short hukilau news

Hello Everyone. I am just back home from HukiLau. It's Saturday Morning. The Island where we had Huki Lau was under a mandatory Evacuation as of 5:00 this morning. We left at 4:00. We are all boarded up and ready for Jeane who should hit us square on Sunday morning around 3:00.
That out of the way,,,, HukiLau was absolutely FANTASTIC!!! (sorry!!) It was my First Tiki event and wasSuper. To Finally meet the TC Ohan whome I have been talking to forever was justunbelievable. Words can't describe the emotion. Big thanks to the TC Ohana who purchased pendants from me, I Love you guys. The love, handshakes, hugs and embraces were many. TikiKiliki and Swanky, you out did yourselves, really too bad about the prissy ms Jeanne who Could NOT dampen the spirits of the party going on. I can't name everyone I met right now because this is a quick note since Jeanne is bearing down on us and I still have much to to.
So, THANKS Everyone, I'M a HAppy TC'r
HapoyHappyHappy

Thanks for the update! We were unable to make it this year due to work...there's always next year!

I sure hope everyone stays dry and safe over on that side of the state.

Josh

Micro news from Ft. Lauderdale,

Last night at the Mar was amazing- eat, drink, and be merry, for tomarrow we evacuate! Truely, an event worth dealing with Hurricanes for!

We got back into the hotel yesterday evening to find the mandatory evacuation notice tucked under the door (we were in the Mar).
The evacuation began this morning. The airport closes around 2 from what we're hearing now- so anyone doing that last plane out better be in the cue!

Mike and I bugged out last night after the show and have landed in north, inland Ft. Lauderdale, West of I-95. I have no idea where all the folks without vehicles are ending up. Several floks drove out last night, and we spent some of yesterday getting friends to the airport- who had just flown in that morning- so it's a little crazy.

Not sure how long power etc. will stay up, so you may not hear from us for awhile.

Hold on tight everybody, here it comes :(

[ Edited by: Sabina on 2004-09-25 09:55 ]

Sorry to hear about the evacuation. Hope everyone gets out safe and sound. Best Wishes to everyone.

vw

what a great time we were having but what can we do when mother nature acts up ? so sorry it ended abruptly .on da brighter side i met some more of the tc ohana and made a bunch of new friends.next year will be better because of this im sure .appologies to all i didnt get to say goodbye to and lake surfer sorry about not being able to make it back to get you youre palm log bro next time im sure. mahaloz to all and lets pray to tiki that everyone remains safe on their way back home.

On behalf of all The Vodkanauts as well as me personally, I'm sending a big, warm, fuzzy mahalo to all Hukilau 2004 attendees and a big thank you and job-well-done to Tikikiliki and Swanky! We had blast and truly felt honored to perform for the assembled tiki faithful. - hope y'all enjoyed it as well!

Like many, we bugged out at first light (actually hit the road at 6:45) as we've got hatches to batten down and lawn furniture to bring in for the umpteenth time. Looks like Polk County is once again gonna get the tar kicked out of it! Do counties have karma that must be balanced or what? Yeesh!

Stuff about the great event later.

Right now at the Mai Kai, the hardcores - the supermen and women of TC - are enjoying the incredible atmosphere of the world's foremost Tiki Palace.

I am not one of them.

With Rusty Key, Ona Koka and myself all being family men - in a suspect car and a projected track right over our little village here in Tampa - there were too many chances for major problems to stay. We weren't afraid of being there... we were afraid of not making it back here in time for the ohana we live with. (No really, even though King Kukulele was calling me chicken and clucking at me in the courtyard this morning. And it hurt me. A pain I'll never recover from.)

I'm bummed like crazy but there was not another viable choice. sighhhh.

Our original plan was to leave after the festivities at the Mai Kai and drive to Tampa.

Glad we didn't wait - seems we would have been stranded in the hurricane on the road. As we approached "Alligator Alley" - an uninhabited road through the Everglades - we all smelled burning rubber.

A frozen compressor was eating the belt we had just replaced in the Bahia Cabana parking lot the day before.

We took the last exit before the alley. There were no service stations open so we just pulled into a parking lot to check out our options. 5 minutes of grumbling and I turn around to see a PepBoys being boarded up but with several bays open.

So $350.00 worth of new compressor later, we were on the road.

whew.

I'm sad not to be there... but I'm glad to have battened down the hatches here at home and the office for what we're going to get tonight and tomorrow morning.

I still envy them though.
The few - the faithful.

Pablus, you are a trooper to have come to HukiLau at all with the storm warnings and such.
I too am Envious of the Croud who HAD to stay and were treated to the rest of the show including the Mai-Kai. I wish I didn't have a family and pets and a home waiting for and Depending on me to secure everything and stabilize our home.
Our son (19 yrs old) was diagnosed with Momo, or the "Kissing" disease while we were at the Bahia Mar having fun.
We like you, had no other choiuce but to leave for home. We knew that Jeanne was a strong probability but we came only even if for only a day. Better one than None .
The AMAZING thing for now is that the eye of Jeanne is about 25 miles from my Bullseye home and the Power is STILL ON, along with the Internet???It's unbelievable.
Of course it could be gone any moment as there has been many Flickers and outages, but it Keeps coming back.
Hopefullyin about 6 hours I'll be able to report the storm eye Passed and all is well, HOPEFULLY. If possible I'll let you know.
To those able to be at the MaiKai, Enjoy my Early shao seats>

On 2004-09-25 19:25, Benzart wrote:
Pablus, you are a trooper to have come to HukiLau at all with the storm warnings and such.
I too am Envious of the Croud who HAD to stay and were treated to the rest of the show including the Mai-Kai. I wish I didn't have a family and pets and a home waiting for and Depending on me to secure everything and stabilize our home.
Our son (19 yrs old) was diagnosed with Momo, or the "Kissing" disease while we were at the Bahia Mar having fun.
We like you, had no other choiuce but to leave for home. We knew that Jeanne was a strong probability but we came only even if for only a day. Better one than None .
The AMAZING thing for now is that the eye of Jeanne is about 25 miles from my Bullseye home and the Power is STILL ON, along with the Internet???It's unbelievable.
Of course it could be gone any moment as there has been many Flickers and outages, but it Keeps coming back.
Hopefullyin about 6 hours I'll be able to report the storm eye Passed and all is well, HOPEFULLY. If possible I'll let you know.
To those able to be at the MaiKai, Enjoy my Early shao seats>

Ben-Z,

Not to scare you, but you are a lot like me, the Hawaiian way, family first. I pray you son makes a full and swift recovery.

When I was going solo at Tiki Oasis one year, it was "throw caution to the wind", but the following year when I brought my ohana, it was - family first - no drink late bruddah!

As a young boy living on the Arizona indian reservation with my mom, family was all there was, even it it was only my mom. Hence I'm sure I've always been perceived as a 'party pooper' because I'd rather be with my blood...

Just got in from the Mai-Kai, as the eye of the storm is now bearing down on my friends up in Fort Pierce. Things here are rough, but nothing like what it's going to be like just up the coast tonight and tomorrow. Good call on the part of Florida TC'ers to get home and batten down. If I didn't live here, I'd have gone as well.

The drive to and from the Mai-Kai was dicey, so I picked up all my guests personally, and took smaller local streets to get there and back. A LOT of the traffic lights are already out, so it was slow going at best.

The evening at the Mai-Kai was incredible. More on it later, but the small crowd of die-hard (or stranded) ohana made the evening intimate and very special. Many thanks to the Mai-Kai staff who took care of us even as their own homes were being buffetted by the storm.

Inside, you never would have guessed that a violent storm was raging outside ... what an amazing place. I just wanted to get this in before my power goes out. Best wishes to my TC friends from Florida, and if I can assist you after the storm, let me know. 954-880-0406.

Cheers.

Thanks for the update, Cybertiki. How bad are the winds there?

Greetings Sabu; the winds were blowing at probably 35-40 mph sustained, when we went to the Mai-Kai, and slightly higher by the time we left. We were also catching gusts that I'd put at 70-80 mph - though it's harder to tell at night while driving, than it is during the day when I'm able to stand and look out the window. Some of the gusts were strong enough to push the Honda Odyssey around on the road.

Right now, things seem to have settled down in our area a bit, and the wind sounds like it's coming in less frequent gusts as the remaining feeder bands roll over South Florida. Central Florida has taken a serious hit this time around, and I'm concerned that this thing is heading for Tampa. Even if it dies down by the time it reaches the Gulf Coast, Tropical Storm winds can do a LOT of damage in larger urban areas. It isn't going to be pretty when the sun finally comes up this morning.

Cyber

Aloha all,
Saturday morning we fled about an hour further south of Ft. Lauderdale to the home of Ken-Tiki and family. We might have been able to get to the Mai-Kai that evening, however, we were concerned about curfews and burning up more gasoline. As of now the storm appears to be raging over our home judging by TV coverage. We'll try to go north around 2 pm today if the storm keeps on its present course.
Echoing everything already said about the 2004 Hukilau... We had a fanatstic time with old friends and new. Very glad to have met some for the first time like Benzart and Kiegs. Good to reconnnect with others like most of the Florida ohana, Mogambo, PolyPop, Mr & Mrs. Boo, etc.
Special mahalo to Pablus & AlnShelly for Saturday night's party, as well as Swanky and Christie for the entire weekend. Let's do it again come hell or high water!
KG & Wahine Marian

Aloha!
What a fantastic time it was. We were evacuated from our hotel and decided to go straight to the Mai Kai where we were received with open arms. After a fantastic dinner and show we were taken in by two long time Tiki Lovers, who also happen to be long time customers and an employee of the Mai Kai! They are signed up here as Tiki Cay and we hope to have them onboard soon with pictures of their beautiful hand made bamboo tiki bar and soon to be outdoor tiki hut and paradise!

I'm at a Kinko's in Ft. Lauderdale right now... I was one of the lucky few who were able to make it to the Mai Kai last night (my very rough guess is that there were about 150 people there last night, I think they were expecting 600+). Bless those wonderful souls there who came out to work all night at the Mai Kai--especially those brave valets! The experience was beyond magical--I have been in a hurricane in the gardens of the Mai Kai! (BTW, the only damage at the Mai Kai I saw was one small palm tree that came down.) We really were pretty darned oblivious to the storm outside. HUGE mahalos to King Kukulele, because of him, I got to dance on stage at the Mai Kai to celebrate my 30th birthday! WOW! That was incredibly sweet of him to do for me. Afterward, Mirielle & her son David invited the couple dozen of us that were still in the Mai Kai to join them at David's home for an Elvis-fueled afterparty. More details later when the whirring in my mind of a million pleasant thought slows down into something more coherent.

I don't have any pictures--my camera busted early Thursday morning!

Friday was so much fun, I have never met so many great people! I feel like I made alot of friends for life, Mahalo all! Missed the Mai Kai due to the storm but at least a couple of us will make up for it next week. I love you guys.

thats great that they kept the maikai open and let everyone in.. talk about a tropical evening :o

the maikai folks are great- the owner's sister lives up the street from me, we both weathered Frances pretty well (save for landscaping) and it looks like it will be minor this time as well- the big issue being a submersion of the barrier island from surge, which apparently didnt happen.

kinda wish i was able to make it down for the hurricane party at the maikai, but oh well.. i was concerned jeanne might plow through south florida.. glad to hear the maikai made out OK

..for those watching the news, keep in mind they like to hype up the devastation- the beach erosion does occur, yes, but after a few weeks to months of normal conditions the sea places most of it back, with the exception of a few problem areas which eventually (and surely quicker now) get "beach restoration" where they pump the sand back on the beach from offshore using a barge.

so the beaches ebb and flow, but thats just mother nature.. the barrier islands are still a fun place to go, even if they are a bit tattered at the moment. the upside is things should look brand-new by hukilau 2005 with all this FEMA and insurance money pouring in

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2004-09-26 15:57 ]

I went from having the best time of my life to the worst. After the evacuation, I headed for the airport but had no luck and got sent to a shelter. While all were living it up at the Mai Kai I was waiting in line at an elementary school for "Hot Lunch" beef stew. Not the 4 year anniversary dinner me and the better half had in mine. I thought the Mai Kai event was going to get canceled, was no news at the Mar desk in the morning when I headed down. I spent the night on a very hard tile floor of the school hallway. It was not pleasent by any means. I did meet Motiki and thank god he had extra bubble wrap to use as cushions. Still stuck in Florida, got a flight going out on Tuesday and with any luck will be renting a car and visiting the Mai Kai tommorrow. Tired, aggitated, kinda pissed, realllllly sore. Stupid Hurricane. Ruined what was a fantikiriffic time. Aloha to all the great people I met I didn't get to say say farwell to. The story is much bigger but I'm keepin it short. Other than the last two days of of compleat pissed off dissappointment Hukilau Rocked!!!

That really sucks Tikilee!!!!! I was glad to have met you and hope to meet you again at the next tiki event. I thought you and your wife are really cool. And you were the best next door neighbors at the hotel. I hope you do get a chance to see the Mai Kai before you leave. We went to the Mai Kai later on Friday night after we took in (a little) of the festivities at "the call of the tiki party". Just because we had an emergency flight out early on Saturday. It was soo cool to meet many of the TC people.
Good Luck,
Spermy

Pretty incredible, pretty tiring, pretty adventurous weekend. The Mai Kai was just a surreal night....almost like a wierd dream? The hospitality of this establishment and the staff and family is just incredible... Celebrating at the Mai Kai, and dancing and partying the night away at Dave Levy's house afterwards (one of the very gracious owners)...what could be a better way to spend a perfectly good hurricane? Kern even brings food for the after party guests? The thanks list for this one is going to take a long time. There was a very special closeness among the TC Ohana and all along for this one. A special Hukilau indeed.

All:

Please post post-Hukilau stuff here:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=11049&forum=4&29

And heavy image posts here:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=11058&forum=4&7

I'm going to go ahead and lock this thread for now, and move it to Tiki Events. We'll get these posts migrated over to the other thread so it's all in one place.

Mahalo!

[ Edited by: martiki on 2004-09-27 10:09 ]