Taste of Kiwi

The theme for this week is holidays. Since I love travel quite a few of my characters take holidays. This week I’ve chosen an excerpt from my story in the Ellora’s Cave Cavemen anthology, Summer Lovin’. My heroine, who lives in New Zealand, goes over to Australia for a holiday and finds much more than she expected.

Dreams of the Oasis III: Summer Lovin’ by Shelley Munro

“Sophie Walker? Is that you?”

The dark haired hunk grinned before grabbing me in a bear hug, right in the middle of the Burleigh Bowls Club.

Who was this Cutey Pie? My mind screamed questions even as I cozied up and savored the experience. I mean, what was not to enjoy? He possessed lots of muscles and was downright hunky with his tanned face and sexy grin. Pity we were in the middle of the Bowls Club. My heart kick-started into a racy beat, while I inhaled deeply to counteract the effect. He smelled wonderful—of ginger and exotic spices, all wrapped up with the tang of the sea.

Tall, dark and cute grasped my upper arms and pulled away before dropping a chaste kiss on my cheek.

Aw, call that a kiss, my inner siren taunted. Rev it up and lay one on me. For once I didn’t care if I ended up being the floorshow. Like a kid in a candy store, I wanted to touch and taste. I wanted it all.

“Sophie, what are you doing here on the Gold Coast?”

I stared and still came up blank. The petite redhead who stood at his side didn’t look too happy. If I was in her shoes I’d have felt exactly the same way. Possessive. Heck, in her place I would have bared my teeth and warned me off.

“I used to go out with Sophie’s daughter,” Cutey Pie said.

Redhead’s frown smoothed out like magic.

I groaned inwardly. Well, that sure put me in my place. Cutey’s name popped into my mind. Isaac Shepherd. I’d liked him back when Susan was going out with him. Since my daughter was notorious for being late, I’d spent a lot of time chatting with Isaac. We had a lot in common. It had taken me a long time to forgive Susan for letting him get away.

“Susan is married now,” I said.

Isaac’s brown eyes glowed, making me intensely aware of my body and the way my clothes fit. The word desperate came to mind. I hadn’t kissed a man for a long time let alone got down and dirty. My hormones were protesting the lack of action. For a moment there, they’d thought they’d got lucky. Disappointment was a bitch.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his husky voice strumming across my senses in a very delicious way.

“I’ve come over on a RSA trip, with a group of golfers. Ostensibly to keep an eye on my father, but he doesn’t really need it.”

“What’s the RSA?” Redhead asked in her Aussie twang.

“Returned Services Association,” Isaac answered.

“Hey, Sophie!” It was my Uncle James, my father’s partner in crime. “There’s a dance on here tonight. Fred and I are gonna grab us a granny!”

I did a mental eye roll. “You can’t say that.” After all, I wasn’t exactly a spring chicken. My fortieth birthday was practically staring me in the eye, so I felt I should offer up a defense for the dozens of more mature women in the club. “It’s not P.C.”

“Aw, Sophie. Don’t start,” my father said. “Look at those women over there. If it walks like a duck…”

Scowling, I glanced in the direction Pop indicated. Three elderly women were giggling like young girls. I shrugged. I didn’t intend to act the stern chaperon. Pop and Uncle James could get up to all the shenanigans they wanted.

“We must meet for a drink,” Isaac said, sending a wave of flattered satisfaction through me. Bigheaded of me I know, but the redhead’s scowls made me want to cheer. Score one for the visiting team.

“Why don’t you come back for the dance?” Uncle James said.

One look at Redhead popped my bubble of optimism. Isaac wouldn’t be here tonight.

Isaac glanced at Redhead too. “Maybe.” His voice was noncommittal. “We have to go.” His brown eyes caught my gaze, and for a long moment, we stared at each other. “It’s been great seeing you, Sophie.”

And damned if he didn’t grab me and kiss me right on the lips. It was brief. Intense. And left my knees knocking. I stared after him in bemusement, my trembling fingers rising up to touch tingling lips.

A soft whistle from Pop jerked me from daydream land. “You’ve made a conquest there, Sophie.”

“I’m old enough to be his mother,” I protested, and inside, I railed at the fact. Sometimes, life plain sucked.

Uncle James looked me up and down. “You don’t look your age. You don’t look old enough to be that boy’s mother. You’re fit, you don’t look like one of those god-awful beanpole models, and you have your own teeth. Always check the teeth,” my uncle ended sagely.

“I’m not a damned horse!”

“No, you’re a woman, Sophie,” Pop said. “That’s all any of us simple men want. A luscious handful of woman to cuddle up to at night.”

He winked at Uncle James, and they both discreetly checked out the three giggling women over in the corner.

“Ooh, not while I’m looking,” I said in a firm tone, although secretly, I was flattered, my confidence boosted. A bit of life in the old broad yet, I thought. I licked my lips and imagined I could taste Isaac. Damn, I didn’t think I’d shower for a week.

Purchase Dreams of Oasis III from Ellora’s Cave in either print or e-format. Also available at Amazon in print or e-format.

To read more excerpts follow the Snippet Saturday trail below:

Mari Carr
Shelley Munro
Vivian Arend
Taige Crenshaw
McKenna Jeffries
Lauren Dane
Jody Wallace
TJ Michaels
Lacey Savage

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I interviewed Mr. Munro this week about his recent experience snorkeling with sharks and stingrays.

What made you decide to snorkel with stingrays and sharks?

Moorea is a small but beautiful island. We could either explore the island or do some sort of water activity. When I read about swimming with sharks the theme music to Jaws came to mind. The stingray part of the excursion sounded just as dangerous. Steve Irwin anyone? In the end I decided you have to take risks occasionally because you can’t stay wrapped in cotton wool all your life. Besides, I could have fallen off my bar stool or slipped on the wet deck…

Tell us a little about the experience. Were you apprehensive?

Apprehensive was an understatement! I finally gathered courage and entered the water with my snorkel gear. It felt as if I were getting into a tepid bath. I still wasn’t too sure, but it seemed okay, then the guide started throwing dead fish into the water. I thought he was mad. Then I realized he was “on” the boat and I was in the water. I decided perhaps I was the idiot!

How close did you get to the stingrays and sharks?

After the fish throwing things happened quickly. A stingray glided past, then another one. They wanted to play, swimming right up and over me, wanting to be stroked and rubbed. I was so excited I forgot about the sharks. That was until something caught my eye, heading straight for me through the clear water. The problem with wearing goggles is that everything is magnified. The shark looked enormous. It was actually only one meter in length. There were about six or seven black tip reef sharks circling, deciding if I was on the menu or if the guides’ dead fish were more appealing. I’m happy to say the latter seemed more popular for a snack. Being surrounded by stingrays and sharks, I was overcome with a sense of euphoria, not fear at all. The sharks kept a respectable one or two meters distance all the time.

What else did you see during your time snorkeling?

There was a lot of other sea life around – lots of different fish – and coral, but the coral wasn’t that exciting. I was very fortunate to follow a moray eel for about a hundred meters as it went from rock to rock looking for and eating fish. That was almost as exciting as the sharks!

Would you recommend this experience to others?

I’d put this experience up there at about number three or four on my list of life experiences. Seeing the gorillas in Rwanda is number one on my list. I really enjoyed my swim with the sharks and stingrays, so if you get a chance to visit Moorea … do it!

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters.

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My special guest today is author Jenyfer Matthews. She’s talking about a very special challenge she’s facing this week as well as her new release, Separation Anxiety.

You know how it is, you go on vacation and you buy things. Maybe you’re even going to a place where you expect to shop so you travel light going.

Now imagine that you live in a country that not only doesn’t have good malls or decent mail service, but where you can’t even find quality socks when you need them. That’s me, in Egypt.

I’m an American who has lived abroad for eleven years (where does time go??). It wasn’t so bad when I lived in the United Arab Emirates – Dubai hosts an annual Shopping Festival, after all. But even there, in the land of shopping malls, there were still things you couldn’t find easily, like good socks or books (gasp).

Every summer I come back to America with light suitcases and a long shopping list. I’ve got it nearly down to a science now. Each child has their own ticket and we’re allowed two checked suitcases apiece, each weighing 50lbs. I’ve gotten very good at packing things – for instance, I pack all the heaviest items in the smallest suitcase, on the theory that it won’t go overweight because it will be full before I get too much in there anyway. In all my years of bringing back a year’s supply of miscellaneous stuff for a family of four, I’ve only once had to pay an overweight charge. Not bad on average, all in all.

This year, however, I’m worried.

I not only have several large but light, bulky items, but I also have a couple of very heavy things including a much-larger-than-I-expected jewelry chest and a lidded cast iron soup pot that once belonged to my grandmother. Unique challenges to my packing skills to say the least. I travel back to Egypt on Sunday so I’ll have to get back to you on how it all goes.

I’ve traveled a lot in the last decade so I suppose it’s no surprise that I would write a book where the heroine starts traveling after a major life crisis. I have to admit that I when I wrote SEPARATION ANXIETY I was indulging in a major fantasy exercise because not only wasn’t my character dragging two small children in her wake, she shopped as she liked and simply shipped her excess and unneeded items home ahead of her. Bliss.

I’m happy to say that SEPARATION ANXIETY is available in multiple digital formats from Smashwords.com as well as other major ebookstores, including Sony and Apple. SEPARATION ANXIETY is also available in paperback from Amazon.com.

BLURB

Sometimes running away is the first step toward finding yourself.

Aurora has spent her entire married life transforming herself from a regular, middle class girl into the perfect society wife. Life seems perfect until she is unceremoniously dumped by her philandering cliche’ of a husband just before Christmas – and their tenth wedding anniversary. Devastated and unable to face the social ostracism or the holiday parties, Aurora and her best friend Kat plan a trip to Amsterdam for a weekend…then decide to keep going. Aurora attempts to drown her sorrows with wine in Amsterdam and Frankfurt, finds her anger in Athens and Cairo, and reclaims her sexuality in Dubai. By the time she and Kat reach Bangkok at the New Year, Aurora is ready and eager to move on with her life.

Planned as a way to escape her pain, Aurora’s travels instead become a journey to a new sense of self and a whole new world – post-divorce.

EXCERPT

I am standing in the kitchen debating on whether or not baking some gingerbread would be overkill when I hear a car door outside.

My stomach flips and I run to the window to peek outside. It’s Bryce.

I press my hand to my stomach and try to slow my breathing. Hyperventilation and hysteria is hardly the alluring look I’m going for.

I go back to the kitchen, check my lipstick in my reflection on the window, and finger comb my hair. I whirl around and try to appear casual when I hear Bryce’s key in the door.

“Aurora?” Bryce says as he lets himself in.

“Good morning, Bryce,” I say, walking toward him and giving him a big smile. “Good to see you.”

He looks at me with some suspicion as he stands uncertainly in the foyer.

He’s not as impeccably presented as usual. His shirt is wrinkled and he doesn’t look as if he’s slept much. He certainly doesn’t look like a man who is happy with the decision he’s just made. I can feel my hopes rising just looking at him. This might be easier than I expected.

“Don’t just stand there,” I say, “This is your home, come in. I made some coffee. Sit down and have a cup. Can I get you some breakfast?”

“Thanks, but no,” he says, putting his hands in his pockets. “I really don’t have much time. I have an early appointment this morning. I’ll just go up and get my things.”

My smile fades. He’s deviating from my mental script of how this will go. He’s supposed to sit down, have breakfast and snap out of whatever spell Audrey has him under. “What? Just like that? Can’t we even talk about this? About us?”

I hear him sigh. “We already talked last night. What more is there to say?”

“We didn’t talk last night!” I take a deep breath and try to regain my composure. Bryce doesn’t like scenes so screeching at him will hardly win him over or gain his ear. I start again. “We didn’t talk. You made an announcement. I’d like a chance to discuss things with you. Privately.”

“I don’t really have much more to add, Aurora. I’m in love with Audrey and it doesn’t seem…kind to draw this out any more than we have to. I think it’s best to make a clean break.”

“So that’s it? After ten years together? How is it ‘kind’ to just walk out on me with no warning? Aren’t we at least supposed to try counseling?” I ask him as I follow him up the stairs to our bedroom.

Bryce is pulling suitcases from the back of our walk-in closet. “I don’t want to go to counseling.” He pauses to look at me. “I’m sorry.”

I stand there, stunned. He’s not repentant or regretful. He hasn’t realized his mistake. He’s merely uncomfortable with the situation. With me.

How has this happened? Yesterday things were normal. I was buying him an anniversary present. How can he be leaving me today?

He turns and begins to put things in the open suitcases. Shirts, pants, suit jackets, ties. I cross my arms and watch him silently. He picks up a small satchel and turns to cross to the bathroom. He squeezes my arm as he passes me. He is still my husband but already his touch seems foreign.

I can hear him opening drawers and dropping items into the bag. When he comes back out I want to catch his eye — to make him look at me! — but he’s looking down.

“You can’t leave without at least talking to me,” I try again. “You owe me that much at least.”

“I can’t see how talking about this will be helpful to you,” Bryce says, opening a dresser drawer and tossing socks and underwear into his suitcases. “I don’t have much time and endless discussion will only serve to hurt you more.”

“Oh my god — is she outside?” I ask. “Is she waiting for you in the car?” I run to the window to look out, trying to see into his car.

“No. I wouldn’t do that,” Bryce says. “I wouldn’t bring her here. This is hard enough as it is. On all of us.”

I can’t help but wonder whose feelings he is trying to spare because it certainly doesn’t seem to be mine.

It’s getting hard to maintain my composure when things are spinning so far out of my control. But this doesn’t make any sense to me. The situation does not compute. I have to have better answers than he’s giving me.

“What…” My voice breaks. I clear my throat and try again. “What did I do wrong? What do I need to do to fix this?”

Bryce sighs again. He stops packing for a moment and puts his hands on his hips. Finally he looks up at me.

“You haven’t done anything wrong,” he says. “Things just…happened. I’ve changed. I want different things. Neither of us is getting any younger and life is too short not to take happiness where you can find it. None of this was your fault. It’s not you, Aurora, it’s me.”

When I don’t answer him, he turns and starts packing again.

I can’t believe it. It’s been a while since I’ve heard it, but I’m pretty sure my husband of a decade just dumped me with a string of clichés and the old it’s-not-you-it’s-me line.

CONTEST – Jenyfer is giving away a PDF download of Separation Anxiety to one lucky reader. All you need to do to enter the draw is comment on this post or ask Jenyfer a question.

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I managed to fool most of you with my lie last week. Without further ado, let the truth unfold…

1. A mountain gorilla almost sat on me in Rwanda.

TRUE! Visiting a family group of gorillas in Rwanda is my number one travel experience. We walked for miles through thick bush and hilly terrain before we found the gorillas. The silverback did a mock charge and came to a halt almost on top of me and this other guy from our group. It was thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I managed to sit on top of some ants, and when I had a shower back at camp they’d bitten my backside. At the time I didn’t feel a thing. Here’s a link to a few photos and my memories of the day.

2. A tiger growled and scared me half to death in India.

FALSE! I’ve visited India twice and loved it. In fact India is my favorite travel destination. I’ve never seen a tiger in the wild, but I’d dearly love to. Maybe next visit.

3. A stingray played with me during a helmet dive in Bora Bora.

TRUE! Hubby and I did a helmet dive during our recent cruise and had a close encounter with a stingray. I’m glad I did the helmet dive but was a little nervous beforehand. (I intend to do a post on Sunday about our dive and the stingray.)

4. Our hot air balloon crash landed and my glasses broke in Australia.

TRUE! We did a balloon ride over the vineyards in the Barossa. The wind had picked up while we were aloft and getting down proved a problem. The basket hit the ground hard, bounced and toppled over on its side, dragging on the ground for a hundred meters. We, and the rest of the basket occupants fell in a heap. The lenses popped out of my glasses and rattled around the bottom of the basket. Amazingly, I retrieved them in one piece and was able to get them put back into the frames.

5. A baby camel tried to lick me in Egypt.

TRUE! He was a curious wee chap and got up close and personal with me. He was a cutie and it was the best camel ride we’ve ever done.

6. Elephants milled around my tent during the middle of the night in Kenya.

TRUE! Our guides had to chase the elephants away in the middle of the night. Hubby and I didn’t hear a thing, but the proof was indisputable–big footprints and poop all around our tent.

7. Some pygmies took me hunting for dik-dik in Zaire.

TRUE! We visited a pygmy village and went hunting with them. We didn’t catch anything during our hunt. They were very fit and thought it was funny when we couldn’t keep up with them. The ants also attacked (they have horrid big ants that bite) and they laughed themselves silly while they helped to pick the ants off us. We were the sideshow for the day!

And the contest winner is…. Gayle O!

Congratulations, Gayle. I’ll email you privately about your prize.

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I’m thrilled to welcome author, Lisabet Sarai as my special guest today. She’s discussing two of my favorite topics–travel and paranormal romance. I’m always ready to travel, be it virtual or the real thing. Add a little of the woo-woo factor and I’m hooked. So sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds of exotic Jamaica with Lisabet.

I want to thank Shelley for having me as her guest today. When I asked her what sort of topics she preferred for her blog, she suggested I browse through previous entries. One thing became immediately clear―she’s as much of a travel fanatic as I am! So I thought that I’d talk a bit about Jamaica, which just happens to be the setting of my upcoming release Fire in the Blood.

As I’ve shared in other blog posts, my husband seduced me in a Burmese restaurant with tales of his own international adventures. Jamaica was the first foreign destination we visited together. This was almost thirty years ago and I haven’t had the chance to go back, so readers should recognize that my impressions are a bit dated. Nevertheless, I suspect (from my research and reading) that the country has not changed that much, especially not physically.

We got a cheap deal on a package―round-trip airfare and a week’s hotel in Montego Bay. Actually, the resort where we were booked was a good ten miles outside the city. It had a lovely beach but was quite isolated from Jamaican culture. Fortunately, the tour was cheap enough that we felt comfortable using the hotel as a base of operations and making overnight excursions to locations elsewhere on the island. We also took in some tourist activities around Montego Bay. I recall a trail ride into the mountains above Montego Bay (brilliant blue sky, blazing sun, the smells of horse and growing things). I vividly remember a night-time swamp cruise that concluded with a party on an island―reggae music, dancing and lots of Red Stripe beer!

We took a bus eastward to Ocho Rios, famous for its waterfall. That side trip also included a tour of an old plantation, buried in the forest. I remember the sense of the past hovering over those quiet ruins. The country has a bloody history. Britain, Spain and occasionally France all had commercial interests in the island, with its rich soil and strategic location. Slaves labored to produce sugar, coffee and other valuable commodities. Frequent revolts led to draconian responses from the Jamaicans’ colonial masters. Fugitive slaves called Maroons waged guerrilla warfare from the inaccessible, jungle-clad heights.

Later in the week, we traveled to Negril, the westernmost point on the island, where sheer cliffs of lava rock plunge into the turquoise sea. These days Negril has been developed into a major tourist destination, with five star resorts and so on. At that time, it was quite remote, with a couple of thatched roof bars looking out over the ocean and a few simple cottages. After more than thirty years of travel, to every continent except Australia, I still recall the scenery and atmosphere at Negril as extraordinary.

In addition to our sightseeing, we also met some local people: an American woman (whom I’ll call Jill) who was making her living as a performer (dancing with a live boa constrictor!), her Jamaican boyfriend and their social circle. We had the chance to hang out with Jill and her guy in their simple two room house made of concrete blocks, near the railroad tracks in Montego Bay. They didn’t have much, but their whole attitude was laid back. There was always music playing. There was always the scent of ganja in the air. No one seemed to worry about the future. “No problem, man,” was the response to every concern.

I started writing Fire in the Blood in response to a call for Halloween vampire stories. I wanted to create something really different. Almost all my stories are set in specific locales―atmosphere plays a big role in setting the scene for me. I thought back to our long ago trip, the sparkling sun of Jamaica and its dark history, and decided that a Jamaican vampire might be just the thing. When the publisher read the resulting tale, they asked me to expand it into a stand-alone book, which will be released on August 16th. The book is all fiction, of course, but it incorporates snippets of my own experience: a trail ride into the mountains, a ruined plantation, a naked midnight swim in the volcanic grottoes of Negril. I like to believe these contributions make the book more vivid. I hope that my readers will agree.

Here’s the blurb for Fire in the Blood
M/M/F vampire erotic romance from Total-E-Bound.

Maddy and Troy hope that a carefree vacation in tropical Jamaica will re-ignite the passion in their five year relationship. On a scenic mountain trail ride, Maddy’s horse bolts and carries her deep into the jungle. Injured and lost, she is saved by a seductive giant of a man whose mere presence kindles unbearable lust. By the time she understands his dark nature, it is far too late for her to escape.

Bitter and alone, Etienne de Rémorcy haunts the forest around the ruined plantation of Fin d’Espoir. He has sworn to never again taste taste human blood, but when slender, raven-haired Madeleine begs him to take her, he cannot resist.

Troy is hugely relieved when Maddy makes her way back to their hotel after her ordeal in the mountains. But he finds her greatly changed―fiercely passionate in bed, restless and disturbed at other times. The tall, elegant stranger he meets on the beach holds the key to her transformation―and soon has seduced Troy as well. Even Etienne’s most potent magic can’t extinguish the fire in Troy’s and Madeleine’s blood.

You can read an excerpt here.

Fire in the Blood goes on sale Aug 16 at Total-E-Bound

Bio

LISABET SARAI has published six novels, two short story collections and dozens of individual tales. She also edits the single-author charity series “Coming Together Presents” and reviews erotica for Erotica Readers and Writers Association and Erotica Revealed. Visit Lisabet online at Lisabet’s Fantasy
Factory and Beyond Romance.

Do you have any questions for Lisabet? Have you visited Jamaica before? Do you like vampires?

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This week, I have a special guest–Kathleen Dienne, one of my fellow Carina Press authors. When I asked her to do a guest post, she volunteered to do a Thursday Thirteen. I think road trips with children sound quite interesting… Don’t forget to check out Kathleen’s new release Her Heart’s Divide!

Thirteen Things I Didn’t Know About Road Trips With Small Children

by Kathleen Dienne

Hello, Shelley readers! Your hostess, whose mountain of marvelous books is impressing the socks off this beginning author, was corresponding with me over author resources. She kindly invited me to contribute to this community.

To be honest, I’m kind of awkward in new communities. I didn’t used to be this way, but I decided to go pro with my writing (http://kathleendienne.com) at the exact same time that my sweet and tractable baby decided to become a toddler. As all you working moms (and if we’re moms, we’re working!) can attest, your world can get a little narrow when you’re trying to keep up with everything. I sure appreciate Shelley bringing me out of my cave to meet you :)

After my first book launched last month (Her Heart’s Divide), my husband and I decided to go on a family vacation. We hadn’t taken one since our son was born. We love road trips and living history, so the inaugural family trip was an eight hour drive to Dearborn, Michigan, and the Henry Ford museum and village.

All of you experienced parents are already laughing.

For those of you with no kids, read on.

1. Raisins seem like a wonderful car food, but they are not.

2. Anything that becomes sticky when you grind it into upholstery is a bad car food.

3. Especially bananas.

4. One should not feed a diaper-wearing toddler nothing but fruit for two hours.

5. If a small toy is dropped, you can find it by identifying the one spot no one in the car can reach without pulling over.

6. Every rest stop in Ohio looks identical. This will comfort your toddler and cause him to associate the graceful little dome with “getting out of the car.”

7. A child who sees the little dome as it passes by his window can be astonishingly loud.

8. There are a lot of eighteen-wheelers on our nation’s highways, and a toddler can say “Bye bye big truck!” to every… single… one of them.

9. You don’t think you can sing Old MacDonald’s Farm more than twenty times in a row until you’ve done it.

10. A child who wakes up if an ant sneezes can sleep through a storm beating down so hard that every vehicle on the road is forced to pull over and stop on the shoulder.

11. The hotel’s minifridge is just as fascinating as a costumed interpreter running a loom.

12. It is good to make time for a toddler to just run across a big lawn and shriek with glee.

13. If you’re genuinely trying to keep your kid happy and behaving well, pretty much everyone in the world wants to help you… so let them.

What are your favorite tips for toddler travel? Got any good disasters to share?

Her Heart’s Divide

Lila was a faithful, loyal wife.

Ryan was her sexy, loving husband.

And so was Jack…?

Jack, however, was her boss, not her husband—why was he claiming her as
his own? Lila had been passionately happy with Ryan for more than
seven years. Yes, there’d been a moment when she’d first been attracted to
Jack, but then she’d met his best friend, Ryan. They’d fallen in love and married.
Jack claimed that in his world, their attraction had led to the altar.

And now she was caught between two men—two husbands—in the wildest situation Lila could ever have imagined. But what she wasn’t imagining were the two men touching her, pleasing her, caressing her…

Purchase from Carina Press

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My photo this week was taken in Phuket, Thailand.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters

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My husband took this photo while snorkelling in Lahaina, Hawaii.

To see more photos of animals visit Camera Critters

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We saw this dog while we were walking in Vava’u, Tonga. He craned his neck to see us and seemed to be guarding this partially built house. He looked a bit like a devil dog with his glowing eyes.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters.

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One of the things that hubby and I have wanted to do for ages is drive around in a convertible. We didn’t want just any convertible. We wanted to drive a Mustang convertible. In fact a Mustang was my husband’s dream car when he was a teenager.

Fast forward to our stop in Hilo, Hawaii. We hired a nice fire-engine red Mustang convertible for the day.

It was a gorgeous day, and we had great company (another couple we met on board the Dawn Princess). We drove from Hilo up to the Waipi’o Valley.

Did I mention we drove a Mustang? It was a really smooth ride, and according to hubby, great to drive.

The Waipi’o valley is beautiful – the road ends and you look down on a wide, flat valley. There’s a black sand beach and the surf crashes onto it. Here’s a photo of me (in the hat I purchased at the Sydney Royal Easter show) with the valley behind me.

It was a fun day, and we have one less thing on our bucket list.

What is one thing that’s on your bucket list?

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