You’re not supposed to get antsy in paradise, but that was me – at least for a short time – today. Yesterday, we arranged to go to a remote restaurant that is located on a tiny island just across the lagoon from Mo’orea. When I made the reservation, it clearly stated that we had to …
I sat outside tonight in the South Seas darkness, looking for unfamiliar stars, but found few due to the sea cloud cover. The nights are quiet and dark here, unlike nights at home. At first, the darkness was a bit overwhelming. Small spots of illumination come from Hale (house) lights, scattered throughout the steep valleys. …
Tiki bars come. Tiki bars go. Although we Polynesiacs see this natural cycle happen time and time again, we intensely dislike it. Something deep within us holds on to the belief that our sacred “tapu” spaces are permanent. We want to believe that our public or private escapes are here forever, that they exist in …
When Aaron told me that his dad, Donald, loved The Big Lebowski, I couldn’t help but re-envision the final eulogy scene with Dad in the role. “Donald was a good father, and a good man. He was one of us. He was a man who loved Martin Denny and his family, and as a surfer …
Each day, I find more vessels filled with water. My collection of string art ships peers down at me while I pour one more cup of water down the drain. It seems all too natural a process now, one week after the waters came pouring down through the rafters above. In my past musings on …
Sven asked, “Would you like a cigarillo?” With the day’s events behind us, the evening was now coming to a close. The fading light signaled it should be time to head back to Whittier. So when Sven Kirsten invited me to sit with him on his front porch to end the evening with a few …
You never know who might drop by your home bar, so be prepared. It was getting close to happy hour at The Below Decks, Steven and Michael’s home Tiki bar. The door to the driveway was wide open to allow for the nearby ocean breeze. Steven was mixing a batch of cocktails, while Michael was …
I suspect that Kimo the Pineapple Mermaid, Sandy the Face of Exotica, and Rosie the Riveter would have been best friends forever if they’d lived in the same time period. Rosie the Riveter, with her red and white polka-dot scarf and navy blue shirt bicep curl, symbolized the ingenuity and strength of women. Rosie got …
Trader Dazz’s tale reads like a drugstore romance but offers your soul a taste of respite and a wager for redemption. Welcome weary traveler. Your journey must have been long and emotionally exhausting. You see, for you to arrive here, there must be some dark stormy story that you’re trying to escape. That’s the only …
Polynesiacs keep tiki history alive. Ron and Mickee’s Rincon Room is a perfect example. When Ron designed and built the Rincon Room, named after the close-by and quite famous surf break mentioned in The Beach Boys’ Surfing USA, he turned to local tiki history for inspiration. Oxnard’s 1964 Trade Winds restaurant was classic tiki. The …
