MEET THE JOHNSONS

In our eight months of travels we have met fellow travelers and have shared a meal with them in a restaurant or guest house kitchen. But never have we been invited into a locals home – until now. Shelly and Garry are owners of Apartments on Strickland, our home for eight nights here in Hobart, Tasmania. Our second morning here, Shelly stopped by to see how we were settling in and invited us over to her house for dinner. In shock, we said yes, and agreed to a date and time.

With easy directions to follow, we arrived and were welcomed into the Johnson's' home. Shelly is my age and Gary is Marty's age (and if you don't know what that is, too bad!) and they have two grown sons, Marcus and Sam. All four of them (along with Emma, Marcus' girlfriend) are warm and delightful people and gracious hosts as well. We enjoyed tasty hors d'oeuvres and a scrumptious Tasmanian salmon dinner followed by great homemade desserts. But of course the real feast was the enjoyable and endless conversation we shared. We were there for almost six hours and never once was there a moment of awkward silence.

Even Avocet and Siena had a nice visit. When they took a break from the family dinner table, they entertained themselves with a trampoline, a Wii, and a DVD, all generously shared with them by the Johnson's.

Thank you Shelly and Garry for a wonderful evening and an even better memory. Have a great trip to Japan and keep in touch.