As I write this I am on the airplane flying home from Tiki Oasis. As I sip my airplane cocktail and eat the mini pretzels I’m looking back at some of my personal favorite Tiki Oasis moments. Note: It toook me a week to post this, but I did write it on the plane last week…

Thursday Night Dinner and Mai Tais at Bali Hai

The Bali Hai offers a beautiful view of The San Diego Harbor and the city skyline. We started off with The Bali Hai’s famously potent Mai Tais. They were great, but also very strong. I’m planning on sharing the recipe soon.

For dinner I had the Kalua Pork Tenderloin. It was excellent. The pork was very tender and it was served with Bacon, Caramelize Onion, Petite Cabbage, and Sherry Reduction. It was truly amazing.  More about Thursday night soon!

The Room Crawls

The room crawls were a lot of fun.  It is like a college dorm or house party. Picture 20, 50, or 70+ people squeezed into a tiny hotel room, or suite.  Each party has a featured drink.  There were so many creative themes and great cocktails. I’ll post more about this soon!

Watching A Live Recording of The Zen Tiki Lounge Podcast

What do you get when you combine Tiki Oasis, a Tiki Bar, flamingos with mini sombreros, and Tequila Tiki cocktails? Also, if you listen to ZTL 223 Tiki Oasis 2011: South of the Border you will hear yours truly.  I’m the one from Wisconsin who runs into Michelle Bachmann every week at the Piggly Wiggly. Confused? Read More

Meeting Many Great Tiki People

I met so many great Tiki people.  I really felt welcome, and a part of the Tiki community at my first Tiki Oasis.  There are too many people to mention here, but watch for more Tiki Oasis posts to hear about these great people.  

Polynesian Pop in Mid-Century San Diego Symposium

Bosko hosted a symposium that explored San Diego’s rich Tiki history.  We learned about Shelter Island and how that island used to be almost all Tiki, and where you can still find Tiki today in San Diego.  Finally, we learned the history on how the Crowne Plaza where Tiki Oasis is held. The Crowne Plaza has a history of rich tiki theming that has been removed over the years.  

Jack “Mr. Bongo” Costanzo & His Latin All-Stars

My favorite band of the week was definitely Jack Costanzo.  Jack is a legend in the bongo scene.  In the 40s and 50s he worked with such greats as Dezi Arnez and Nat King Kole.  His Latin bongo style was excellent to listen to from our balcony.  If you haven’t heard his music look him up.

So, those were some of my favorite moments from Tiki Oasis.  I have all my pictures posted here.  I’ll be posting more in depth about some of these things soon.  If you were there what were your favorite moments?

Mahalo!

Damon