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 …
“I don’t know what it is, but I feel really connected to tiki. Maybe it’s where I’m from. Maybe it’s from my early experiences. Maybe it’s in my genes.” For Adrian, I suspect the answer is (d) all of the above. Now a major influencer in the tiki revival movement known as Polynesian Pop, Adrian …
When Robert brought home a vintage black-velvet nude painting and rare United Airlines Tiki in the trunk, Shanna said aloha to only one item. The UA Tiki was welcomed aboard. The black velvet painting with the woman wearing a hibiscus flower and nothing else? She would need to catch a connecting flight. Robert was carefully …
The Tapu Tiki was designed for the creation of cocktails. Josh had a clear vision for his home Tiki bar. A long, eight seat high-top bar would establish his space as more bar than lounge. An array of shakers, jiggers, glassware, mugs, and other essential beverage tools would await a moment’s call to action. An …
