like I was in a Hollywood movie because it painted the picture of a true tropical beach scene. There was so much all at once to take in. And the beach wasn’t even crowded!

White Bay beach has beauty written all over it! By far my most favorite beach this week! So happy I got to spend my Valentines Day Birthday there.

I kept pinching myself – I could not believe how beautiful and uncrowded White Bay Beach was!

I had to take a picture in front of Gertrudes – a landmark and treasure – in spite of the perfectly set up photo op (smile)

The second half of our day was spent at Great Harbor – we were on a mission to grab lunch at Pinky’s restaurant and we could not leave without visiting the likes of Foxy’s Restaurant Bar and Grille!

Pinky’s Restaurant was easy to spot – love the Caribbean themed spot and enjoyed meeting and chatting with Pinky herself

Pinky herself cooked us her signature dish while chatting it up

Our official Ferry boat to Jost Van Dyke

Our ferry ride back from St. John to St. Thomas – feeling sunburnt but accomplished

Day 7 – Saturday – Travel Back Home

We purposely took our sweet time on Saturday morning because our flight was not leaving until 3pm and we would not arrive into Connecticut until 12midnight. We realized we had a long day of travel ahead of us which included 3 airplane trips this time around – St. Thomas, Virgin Islands to San Juan, Puerto Rico; San Juan, Puerto Rico to Washington, D.C.; and finally Washington, D.C. to Windsor Locks, CT. We spent the better part of the morning shopping in downtown Charlotte Amalie at one of our fav surf shops, Ocean Surfari, which,lucky for us, was having a huge storewide sale. Then we picked up our lunch at a local grocer. We arrived at the airport at 115pm and dropped off our rental car so we could relax, eat and soak up a little sun before we headed to Cape Air Airlines to check in. This is where the disconnect happened. Neither one of us realized that because we were flying from St. Thomas, VI to San Juan, PR it would be necessary to go through Customs and Immigration so consequently, after we checked in at Cape Air Airlines, we were told to get in line with the rest of the travelers. The said line was super long and wrapped around and around and around the airport about 3 times! I looked at my Fitbit and it said 215pm which meant we had all of 45 minutes to catch our 3pm flight. There was no way in Hell we were going to make that flight. After about 10 minutes panic started to set in and James said ‘why don’t you call Cape Air and see if there is something they can do to get us to the front of the line?’ I looked at my Fitbit again – it was 230pm now and I saw 3 missed calls from Cape Air. I immediately called them back and explained that we were stuck in line and was there anything they could do for us. They said they would send someone to get us but we could not find that person and ended up trying to move through the line ourselves as time was ticking by. I said a quick prayer to God and the rest of the time was a blur as we were pushed and pulled and stopped and started before we found ourselves at the point where you take your shoes off and load your stuff into gray bins. One of the airport workers familiar with our situation stopped us and told us that we were wasting our time, it was 250pm and our plane was now preparing to leave without us. We felt dejected but went through the motions of looking for and finding our original departure gate. When we arrived to that gate an employee mysteriously appeared out of nowhere and told us that this never happens but they had a backup plane outside and a pilot who would get us to San Juan well in time for our Washington, D.C. connection! The pilot had a Cessna 402 and James and I were the only 2 passengers on board. The pilot flew 6500 feet up in the air to San Juan, Puerto Rico in 35 minutes! Not only did we make our next connection to Washington, D.C., but we were only a half hour behind what would have been our original time of arrival to San Juan airport! I thanked God for answering my prayers so quickly and thanked the pilot of Cape Air Airlines for safely flying and landing us.

Too Blessed to be Stressed – at this point of the trip I am still pinching myself as we travel on what is now a tiny aircraft from St. Thomas VI to San Juan, PR – this flight took just 35 minutes and was truly a Godsend…

Cheers to our next Great Adventure!

Sincerely,

TVFL

“Southern Girl”

In July I met up with my niece and twin nephews (all siblings) in San Antonio, Texas for the sole purpose of family bonding and fun in the sun: SAT, A surprise to me!

And now here it is August and I just returned from a 5 day 4 night mini vacay to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina or “MB” as it is affectionately known (smile).

Me and my boo decided to try something new this time around in regards to our aircraft – we flew Avelo Airlines out of Tweed Airport in New Haven (a first for both of us) and we booked our stay not at a hotel resort but rather at an Airbnb. My girlfriend Sharon’s son Brandon owns a 1 bedroom condominium on the beach in MB called Rosey Retreat so that is where we stayed.

It felt different staying at an Airbnb condominium as opposed to a hotel resort because we missed out on the daily maid service, the convenience of a hotel restaurant and the front desk information gathering station.

But what it lacked in hotel amenities it more than made up for as it had the perfect view from our balcony to the beach, the cozy, albeit quirky rose interior and beachy touches inside the unit such as beach chairs and a beach umbrella complete with a sand anchor.

We spent the majority of our vacay mornings and afternoons enjoying the surf and sun at the beach (did I mention that the temps averaged 85 degrees Fahrenheit all 5 days!) and almost pinched ourselves for picking the right week of the month to travel.

Since we left on a Sunday of the last week in August, most people with children were already in full ‘Back to School’ mode so the beach felt somewhat secluded and a little private.

It feels so good to be on the beach when its not wall to wall people…

Our condominium had a galley kitchen with pots and pans and stuff so we went shopping for food, snacks and adult beverages at the Piggly Wiggly (smile).

And afterwards we had breakfast at Shoney’s – I remember this restaurant from a couple of Summers I spent in Fayetteville, North Carolina with my big sister Dana. I was 15 years old at the time and Dana was 23. She was serving in the Air Force and had recently purchased her own home and it was ‘my turn’ to spend the Summer with her. Dana took me to Shoney’s as they were legendary back then for their huge Southern breakfasts. However, on the day me and my boo went, the managers were cooking (never a good sign) as they were short on wait staff so the food and service were not quite what I expected.

Speaking of food, the best meal in MB that week bar none was the Jamaican take-out restaurant we discovered after leaving the Piggly Wiggly. It was across the street from Piggly Wiggly and to their left. We both luvvvv Jamaican food so we ordered 3 plates to go – 2 plates of Oxtails with rice and peas and cabbage and 1 plate of Jerk Chicken with peas and rice and cabbage.

I inhaled my oxtails, peas and rice and cabbage poolside back at the crib

We had a lively conversation with the owner and his wife around the U.S. dominance in track and field at the most recent Paris Olympics which was precipitated by Usain Bolt’s picture on the wall… 😜

As for lunch and dinner ‘dine-in restaurants,’ we surfed online and found at least 3 or 4 that were decent and within walking distance. We did not rent a car – in all honesty South Myrtle Beach is easy to navigate on foot as everything is relatively close by. The Uber ride from the Myrtle Beach airport to our condominium took just 15 minutes!

The first restaurant where we ate was recommended by a hotel concierge named Will whom we met on the street – he said it was popular with tourists so he knew we would like it. Will was not wrong (smile). It was named River City Cafe. I had a delish veggie burger with cheese and a side salad. Before our meal came we were served salty roasted shelled peanuts in a cup and afterwards we got to throw the shells on the wooden floor😀. It took me back to my days growing up in Groton, Connecticut when we ate at The Ground Round 😀.

The license plated wall of the River City Cafe

Delish veggie cheese burger with a side salad

Cool ice water with salty roasted shelled peanuts and yes, we gladly threw the empty shells on the floor (smile).

For dinner that night (really apps since I was still full from lunch!) we chose RipTyde Rooftop Bar because it overlooked the beach and it had a cool indoor/outdoor vibe. I had a delish Frozen Mango Margarita Mocktail that froze my brain every time I took a sip (smile). There was live music playing and from our seats, we could watch the hotel guests enjoying a game of Corn Hole on the beach.

We had the best view from RipTyde indoor outdoor restaurant

The following night we headed back to the Myrtle Beach boardwalk to check out Pier 14 Restaurant but while walking on the boardwalk we met a friendly middle -aged couple from Washington state who had just arrived in town to attend NASCAR. We exchanged our respective life stories and went on our way 😉.

The beautiful and well-lit Myrtle Beach 1.2 mile long boardwalk

We ate that night at Pier 14 which was known for their seafood and specialty drinks. It was late for dining (9pm) so I ordered something light – Poke Tuna and it hit the spot ☺️

From there we went to The Arcades (old school gaming) which really took me back in time…

The following evening (after once again spending all day on the beach) we dined at LandShark Bar and Grill where I had a Caribbean Chicken salad before people watching along the Boardwalk.

Perfect photo op inside Landmark Shark Bar and Grill retail store

And we couldn’t leave MB before riding on the SkyWheel – it was truly a stress free ride – more observational than anything else – as we checked out the city lights and carnival rides.

Could not miss the SkyWheel on any given day, it was literally always in our sight

Entering the Sky Wheel to buy our tickets

Felt no stress whatsoever on this wheel 😜the ride lasted about 14 fun-filled minutes.

Our 5th and final day was spent in our condominium- eating, packing and admiring the view from our balcony…

The view from our balcony was impressive

For those of you who are wondering why we did not golf, well we figured that just gives us another reason to head back 😜 ⛳️

Sincerely,

TVFL

Tag: #CTBlogger

My Current Situation Part XIV

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Before my entry into the media Industry

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Don’t Call Me A Senior!

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Island Hopper

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“Southern Girl”

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