Hey Gang! I started a video show where I invite friends over to my Tiki bar to talk about all things Tiki!
On this first episode, Christina and Tom join me as we discuss yacht rock, the ’70s, Jimmy Buffett, and Tiki. Click below to watch the episode…
Continue reading “Tiki With Ray Episode 1: Yacht Rock, Jimmy Buffett and Tiki”
Jason T. Smith was ten years old when he made a realization that would change his life forever. For forty bucks, he could buy five times as many toys used instead of buying them new. And what young Jason wanted was MORE toys instead of new toys! Fast forward to now and Jason T. Smith has made a living by thrifting. Read on to find out how…
Continue reading “Tiki VIP #24 Jason T. Smith (Thrift Hunters and Thrifty Business)”
Jason Turnbaugh lives in the most perfect place to embrace the Tiki lifestyle: Southern California. Within a couple hours, Jason can be in Palm Springs, San Diego, or Los Angeles. Jason takes full advantage of his location and frequently visits all the cool Tiki bars So-Cal has to offer. When it came time to put together the Drunken Monkey, Jason pulled his influences from all these cool Tiki spots. Needless to say, his place is amazing! Here is how the Drunken Monkey came together…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #28 The Drunken Monkey So-Cal, CA”
Whittier Heights…
It’s a neighborhood in Ballard that I have never heard of. My friend Robb mentioned that I should check out a bar there called Essex. Every Tuesday is Tiki night. Okay, cool. I’ll go check it out!
Continue reading “Tiki Night At Essex! Ballard, WA (Seattle)”
“I don’t want to live back in time, I just want to be able to touch it.”
– Charles Phoenix
I couldn’t agree more! I don’t know if living back in the ’50s and ’60s would be any “better” than living in the present, but damn, did it look great!
I’ve always felt that Kodachrome pictures are the closest thing you can get to a time machine. The colors are so rich and the pictures have so much depth that they make you feel like you were the one behind the camera taking them. Charles Phoenix collects Kodachrome slides and puts on presentations showing off his collection. Words can’t describe how fun and entertaining Charles’s slideshow is. You just have to go see for yourself!
I had a chance to chat with Charles while he was driving his car around sunny California. Here is his story…
Continue reading “Charles Phoenix: The Ambassador Of Americana”
In 2007, Sarah and Robb met for the first time in Austin, Texas and started dating.
In 2009, Sarah moved up to Seattle to be with Robb, full-time.
In 2014, Robb proposed to Sarah on top of the Fairmount Hotel. She said yes!
That was July. They celebrated by drinking Tiki drinks at The Tonga Room!
In October of 2014, they moved into a beautiful bungalow in Ballard and created a perfect Mid-Century home.
Then they decided they needed a Tiki bar, so they turned their porch into the Bungalow.
More importantly, Sarah and Robb got married in 2016! I will let Robb fill in the blanks below…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #27 The Bungalow Seattle, WA”
This is the day we all have been waiting for…
I have to admit that getting up early Sunday after ALL the action from yesterday was quite a task. My hotel bed never felt better, but you know what’s better than sleeping in? Checking out a bunch of home Tiki bars!
Continue reading “Tiki Kon 2017 Caribbean Castaway, Day 3: Home Tiki Bar Tour”
At some point, my love of scooters and Tiki was going to overlap…
Every year, my scooter club hosts a ride. This year, I thought it would be a cool to make it Tiki/Hawaiian-themed. So Day One of our rally was spent rolling around Seattle eating at Hawaiian places and drinking at Tiki bars! Kickstands up…let’s go!
Continue reading “Hooligans Scooter Club Tiki/Totem Run 2017”
The Mai-Kai is the most important Tiki establishment there is. It is one of the last Tiki supper clubs that survived all these years and still gives the same Tiki experience as it did back in the day. The Mai-Kai’s history needs to be documented. Tim Glazner agrees. That is why he wrote Mai-Kai: History and Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant. Tim has been into the Tiki scene for a long time. Tim’s Tiki history is documented here for you… Continue reading “Tiki VIP #23 Tim Glazner Author of Mai-Kai: History and Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant and creator of the Swank Pad website”
And with the sound of the gong, the entire room fell silent…
Justin DuPre and Greg Clap got married at Tiki Kon 2017 and we all got to be part of the celebration! Here’s how they did it…
