F-Least coast Nov. 8th/Intro to Hawaiian Inn

I'm envious reading about all the fun and frivolity of The Californians.

Is there any interest here from the Fla/Ga crew in a night at the Hawaiian Inn in early-mid December?

My personal plan is to ride over to the Space Coast - enjoy the Inn, mosey on down to "you know where" in Ft. Lauderdale the next day and then down to the Keys for a few dive days.

Should we make it Mai Kai instead?
Both?

The Amber Love Goddess assures me that it's nerd's folly that will be roundly ignored. I threw an empty bottle of rum at her and yelled "Arrrrr!"

Ow. She just hit me. Call a medic.

So? How about it?

[ Edited by: pablus on 2003-11-03 21:13 ]

I think it's a great idea. Late January or February would be better for me. Of course, if it's just you and me it would be a bit weak. Or maybe not. We could just get drunk on fruity rum drinks and go to the Salvation Army, watch "Donovan's Reef" and use rusty machetes to hack wildly at some innocent tree stumps trying to "free the Moai inside."

Naaahh...your idea is better. I like it!

Hey, you stole my carving style.

AFTER the new year would be better? I'm usually broke for about a month then.

I'm a consensus kinda guy though, so if/when others post in we'll get a read.

Looking forward to meeting you.

My wife and I are up for it as long as we have enough advance notice and can get the grandparents over to babysit.

Count me in for Daytona..(we must include Julian's). Saturday nights are best!

I'm sure me and the wife could make it with enough notice. I havn't been there and was curious about it (Hawaiian Inn).

Somebody give me a rating 1-10?

I like you am tired of hearing about California Tiki fun. I say its time for an... "EAST COAST TIKI REVIVAL"!

You should put this on the Main Discussion Area as well, I'm sure we can get more people.

Mahalo
Original Art by Flounder

http://www.flounderart.com

[ Edited by: FLOUNDERart on 2003-11-01 14:42 ]

Here's my ratings:
Witco: 8 (used to be 10 until I saw Hala Kahiki)
show: 1 (has potential, but they need the services of an objective professional to improve and tighten up the presentation; then they could be a 5 [since Mai Kai is a solid 10])
Drinks: 1.5
Food: -.5 yuk!
However........Hawaiian Inn is a MUST SEE because it is a living remnant of tiki from yesteryear. It's a matter of time when the wonderful cheezy historic motels in Daytona will be demolished. Experience them while you can even if they aren't a 10.
I grew up in the Cocoa Beach area and saw ALL the space coast googie, atomic, and tiki glory be systematically destroyed
during the 70's and 80's. Once its gone--its gone. So my motto is to cherish what still stands.

I am currently planning a New Years week trip to Florida with my daughter. I think BK has plans to be down there around then too. I have nothing finalized for the trip, just the time off from work. So I would join any activity in that time. New Years Eve at the Mai Kai sounds good to me.

Thanks Tiki Bree.

I'll definitly check out the Hawaiian Inn.
The Witco alone sounds worth it.

Riddle me this. What are some of the places that existed in the Cocoa Beach area back in the day? Just curious.

I think we may just get a nice turn out for this.

Well, we got Saturday down. That's probably a great time for most.
Let's think about Sat. dates in Dec./Jan for a Daytona (and area) Tiki Revival... and also a New Year's Eve at the Mai Kai.

What a fantastic idea.

I never even thought of that, but darned if Champagne Cocktails, Jet Pilots and PuPu just don't sound all "gee-willikers".

---My FLA redneck/transient jargon provided by T(iki)-Mobile. Get More (possum).---

We could probably lure a couple of unsuspecting Californicators over here for New Years and have a good gator-feedin. winkwink

[ Edited by: pablus on 2003-11-02 08:06 ]

If the date works for me I'm in. I have some family junctions to hit thru Dec-Jan. but will do my best since I miss out on the big one!

I was thinking of going to FLA this winter because I missed the Hukilau and I haven't been to the Mai Kai for 2 years (and I miss it!). The last time i was in Daytona Beach the Hawaiian Inn show cast was on vacation so I would like to see it. I need to book my flight on Southwest by mid November to get a RT for $200 (but I can't fly on this rate during the holidays so New Years may be not good for me).

Hey all- I live in Melbourne Beach along the A1A (coastal road)

I've been collecting tiki mugs/stuff for ten years and have amassed a pretty big collection if I say so myself- I rarely get the chance to show it to other tiki folks however. Some highlights include alot of Witco pieces, and many, many rare mugs, such as the Severed Bloody Head and the complete Westwood Dinnerware set (in the box of course)

If you all are going to be driving from Daytona down to Ft. Laud, I'd be happy to open the doors of the tiki vault and offer up a stop at House of Tiki, Melbourne Beach.

The wife and I would also probably be interested in hitting up the Mai Kai as well. Its been years since we have been to any tiki events- last one i can remember was a party at bosko's place back in like 97 or something

Anyway, I have actually been compiling photos of all the tiki elements in my area- Melbourne Beach is very tikified- in fact there's practically a tiki everywhere you look. Also, the surf is good for any surfers wishing to paddleout, etc etc

Anyhow there's my 2 cents

Space Coast Tiki Hunt pics are on the way.. for now here are a few shots of the backyard tiki lagoon:

http://www.tiki-shirts.com/gallery/house6-10-03?&page=1

Marian and I have gotten to be friends with Wayne and Teauila who perform and manage the luau show at the Hawaiian Inn. (Wayne has my Book of Tiki right now and I need to get it from him.) Some people dog the Hawaiian Inn because it is not the Mai-Kai, but we could care less. I've been visiting tiki places all over the U.S. -- including the Hawaiian Inn -- since before their was a Tiki News, Shag, a Book of Tiki, Tiki Farm or any of the other worthwhile revival stuff -- and the Hawaiian Inn is about as authentic as it gets. It also has honest to God charm if your open-minded enough to get it. Their show is a family operation in the same way as the Mai-Kai, however, the Hawaiian Inn has never been (or pretends to be) a multi-million dollar operation. It is a tiki tourist hotel with a Hawaiian show and luau in Daytona Beach, Fla. supporting a family of entertainers. They don't make alot of money, but the show doesn't cost a fortune either. Also, I happen to like the food. And Dave and Frank who tend the bars are great guys to drink with even if they are between mug suppliers right now.
Basically, we go there alot for drinks, dinner, to swim or just to hang out. We used to go for the Witco tiki, but now we go as much just to see our friends.
Unlike some of us recent tiki converts (or as Wayne Coombs - another 30 year vet in the business likes to say, "you freaky tiki people"), they have been performing in and have managed Polynesian shows since they were in their teens and have now survived 30 years in a very tough business.
Otto should interview these people. For example, I asked Wayne if he knew anything about who made OMC mugs. "Oh yeah that was .... and the other guy was .... he sold all the Orchids of Hawaii." His offhand answer impressed me because the last time I heard the whole OMC thing was a big freakin mystery. Check your collection.... anyone happen to have some Hawaiian Inn mugs? Yeah, I thought so. Did I say these people have roots in this business? They go deep.
Lately some people from Tiki Central have visted. One from Chicago and another from Jacksonville. They tried to get Wayne to sell some of the hotel's Witco pieces. Fortunely, he didn't sell anything. Why? Because his collection should be kept together where any of us can visit and appreciate it! Hopefully, most of you can relate to that.
Actually, it kind of hacked me off when I heard about this, so I told Wayne about the book Sven is trying to get published and said he should hang onto everything he has as long as possible. His reaction was to call me aside at the end of the show and give me a Witco carving....
What I'm trying to say is these people live aloha and Marian and I try to as well. So we would be happy to go to the show with anyone who has the same and isn't going to embarass us by asking if they can buy the furniture or rewrite the frickin' show.
Hugs & Kisses,
KG

Riddle me this. What are some of the places that existed in the Cocoa Beach area back in the day? Just curious.

Islander Beef & Grog
301 N. Atlantic Ave.
Cocoa Beach, Fla.
784-1231

Ask Wayno. He told Otto about a place called the Beef & Reef that had Leeteg's, but it might be the same place as the above.

You doing anything next Saturday night? We were invited to a little happening over there. Send me an e-mail.
KG

flounder- there was a place called "Samoa" in Cocoa Beach at one time- I have a matchbook I can scan in if you like. Thats about all I know of right now though.

There is this place that was in Jensen Beach called "Mary Langerford's Outrigger" that im trying to figure out if it still exists. My neighbor says it had an authentic old tiki restaraunt there- and a matchbook from the place is in the new Tiki Quest book.

Fatuhiva,
The place in Jensen Beach was Frances Langford's Outrigger Restaurant.
https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=43&forum=1
KG

[ Edited by: kailuageoff on 2003-11-03 05:12 ]

Kailuageoff, It's Monday I missed your post. Hope you had a good time Saturday.

Your post earlier was well put, you seem to be a true man of tiki.

So...
how does the second weekend in Dec. sound for the Hawaiian Inn?

Sat. - 13th?

Fatuhiva - your place looks fantastic!
I definitely would like to swing by whenever our scheduled event is... errr... scheduled.

Flounder,
Not to worry... I'm talking about Saturday, Nov. 8. We'd like to meet you if you are going to be around.
Man of tiki? No, I just enjoy the tiki mana and am a little protective of my friends. I do think it would be great if we could all get together for a weekend. There is plenty to do in Daytona.

Pablus,
What's up with Mark and his Vodkanauts? Are they touring or could they possibly make it? Maybe Wayne would let them set up during the day by the tiki bar, or do a set after the hula show.
KG

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2003-11-03 08:38 ]

Oh man, that is a bummer to hear all that about the Frances Langford place. After I made that post last night i did some extensive net-searching and figure out the street address to the marina- I figured i could find it from there, but after seeing thatat one time it was called the "Key West" something or other, the red flag was flying and I was getting nervous it had been de-tikied. And so it has. What a bummer. My neighbor had been there quite some time ago, and said it looked like the places in the Book of Tiki, but once I saw it was no longer called "The Outrigger" I feared the worst.

Why in the world people buy these places and then scrap all this hard-to-come-by awesome decor is beyond me..

well, at least it saved me a 2 hour trip to Jensen Beach just to get bummed out at he end..

Frances would be pissed.

hey flounder- do you live in cocoa or cocoa beach? Do you do any surfing? I'm down in Melbourne Beach, not to far from CB, I hit 2nd Light and some of the other surf spots your way quite often.. maybe we can paddle out sometime.

I admire your painting skills by the way..

Pablus: Thanks alot-I'm getting ready to put the finishing touches on the tiki room, I'll post some pics of that when it gets finished up this month. You are definitely welcome to come by if you are in the area.. if driving from daytona to Ft. Laud, going along the A1A from say Cocoa Beach down to Vero Beach is a great scenic drive- quite a few tikis to be spotted, and overall very beachy- especially if the weather is nice.

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2003-11-03 09:28 ]

I've been to Frances Langford's then and now. The school I attended took a group of us over there for the weekend. We stayed at the villas and had dinner in the restaurant. Ms. Langford sang in the floorshow!!!! Being underage, I couldn't sample any of the cocktails but I was very impressed with the menu. My folks were not in to fine dining and the Outrigger was the most fantastic restaurant I had experienced (besides Trader Vics in Chicago) in my young, little, sheltered life.
3 years ago I sought out the site when driving home after spending a sensational week at the Fountainbleau in Miami.
All of the original structures still stand but the restaurant was renovated beyond recognition. The thick thatch roof treatment was replaced with yucky shingles and the interior looked like any bland riverside restaurant. However, there is a fine tiki in the lobby chained to the wall and a small area of F.L. memoribilia. I was deeply moved just being there again, knowing how it used to be.....

I put this up awhile ago in case anyone missed it.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=5347&forum=2&0
And here are some photos:

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2003-11-03 09:57 ]

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2003-11-03 09:58 ]

Kailuageoff, I should be around most likely. Where you guys going to be at, Mai Tiki? What time? Whats going on over there?

fatuhiva, I live in Cocoa, thats right the land of the rising rebel flag (what a mistake). My intentions when I moved to Florida fifteen years ago was to become a surfer, my long lived dream from childhood vacations to Florida from Ohio.
I even have a surfer on my Ohio graduation class ring, but to this day I have never been on a surf board. So much for dreams!

Thanks for admiring my painting skills, now make me happy and buy everything.

Flounder, not only did you pick the wrong "cocoa" to live in, but you are missing all the real fun around here!

Without surfing I'd probably go nuts in Brevard County.

If you ever want to learn how to surf, I'm your man.. I have only been surfing about two years, but picked it up real quick.. I'm not bad if Isay so myself- I've surfed all the recent hurricanes including Isabel, so I guess I made some progress.

This is a great place to learn to surf- if you are interested, let me know..its starting to get a little colder, pretty soon it'll be springsuit time..

Fatuhiva, thanks for the offer. I might take you up on it, however maybe I never surfed by divine intervention. I think I need a Greg Brady tiki charm first.

Hey, if you ever want to learn how to shoot wild boar my neighbor's your man.

Fatuhiva/Flounder,
We're going to Cocoa Beach on Saturday and may spend the night. Any ideas on cool places to stay over there? Something vintage and clean is my preference, something clean and luxurious is Marian's preference... It doesn't have to be on the beach, but that's a plus.

Sorry Geoff I live to close to need hotels.

I did notice a hotel they have been remodeling that looks polynesian. It has alot of cool woodwork with some wood carved pineapples.

If you turn south off of 520 it's right down the road on the left. I havn't been down that way in over a month so I'm not sure of the remodeling progress.

Probably worth a look.

That's probably the Wakulla Suites. We might check it out. They were still in construction the last time we stopped by and it was a mess, but that was before the Hukilua.

If you stop in before the party you can let me know what it's like. I'm pretty sure me and the wife will be going now. Do you know if there is going to be any tiki related stuff?

yup thats the hotel. they were expanding the place, not sure if they are done yet.. its like a rennovated 60's era hotel. It does look pretty nice on the outside, I've never been on the inside.

The only hotel I've stayed at in the general area is the beachside Hilton in Indian Harbour/satellite beach. It's not modernist or polynesian, but its clean, dependable and all rooms have an ocean view. Price isnt too bad either, especially compared to cocoa beach most likely.

South Melbourne Beach, where I live, has alot of small little places that are pretty cool-they are all on the ocean and are quaint.. some are older, some are newly rennovated. Once you get north of the 192 on the A1A it starts getting more developed and urban. Thats where the A1A goes from 2 to 4 lanes, etc.

There are probably some pretty cool hotels in Cocoa Beach, but I'm not overly familiar with the details of the area. I've seen some neat architecture though.

Flounder- when did you move down here? Gimmee the details- howd you pick the area, etc.. I'm just curious because I'm relatively new- about 3.5 years here now.

Surfing here is a blast, you really should try it

Fatuhiva, Originally from northeast Ohio. I graduated art school in 1990 and moved to Orlando in the hopes of working for Disney and becoming a beachbum surfer like characters in all the spring break movies. I guess I didn't realize Orlando is an hour from the beach. Did some freelance work for Disney, didn't enjoy it. Started illustrating kids text books and been doing so for the past ten years.
Chapter 2
Got married on Friday the 13th 2000 under a full moon on the beach with bubble gum machine rings. Our vows were doctor suess rythms. Me and the wife moved back to my home town in Ohio. Why I will never understand. Lived there for year and a half. My wife says go back to Florida and buy us a house but not in Orlando, due to over crowding mostly by people from Ohio. Cocoa is close to the beach and only about thirty five minutes from downtown Orlando. Where all of our friends are. Went to a realtor. Picked out a house in just five hours so that I could go fishing. Caught nothing. Here I am and probably moving back to Orlando in the next year. Very tired, been painting since 6:00 am so if this doesn't make s

Mahalo
Original Art by Flounder

http://www.flounderart.com

[ Edited by: FLOUNDERart on 2003-11-03 20:29 ]

ahh

you should check out indian harbour beach (inexpensive/close to beach) and the south melbourne beaches (more expensive, but nice/ secluded beaches) before you lock into orlando.. but then again if all your friends are in orlando..

Pablus, whats the topic title mean?

Oh, I understand now. New thread.

Pablus,
Since you changed the name of the thread, I'll try to get back to the original topic.

My Wahine tells me December is pretty much out of the question for us because we have two office parties on two different weekends, a previously-scheduled trip to see friends in Miami on the 13th (although on Friday the 12th, we'll probably swing into the Mai-Kai before continuing south), and that x-mas thing.

Anyway, it would be better for us to do something in January, except the weekend of the 27th when I'll be in Tampa for a conference.

TheJab & Swanky: If you plan to come down after the first of the year, maybe you can agree on a date that's good. I gotta meet the Jab-ster and my interaction with Swanky has always been while he was deep into the details of Hukilau.
KG

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2003-11-04 11:10 ]

I think January would probably be a better month as well. December is always busy for everyone. I'm going rock climbing up north sometime in the first two weeks of December. I could probably change it though if I get enough notice. What ever you all want to do is cool with me.
I can taste the Zombies already! Oh I'm drinking one!

I found this web site good for finding clean older motels in Florida. Many have kitchenettes, weekly rates, and some are right on the beach.

http://www.superiorsmalllodging.com/search/florida.php

I wouldn't be able to do it in December. January through March is best for me (except New Years).

Just found this thread. Nice to see some FLA solidarity!

If anybody's compiled an emailing list of FLA tiki folk for this gathering, please add me to it.

January is much more doable for me and mine as well.

Hey Mark,
No real e-mail list, but do plan on making it if you can. Check out this thread for more info:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6117&forum=4&start=15&24