Ugh -- just got back from Phoenix, and there's no way I'm gonna be able to catch up on these posts. I don't think I can do that again -- every day without Internet access, I die a little death.
Here's my (pretty crappy) pictures from the trip:
The Kon Tiki is on the east side of Tuscon. It's crowded between strip-mall buildings now, but when it opened forty or so years ago, it had the lot to itself.
Here's the sign close to the street.
Here's the much cooler sign, but it's closer to the actual building, and hard to see from the street. I imagine the torches used to be lit, but they couldn't be today -- those trees are too close. We didn't see it at night, but I imagine the cooless factor rises when it's lit up. The tiki at the top is pretty faded.
This tiki is beside the building.
The building, as seen on BOT pg. 16. It's modest, but a noble effort given the small amount of space, and the fact that it has to compete with the strip mall surroundings.
Big ol' tiki out front, with the mandatory bridge. The "water" is a tile mosaic, which is a decent comprimise given the value of water in the desert.
Two tikis by the front door.
Ah, paradise at last. This is the first actual tiki bar I've ever been in, and it felt goooood. We were there at about 2 on a Friday afternoon, and the place was dead, save for a few folks who looked like regulars, and not for the tiki. The place is in pretty good shape, but it's clear that it's seen much better days. It could use a lot of dusting, and some attention to finer details. The drinks were good, but they weren't served in tiki mugs(!). The food was pretty bad, except for the ribs, which were excellent. I told the waitress we were visiting Phoenix from Seattle and had driven to Tuscon just to see the Kon Tiki, and she clearly thought I was crazy. After she'd had a few minutes to decide we weren't the dangerous kind of crazy, she was extremely nice to us, gave us leis and showed us around a bit. That brightly lit cage holds a gila monster -- our waitress said it used to have macaws, but they were mean. She said the waitstaff is getting tired of hearing "where are the macaws?" from the customers. She said that usually there's water flowing down from the giant clamshells, she didn't know why it wasn't working that day.
Cocomo Joe's is in Cave Creek, about 30 min. north of where we were staying in Scottsdale -- dipsomaniac23 suggested checking it out.
It's got some neat points, but it's definitely got a Carribean vibe. There was a guy playing Buffett tunes on his guitar, with a synthesizer playing full-band backup for him. Yowza! As dipsomaniac23 mentioned, it's got a bunch of tv's playing ESPN. We didn't eat, but the drinks were pretty good, and I spied a few volcano bowls at the bar. I've had to lighten the pics dramatically to show any sort of detail, and it's washed out the color. The cutie in the pics is my infinitely patient husband.
On my way to visit the Desert Botanical Gardens, I spotted a lovely dramatic A-frame:
It's a very small building (on McDowell, just east of Papago Park), and today it houses an Enterprise Rent-a-Car. I went by it more slowly on the way back, but didn't spot any evidence of a previous tiki incarnation. But I could feel it in my soul! Does anyone know what this originally was?
Bonus pics!
I got to beat up a cowboy at the Old Tuscon theme park.
I had no frickin' idea that saguaros were this big.
Next stop, NYC. Uncle Arty, it's too bad I'll miss you by a week!
The best tiki bar is the one that's within stumbling distance of your bed
The Humuhumu Room
[ Edited by: Humuhumu on 2003-01-15 21:10 ]
