Midnite's Global Journey of Spiritual Discovery* - Tiki Travel

M midnite Member 37? 47' N, 122? 26' W Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 1230	M midnite Posted posted on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 12:00 AM HOMEWARD BOUND ORANGE COUNTY 9/09 Orange County? Orange...eff-ing...County? Is it me or are my travels getting lamer than...? Wait a minute now, Orange County is the birth of cool. Okay, maybe not the birthplace, but it is the wellspring, the hothouse, the adolescence of the midnite meme. Yes, it is time, after but a mere fifteen years away, to go back. Huntington Beach: my old home, my refuge. I grew up on your shores, you made me what I am...now bugger off. Ha ha, no, I love Huntington and my decade and a half absence was only partially intentional on my part, really. Allright, in all honesty I am a firm believer in what I call the first rule of Slovak-British living. To wit, "What is behind me does not matter...and it is dead." So, I sort of stay away from the past, if I can. Alas, the fair Michelle and I had an engagement down Newport Beach way and I took her around the old stomping grounds. Some melancholy, some "Wow, that is gone?", some "Whew, glad I am gone", mixed with not a small amount of proper sadness. Life goes on though, and some times it involves a righteously good club sandwich shared with an old friend, as it were. After the white knuckle trip down memory road we took in lunch at the hangout of my teen and early college years, the Harbor House in Sunset Beach. I do believe I have taken more meals there than any other commercial establishment. Invariably, any night out or social gathering during those years ended at Harbor House and almost assuredly when there I had the Seafood Combo. Not his time Magumbo, nope. This time Michelle had the combo, I had the club sandwich! It was sublime, so good in fact I would gladly come back and eat many more. However, you cannot go home again can you? Those days are gone and shall remain just that...history. I got to take my favorite gal there though, so that was a BIG plus. Will it be my last visit, who knows? If it is, it's appropriate I got to share it with Michelle. After lunch we motored down PCH and made it to Newport Beach for our appointment with disappointment. That's a long story but not as long as going back to Newport's Fashion Island to, sort of, play in the Japanese Koi pond that first held my attention some forty years earlier. Thus ended our trip back in time from the late 60's to late 80's. For actual duration this was the briefest of excursions but for pure emotion and history...unbeatable. No really, I tried beating it many times, those memories still haunt me. Ergo, the drinking. Back in Frisco and the next morning I am up bright and early for much more enjoyable activities. It's time for the second, or is it third, Trader Vic's Warehouse Sale and Trekker Convention. Notice I said Trekker. Whatever, my cool years were left in the sand and tennis courts of Orange County, now I am grown up and my self-confidence is strong enough to handle my tiki weirdness. Also, at least I did not get there at six-thirty in the morning! The sale was a great time indeed. The warehouse girls and guys were there and putting up with us even better than at last year's sale. I really think they're warming to us. We all headed over to Vic's for some cocktails and camaraderie. Now, if Emeryville Vic's could make a half-decent seafood combo I could virtually go back to the 80's: put on my linen jacket, wayfarers, slick my hair with...ok maybe not. We added to our meager collection of Trader Vic memorabilia and this sale's special acquisition was one of the holy grails for yours truly. No, not the Senor Pico chicken bong. Already got one of them. It's great to visit the warehouse, learn some new history about the company, just take in the sights. No matter how many times I have been (What's that Kier?, "Way too many!") a visit there is sort of like being a kid in a, for me, Bonsai Tree store. The weekend ended with a special birthday celebration for my fellow Vic fan boy and Quicksand teammate, Mai Tai. Check out the near immolation bowl drink photo, I think I am due for a Pulitzer. We wrapped up the baseball season with a final game at ATT watching the Giants finally win against my otherwise favorite Cubs. Caroline and Rob flew all the way from Wisconsin to enjoy the ballgame and warehouse sale. Due to the game's scheduling she was unable to attend the FI Parking Lot Sale. So, all you tiki fiends owe me for that. For a number of reasons the midnite travels have been backburnered a bit. I promise to rectify that condition in the near future and visit the wild and exotic locales I am known for visiting. Then again, going back to Huntington is, psychologically speaking, one of the more dangerous trips I have ever undertaken. I am up for some place less stressful, maybe I will finally book that flight to Port Moresby? Who am I kidding? A super fine club sandwich at dear old Harbor House, my best girl by my side, showing her where much of it all started for me, then some baseball and Trader Vic's collecting with good friends? That's a smile, a big smile. Gnarly good times, dude. midnite

HOMEWARD BOUND

ORANGE COUNTY 9/09

Orange County? Orange...eff-ing...County? Is it me or are my travels getting lamer than...? Wait a minute now, Orange County is the birth of cool. Okay, maybe not the birthplace, but it is the wellspring, the hothouse, the adolescence of the midnite meme. Yes, it is time, after but a mere fifteen years away, to go back. Huntington Beach: my old home, my refuge. I grew up on your shores, you made me what I am...now bugger off.

Ha ha, no, I love Huntington and my decade and a half absence was only partially intentional on my part, really. Allright, in all honesty I am a firm believer in what I call the first rule of Slovak-British living. To wit, "What is behind me does not matter...and it is dead." So, I sort of stay away from the past, if I can. Alas, the fair Michelle and I had an engagement down Newport Beach way and I took her around the old stomping grounds. Some melancholy, some "Wow, that is gone?", some "Whew, glad I am gone", mixed with not a small amount of proper sadness. Life goes on though, and some times it involves a righteously good club sandwich shared with an old friend, as it were.

After the white knuckle trip down memory road we took in lunch at the hangout of my teen and early college years, the Harbor House in Sunset Beach. I do believe I have taken more meals there than any other commercial establishment. Invariably, any night out or social gathering during those years ended at Harbor House and almost assuredly when there I had the Seafood Combo. Not his time Magumbo, nope. This time Michelle had the combo, I had the club sandwich! It was sublime, so good in fact I would gladly come back and eat many more. However, you cannot go home again can you? Those days are gone and shall remain just that...history. I got to take my favorite gal there though, so that was a BIG plus. Will it be my last visit, who knows? If it is, it's appropriate I got to share it with Michelle.

After lunch we motored down PCH and made it to Newport Beach for our appointment with disappointment. That's a long story but not as long as going back to Newport's Fashion Island to, sort of, play in the Japanese Koi pond that first held my attention some forty years earlier. Thus ended our trip back in time from the late 60's to late 80's. For actual duration this was the briefest of excursions but for pure emotion and history...unbeatable. No really, I tried beating it many times, those memories still haunt me. Ergo, the drinking.

Back in Frisco and the next morning I am up bright and early for much more enjoyable activities. It's time for the second, or is it third, Trader Vic's Warehouse Sale and Trekker Convention. Notice I said Trekker. Whatever, my cool years were left in the sand and tennis courts of Orange County, now I am grown up and my self-confidence is strong enough to handle my tiki weirdness. Also, at least I did not get there at six-thirty in the morning!

The sale was a great time indeed. The warehouse girls and guys were there and putting up with us even better than at last year's sale. I really think they're warming to us. We all headed over to Vic's for some cocktails and camaraderie. Now, if Emeryville Vic's could make a half-decent seafood combo I could virtually go back to the 80's: put on my linen jacket, wayfarers, slick my hair with...ok maybe not.

We added to our meager collection of Trader Vic memorabilia and this sale's special acquisition was one of the holy grails for yours truly. No, not the Senor Pico chicken bong. Already got one of them. It's great to visit the warehouse, learn some new history about the company, just take in the sights. No matter how many times I have been (What's that Kier?, "Way too many!") a visit there is sort of like being a kid in a, for me, Bonsai Tree store.

The weekend ended with a special birthday celebration for my fellow Vic fan boy and Quicksand teammate, Mai Tai. Check out the near immolation bowl drink photo, I think I am due for a Pulitzer. We wrapped up the baseball season with a final game at ATT watching the Giants finally win against my otherwise favorite Cubs. Caroline and Rob flew all the way from Wisconsin to enjoy the ballgame and warehouse sale. Due to the game's scheduling she was unable to attend the FI Parking Lot Sale. So, all you tiki fiends owe me for that.

For a number of reasons the midnite travels have been backburnered a bit. I promise to rectify that condition in the near future and visit the wild and exotic locales I am known for visiting. Then again, going back to Huntington is, psychologically speaking, one of the more dangerous trips I have ever undertaken. I am up for some place less stressful, maybe I will finally book that flight to Port Moresby?

Who am I kidding? A super fine club sandwich at dear old Harbor House, my best girl by my side, showing her where much of it all started for me, then some baseball and Trader Vic's collecting with good friends? That's a smile, a big smile.

Gnarly good times, dude.
midnite

Post #485590 by midnite on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 12:00 AM