The Emerald City Writers’ Conference was a fabulous success, but it was still nice to rejuvenate from conference fever on the beach in Kona on the big island of Hawaii. I wrote by the pool, read a stack of books, snorkeled with colorful fish and sea turtles, hiked through Volcanoes National Park, viewed lava rolling into the sea, and got up close and personal with manta rays.

THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

A few of the agents and editors at the conference were raving about this post-apocalyptic YA novel. I became so absorbed in the story that I didn’t notice when my shade moved and ended up with a toasty lobster-red burn on my chest. Classic. Hunger Games is a cross between SHADE’S CHILDREN (Nix) and COUNTDOWN (Maddox). It’s fast paced and enjoyable, though I wish it had more rebellion in it and less playing the system. Hopefully book 2, CATCHING FIRE, will deliver.

When her little sister is drawn for the lottery to be the next contestant in their district for the deadly Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to go in her place. She is joined by Peeta, a seemingly easy-going, kind-hearted baker’s son, and together they take on contestants from the other 11 districts in a televised battle to the death.

WELCOME TO TEMPTATION by Jennifer Crusie

I’ve been hearing about Crusie, a giant of romantic comedy, for years, but hadn’t tried her until now. Why, oh why, did I wait so long?? Her books are funny, sexy and sweet. I’ve been devouring her backlist ever since. WELCOME TO TEMPTATION is still my favorite. I love the crooked Dempsey family and Phin, the seemingly straight-edged mayor, whose bent streak is revealed as he succumbs to temptation.

Sophie arrives in the one horse town of Temptation with her artistic sister and a video camera planning to shoot a come-back film for  Clea, an aging actress whose bombshell looks leave a trail of broken hearts starting here in her hometown. Phineus Tucker is the mayor of Temptation, as generations of Tuckers have been before him, and he knows with one look that Sophie’s arrival in his quiet town means Trouble with a capital “T”.

I also read Crusie’s BET ME, FAKING IT, GETTING RID OF BRADLEY, STRANGE BEDPERSONS and Lisa Kleypas’s A WALLFLOWER CHRISTMAS on the trip. Now I’m back in a rainy, gloomy Seattle autumn getting ready for my favorite holiday Halloween!

Does your dream vacation include walking in Edward’s footsteps and photographing Bella’s truck? A jaunty, five-hour drive from Portland or Seattle, up the coast to the farther, rainier side of the Olympic Peninsula will get you your fix. Despite the distance, twilight fans are descending upon the sleepy little logging town of Forks. A woman at the post office told me tourism has gone up 700% since Stephanie Meyer’s internationally bestselling Twilight Saga came out. I can believe it. Before this Forks was mostly famous for being the last place to buy matches and bandaids before entering the Hoh Rain Forest.

Mr. Wonderful and I traveled to Forks this past weekend for a little Twilight action and some hiking in the beautiful Olympic National Park. I’d been to Forks as a child. As a literary tourist, it was much more entertaining.

The truck to the right is parked outside the Forks Visitor Center. It isn’t the same truck as in the movie (little of the real Forks appears in the movie), but it’s a picturesque landmark to get your picture taken with. Every business in town has joined the fun. Local motels announce, “Welcome to the Twilight Zone” and “Edward didn’t sleep here,” (vampires don’t sleep). A gas station on the road to La Push warns “No Vampires Beyond this point,” referring to the dividing line between the Quileute werewolf and Cullen’s territory.

Stay tuned for a list of things to do in Forks.

Our trip to New Zealand, part 3: On Sunday 2 of Mr. Wonderful’s Adobe coworkers rented a car and the 4 of us drove 2.5 hours to the Maori stronghold of Rotorua. The town is built over a mini-Yellowstone of hot springs, mud pools and scalding geysers. A bit too close to volcanic activity for my comfort, but the Maori are a culture of warriors. Balls of steel and all that. Te Puia owns a large chunk of the more active volcanic features and houses a living museum of Maori cultural. We shot video of the big geyser errupting (up to 30 m), saw the endangered Kiwi bird (those suckers move fast!), and took in a Maori cultural performance (poi and warrior dance, again).

I shot some cool footage of the cultural performance. These are really short clips, but enough to give you a general idea. The first is of the opening ceremony, where a man from the tourist “tribe” (in our case a huge guy from Tasmania) stared down a warrior from the host Maori tribe. The second is part of the opening singing number. Note the purdy harmonies.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcPSYzpNzzg]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKtR5Pbof5o]

Monday I wandered around Auckland again and had High Tea at the Langham Hotel. Am considering a new category: High Teas of the World. I might despise monarchy, but, boy!, do I love those Victorian remnants.

Tuesday we flew to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. I stayed in that night and read. After a week one needs a break from the exhausting adventures of vacation. Wednesday Sweetie flew to Australia, and I met my blogging/twitter friend Sarah (AKA rainonroof)!!! It is so much fun having book friends the world over! She showed me around her city. We saw the Beehive and Parliament, climbed up for 360 degree view from the top of Victoria Hill, and strolled through a funky shopping district. She even found me New Zealand yarn. We had a great time chatting about books, books and more books.

After Queenstown and the Routeburn Track, Mr. Wonderful and I flew to the north island (see, Tez, I know there are two!) and stayed on the Viaduct waterfront in Auckland. New Zealand’s biggest city has a similar feel to Seattle, only warmer. Built around the same time and fueled by the gold rush, both cities sport cute Victorian buildings to more modern glass and steel structures. It’s spread out, but the downtown is still walkable (I walked so much my feet nearly fell off). Both cities have skylines dominated by a well-recognized skinny tower. Tourists can’t bunjy off the Space Needle. The vibrant waterfront has a busy harbor with small ferry boats that service the many islands. Sailing is huge in Auckland, and I realized the sailboat-racing hero of my cruise book #2 is a Kiwi.

As usual, Mr. Wonderful had meetings all day, every day, until late at night, so I amused myself exploring the city. I enjoy touring new cities, taking notes on the urban design and special interest in historic preservation. Friday I walked from the Westin on the Viaduct all the way up Parnell Street to the Auckland Museum. The large colonial building lords over the city from the top of a hill, providing great views. It reminded me of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (of Rocky fame). I saw a Maori cultural performance, which was very similar to Polynesian performances in Tahiti. The singing was lovely. The six-member team demonstrated the poi – softball-sized puff balls on long strings that are swung about and bounced off the body – and short and long blades. They finished with the war dance that is widely recognized from the All Blacks rugby games. Afterwards I took pictures of the Maori carvings for future ceramics projects and walked through the giant park grounds of the Domain.

The Domain is 75 hectares in the hollow of an old volcano. It has formal gardens, lawn bowling, and thickly forested paths, like Lovers Walk. A lot of the names in Auckland are English – Albert and Regent streets, I stopped by the Wintergarden, two greenhouses connected by a courtyard with shallow pool, to knit and was photographed by some strange asian tourists. I’m not sure if they thought I was a local or just odd. On the return trip I passed through the Auckland University campus and Albert Park, before finally arriving on Queen Street and locating a Borders. Since I can’t resist a bookstore, I checked out the selection of romance books down under. No Nalini Singh. Mass market paperbacks for $20. AAAAA!!!!

Saturday I took the ferry to the volcano island of Rangitoto and hiked to the top. The volcano rose out of the sea 600 years ago. Trees and brush cover much of the black lava rock. It was hot, but the beautiful 360 degree views were well worth it.

Part I: Queenstown & Routeburn Track
Part II: Auckland (see more photos!)
Part III: Rotorua & Wellington

New Zealand is a beautiful pair of islands of soaring mountains and sparkling blue water, friendly people and not nearly enough sheep. We arrived in the picturesque village of Queenstown, “Adventure capital of New Zealand”, on Easter Sunday. This lovely walkable town on the shores of Lake Wakatipu is crawling with international backpackers. A trekking bus drove us 2 hours to the Routeburn Trailhead, where we began a 3-day trek though Fangorn Forest and up rainbow-bedecked mountains. No self-respecting Seattleite would be put off by a little drizzle. Fortunately we made it to the last shelter right before the big guns came out.

I can see why the Routeburn Track was named a Classic Hike of the World. It was gorgeous all around. The hut system allowed us not to pack a tent or stove, though we did have to put up with bear-like snoring. In the future we might reserve spots for both tents and huts so that we can use the indoor gas stoves, but spend the night in a more secluded location.

We took a lot more photos, which you can see here on facebook. If only a camera was able to capture the true majesty of the scenery. You’ll just have to believe me when I say New Zealand is one of the top places you should go before you die. It’s a hiker’s paradise. We would move there in a heartbeat if we could. Mr. Wonderful also captured snippets of the hike on video camera, which you can see on Flickr. My favorite is from the top of Conical Hill on the beautiful, sunny day 2 of the trek.

Part I: Queenstown & Routeburn Track
Part II: Auckland
Part III: Rotorua & Wellington

New Zealand Trip Reads:

• PACK CHALLENGE, GO FETCH, and HERE KITTY KITTY by Shelly Laurenston
• THE LION’S DAUGHTER by Loretta Chase
• KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR by Carrie Vaughn
• WALK ON THE WILD SIDE by Christine Warren
• OH GODDESS! by Gwen Hayes
• JORDAN by Lori Foster
• MEXICAN HEAT by Josh Lanyon & Laura Baumbach
• PRINCE OF MAGIC by Linda Winstead Jones
  

Mr. Wonderful and I set off today for 10 days in New Zealand:

On a hippie trail, head full of zombie

Part 1: Hike the Routeburn Track, one of the Classic Hikes of the World, out of Queenstown, South Island. The 3-day hike is either 45 K or 32 K, according to the Classic Hikes Book or the NZ Gov’t site, respectively. It passes through Mount Aspiring and Fiordland National Parks. We will be staying in huts along the way.

The Routeburn Track is…a hike of rich variety and complex beauty that whets the appetite for more. This historic alpine route penetrates the glacier-carved landscapes of New Zealand’s Southern Alps–rain forests, high basins, and mountain peaks. From classic U-shaped glacial valleys to snowy passes, the Routeburn traverses strikingly diverse mountain terrain while delivering botanical surprise, exotic bird song, and scenic payoff on a big scale, (Potterfield, p204)

six-foot-four and full of muscles

Part 2: Auckland (where Mr. Wonderful will be occupied with business meetings) I don’t have plans. My usual pattern is to wander a new city, admiring/criticizing the city planning and browsing bookstores, until I can’t feel my feet anymore. However, after a 28-mile hike, I may chose to take it easy. Maybe I’ll rent a bike.

I’ll most likely have internet connection Thursday, when we arrive in Auckland. Until then, here is your moment of zen————->

Help! I need to stock up my Stanza iPhone library for my upcoming trip to New Zealand (April 10-21). Since Mr. Wonderful and I are going backpacking, I can’t pack too many paperbacks. On the other hand, there may not be a place to plug in my iPhone. When someone invents an ebook reader that doesn’t need batteries (or one that lasts a week without being plugged in), I’ll be the first in line.

What eBooks can you recommend?

Extra points if the book has: werewolves, babies or New Zealand settings. (Super prize if it has all three!)

Yesterday I read Wolf Signs by Vivienne Arend, which was on sale at Books on Board. Yum!

Like a Harlequin heroine whisked around the world by her ruthless Greek tycoon, I’ve been globetrotting like crazy these past few months. It’s been a bit unreal. Mr. Wonderful travels 80% of the time for work and stocks up a heck of a lot of frequent flier points. Sometimes he brings me with him. I like to pretend I’m “working” on these trips too, researching and taking notes for future novels set in “sophisticated, glamorous, international locations.”

Though Mr. Wonderful did not accompany me on the Caribbean cruise I took two weeks ago, I still spent many hours lounging in the sun brainstorming and plotting. I now have four books stewing in my brain based on four best girlfriends who take a cruise together to celebrate being single, thirty and independent. The books overlap in time as each woman finds her true love on board the luxury love-boat. Someday you’ll get to read them. Once upon a time…

Three of my friends joined me on the cruise: Laura, Tracy and I met in high school, and Leah is Laura’s college roommate.

Miami the city that keeps the roof blazin

I only came for two days of playing. We stayed on Miami Beach Saturday and Sunday, before boarding the cruise ship on Monday. It was…cold (cue theme). Enjoyed the mile-long active pedestrian mall on Lincoln. Margaritas and Mojitos for Laura’s birthday (hip-hip-hurray!). Turns out the Cubans have left Calle Ocho, but that didn’t stop us from walking the strip (whistle!).

All aboard!

Carnival Destiny. My first time aboard a cruise ship. I expected the boat to be dripping in luxury (thanks Baby Bonanza!) and it turned out to be more plebeian in real life. There were no hero-models to be found, much to the disappointment of my single friends. We gorged ourselves on the delicious food and enjoying our singing/dancing waiter. Surprisingly, four women in a tiny stateroom with a single bathroom did just fine. I stole a few precious reading moments while waiting for my turn. I slept like a baby – swaddled in my feather mattress in the pitch dark, rocked to sleep on the tide – it was like being in the womb. At least as I imagine it.

Laura chats up the locals

Swashbuckling Pirate Romance

Tuesday, our first stop: Nassau, Bahamas. Nassau, once home to notorious pirates Anne Bonny, Mary Reed and Calico Jack Rackam, is no longer the rum-fueled den of iniquity it once was, but don’t let that fool you to what sharks still be hunting these here waters. Tour-operators, souvenir merchants and taxi drivers lurk in the brightly painted pastel shops, luring unsuspecting tourists to their doom. A pirate museum and history museum hide on the back roads for the more adventurous traveler. My intrepid friends followed me blindly as I marched through the narrow, traffic-filled streets in search of the historic heart of Nassau. We discovered the pink colonial Governor’s mansion ruling over the harbor from a hill and the early parliament buildings, also pink. Pink, it seems, might be a favorite pirate color. Who knew?

Our excursion for the day took us to a small private island off the coast where we strapped on small blow-up life vests and daintily inched our way into turquoise blue water that only a polar bear could love. Seriously. The guides wore wet suits. I envied them. Once the shock wore off, we enjoyed swimming with the friendly penned stingrays. They were quite used to humans and eagerly swam against our legs and feet in the expectation of being fed.

Afterwards we warmed ourselves on the sunny beach and watched a dutch pop star film a music video in spanish.

Part I: Miami and Nassau

Part II: Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk

On our return to Tokyo, Mr. Wonderful was occupied preparing for and presenting at the Adobe MAX Conference, so I learned the Tokyo subway and explored the city by myself. Solo exploration is lonely, but more instructive, since I am forced to relinquish my passive role and make a decision. It is a testament to a shrinking world and the genuine friendliness of the Japanese people that I was able to get by knowing a single world of Japanese. Even that one word–thank you–slipped through my swiss cheese brain more often than not.

Ginza–the 5th Avenue of Tokyo–where giant signs assail you from every angle and fashion is hot off the runway. I was in pursuit of washi–Japan’s traditional handmade paper. Looking lost on a street corner, someone took pity on me and helped me locate my target stationary store, Haibara (est. 1806). Street names and addresses are almost non-existent here. Despite my Lonely Planet guidebook and map, lost was my middle name and there were a handful of restaurants and stores–including the Tokyo Disney tourist booth–that I never did find. Next stop was Ito-ya, housing eight floors of stationary, handmade paper, cards, pens, art supplies and a tea lounge. I confess I became inspired to start writing more snail mail!

Of course, I also visited Maruzen book store to drool over the romance novels. Harlequin had an entire rack of books in japanese with familiar authors and completely new covers. Discovering Outlander and Twilight in Japanese inspired a giant grin. I attempted to locate anything by Linda Winstead Jones to bring back for my mother-in-law, but without understanding the organization of the books I was unable to find any.

The Imperial Palace is in the center of Tokyo. Koi and swans swim in the wide moat that separates the ancient rock wall from the surrounding skyscrapers. It is a travesty that two major arterials bisect the historic grounds. Only the East garden is open to the public, but this outpost of history is a must see for visitors to this modern metropolis. My pictures were taken at dusk as it began to drizzle. Notably, the lighting could be better.

And that concludes this edition of Wanderlust: Japan. Stay tuned next time for Wanderlust: Cruising the Caribbean!

Part I: Tokyo

Part II: Minakami

Part III: see more photos on facebook

Sunday we rode the train to the center of Japan, up into the mountains to Minakami. The scenery was…um, to be honest I was reading a book instead of paying attention to the scenery. Minakami is a hot spring town that attracts numerous outdoor enthusiasts to Joshinetsu Kogen National Park. The river running through it and beautiful snow-capped peaks surrounding it were picturesque.

We stayed in Tanigawa Ryokan: a traditional japanese inn dating from the Edo period (1603–1868). Upon entering, we were instructed to remove our shoes and were provided slippers. Our room had traditional tatami mats and a private hot spring bath, call onsen, on the balcony. Yukatas, traditional cotton kimonos, were provided for morning and evening wear. We read, we soaked, we lounged we drank sake. It was all very relaxing and quite a unique experience.

Kimono-wearing staff brought elaborate dinners and breakfast of traditional japanese delicacies. The language barrier prevented us from understanding what it is we were served, but I took lots of photos. If presentation is everything, then these meals were some of the finest to be had. At night, staff moved the short table and spread futons on the floor for sleeping.

Tuesday we hired a guide to take us snow shoeing around the Tanigawa-dake mountains. We had beautiful sunny weather and saw monkeys on the way back.

Part I: Tokyo

Part II: Minakami photos on facebook

Part III: Tokyo Returns