Tiki with Ray

Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #124 The Labyrinth of Doctor Box – Fortuna (Humboldt County) CA

Posted by Ray on December 13, 2024 in Home Tiki Bars 0 Comment

When most people think of Northern California, they think of San Francisco. The Bay Area might be north of Los Angeles but it’s not the northern most point of California. If you travel a couple more hours north on I-5 you come into actual Northern California. This is where you will find The Labyrinth of Doctor Box! Ben and Audrey moved up to Fortuna (Humboldt County) and realized that there are no signs of tiki anywhere so took matters into their own hands and built their own.

I discovered The Labyrinth of Doctor Box which is Ben and Audrey’s tiki show on YouTube and I loved what I saw. So far, they have episodes discussing how different Orgeat syrups can affect the taste of a Mai Tai and the importance of your home tiki bar having a backstory. Great stuff! Speaking of backstories, here the backstory of The Labyrinth of Doctor Box…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #123 Meka Leka Hideaway – Mountlake Terrace WA

Posted by Ray on November 18, 2024 in Home Tiki Bars

Zach Malm has only been into tiki 18 months and that time he visited a ton of tiki bars including Smuggler’s Cove, Zombie Village and Sunken Harbor Club to name a few. And in that 18 months Zach decided to build his own tiki bar! It’s called the Meka Leka Hideaway and if you like Pee-wee Herman, you know exactly where the name came from…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #122 The Huki Lounge – Victoria BC

Posted by Ray on November 15, 2024 in Home Tiki Bars

I met Shani Thomson at Tiki Kon a couple years ago. She mentionted that she has a home tiki and she lives in Victoria BC. I live in Seattle and getting up to “The Island” can be a little difficult. The best way to get up to Victoria taking The Clipper which is a ferry boat that leaves downtown Seattle and will drop you off in the middle of downtown Victoria. Paul Tanner put together and home tiki bar tour, visiting three home bars including Shani’s! I finally got to see The Huki Lounge which is in Shani’s living room or is it the other way around? Here is Shani’s story of how she got into tiki and the history of The Huki Lounge…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #121 The Island Princess – Mercer Island WA

Posted by Ray on November 7, 2024 in Home Tiki Bars 2 Comments

I’ve lived in Seattle for over 20 years and I just realized that I have an island view!

I live in a neighborhood called Seward Park and looking directly out my front window is an island that being Mercer Island. It’s not a tropical island, there’s no palm trees, but there are tons of evergreens and I’d say Mercer Island is as beautiful as any island I’ve been on.

I just sold a bamboo, tiki styled cabinet to my newfound friend Cathye. Mercer Island isn’t that far away from me so I offered to deliver it to her. We chatted and Cathye mentioned that the cabinet is going to be added to her tiki bar that she had on her side porch. I asked her if I could see it, she said sure but don’t expect much. I love all home tiki bars, great and small and we stepped through a door leading onto Cathye’s home tiki bar called The Island Princess. I immediately feel in love with her tiki bar. It’s a perfect mix of classic tiki and Hawaiian. What makes the bar truly special is the view of the woods and nature looking out back. It all comes together to make a truly relaxing escape. Here is Cathye’s story…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #120 Mahu Lounge – Ypsilanti MI

Posted by Ray on October 21, 2024 in Home Tiki Bars 2 Comments

There’s a waterfall in the shower!

Kurt and Lance live in a small town east of Detroit. It’ called Ypsilanti and I have no idea how to pronounce it! Downstairs in the basement of Kurt and Lance’s home you will find the Mahu Lounge but what’s unique about their home tiki bar is that it expands into different rooms. A bedroom adjacent to the bar has been turned into the The Dirty Pearl VIP Champagne Room. The tiki has also moved into the downstairs bathroom as well. They never use the shower so they put a waterfall in it! Great idea! Here is the story of the Mahu Lounge and The Dirty Pearl VIP Champagne Room…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #119 Paradis du Zombi – Grosse Pointe MI

Posted by Ray on October 9, 2024 in Home Tiki Bars 2 Comments

When I walked in to Zach Robert’s home tiki bar, I felt like a I stepped into a temple, a tiki temple! The bar is in the center of the Zach’s space with two tall tikis from Detroit’s Mauna Loa, two smaller tikis on the far sides of the garage and one giant tiki towering above the bar. The name of this incredible bar is Temple of Rum but that doesn’t include what’s on the outside! I will let Zach tell you more about Paradis du Zombi…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #118 Skipper Burnsy’s Enchanted Tiki Oasis – Normal IL

Posted by Ray on August 11, 2024 in Home Tiki Bars

Sometimes a tiki bar on your back patio just isn’t enough…

And for a while this is all that Kent and Jenny Burns needed. After a while Kent got tired of always having to go back inside to make himself another drink, so he bought a gazebo from Sam’s Club and converted into a backyard tiki bar. This new bar had it all, it had a sink, running water, a refrigerator, television and most importantly… heat! Kent and Jenny live in Illinois and it gets cold in the winter but that doesn’t stop them from enjoying their tiki bar all year long! The name of Kent and Jenny’s tiki bar is called Skipper Burnsy’s Enchanted Tiki Oasis. Read on to learn why…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #117 Kraken’s Bay Tiki Lounge Warren MI

Posted by Ray on July 26, 2024 in Home Tiki Bars 5 Comments

From Parrot Head to Tikiphile…

Before Ed Schroeder discovered tiki, he was a Parrot Head. There’s a lot of crossover between the tiki, pirate and Jimmy Buffett subcultures. From an outsider’s perspective, they may appear all the same, but as Ed slowly discovered the world of tiki, he realized that tiki bars are the “real deal” and started to build his own! Kraken’s Bay Tiki Lounge is Ed’s basement but it feels like paradise. Here is Ed’s story…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #116 The Exotica Suite – West Bloomfield MI

Posted by Ray on June 27, 2024 in Home Tiki Bars 1 Comment

It’s been said that good things come to those who wait.

In the case of The Exotica Suite – a home tiki bar in West Bloomfield, Michigan owned by Matt and Nui Totsky – that certainly rings true. Matt shares how their story of patience and perseverance finally paid off with the room of their dreams.

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #115 Thirsty Piranha – Seabeck WA

Posted by Ray on June 22, 2024 in Home Tiki Bars

Would you have a piranha as a pet?

During covid times, Wendy and Carl had a lot of time to kill so they decided to build a tiki bar behind their home in Seaback WA. Seabeck in located out on the Peninsula here in the Pacific Northwest and is about an hour and a half drive from Seattle. You need to travel on a dirt road through the woods to get to The Thirsty Piranha and I have to be honest is kind of creepy going through at night. It’s really dark out there! But once you get to Wendy and Carl’s home you start seeing the multicolored lights of the Thirsty Piranha. There are plenty of windows which would normally be frowned upon for a tiki bar but here, it works! You feel like your outside with nature and you don’t have to be worry about getting eaten by a bear, but inside, you have to watch out for the piranhas!

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