Post #413715 by Mapmaker on Thu, Oct 16, 2008 4:54 PM

I think I’ve found what I was looking for! TIKI…that is.
And here’s how it happened:

As a child I was fascinated by National Geographics with photos of exotic tropical islands.

That led to a beautiful atlas that I would use to spend hours tracing sea routes from my home to the tropics.

That led to me understanding why coconuts sometimes washed up on our beach. (It also played a part in my becoming a cartographer, hence the screen name)

Those trips to the beach often included a stop at a marvelous fifties-era shell shop. That’s were I realized that the whole exotic tropical theme could be anywhere you wanted it to be.

Next was the obligatory Disney World trip with the Enchanted Tiki Room and dinner at the Polynesian Resort. Tropical escapism beyond anything I’d imagined.

Growing up on the Gulf coast in the whole fishing/boating culture, anytime I mentioned my tropical interest I was directed to Jimmy Buffet, reggae, Key West and the Caribbean.
Somehow that just didn’t work for me.

Uncle Sam sent me to the Virgin Islands for a while followed by an extended stay on the Kenyan coast. I loved the tropics but didn’t know how to bring that feel home.

A while back my wife was setting up an Island themed party and put me in charge of finding music. I was tired of the same old thing and thought about those old Tiki bars I’d heard of but never seen. I googled “Tiki lounge music” and it took off from there. THAT was the music I knew in my head! I found this site and here I am.

So now what? There are no tiki bars nearby and I’m not much of a drinker anyway. What’s the next step?