Tena Thompson

Tena opens her front door and it feels like the sun has come out. She is pure energy, warm and bright. Light radiates off her platinum hair, her golden molasses skin; her smile is dazzling. It is impossible not to be pulled into her orbit.

Tena (The Wine Lady) Thompson- as it appears on her business card- arrived in Hilton Head with her husband Ronnie five years ago. Her license plate says Wine 4 U. But wine isn't what interests her at the moment. She is too eager to talk about her recent life adventure.

She convinced her husband to leave their secure, comfortable daily life behind and live in Paradise. That is how Tena describes Cabarete, Dominican Republic, an idyllic beach town on the North coast, where she and Ronnie went to visit a friend.and stayed for six months. From October through April they celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, her 60th Birthday and Easter with their native friends and other expatriates from the U.S., Canada, Germany and France, becoming integrated into the simple life and loving it. Her motto is, "Take the risk and make an educated decision to embrace the adventure and life that comes to you."

She is a dynamo who makes things happen. She got a job marketing for Punta Goleta a nearby real estate/tourist project that has opened its first phase of ocean front condos called Seawinds. Once she decided to stay, she discovered Maynard's, a local boutique, that carries the line "Oh My Gauze" and purchased her cool and breezy Dominican wardrobe. The shop owner happened to be a real estate agent who found them an apartment. This is how things come to Tena.

She laughs as she describes how they learned to adapt. "There were no washing machines so we bought a big metal tub and a giant wood drying rack and washed and dried everything by hand for six months." Ronnie, the family cook during their 29 years of marriage, shopped at the local Mercado for fresh fruit, vegetables, and fish and learned to plan menus around what was available that day. There was no oven, only a stove top, and the little refrigerator had a freezer that was too tiny to hold anything but the ice for their Cuba Libres. "You learn to ask, 'do I really need this?' and to appreciate what you have." They walked everywhere, although she managed to have the guard at her apartment recommend a friend to be a personal driver when they needed one. They became a familiar couple at the street and beach festivals and enjoyed midnight picnics by the ocean. "We became neighbors, not tourists."

The simple life seems a departure for this perfectly groomed, sassy woman who belongs to a group of friends that call themselves the "Decadent Divas." There were some basics Tena required even in a third world country. She found her Dominican hairdresser Nairobi by standing on the street outside local salons and checking out who had the most traffic. She had to make do with having her natural nails clear coated- clearly a concession for someone whose salon nails featured candy canes this past Christmas.

There is a reflective side to Tena. On her 60th Birthday she asked, "How am I supposed to behave now? My child still wants to play." She believes there are so many adventures around the corner. She gives credit to her husband, "He is my backbone, we are yin and yang and he is always ready to jump in with me and go." She wants to go back to Cabarete and start a pilot project for children "to teach them to embrace the beauty of what they own" and protect and preserve their land and beaches. While she says she is not overly religious, she states, "I believe in a power greater than myself. We're so small and I am just so grateful for all the amazing beauty I see." There is a silent pause. She is overcome. "Fear holds people back. It's easier to think of reasons why not to do something. I have been afraid but the difficult things just make me more appreciative."

Her red dangly earrings swing, her fire engine red lips part in laughter as she raises the red cup with the word DIVA, "Just embrace the adventure!" The door closes, but the warmth remains.

Up Close:

Born: Chicago
High School: Los Angeles
College: University of Oregon, degree in Business Management and Administration. Moved to HH from Haymarket, VA
Works part-time: RMC Time Share Re-Salers
Met husband: In the supermarket where he was Asst. Manager.
He nicknamed her: Two Course Tena because she always bought meat and creamed corn or salad for her dinner. Luckily he's the cook!