Semi-Annual Road Trip

OK, it's almost time for my Semi-Annual cross country road trip, & this year I'm going to try to fit in some Tiki stops along the way along with the visits to family & friends. The current (very rough) itinerary is: Leave SD July 30th or 31st; stop in Oklahoma City; stop in Gallipolis, Oh; stop in Indianapolis & take pictures of the last Tiki bar in Indiana (Lotus Gardens, Greenwood, In); stop in Bourbonnais, Il, to pick up my Mother-in-Law & take pictures of the old-school Chinese restaurant that serves "Tropical Drinks" in Kankakee, Il (there was one in Manteno, Il, too, but it became a Mexican restaurant overnight last year); stop in Chicago (probably no time to even stop in Trader Vics, let alone any outlying Tiki spots :( ); stop in Ludington, Mi, where I'll officiate at my Son & Daughter-in-Law's re-marriage & take pictures of the Tiki bar in town; drive my Mother-in-Law back to Bourbonnais & cannonball it back to SD to be back at work at 0600 on August 10th (whew!).

Does anyone have any suggestions for quick stops I should add along the way? Places I can stop & snap a pic or 2 & get back on the highway in 1/2 hour, 45 minutes? Places where minimal documentation is better than none? Unfortunately I won't have time to visit with anyone while travelling, but I'll try to post probable dates when I'll be in towns as the trip gels.

Also note this is a very, very rough itinerary. Gallipolis may get dropped, Columbus, Oh, may get added, and I'll probably be traveling back via I80 to I76 to I70 to I15.

Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., D.F.S

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance on 2004-07-21 13:22 ]

Freddie-no time in Chicago to see the Hala Kahiki?It would really be worth your while to see it-it's TIPSY factor is five-only one of three in the U.S.in Tiki Road Trip that has that distinction.

...be sure to bring a flask if you stop at the Hala Kahiki...the drinks are syrupy and contain no booze. Best Mai Tai I've had in Chicago was at Trader Vics...best food at Chef Shangri La...

Doc, I lived on the Extremely Far South side of Chicago (down around Kankakee :wink: ) for several years & I never was able to get to the Hala Kahiki. I've been to Trader Vic's on numerous occasions, but I just never got out to River Grove. I hardly ever go north of Burbank except to go Downtown or to one of the Zoos, so I never really investigated any other spots past Trader Vic's & the Field Museum.

I am hoping to make a quick stop in Tulsa to snap some pictures of Aloha Taste of Hawaii or the Tiki Lounge. While in OKC I'm gonna try for Hawaiian Don's, the Aloha Club, the Aloha Garden or the Bali Apartments. I figure that if I can get a couple pictures of at least one place in each of these towns It'll be a successful Tiki trip.

if you dont already know about Jiggs Smokehouse in Clinton, OK ~ YOU MUST GO THERE. order the Kitchen Sink Sandwich (enough to share) and buy lots of beef jerkey for the rest of your roadtrip!

we've only made the xcountry drive twice, (san diego to st.louis)and made SURE we crossed into OK hungry! i'll look in my roadfood book to see what other culinary adventures you should explore!

map to Jiggs Smokehouse

elicia

I'm finally back and (mostly) dug out from under my mess of emails (over 200 messages, not counting spam, at home. Over 300, with no spam, at work).

I wasn't able to visit any places in Oklahoma, we crossed the state in the middle of the night and visited family in OKC. We tried to get to Hawaiian Don's but mixed up the 2 10th Streets & had to give up.

Lotus Garden, 49 Mercator Dr., Greenwood, IN 46143 (317) 881-5531

I did get pictures of Lotus Gardens, the last Tiki Bar in Indiana, including bar, some mugs, the drink menu & some decor. I'm going to put those pictures on CD & post'em soon. I can't give a good review of the food there, we only had Egg Rolls & Pork Fried Rice and both were marginal & very greasy (it's a very old school Chinese retaurant, but it's still popular with the older Hoosiers), but the drinks were quite strong & very tasty. My wife had a Rum Cow (rum, milk & coconut milk served on crushed ice in a coconut cup), & I had a Dr. Wongs Tonic (I couldn't tell you what's in it, but it's served in a classic Fu Manchu mug & the old Chinese waiter thought it was very funny how well it matched my droopy handlebar moustache). If you enter through the main door to the dining room you cross a bridge over a stream that runs from a waterfall to the checkout. The posts holding up the railing of the bridge are Moais, I actually got a good picture of one of them and the waterfall together. I wouldn't suggest a trip to the Far South Side of Indianapolis just to visit Lotus Garden, if a trip or business takes you out there stop in & mention Tiki Central.

McDonald's, 5389 Ludington Ave, Ludington, Mi.

While I was up in Ludington I was surprised to find a Tiki in the jungle-themed Playroom of the local Mickey D's! Nothing else Tiki about the place, but how come Michigan has so many Tiki themed places & Indiana has only one?

Tiki Lounge, Stearns Motor Inn, 212 E Ludington Ave., Ludington, Mi. (231) 843-340

Much more Tiki than I remembered, with lots of masks, Tiki barstools, Tapa cloth on the walls, enough Pufferfish lamps to count as a Pufferfish Chandalier, and what looks like a nice Witco on one wall. On the down side, don't bother to order a Mai Tai. The bartender pretty much only serves longnecks & the house specialty: the Shark Attack. A Shark Attack tastes like Kool Ade or Gatorade with vodka & light rum added, and it's serverd in a fishbowl with a rubber shark & a couple plastic fish. I drank 3 & was hardly buzzed. Compare this with barely being able to walk straight after 1 Dr. Wong's Tonic at Lotus Garden. I tried to meet the owner of the lounge, but the bouncer kept putting me off saying he'd be in "in an hour." After almost 3 hours of this answer we left the locals to their Buds.

Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., D.F.S

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance on 2004-08-19 18:49 ]

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance on 2004-12-14 11:47 ]

I finally updated the Lotus Garden & Tiki Lounge reviews in "Locating Tiki" with pictures. I've also added the Ludington McDonalds' Tiki to the post above.