Share a childhood memory that reminds you of Tiki... - Bilge

KVT Kiki von Tiki Member Irvine, CA Joined: Mar 01, 2008 Posts: 758	KVT Kiki von Tiki Posted posted on Sun, Apr 26, 2009 11:12 AM Here's my little story. . . . I've lived in Orange County, CA pretty much my whole life, so the architecture and vibe was all around me from early on. I remember a lot of the apartment buildings and bowling alleys that are unfortunately now gone. I only went to Disneyland a couple of times as a kid but I remember the Tiki Room really made me sit in awe with my eyeballs wide open! When the tiki's started chanting, I was ready to go native! At home my parents listened to Exotica music and Jazz, I would put Martin Denny's Exotica on the Hi-Fi, lay on the floor listening and stare at the picture on the cover, thinking the woman looked like my mom. She didn't, but it was my little brain imagining my mom as being soooo glamorous! That album was really the soundtrack to some of the happiest parts of my childhood. We also had Ritual of the Savage and a bunch of stuff like Les Paul and Mary Ford, Bird and Miles and random modern jazz that I was quite fond of too. My immediate family wasn't that big on the Polynesian or party thing but my aunt and uncle were avid party throwers. My uncle was a big kahuna in the OC surf scene at that time (late 50's - 60's) so they lived a pretty esoteric lifestyle. They had a lot of friends who were kind of "colorful" that came to these parties. He had quite an interesting history and was very charismatic, my aunt was charming and a very warm and welcoming person and an amazing cook so people really flocked to them. (I told this story to Big Toe a few weeks back and he flipped, he knows who my uncle was. But to me they were just my cool Aunt Patty and Uncle Blackie!) On party days my dad and uncle would take a friend's boat over to Catalina Island in the morning and skin dive for abalone. They were plentiful during those years and you didn't have to dive too deep to harvest them. They would come home with burlap sacks full of abalone and we'd prep them for the barbeque. Their house was in Seal Beach right on the sand, so we'd play music eat abalone and corn on the cob and hang out at the beach. The adults would be drinking cocktails and smoking and used the abalone shells as ashtrays, and of course us kids would be running around playing on the beach (we used the shells to dig holes and then shove each other into them :wink: ). I don't really remember tikis in their yard, but there was a patio behind a short wall (so they could see right to the water) and it was all tropically landscaped. I just mostly remember the great feeling of being at their house, the music, the beach, everyone laughing, talking and enjoying themselves, and the simple fresh food. So my adult fantasy is living on the beach on a tropical island somewhere, surfing, fishing, picking mangos, and living a simple life with Ohana love and laughter all around!

Here's my little story. . . .
I've lived in Orange County, CA pretty much my whole life, so the architecture and vibe was all around me from early on. I remember a lot of the apartment buildings and bowling alleys that are unfortunately now gone. I only went to Disneyland a couple of times as a kid but I remember the Tiki Room really made me sit in awe with my eyeballs wide open! When the tiki's started chanting, I was ready to go native!

At home my parents listened to Exotica music and Jazz, I would put Martin Denny's Exotica on the Hi-Fi, lay on the floor listening and stare at the picture on the cover, thinking the woman looked like my mom. She didn't, but it was my little brain imagining my mom as being soooo glamorous! That album was really the soundtrack to some of the happiest parts of my childhood. We also had Ritual of the Savage and a bunch of stuff like Les Paul and Mary Ford, Bird and Miles and random modern jazz that I was quite fond of too.

My immediate family wasn't that big on the Polynesian or party thing but my aunt and uncle were avid party throwers. My uncle was a big kahuna in the OC surf scene at that time (late 50's - 60's) so they lived a pretty esoteric lifestyle. They had a lot of friends who were kind of "colorful" that came to these parties. He had quite an interesting history and was very charismatic, my aunt was charming and a very warm and welcoming person and an amazing cook so people really flocked to them. (I told this story to Big Toe a few weeks back and he flipped, he knows who my uncle was. But to me they were just my cool Aunt Patty and Uncle Blackie!)

On party days my dad and uncle would take a friend's boat over to Catalina Island in the morning and skin dive for abalone. They were plentiful during those years and you didn't have to dive too deep to harvest them. They would come home with burlap sacks full of abalone and we'd prep them for the barbeque. Their house was in Seal Beach right on the sand, so we'd play music eat abalone and corn on the cob and hang out at the beach. The adults would be drinking cocktails and smoking and used the abalone shells as ashtrays, and of course us kids would be running around playing on the beach (we used the shells to dig holes and then shove each other into them :wink: ). I don't really remember tikis in their yard, but there was a patio behind a short wall (so they could see right to the water) and it was all tropically landscaped.

I just mostly remember the great feeling of being at their house, the music, the beach, everyone laughing, talking and enjoying themselves, and the simple fresh food. So my adult fantasy is living on the beach on a tropical island somewhere, surfing, fishing, picking mangos, and living a simple life with Ohana love and laughter all around!

Post #449790 by Kiki von Tiki on Sun, Apr 26, 2009 11:12 AM