Exotica… Tiki Pop… and Island Style
Aloha, Squiddies… I am returned.
Something has happened to me that I wasn’t expecting. I caught, what I am told, is Island Fever…. or in our case, Big Island (Kona) Fever. I didn’t really see it coming. But I should’ve seen it coming because I spent a few semesters at Palomar College studying Arts of the Pacific Rim. But you can’t catch Island Fever if you don’t go to the island. I went to the island. I got the fever.
Discoveries…
I discovered, via a groovy book I picked up in Kohala, Tiki of Hawai’i: A History of Gods and Dreams… Exotica and Martin Denny. It’s not something that is prevalent on Kona, this old 50’s & 60’s jazzy-jungle-tiki pop style… but I went looking for it (it’s more prevalent in Waikiki). AND The Tikiyaki Orchestra is rocking my hale.
Ukulele music is not something I really appreciated before this trip. With one or two exceptions (Over the Rainbow by IZ), I didn’t take it seriously. However, New Year’s Eve changed that…. we saw PonchoMan play at Rosa’s Cantina, and he rocked the joint with his uke. I don’t know that I’ve heard anyone cover Human Nature by Michael Jackson in quite that way. Now, Harold and I are fans.
I discovered that Kona Koffee really IS AWESOME. 100%, that is… the blends are clearly less than. Mountain Thunder Organic Coffee and Lava Java are amazing and after a tour of the Mountain Thunder on the side of ol’ Hualalai (dormant volcano), I understand the appeal of Kona coffee. It has less caff, and it’s ever so smooth. I’m a mainland fan.
Okay… this is where my first account ends. I will continue with more thoughts and observations in upcoming blog entries… until then… living Aloha.
OH… and pics are up on Squid Row Mama’s Flickr Site… enjoy! (captions in due time…)
Wow, awesome scenery in those pics. Nice little Geico gecko sponsor (?) placement. Seems like someone’s a Vespa magnet. Hope you got a shot at riding one around the island. Yikes, gotta run. Will add more when time is more plentiful.
stick… I didn’t get to scooter… but instead, we rented a convertible, because we did a fair amount of traveling around the island. We drove north to the top of the island and south, where the active volcano is… Kilauea (that was a much longer trip).
As far as Vespas go, there warn’t many of them on the island. Most of what I saw were… Honda Metropolitans…. Italy is much further away than Japan, don’t ya know.
Of all the exotic ports I visited in the ’60s as a guest of Uncle Sam’s Navy, Hawaii was my favorite. I doubt I’ll ever get a chance to travel like that again, but it’s probably all changed by now anyway, and my memories are awesome.
So…you were a Palomar College student too? I took drafting and engineering courses there in the ’70s when it was a few red brick classrooms, the dome and the clock tower. There wasn’t a single traffic light in all of San Marcos, which wasn’t even an incorporated city yet, just the crossroads of Mission and Encinitas Road (Now San Marcos Blvd.). I’m still living in Escondido, which is not that different from the San Fernando Valley now. 🙁
brig,
Aloha
Perused through your flickr Hawaiian album some more.
Thought of adding comments there, only it required me to create a new Yahoo ID account in order to sign in…I said, no, so I’m adding some of my comments here.
Yum with a Cap “Y” taco plate. Mmm, awesome. Need to stop drooling on keyboard.
Kool Ki’i (Hawaiian Tiki) powers…attract’in da money bringun tourists…scar’in da loud, messy scavang’in gulls. Amazingly, not a single seagull visible in any of your pics. They can use more of ’em in Cypress City.
Harold seemed to enjoy getting Mai Tai’d over…and over. Must have had to wring him out…often.
Yikes. A hotel parking lot that’s ALSO a native burial ground with a big ki’i (tiki) marker? Worse yet, a GIANT ugly dumpster planted in said burial ground/parking lot. Looks like a setting for a new Poltergeist sequel. Many a p.o.’ed spirit looking for some howley payback.
Hmm, was that you workin’ that bikini poolside? In the beginning of January?
Tribble fruit at the farmers’ market? Look like they need some peeling before munching.
A unique natural paradise? eh, neh. A generic tourist development? ah, yeh.
Coffee at $55 a pound needs to come in something more special than a plastic bag.
Glad you had a good time…looking forward to a possible Squid connection.
Mahalo
Kona> I love Palomar College. Go Comets! I enjoyed my time there…. I attended (off and on) from 1988-96. There were a few more buildings by that time… and even more since! I had a Volleyball class in the Dome…. and many a lunch by the clock tower.
stick… glad you liked the photos. The Ki’i in the parking lot was odd… but both the Royal Kona Resort and The King Kam are built on sacred ground. The Hawaiian native folks bent to commerce, I guess. I hope that there’s no Poltergeist moments… although, while at the luau at the King Kam, I felt a different-ness.
I had that coffee this morning for breakfast… and it was so “earthy.” Man… zat’s good stuff.
I’m writing the Squid Connection now. It’ll be fun.