Not Just Food at Foodland…Tikis Too!

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Tiki Sites and Stores and tagged with Foodland, hawaii, Kauai, Princeville, Tiki November 9, 2012

While we were staying at the Westin on Kauai, the Foodland in Princeville was our go-to grocery store. Well, it’s really the only game in town, but they get big bonus points for all the different kinds of delicious poke they serve at the deli counter.

Foodland also stocks products made from Hawaiian companies, including some that feature tikis in their designs, like Hawaiian Eateries Kon-Tiki salsas.

Meanwhile, the label for Da Kine Hawaiian BBQ Sauce had sort of a tiki-pineapple hybrid. It reminded me of the pineapple jack ‘o lanterns tiki folks carve at Halloween.

In the souvenir section I stumbled upon this tiny army of probably imported tiki figurines, keychains, bottle openers, frames and mugs. Nothing too notable about them, I was just a bit surprised to see so many.

Then I turned around and saw these stickers from family-owned, Kauai-based company Tiki Toes. This stylized Ku is just one of their neat tiki designs — you can see several more on their web site.

And how could you go to Hawaii without buying some chocolate covered macadamia nuts? Might as well pick the Hawaiian Host box with the big tiki on it.

While not truly tiki, I also liked the Hawaiian-style Hello Kitty stuff they had, this cute coin purse most of all. Aloha, everybody, and Happy Friday!

Tiki Halloween Decorations – Shrunken Head Pumpkin

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Objets de Tiki and tagged with Crafts, DIY, Halloween, Halloween Crafts, Halloween Decorations, Shrunken Head, Tiki October 31, 2012

I’m not normally very crafty, but when I found instructions on how to make a shrunken head pumpkin I decided to give it a go. It was a fun way to add some Halloween decorations to the tiki room in our new house, and it wasn’t too difficult. The most annoying and time-consuming part was poking holes in the top of the foam pumpkin and threading the raffia through them.

INSTRUCTIONS (via Michaels.com)

Materials List:
Small Gourd – White
Multi-Colored Raffia
Craft Foam – White
Wiggle Eyes
Wooden and Colored Beads-Assorted
Exacto Knife
Pencil
Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

Step: 1
Cut a hole in bottom of Gourd, large enough to fit your hand inside.

Step: 2
Cut a series of 16 holes in the top, in a circular pattern. These should be large enough to thread double-thick strands of raffia through.

Step: 3
Thread double thickness of raffia down through a hole in the top, and then thread it back up through the hole next to it, so the ends of raffia stick up out of the top of the Gourd like hair. Repeat until all holes are filled. You may use different colored raffia to create a custom look.

Step: 4
Gather raffia into a ponytail at the top of head’, and wrap with loose raffia.

Step: 5 (I skipped this step)
Cut out a bone from white craft foam and hot glue behind wrapped area of raffia.

Step: 6
Draw on face with a pencil, and carefully cut out with Exacto knife. You may carve only the surface to create a relief effect, as shown.

Step: 7
Cut holes on top and bottom of mouth line and thread raffia through the holes to create a stitched mouth.

Step: 8
Hot glue wiggle eyes in place.

Step: 9
Select two strands of raffia toward the front of the head’ and string with wooden and colored beads. Tie a knot in the end and trim to desired length.

Do you put up any tiki-themed Halloween decorations? Tiki Central has a thread on Tiki Bar Halloween Decor that can give you more ideas. Happy Halloween!

A Walk Around the Ruins of the Coco Palms – Kauai

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Tiki Sites and Stores and tagged with Blue Hawaii, Coco Palms, Elvis Presley, hawaii, Kauai, Travel October 24, 2012

An abandoned hotel wouldn’t normally be high on my sightseeing list, but the Coco Palms on Kauai was a notable exception. (Sidenote: I do actually find ghost town-type places kind of fascinating, like China’s haunting Wonderland amusement park or the now-demolished Nevada Landing, a riverboat hotel adrift in the desert near Vegas.)

Behind that chainlink fence and ominous No Trespassing sign is what was once Kauai’s premier resort that played host to Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, who helped make it famous in a little film called “Blue Hawaii” in 1961.

Through the overgrown trees I could see the lagoon from the romantic scene at the end of the movie where Elvis serenades his wahine with the “Hawaiian Wedding Song” as they float on a double-hulled canoe. (The web site ElvisInHawaii.com has some screen caps of that scene.) But the land’s importance goes back way before “The King” to Kauai’s actual kings — this was their ancestral homeland and the site of burial grounds and other sacred spots.

So what happened to the Coco Palms? Twenty years ago, Hurricane Iniki hit the island, the hotel suffered damages and it’s been closed ever since. It’s easy to spot as you’re driving along Kuhio Highway in Wailua, north of the airport. Even in its decaying state, there are parts of it that are still captivating. It’s also kind of spooky to see lamps still in in the windows of some of the hotel rooms.

Plans to build a new resort on the property seem to have fallen through, but Pacific Business News reports that the site has been sold to new investors. It seems inevitable that the original buildings will eventually be torn down, so I’m glad I got to see some of what’s left.

I only checked out the outside area, but it is possible to get a closer look. Bob and Jerri Jasper, original founders of Hawaii Movie Tours, offer tours of the Coco Palms Monday through Friday at 1:45 p.m. for $20 per person. For more information, call 8-8-346-2048 or visit cocopalmstours.com. And apparently Coco Palms’ longtime entertainer Larry Rivera even coordinates “Blue Hawaii” themed weddings among the ruins.