What does Hawaii Mean to you?

Please forgive what I am about to unburden myself with, but one week from now I and Wahine Marian (AKA the Bamboo Blonde) are going to be on Oahu.

For her, it will be the first time ever. For me, it will be the first time in many, many years. And, I am really overcome with emmotion about going back again.

Perhaps others feel or have felt the same way and would like to add to this post.

I know for much of the Ohana of Tiki Central, Hawaii is like this cosmic epicenter of all things tiki that provides a glue for the cool stuff we love and collect and listen to and bid for on ebay, but if you'll pardon my sentimentality, there is part of my soul there.

If Hawaii was not a place, some poet or painter would have to create it. Where else in this world can the total of an entire culture and geography be sumed up in the existence of a single flower?

To me the gorgeous red petals of a hibiscus will always speak of deep green mountains, soft morning rain showers, fragrant lei blossums and a sweet, gentle multi-cultural people; especially the girls. :)

My personal Hawaii is a place where music and dance and the good times of a beach party are the fabric of everyday life. A life I miss quite often.

Hawaii is a sound that caresses the ear with a language that mixes all the best phrasing, expression and simple good nature that people can convey in words unique to their beautiful surroundings.

In fact, when I return to Hawaii the essence I will be seeking is the sound of the people. Do you know what is like to encounter someone saying "aloha" to you and really meaning it?

What about someone picking a casual flower from a neighborhood garden and offering it you as a present? No reason for it other than you and the flower are both there and it is a natural thing to do. Not at all unusual.

I don't know if this makes any sense to others on this board, but stuff like this is what I miss the most on the mainland, and what sets the islands completey apart as an especially wonderful place. And, why am really glad to be going back home and taking my wife with me for the first time.

That's it.
KG

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2004-05-31 19:33 ]

On 2004-05-31 19:31, Kailuageoff wrote:

I don't know if this makes any sense to others on this board, but stuff like this is what I miss the most on the mainland, and what sets the islands completey apart as an especially wonderful place.

good capture in words of something that can't be easily put into words most of the time.

Kailuageoff, Great question and an even better response. Painting a picture of emotion with words is not easy, yet your words are breathtaking.

To me, Hawaii (Oahu) is the mana and history of tiki, the celebration of polynesian pop and the remains of the glorious 50s era, the joy of the aloha and one of the ultimate destinations on the tiki hunt.

It the mana and history of tiki by the beauty of a brilliant sunset over the ocean, by seeing tikis in their original location at Kiane' aki or (on the Big Island) the Place of Refuge, visiting the heiaus and learning of tiki history at the Bishop Museum.

It is the celebration of polynisean pop by visiting La Marianara, catching a Don Ho show and having your picture taken in front of the Hawaiian Hotel.

It is the spirit of aloha from the conch shell blow, the swaying hips & hands of the hula illuminated by tiki torches or by receiving a lei upon arriving.

It is pursuing the tiki hunt across the Pacific by going to the birth place of the Mai Tai and having another and going to the birth place of (Hawiian) tiki and buying another. It is searching high and low for tikis on the island, at the swap meet, at Gecko's, at Tiki's at the Ashton BeachFront Hotel, at the International Marketplace and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Most of all, it is celebrating all that is tiki in (one of) the birthplace of tiki.

Hawai'i is a cool rain just as it is getting too hot.

Birds - singing with all their might about how happy they are to be living there.

Diving with beautiful fish who seem pleased to meet you.

Strolling through gardens - ancient and recent - with time as a friend instead of an enemy.

Waterfalls and kui leis.
Ukuleles and drums.

Sometimes when I'm sitting at The Lagoon Lounge (™AlnShellyProductions) listening to the Makaha Sons with a strong, tart drink - the torchlight glowing through the palms and bamboos... then a sudden evening rain falls and I'm there: On Kauai, my future home.

Have fun KG and Marian.
Send us a few shots.

While reading the Frommers Lonely Planet guide to Raratonga & the Cook Islands I found an interesting thing: Every Polynesian society has a place in their myths called "Hawaii" (sometimes spelled differently) that's the island their ancestors came from.

Its a great stop over place for the true polynesian experience Tahiti. Tahiti is what Hawaii was.

Amen!

I can't top any of these sentiments, but I have always thought them..especially after leaving Hawaii!

What's special about Hawaii to me is me and Al sitting out in front of the ABC market on Kalakaua at 7:00 in the morning sucking up a cup of sake (I guess I'm just too sentimental).

Well, actually it's paddling out at sunrise and catching some great waves just as a storm passes overhead and a couple of rainbows break out.

Click here

On 2004-06-01 12:23, Pacific Andy wrote:
Its a great stop over place for the true polynesian experience Tahiti. Tahiti is what Hawaii was.

I've never been to either, but I have a feeling that the Hawaii of my dreams is sadly unlike the Hawaii of reality. That doesn't mean that I don't want to visit and meet up with Gecko and the other TC'ers living out that dream!

Trader Woody

On 2004-06-02 11:20, Trader Woody wrote:

I have a feeling that the Hawaii of my dreams is sadly unlike the Hawaii of reality.

...Gecko and the other TC'ers living out that dream!

as the Hawaii of the 50's and 60's no longer remains, except in a few areas here and there, Hawaii more and more is, by necessity, a state of mind. In other words, we surround ourselves with that which reminds us of the old Hawaii... we fill our life with more time on da nort' shore and the country, in the older tiki kine establisments, read the old books, hang out at La mariana which helps us easily think we are back in da 60's...

Gecko is doing a great job in helping to re instill the old tiki Hawaii, in that he carves the great old skool tikis and in the sharing and talk story, people remember the old days...

On 2004-06-02 10:53, Swanky wrote:
Click here

Kooo whul!

wuz dat webley edwards/hawaii calls?

On 2004-06-02 14:02, lanikai wrote:
[A]s the Hawaii of the 50's and 60's no longer remains, except in a few areas here and there, Hawaii more and more is, by necessity, a state of mind. In other words, we surround ourselves with that which reminds us of the old Hawaii...

Lanikai, is your opinion limited to Oahu? Would other islands retain more of "the old Hawaii" feeling?

Or do the other islands matter as most of the residents live on Oahu?

On 2004-06-02 19:01, christiki295 wrote:

On 2004-06-02 14:02, lanikai wrote:
[A]s the Hawaii of the 50's and 60's no longer remains, except in a few areas here and there, Hawaii more and more is, by necessity, a state of mind. In other words, we surround ourselves with that which reminds us of the old Hawaii...

Lanikai, is your opinion limited to Oahu? Would other islands retain more of "the old Hawaii" feeling?

loa ae!
da moku nui; Hawaii:
Hilo is like all of Hawaii in da 30s and 40s! verry cool.
kinda rainy, but.
Kona newer but still get da kine.
Pahoa is a turn o da century town similar to hilo kinda.
chekidout heah:
http://pahoahi.tripod.com/pahoa/pahoa.htm
rest o da island very country.

maui:
lahaina, fuggeddaboudit!
Has turned into another L.A. Too many mainlanders. It has a rep for being ruined. Very unfortunate considering what it coulda been, and esp. its lineage as a whaling town.
Paia is cool. check it out.

Niihau
does not exist. don't think about it.

kahoolawe
was military bombing site.
filanally turned over to the kanaka maoli for da malama aina activities and rituals. long way to go, but.

Molokai; known as da old Hawaii, da real hawaii.
home o da famous molokai mule rides...
royal coconut groves, fab beaches, lotta unspoiled country. No its not 50 or 60, unless we tawkin bout da 1850s 1860...

Kauai
of course has da Cocoplams site where elvis filmed a good part of Blue Hawaii...
caves, mission houses, waimea valley, harbors, falls, rain forests, nat. parks...etc..

yep. ironic that the most popular destination for the tourons, Wakywaky beach is the MOST un Hawaiian polace of all Hawaii! Many of them during their one week stay NEVER leave the area!
Thanks to corporate america, and the insatiable greed of lawyers, developers, polititiansand the state and the city. so do whatcha can and "accidentally" knock over one o those damned segways next time yer there.

On 2004-06-02 14:05, lanikai wrote:

On 2004-06-02 10:53, Swanky wrote:
Click here

Kooo whul!

wuz dat webley edwards/hawaii calls?

You got it!

Aloha friends,
We have a very lush and beautiful island, that I'm very happy with but, what I think Hawaii once was especially Waikiki, will become again.....

I lived in California for sometime and could have stayed there and probubly made a pretty penny from the millions of collectors on da mainland but that was not why I was givin da gift to carve. When you have a calling you follow it, mine was to return to da islands and use my mana to make Waikiki back to what it once was. That is my only goal in life besides having a lovely family to tell my stories to when I'm 60, hopefully about how a returned tiki and romance back to the beautiful place we call Waikiki.

Aloha

On 2004-06-02 21:20, GECKO wrote:
When you have a calling you follow it, mine was to return to da islands and use my mana to make Waikiki back to what it once was. That is my only goal in life besides having a lovely family to tell my stories to when I'm 60, hopefully about how a returned tiki and romance back to the beautiful place we call Waikiki.

Aloha

that's whatcha call a cool Kuleana

Great post, thanks K-G
Mahalo,
Al

On 2004-06-02 21:20, GECKO wrote:
When you have a calling you follow it, mine was to return to da islands and use my mana to make Waikiki back to what it once was. That is my only goal in life besides having a lovely family to tell my stories to when I'm 60, hopefully about how a returned tiki and romance back to the beautiful place we call Waikiki.

That's a great goal, Gecko. Miami Beach went through a golden age from the 30's to the 50's and then slipped into decay. It's back now and the art deco design, fashion and international flavor is what everyone tries to perpetuate.

It would be great if people in Hawaii recognized the same about Waikiki -- that there was a golden age there during the same time period, and they should do all they can to preserve what is left and re-create what isn't, if possible. It will never be the same, but it could celebrate that era and make people feel really good about being there as opposed to ripping up virgin land on the outer isalnds for new (ugh!) mega-resorts.

Marian and I hope to see you next week.
KG

Home That is what it means to me, and the way I thought of it for a long time after I left, being a former Jarhead I was lucky enough to be stationed there, I can still remember the feeling of when the guy called my name and then said where I was going to be stationed, wow. It is where I bought my first tiki, downtown Honolulu by Waikiki beach among all the camera clad tourists. Visting is like foreplay, living there is the "BIG O", nothing like it it gets in your skin and changes you, you get in the motion of the ocean, everything slows down to tiki time. Girls walking around in cut-offs, bikini tops and flipflops. The little bags of fresh wok fried hawaiian doughnuts that you could get at the grocery store. Everywhere you go there is an ocean breeze. Pogs, which to this day I still have not figured out how to play! It has been more then 10 years since I lived there, I miss it terribly, if I could be Gecko's floor sweeper making two bucks an hour to live there again I would! I'm done. Going to go find a beer so I can cry in it.

"May the Tiki Gods bless you and all always keep your mug full!"

[ Edited by: Tiki-Toa on 2004-06-03 08:14 ]

Home That is what it means to me, and the way I thought of it for a long time after I left, being a former Jarhead I was lucky enough to be stationed there, I can still remember the feeling of when the guy called my name and then said where I was going to be stationed, wow. It is where I bought my first tiki, downtown Honolulu by Waikiki beach among all the camera clad tourists. Visting is like foreplay, lving there is the "BIG O", nothing like it it gets in your skin and changes you, you get in the motion of the ocean, everything slows down to tiki time. Girls walking around in cut-offs, bikini tops and flipflops. The little bags of fresh wok fried hawaiian doughnuts that you could get at the grocery store. Everywhere you go there is an ocean breeze. Pogs, which to this day I still have not figured out how to play! It has been more then 10 years since I lived there, I miss it terribly, if I could be Gecko's floor sweeper making two bucks an hour to live there again I would! I'm done. Going to go find a beer so I can cry in it.

Fear, complete fear! Especially in Kauai were I was attacked and swallowed by this huge tree.

On 2004-06-03 07:40, Kailuageoff wrote: Miami Beach went through a golden age from the 30's to the 50's and then slipped into decay. It's back now and the art deco design, fashion and international flavor is what everyone tries to perpetuate.

It would be great if people in Hawaii recognized the same about Waikiki

I, too, share that hope, but as you indicate, Miami Beach experienced its renaissance beauuse it maintained its Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern architecture. South Beach is hot, the other end of the MB is not.

Unfortunately, except for the Royal Hawaiian and the Hawaiian, Waikiki is inundated with skyscrapers.

Curious, as Lanikai points out, the tourists stay in the place that is least Hawaiian. However, all hotel rooms (except from Turtle Bay on the North Shore - where I'll be staying)are located in Waikiki.

Nevertheless, all is not lost, I suppose. The ocean and beachfront is gloriously beautiful, like MB. Moreover, the history and mana remain, even if the classic architecture is almost all gone, and hopefully some of the millions of annual visitors will appreciate it.

Maybe its just as well to concetrate most of the development in one place, sparing the rest of the islands. Just like on the island of Tahiti, the Honolulu residents still can seek the natural beauty in the outlying islands.

On 2004-06-02 20:27, lanikai wrote:
[maui:
lahaina, fuggeddaboudit!
Has turned into another L.A. Too many mainlanders. It has a rep for being ruined.

Thank you for the excellent breakdown!

While not as bad as LA, only Waikiki has earned that somewhat dubious honor, I can vouch that Lahaina is a tourist-trap type city, although it does still have some historical sites.

Nevertheless, some might find that the proximity of Lahaina to the their beachfront resort makes for a good vacation, although I have heard that the green mountains are becoming checked with gray colored development.

Quote:

On 2004-06-01 14:43, lanikai wrote:

Vacationing on the Big Island
I'd love to get some advice
Love the 50's Americanized Tiki stuff alot
go to California for that.
no such thing on Hawaii. that's not what Hawaii is about. . . as well as the real deal. now yer talking;

May be Lanikai is setting us straight and we "are missing the forest for the trees."

Being in Hawaii, there is little need for Polynisean Pop when you can experience the real deal.

TikiBars also references this concept in the Hawaii section of the Tiki Road Trip.

Although I'm not sure I completely agree. Just like I love CityWalk in LA, a place repacking obvious cultural sites and landmarks for tourist consumerism makes for a fun outing.

[ Edited by: christiki295 on 2004-06-07 18:58 ]

Tiki-Toa,

$2 to sweep da floors!! your hired!

Yes, that's wun thing that Miami beach has on Waikiki, it kept it's old BEAUTIFUL buildings! If we still atleast had the Waikikian around would be just awesome!

I'm hope some investor approaches me with a idea to build a new A-frame in Waikiki and just go totally old school with it. I will for sure try to be one of the investor partners.

So listen up investors!!!! look at the people on this post!! Do you see that they as well as our local peopo here on da islands SCREAM for da old days to come back!!! LETS BUILD IT!!! Another A-frame where the old Tahitian Lanai and Waikikian once stood! I'll decorate it full of tikis, mugs, floats etc....KELLY, give me a call, lets go old school brah!

I read this thread and I can't tell if I hear my own heart or the beating of drums.

Great stuff and the main reason I came here to TC.

And... uhhhh... the decorating ideas and the music and the drinks and food.... but mostly Hawai'i. Oh.... and the uke.

And poi.

On 2004-06-04 01:15, pablus wrote:

I read this thread and I can't tell if I hear my own heart or the beating of drums.

Great stuff and the main reason I came here to TC.

And... uhhhh... the decorating ideas and the music and the drinks and food.... but mostly Hawai'i. Oh.... and the uke.

And poi.

ahh yesss!
mai kai loa Ae!

now we're gettin to da heart and soul of tiki, island style!

I know what everyone says about Honolulu and the high-rises and how it is ruined and all of that negative stuff. But hey, Diamond Head is still there, right? The sweeping curve of the beach is the same. The Moana hotel. The Hale Kalani. The Royal Hawaiian. Iolani Palace and the Kamehameha statue. Bishop Museum. Kapiolani Park. And, for awhile longer the International Marketplace. There's definitely a core of legendary locations in Waikiki... that's what I'm going to be looking for.

And like Gecko indicates... what goes up in the future and how zoning and development are handled can have a big impact...

Some people I know in Florida get it when I tell them how much fun it is to stay at the Best Western Tahitian Resort and hang out for the weekend near the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Others look at me like I have to be insane to WANT to stay at some old hotel near a busy road and hang out in an outdated tourist trap. Oh well... true tiki is eccentric I guess, not mainstream at all.

I'm sure all the "normal" people thought those that started buying the old art deco hotels in Miami Beach were nuts when they started buying and fixing them up.

And, one last thing... How did Flounder get out of that tree?

Aloha everyone! We're gone to paradise as of tomorrow.

KG

Flounder told me, and just thinking about it has me going to see a therapist, if any one has viewed child birth, well there you go! I imagine that experience was good material for his beautiful work. :wink:

Gecko
WHEN DO I START MAN?!?!?

I live in Ft Lauderdale, and stay away from Miami like the Black Plauge. True, there are a few ok places in South Beach, but you will probably be shot or mugged going down there. Miami was nice abot 40-50 years ago, now it's a cess pool.

On 2004-06-01 12:02, freddiefreelance wrote:
While reading the Frommers Lonely Planet guide to Raratonga & the Cook Islands I found an interesting thing: Every Polynesian society has a place in their myths called "Hawaii" (sometimes spelled differently) that's the island their ancestors came from.

It was in Lonely Planet, not Frommer's. The quote I was looking for is:

Oral History on Raratonga traces ancestry bacl about 1400 years. The ancient road known as Ara Metua, still encircling most of Raratonga, is about 1000 years old. In common with other Polynesian peoples, Cook Islanders' legends say that the ancestors of ancient times origenated from the legendary homeland of 'Aaiki.

'Avaiki is as much a concept as a place. It's location is different for each Polynesian race (as is its pronounciation). The first island to bear the name was Savai'i, in Samoa. Polynesian settlers heading east from Samoa to the Society Islands, then on to Hawaii, the Cook Islands & NZ, named successive islands after their homeland, and as dialects changed with the years the name variously became Havaiki, Havai'i, Hawai'i, Avaiki & Hawaiki. Strangely, in all Polynesian cultures, the same name refers to the afterworld. Premissinary Cook Islanders believed that when they died they went to 'Avaiki, a land that tradionally lay in the west, in the dirrection of the setting son (Now, of course, they go to heaven).

So I'd say that going to Hawaii is going to heaven.

[i]On 2004-06-04 00:37, GECKO wrote:

I hope some investor approaches me with a idea to build a new A-frame in Waikiki and just go totally old school with it . . . . I'll decorate it full of tikis, mugs, floats etc....!

Probably an A-Frame entrance/lobby, restaurant and bar, with double towers behind it, in order to maximize profit. While not totally old school, it would provide quite a bit of Hawaiiana charm.

A photo of Tikis is here: http://www.astonhotels.com/aston/search/propertyImageGallery.do;jsessionid=B485E1E7E4001E9CF1F2F5B6C783EC08?propertyGroupId=34365&imageId=132985#photoGallery

According to this reveiw, Tiki's at the Aston Waikiki Beach revives the 50s flair in a contemporary way:

http://www.waikikinews.com/04colm/niteout.000.html

Tiki’s is a full-on retro South Pacific bar. . . . . Tiki’s has palm wood flooring, fish nets hanging from the ceiling with starfish and shells, glass balls, plus 50 hand-carved masks, statues and war clubs from different regions around the Pacific.

Original framed art flanks the dining room walls. . . . The collection of authentic, hand-carved tiki includes two 8-1/2 foot tiki at the entrance, eight tiki on the back walls of the dining room, a 3-1/2 foot tiki head named “Hibiscus Tiki” in the bar area, and a 6-1/2 foot, one-of-a-kind hula tiki in the central dining area.

The best seats in the house are those at umbrella-covered tables on the lanai, where diners are treated to the mesmerizing view of Waikiki Beach.

Another review states:

http://www.honoluluweekly.com/archives/coverstory%202003/10-1-03%20Tiki/10-1-03%20Tiki.html

Honolulu, the birthplace of exotica, hasn’t remained immune — Ala Moana’s Mai Tai Bar and Tiki’s Grill & Bar in the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel aren’t exactly the Tahitian Lanai, but they do angle for a revival of nightlife past, even if they’re J. Crew-ized versions. (For the real thing, check out Del Courtney’s Tea Dance at the Elks Club the first Sunday of each month. Jimmy Borges, Shari Lynn and Gabe Baltazar join the big-band leader; and Denny even shows up from time to time.

[ Edited by: christiki295 on 2004-06-07 21:08 ]

[ Edited by: christiki295 on 2004-06-09 21:09 ]

[i]On 2004-06-07 17:07, freddiefreelance wrote. . . The ancient road known as Ara Metua, still encircling most of Raratonga, is about 1000 years old.

Any relationship to Hotu Matua, the intial Polynesian king of Easter Island?

According to Abrams, the phrase "mata" refers to geographical districts on Easter Island.

[ Edited by: christiki295 on 2004-06-07 21:00 ]

I don't have a connection with Hawaii that is as intense as many of you who posted here before, but still I have an emotional connection to the island.
I have a very good friend living on Hawaii and I visited him for one month two years ago. His family welcomed me warmly and showed me as much of they could of their way of living and of course of the island. In order to give something back to them too I also supported my friends father with his Hawaii real estate business. But of course I couldn't give them as much back as they gave me in the course of this month!

Ever since I have left I have to longing to go back there again!
I guess everyone who knows Hawaii also knows what I am talking about! :)

Aloha,
Hawaii to me is Maui. Friendly people, a sense of something larger than tranquility when walking on the beach at sunrise, and a big one for me, drivers that are not trying to run you off the road. A serene 30 Mph, (except on the few Highways), people letting you into traffic when you're coming out of private property etc. The lush vegetation, flowers and trees.....and being from Tucson, the Ocean. My wife and I get to go back for a couple of weeks in February, I'm already packed.
And of course, Tavita and his great Tikis. Can't wait to pick up another one.
Ciao and best to all Tiki Central members

Yes.

My people, my soul food.

Just my wife and I swimming under the falls of Waimea Falls Park during a rain shower. The smell of plumeria, and my love's kiss...heaven.

Jumbo prawns at a picnic table on the North Shore.

A Mai Tai at the "House without a Key" and watching the sun go down, listening to Slack Key.

Standing at the Kalalau Valley Lookout in Waimea on Kauai overlooking the Napali coast line and trying to separate the sky from the ocean.

Snorkeling on Kahalu'u Beach in Kona and watching my wife's face when seeing a Sea Turtle swim by.

Driving along Ali'i Drive with the top down, smelling all the flowers.