James T in Los Angeles November 1 - 2 (and 3,4,5...)

Aloha!

I will be in LA for work with Gary Sinise and the Lt Dan Band this weekend.

I made my flight to LA for the afternoon of the 1st (the rest of the band arrives onthe morning of the 3rd) just so I could meet up at Tiki Ti on a Wednesday with the local ohana. I also want to swing by Trader Vic's for a final Mai Tai before they close it up.

Here's my revised itinerary for this coming week:

Wednesday, November 1st
Land at LAX, get my car, go straight to Purple Orchid (by 6:00)

Tiki Tiki at about 8:30

A quick peek into Lava Lounge after Tiki Ti.

Thursday November 2nd
Lunch at Bahooka, then drive around and see some of the LA Tiki spots that I have missed over the years, like some of the apartment buildings and some of the googie stuff, probably stop at 8-Ball and Wacko... whatever. If anyone is up for this please PM me or email, it'd be fun to have some company on this mission.

Then:
Happy hour at Trader Vic's at about 5:30.

A quick swing by Tonga Hut to get an update on their latest (8:00)

Bigfoot lounge by 10:00 (just because I like it there).

On either or both nights, call my evil cell to confirm present whereabouts (or just show up - I am going to make a real effort to stick to this schedule). PM me if you need my cell number.

Then I have to go to work:

3rd
Private party for CSI TV show cast

4th
Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, CA

5th
Coach House in San Juan Capistrano

...the first show is private, but the other two are open to the public. Come on by and rock out, maaaan.

It looks like I'll be crashing at the hotel near Tiki Ti, as recommended by humuhumu (below post).

Hope to see many of you Weds or Thurs (or Sat or Sun!).

• James T.

http://www.tydirium.net
Big Stone Head / Tiki Road Trip / Left Orbit Temple

[ Edited by: tikibars 2006-10-30 11:25 ]

Here's another option for Thursday:

If you'll still be in town on Monday you could go to Ciudad downtown at lunchtime and say hello to Tony Ramos. They have excellent food, and Tony will be glad to talk about his tiki bar experiences if he has time.

..i reccomend the motel 6 in hollywood, located just off hollywood blvd. only a few blocks from lava lounge and a small cab ride to the tiki ti.....or, pick up some broad in a bar and crash at her place.....for this i reccomend the manager at jumbo's clown room...if she's still employed there.....good luck!!

..if i had time, i'd meet you out there for drinks...i'll be in vegas celebrating my b-day...it's a short drive but i have plans thursday and saturday...perhaps another time...have fun!!

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2006-10-26 14:52 ]

Have a wonderful time! I wish I could be there to show you around myself.

For crashing Wednesday night, I usually stay at the Travelodge near Tiki-Ti:

http://www.latravelodge.com/homepage/

It's nothing special, but it's cheap (for L.A.), and it's stumbling distance from Tiki-Ti, so it fits the bill rather nicely.

Another place I've stayed is the Best Western Hollywood Hills:

http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do?propertyCode=05204#null

A little bit more expensive, but you get a much better room. It's a short drive/cab ride from Tiki-Ti, and the ground level of the hotel houses the 101 Coffee Shop, which is a great choice for late-nite, post-Tiki-Ti eats.

A visit to the Tonga Hut in North Hollywood might be fun for you -- it's not too far from Tiki-Ti. Naturally, it doesn't stand up well to comparison to Tiki-Ti, but it is being lovingly restored by new owners, and it's nice to see the slow but earnest progress they're making.

If you make it to Trader Vic's, there's a tiki apartment building just a smidge down Santa Monica, on Beverly Glen Blvd. It's on the north side of Santa Monica, on the right side of the street. My old apartment was just a couple blocks south of it -- if only they'd had a vacancy when I was apartment-hunting! It's not nearly as cool as some of the other tiki-themed apartment buildings in So Cal, so you're not really missing anything if you skip it.

If you haven't been to the Warehouse in Marina del Rey, and you find yourself in that neck of the woods, it's worth a look-see. It's nautical and not tiki, but it's got plenty of tiki roots thanks to ol' Beachbum Burt. It's got a great feel to it, and the dozens of photos of Beachbum Burt with celebrities over the years are neat.

I still haven't made it to Saints & Sinners, but I've wanted to -- Jab's suggestion is a good one.

Saints&Sinners:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/caroscuro/155729774/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/caroscuro/102352743/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/caroscuro/86227120/in/set-72057594053661430/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikelewinsky/231910138/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikelewinsky/231910153/in/set-72157594265116956/

Hi

My first post (above) is updated to reflect my current itinerary.

Hope to see all of you out at the Tiki Ti or elsewhere.

Thanks for all of the PMs - answering them right now.

Aloha

JT

Thanks for showing up (those who did!).

Cheeky Girl's pics are here (and a lot of others too!):

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=9696&forum=17&start=225&hilite=wednesday%20ti