JOHN-O's Tiki Bus Trip to the Hong Kong Inn (+ Rincon Room) - 3/24/12, Pictures start on pg 6

That was our first time as part of a John-O Production and it won't be the last. Many thanks John-O...fun, lively, informative. I don't know how you pull off the logistics. :) Also big thanks to Bongofury for opening The Rincon Room up to a bus full of revelers late on a Saturday. Amazing place. And we even made last call at The Tonga Hut. Shockingly, I didn't dream of pineapples once we finally made it to sleep.

Photos! Some photos from Val's phone are below. I played with Hipstamatic and posted the results on Flickr.

kevin

Thanks John-O!
What a fun time! But why on earth did I have to succumb to "last call" at Tonga? arrrgghhh!

On 2012-03-25 12:27, bigbrotiki wrote:

On 2012-03-25 11:56, Queen Kamehameha wrote:
.... Amazing backyard, beautiful home.... Nice addition of that amazing Tiki

We want to see pictures of that baby!

Joe Banks- Nice portraits, Sir!

Thanks bigbro!

GROG have lots of fun. Thanks John-O for setting this up and Bongofury for graciously hosting us at your awesome Tiki backyard bar.

Thank you John-O for yet another wonderful outing, possibly the best so far!
Thank you Bongofury & the Mrs. for being such gracious hosts and letting us into your wonderful home and backyard oasis you call the Rincon Room!
Thank you Jeremy and Amy for the Mai Tais when we returned to Tonga Hut just in time for last call!
The only thing I didn't like about this amazing event was the way my head feels today...But, it was worth it!
Great photos everyone! Just in case you all haven't seen enough, here is the first batch of my photos...

My wife and I had a "Spirit of the Tradewinds " Cocktail at the Tonga, rode a bus and shared more ct,s with some fantastic folks from Tiki Central, had ono grinds and more ct's with the previously mentioned folks and another contingent of tc'ers that had the Hong Kong Inn rockin when we poured in -let me catch my breath and start a new sentence. Whew, had another navy grog, got back on the bus and headed to the Rincon Room. Whats There to say.Wow! Finally met Ron and the lovely Mickey.Thank you Ron and Mickey for allowing us into your slice of paradise. Thank you to the Driver of the bus and to anyone that helped put this expedition together. John-O,many, many Mahalos,you are unbelievable!
David and CeCe, La Mirada
P S Jobu, we were disappointed that we didn't see you guys-I hope it was cuz there's four of you guys now. Keep us posted

The Polynesian Revue....

Thank you John-O for putting together a wonderful event. I had a blast. The staff at Hong Kong Inn were so kind. Pineapple drinks were yummy. Also BIG thanks to Bongo Fury for opening his beautiful tiki paradise to everyone. You were a great host and your special drink was delicious. Mahalo!

Happy belated birthday John-O!

Thank you John O for the great tour and Bongo Fury for letting us see your beautiful Tiki Home. More pictures.

Wow, what a night! First off THANK YOU JOHN-O for organizing a great event for everyone to enjoy! Also, THANK YOU Ron & Mickee for opening up your home, it's spectacular!
I was lucky enough hit the Rincon Room on the trip North and caught my first glimpse of the Tradewinds TIKI.

Then it was off to the Hong Kong Inn...where a bus full of Tikiphiles pulls in shortly after 8...

...led by Navigator & Cruise Director JOHN-O of course!

Then it was back to the Rincon Room where Boris was able to get his first look at the Tradewinds TIKI by torch light...

...and everyone was able to enjoy Bongofury's fabulous cocktail creation for a nightcap!

Thanks again JOHN-O, it was truely a great night!

[ Edited by: A Frame 2012-03-25 22:41 ]

Great pictures Anders and everyone else!

It was an excellent night and the pictures are helping me remember why. :)

Late night group shot at the Rincon Room...

You can see the large version here: http://tongatom.blogspot.com/2012/03/rincon-room-3242012.html

Great shots Tom!

Nice pix AF. Regarding the one that you took at my table leaves me a bit perplexed though. my head appears way out of shape-did you photoshop the pic ? Wait, maybe it was all that rum-made my head soggy and shapeless. Good times,thanks
Cheers , David

What a fun and fantastic evening kickoff, courtesy of Ron and Mickee (missed meeting you, Mickee!). Ron, thank you so much for welcoming Carol and I to your incredible back yard and home. We had such a great time getting to know a number of TC folks before heading out to the Hong Kong Inn (WooHoo, Soccer, HB, Margi, Naneki, Tony, and Anders just to name a few.) And the Polynesian show was the highlight of the evening. So much fun, we'll definitely go back on our own again some Friday or Saturday night.

Special heartfelt gratitude to Chief Cat Herder John-O for his mega-efforts; Mahalo, John!

Aloha nui loa, everyone! See you next Saturday at Tonga Hut!

Glenn & Carol

Here are some of my pics, Thanks again to Grandmaster John-O, Ron & Mickee or as I call them "The Bongofuries"
what a fantastic home!!!

Jeremy and Amy for the last call cocktail (Like we needed it!)

Thanks to everyone who did not panic when they realized I was on the bus with them and my references to "Speed"
Pop Quiz M***Fkers, Lucky for everyone that the bus never went under 60 MPH........or was it set to 20 MPH?

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2012-03-26 01:26 ]

Back at work tonight. Hard to believe it was only 24 hours ago we were closing the Tonga Hut together. Ridiculous amounts of fun. Great getting to meet so many of you. Thoroughly enjoyed the history lessons along the way. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this event. Eager for the the next opportunity to raise a glass, mug, or pineapple together! :D

On 2012-03-26 01:28, whoseyrtiki wrote:

Thoroughly enjoyed the history lessons along the way...

Thanks for listening. :)

Yes, the underlying theme of this whole trip was "Remembering the Trade Winds".

And thanks Bongofury for hosting the after-party. She's beautiful !!...

We skipped this planned leg of the tour due to the difficulty of our giant bus pulling a U-turn on Oxnard Blvd. However the next time you're in the area, exit the 101 freeway off Oxnard Blvd, drive south over the freeway, turn left into the Home Depot parking lot, and then circle back north on to Oxnard Blvd. Keep an eye out on your left for these curved palm trees...

(image courtesy of Tim Keenan)

And remember !!

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2012-03-26 08:20 ]

That was one enchanted evening thank you John-0 that was great fun! Thank You Ron & Mickee for the lovely after party and tasty night cap. There's always something new to experience at the Rincon Room and this time was no exception a beautiful home wow!! :)

On 2012-03-26 01:19, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:

Now, THAT'S what I'm talkin about.

Great event John-O.....Cantonese Food, Tropical Drinks in a pineapple, Polynesian Floor Show. Perfect.

I want to thank all that came and those that brought Rhum, food, gifts, and tips. Nice to meet some new friends and see our old friends. I wanted to go to the Hong Kong Inn just to watch everyone enjoy a vintage treasure. Mrs. Fury just got back into town at about 8:00 after a stressful 4 days of family stuff so I wanted to be there for her. Glad to hear that everyone had a good time there. Great job by John-O and we wish we could have spent more time with you all. Love the photos. Hope to see you in the near future

Ron & Mickee

Drifter's Reef:

2 oz Orange Juice (Simply Orange)
1 oz Lemon Juice (Fresh)
1 oz Orange Curacao (Curacao or Dekuyper)
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
3 drops Angostura Bitters
1 oz Mount Gay Extra Old Rum (or Zaya 12 year)
1 oz Rhum Barbancourt Special Reserve Rum 8 Year (or El Dorado 5 year Demerarra)
Pour over ice
Garnish:
Mint (and orange slice or peel)
Flower (real or plastic)
Palm Tree stir stick
Straw is optional
So is the simple syrup if your lemons are not too tart or substitute lime juice for the lemon juice

Okole Maluna!

Thank you John-O for all your hard work organizing this event! From the looks of it everyone had a good time! Lots of happy people! (You gotta work on your poi balls though!) And Ron, thank you for opening your little piece of paradise to us!

John-O,
THank you for such a wonderful evening!!! That really was a blast! I am sipping out of my Hong Kong Inn cocktail glass as I wright this!

Marty

John O,

Good times indeed!
thanks for all yer work on that.

Ron and Mickee,
thanks for having us to your wonderful slice of tropical paradise.
more than half the reason I wanted to go on the trip.

Jeff(btd)

Here's more photos from the Rincon Room...

And some more...

Cool photos Tom! I feel like I should be sipping a Drifter's Reef while looking at them. And on that note, thanks for sharing the recipe Bongofury. That was a great cocktail. :D

Kevin

Even more...

OOoooooooof!!
that is one full, and tired BTD there.

Jeff(btd)

Tonga You are the man with a camera! Nice pix-thanks for sharing
cheers, David

Again great time and thanks John-O for putting together a great event. Here are some pics ( better late than never)

AMIGA_TIKI En La Casa

[ Edited by: AMIGA_TIKI 2012-03-30 17:13 ]

[ Edited by: AMIGA_TIKI 2012-03-30 17:14 ]

Pardon me for leeching off this party thread from my Tiki hideout on the opposite coast, but just wanted to say thanks for posting the recipe Ron. I've fixed a couple and it's a keeper. Nice drink! Served at the Rincon Room, I'm sure it's magical.

PS - 3 dashes, not drops. Lemon better than lime here. And no simple. :D

Wow that looked such a good night, I know Ron and Mickee must have put on a great do at their place,Just jealous, Think of us here here in cold England!

Hmmm... It looks like there might be 2 new reasons for another bus excursion past the L.A. County line. I'm making a reconnaissance mission this weekend.

Stay tuned. :)

On 2013-07-10 21:07, JOHN-O wrote:
Hmmm... It looks like there might be 2 new reasons for another bus excursion past the L.A. County line. I'm making a reconnaissance mission this weekend.

Stay tuned. :)

John-O Me and CeCe are in!
Cheers

On 2013-07-10 21:50, nui 'umi 'umi wrote:

On 2013-07-10 21:07, JOHN-O wrote:
Hmmm... It looks like there might be 2 new reasons for another bus excursion past the L.A. County line. I'm making a reconnaissance mission this weekend.

Stay tuned. :)

John-O Me and CeCe are in!
Cheers

WooHoo!!! SoccerTiki & I are in too!!!!

Me too!

Bring it, John-O!

In!

On 2013-07-10 21:07, JOHN-O wrote:
Hmmm... It looks like there might be 2 new reasons for another bus excursion past the L.A. County line. I'm making a reconnaissance mission this weekend.

Stay tuned. :)

Oh heck this sounds like fun. Count me in!

As you know, we are down!

Looking forward to the results of your recon mission....

...my liver is shaking already...

I want to jump on this band wagon.

I got my sippy cup ready!

HB Tiki and wife are ready to go. John O, In the bus you just bought, please have seat belts installed.

Carlos Danger don't need no seat belts!

ATP, with you recent ENHANCEMENT surgery you need all the protection you can get.