Post #259823 by pablus on Mon, Oct 9, 2006 2:04 PM

No pics, just some thoughts.

I think I'm the only person in the tribe to get a sunburn. Oddly, it was while sitting on the beach playing my ukulele with Kanekila teaching me the song "Red Opu." If that isn't irony then it doesn't exist.

The girls were so unbelievably gorgeous. All of them were dressed in stunning attire and just awe inspiring. "Awe inspiring" means drool was present.

Stump Grinder can scream with any of the great horror movie classic screamers. Her performance with Waitiki was astounding.

I think I'm in love with Waitiki. Freaks, the lot of 'em.
The Mayor of Exotica has absolutely lost his mind. It's a beautiful thing.

At one point, after everyone else had left - a who's who of tiki-dom was hanging out in the Molokai lounge until 2:30am or so. I was geeked to be there with them. And then I drove home - to Tampa.

KailuaGeoff's slide show was a lot of fun except for those terrifying photos that had flounder in them.

I didn't go to Beachbum's class - and this is the truth now - because I wanted the people who were involved to be able to tell someone about it that would really care and would give them rapt attention. I'm waiting for Kuku Ahu's email any day with his eloquent raves and raves.

Combo Mahalo is an awesome Hapa Haole band.

APE is like PHISH, except the groupies are better looking and there are Tikis.

Rev. Bamboo Ben has no equal in cutting loose, with the possible exception of Crazy Al. How they hang out together is a mystery that dispels any previous notion of yin and yang.

I missed seeing bungy. Drat.

Ken and Heather Pleasant are very cool people.

The Intoxicators rock like crazy.

The room parties this year were scattered between the beach and a few rooms. The thing was just too big to contain in one area. And that's a good thing.

Mogambo - thanks for the Pampero. See you in Bavaria.

Basement Kahuna is a master carver. And now one of his tikis is in a place of honor at the Mai Kai to testify to it. Well done, my braddah.

Tiki Kiliki and The Tiki Pugs and Chip and Andy and IDOT and Casey and all of the others who worked on this Hukilau are to be showered with mahalos and plumeria leis. It was a first class event at every turn and in every corner. I still think they should open up the vendors to the public on the Saturday but I'm a mercenary like that.

Kern Mattei had a big smile on his face the whole time we were there on Saturday. I like seeing that. Pia and Mirielle also were smiling all night. We were bringing the mana all night there at the Mai Kai. Well done, ohana. I can't imagine that they could have imagined a better 50th anniversary celebration.

Forbidden Island has now declared war on the Mai Kai. I started it.

Me and Finkdaddy on the beach under a full moon and the coco palms, playing our ukuleles together while the pool party wound down. Actually I hear it didn't really wind down - it more or less exploded from the buildup of energy.

I love my tiki mugs - but even better than that was the fact that I got to have drinks with stuckie and with makedamug within 24 hours of each other.

King Kukulele called the Hukilau a "Tiki Summit" and he, as always, is correct. Even though he subjected his Princess to danger and the gawking eyes of the hoi polloi, Queen Hillary was there to provide safety and sanity to His Majesty and heir.

I think my favorite memory was actually one that most would look back on with regret. While playing on the stage of the Mai Kai - I looked out at the weirdly silent audience filled with the faces of people I love - and it was so overwhelming I forgot what song I was singing and what the next lyric was. I turned to look at Kanekila just to get some grounding... I felt like I was floating or something. Happily, it was a whacky number anyway, Kahiki Moon, so you can get away with some of that kind of thing without throwing the whole performance out. Thankfully, Josh whispered the magic words into my ear and the show continued to a thunderous climax of surf music and frenetic dancing where there was no dance floor. Haole Kats rocked the house that night and brought some serious energy to the late night crowd and then continued to call me from the after parties to make sure I was ok while driving.

I'm sure I'll remember more. That's the beauty of the "edit" button.

Oh yeah, if anyone wants to keep the vibe going, I'll be at Atlanta Trader Vics this Friday night at 8pm.