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Time for Real Tiki Presdential Party; Presidents Weekend at the Kon Tiki in Tucson AZ Feb 19 |
Tiki Mo Fo
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Oct 16, 2003
Posts: 93
From: A Desert Oasis
|  Posted: 2005-02-16 11:31 pm Permalink
Yes, as you can see from an earlier post. That course is almost walking distance from the Inn. I was also thinking of touring the area on Sunday... Let me know. I am still open on hosting a get together at Tiki West.
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cheeky half
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 22, 2002
Posts: 790
From: Tucson, AZ
| Posted: 2005-02-17 07:16 am Permalink
So Mr. and Mrs. Cheeky Half finally lifted their tired heads and noticed that something was going on in their own back yard.
Can we join your party too?
We were in Kon Tiki last night and Louie said that 'The Official Party' is starting at 4 pm. There's even a banner proclaiming an appearance by The Cruzan Rum Girls.....
It's been our experience (and we do tend to spend a little too much time in Kon Tiki) that the place is much better enjoyed in the late afternoon. Friday and Saturday nights in particular are very busy. Packed to the bamboo rafters with a 'younger' crowd who are not necessarily there to appreciate the fabulousness of the place.
We were going to stop in sometime around 4ish and would love to meet up with you all....
Mr. and Mrs. Cheeky Half
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Tiki Mo Fo
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Oct 16, 2003
Posts: 93
From: A Desert Oasis
| Posted: 2005-02-17 09:36 am Permalink
What side of town are you guys located at? We have had some talk of meeting up at my place before hand. Of course at that time I thought that the kick off was around 6pm. I will call Louie and Holden today.
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2005-02-17 6:10 pm Permalink
Weather seems to be improving slightly.
On Saturday, partly cloudy with highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s and slightly warmer and more sunny on Sunday.
I was very concerned about leaving LA in the rain, only to go to another rainy destination.
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SON OF MOTHRA
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 20, 2004
Posts: 200 | Posted: 2005-02-18 08:11 am Permalink
Okay, it's finalized. I will be driving up along with 2 of my sidekicks. We'll be getting into town early in the afternoon and leaving Sunday. We're staying at the Hotel Congress.
So as it stands, is everyone meeting at the Kon Tiki around 4:00?
Is there going to be a gathering at Tiki Mo Fo's place of habitat before/after? If so, how do we get there and what time?
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Tiki Mo Fo
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Oct 16, 2003
Posts: 93
From: A Desert Oasis
| Posted: 2005-02-18 09:20 am Permalink
Yes, we are still looking to meet at my place before hand, but we are looking to stay until sunset. That means will not make the 4pm kickoff. I will be driving tonight 2 AZ. So if anyone is still interested drop me a msg at azvetmn@yahoo.com and I will answer later today or tomarrow or even call back then as well.......
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Tiki Mo Fo
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Oct 16, 2003
Posts: 93
From: A Desert Oasis
| Posted: 2005-02-18 10:09 am Permalink
I just talked to Louie, and it was more of a misprint than a start time. I told him that a few of us were not even coming in until Sat afternoon, and for him not to really look for us until 6ish. So sunset watching (because I am wishing for the rain to go away) is still on at my place. I am thinking of bring your favorite drink to share with the group........
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MustDangSally
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Feb 04, 2004
Posts: 39
From: Ahwatukee, Arizona
| Posted: 2005-02-19 08:35 am Permalink
[ This Message was edited by: mustdangsally on 2005-02-19 15:59 ]
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tikijackalope
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 23, 2003
Posts: 814
From: KS/MO
| Posted: 2005-02-21 07:16 am Permalink
Pictures? Pictures? I hope the mainstream party atmosphere did not disrupt the tikiness of the place for those of you could make it.
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Tiki Mo Fo
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Oct 16, 2003
Posts: 93
From: A Desert Oasis
| Posted: 2005-02-22 11:28 pm Permalink
I just wanted to say that I had a great time...... Looking forward for more good times.................
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2005-02-23 6:20 pm Permalink
The hospitatility of Tiki Mo Fo was only exceeded by the incredible time had at Kon Tiki. What an incredible tiki mecca Kon Tiki is!
I left behind one of Tiki Diablo's tiki pendants for the bartender, who was very into tiki as a parting gift on Monday.
Louie is the consumate manager, keeping the tiki flame alive - and generously sharing the tiki love and Kon Tiki freebies with all TCers (especially those from out of state).
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2005-02-23 6:22 pm Permalink
Quote:
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[i]On 2005-02-18 08:11, SON OF MOTHRA wrote:
Okay, it's finalized. I will be driving up along with 2 of my sidekicks. We'll be getting into town early in the afternoon and leaving Sunday. We're staying at the Hotel Congress.
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You guys are amazing (if not insane) - not only for actually staying at the Hotel Congress, but also for making the marathon drive in the pouring rain, and then driving back the next day.
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2005-02-23 9:51 pm Permalink
I had the most lovely time! Meeting all the local tikiphiles was really special, you guys are great and I wish you lived closer. The Kon Tiki has long been on my most-underrated list, and this last trip only confirmed all my memories, and then some. This place is the beautiful time capsule that everyone wishes they had in their town. It's fantastic. (Okay, so the drinks are meh at best, and the fries are the only good thing on the food menu, but really--it's still easily in my personal Top 5 Tiki Places I've Been).
Here are the pics! (beware... there be lurkers afoot!)
http://photo.humuhumu.com/v/kontikitucson/
Some personal highlights: the tile "pool" in front... with actual water in it! (Standing rainwater from the storms); a strikingly pathetically sized and useless wedge of lime (the drinks at Kon Tiki are so sweet they probably physically reject the limey tartness anyhow); a disgraceful (and thankfully extremely temporary) inflatable Cruzan Rum Promotion Truck suspended from (gasp!) a float lamp; the really lovely new Kon Tiki mugs (two sizes!); and a parade of lovely Tucson tikiphiles with a few L.A. tikiphiles thrown in for good measure.
_________________
Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki
[ This Message was edited by: Humuhumu 2005-09-23 15:18 ]
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tikijackalope
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 23, 2003
Posts: 814
From: KS/MO
| Posted: 2005-02-25 09:58 am Permalink
Thanks for the pics, Humuhumu! Would any of you experts know if their new mugs are the first to be based on Milan Guanko? Was there any news on the scorpion bowl discussed here: http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=10980&forum=7 ? Did they have new T-shirts as discussed earlier in this thread?
It looks like Kon Tiki has indeed spruced up a bit, I don't remember that many float lights working when I was last there. Did they repair the tiki up by the host stand, the one with the eye out as seen here: http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=8141&forum=2 ?
As to drink quality, I don't know Louie well, but the times I've talked with him, he seemed very customer-friendly so he might be open to input on recipes. I may be in Tucson in the next couple months and was hoping, if I can manage not to be the driver, to try my first classic tiki drink there; I'd like to lose my "tiki drink virginity" someplace special.
Did anyone check out the The Hut, while there: http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=9361&forum=1 ?
Did anyone play mini-golf?
And how was the Hotel Congress?
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SON OF MOTHRA
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 20, 2004
Posts: 200 | Posted: 2005-02-25 10:56 am Permalink
The Hotel Congress is great. It's like walking through a door to the early 1900s. It is the ultimate hotel DIVE. I still can't get over the fact when you check in they give you earplugs to dull the surrounding noise of the club right below you and the traffic right outside. Our particular room was right over a place were they were having a bar mitzvah. It was classic. The minute we walked in our windows were being rattled by Havah Nagilah blaring from the PA system. After we left for the Kon Tiki and stumbled back in around 2:30 in the morning, we decided to find the "so called" Hotel Congress Ghosts we were told frequent the boiler room and the attic. The clerks frowned on our snooping around and soon caught on to our shenanigans. They caught us as we were exploring pitch black hallways that lead to God only knows where and were obviously off limits. After a few harsh words they grounded us to our room. Oh well. The legend of the Haunted Hotel Congress remains an unsolved mystery.
The Kon Tiki is a wonderful place. Sadly, I have to say that the stunning decor and the fantastic company we were in was its only real saving grace. It has been overrun by the younger artsy crowd who can get a little on the wild side. I saw more people drinking beer than exotic cocktails. I went up to the bar, ordered 3 zombies and clinched in horror as the bar keep set 3 glasses next to each other and sloppily poured our poisons by running the liquor bottle over all three glasses at once. Not much love goes into the mixing there. I can't speak to the food since we showed up too late to order anything, but it was fairly easy to drive to the Jack in the Box down the street and smuggle that in. No one seemed to care that we were all gorging on Jumbo Jacks and Chicken Strips! All the employees were extremely friendly. They let me back in after hours just so I could take some pictures of the place while it was empty. All in all this is one of the great Tiki palaces still in existence. And it's there in most of it original greatness. The carvings haven't changed. The tikis are still the same with some added paint. The wall decorations, glass floats....everything. I would have loved to have seen it 40 years ago. Drinks and locals aside, I recommend everyone venture down at least once, because it is worth seeing. Plus Tucson is just a pretty cool town on its own.
Thanks to all those that made it down and hung out with us and a huge thanks to Jay for being the best host you could ask for.
[ This Message was edited by: SON OF MOTHRA on 2005-02-25 11:01 ]
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