Hukilau 2004: Discuss! - Other Events

B boutiki Tiki Socialite The fly-over states Joined: Jun 03, 2002 Posts: 497	B boutiki Posted posted on Mon, Sep 27, 2004 10:30 PM Well... Amy, Logan and I got home tonight all intact, but unfortunately it sounds like we missed the biggest fun at the Hukilau. We were up at 5:30 Saturday morning to check the weather and the status of the evacuation notice, surprised by the relaxed attitude the Bahia Cabana staff had ("folks had a late night, we'll wake them up in a while") we found a few Hukilau folks trying to figure out what to do. They seemed as concerned as we were, just having seen the weather reports that had the hurricane making land right in our area. As much as we wanted to be at the Mai-Kai, we had nowhere to stay in Ft. Lauderdale but we did have a place in Tampa– my Mom's house. We already had plans to go be in Tampa on Sunday in order for family to visit with little Logan and to celebrate our birthdays (Amy's was today and mine is tomorrow). So we thought we were just pushing up our plans a bit and dodging a hurricane. That's what we THOUGHT. While it was certainly not as intense as when it slammed into South East Florida, Jeanne had plenty left in her when she paid us a visit. We lost power just in time to watch the neighbor's fence come into my Mom's yard and to see two big oak trees on one side of her house come down (one hit the roof, but thankfully did not damage it). Needless to say, it was a little stressful. We were glad we could be there for my Mom– but we could not help but wish we were either at the Mai-Kai, or at home in our own safe little Tiki hideaway. Our route North to Tampa took us through Punta Gorda, I have not seen that kind of devastation first hand before. We really felt for the people in communities who have been hit so hard this year. My Mom is still in the dark and now her phone is out, but her house is pretty much undamaged. I only hope that the rest of our Florida tiki family faired as well. Despite the crazy ordeal the hurricane brought with it, we had a great time at the Hukilau. We were thrilled to meet more of the wonderful Tiki Central folks. I'll save everyone the roll call and just suffice to say we were very impressed with how warm and friendly everyone was. I really appreciated all the people who went out of their way to say hi and introduce themselves. I am very happy to be able to say I have many new friends. it was also great to see many we already knew and to be able to catch up and share some time with. Congrats to Swanky and Kiliki for putting together such a fine event. We are so disappointed that we had to miss out on the cornerstone event of the Hukilau that we may have to invite Chicago area folks to our place real soon to have our own little Hukilau in honor. -Duke

Well... Amy, Logan and I got home tonight all intact, but unfortunately it sounds like we missed the biggest fun at the Hukilau. We were up at 5:30 Saturday morning to check the weather and the status of the evacuation notice, surprised by the relaxed attitude the Bahia Cabana staff had ("folks had a late night, we'll wake them up in a while") we found a few Hukilau folks trying to figure out what to do. They seemed as concerned as we were, just having seen the weather reports that had the hurricane making land right in our area. As much as we wanted to be at the Mai-Kai, we had nowhere to stay in Ft. Lauderdale but we did have a place in Tampa– my Mom's house.

We already had plans to go be in Tampa on Sunday in order for family to visit with little Logan and to celebrate our birthdays (Amy's was today and mine is tomorrow). So we thought we were just pushing up our plans a bit and dodging a hurricane. That's what we THOUGHT. While it was certainly not as intense as when it slammed into South East Florida, Jeanne had plenty left in her when she paid us a visit. We lost power just in time to watch the neighbor's fence come into my Mom's yard and to see two big oak trees on one side of her house come down (one hit the roof, but thankfully did not damage it). Needless to say, it was a little stressful. We were glad we could be there for my Mom– but we could not help but wish we were either at the Mai-Kai, or at home in our own safe little Tiki hideaway.

Our route North to Tampa took us through Punta Gorda, I have not seen that kind of devastation first hand before. We really felt for the people in communities who have been hit so hard this year. My Mom is still in the dark and now her phone is out, but her house is pretty much undamaged. I only hope that the rest of our Florida tiki family faired as well.

Despite the crazy ordeal the hurricane brought with it, we had a great time at the Hukilau. We were thrilled to meet more of the wonderful Tiki Central folks. I'll save everyone the roll call and just suffice to say we were very impressed with how warm and friendly everyone was. I really appreciated all the people who went out of their way to say hi and introduce themselves. I am very happy to be able to say I have many new friends. it was also great to see many we already knew and to be able to catch up and share some time with. Congrats to Swanky and Kiliki for putting together such a fine event.

We are so disappointed that we had to miss out on the cornerstone event of the Hukilau that we may have to invite Chicago area folks to our place real soon to have our own little Hukilau in honor.

-Duke

Post #116767 by boutiki on Mon, Sep 27, 2004 10:30 PM