2017 Tiki Bar Visits

I visited 25 tiki bars in 2017, which is a mix of luck and effort. I was fortunate to visit some new cities, where I was able to visit some great tiki bars. In particular, the tiki bars in San Diego and Portland were highlights. Some bars below I was able to visit several times.

Surprises? Tiki-Ko in Bakersfield is amazing and well worth going out of your way to visit. I had suuuuuper high expectations for False Idol and Hale Pale and in both cases all the expectations were exceeded. Superb places!

The Jungle Bird in Sacramento
The Jungle Bird in Sacramento
  1. Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto (Orlando)
  2. Trader Vic’s Emeryville
  3. Smuggler’s Cove (SF)
  4. Forbidden Island (Alameda)
  5. Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar (Anaheim)
  6. The Jungle Bird (Sacramento)
  7. Longitude (Oakland, RIP)
  8. Kona Club (Oakland)
  9. Pagan Idol (SF)
  10. Hukilau (San Jose)
  11. Cat Eye Club (San Diego)
  12. Bali Hai Restaurant (San Diego)
  13. False Idol (San Diego)
  14. Trad’r Sam (SF)
  15. The Alibi (Portland)
  16. Hale Pele (Portland)
  17. The Shameful Tiki Room (Vancouver, B.C.)
  18. Tiki-Ko (Bakersfield)
  19. Bamboo Hut (SF)
  20. The Royal Hawaiian (Laguna Beach)
  21. Aku Aku (Orlando)
  22. Hula’s Island Grill and Tiki Room (Santa Cruz)
  23. The Kon-Tiki (Oakland)
  24. The Tonga Room (SF)
  25. Luau Lounge (SF)

Thanks to Julie Crossman who was my partner in crime for most of these visits.

Also thanks to Jim and Richelle for the fun SF Tiki Bar Crawl on the hottest day in San Francisco history. It was too hot but still lots of fun. We visited three bars in one night (Smuggler’s Cove, Bamboo Hut, and Pagan Idol).

Disneyland Ride Photos

Some fun photos from our recent trip to Disneyland. We ended up only getting a day and a half in the parks, since it was raining on the Sunday getaway day and we wanted to avoid the snow on the Grapevine. For this trip we purchased a PhotoPass+, which includes photos in the parks and restaurants along with some stock photos. It also includes ride photos, which we took advantage of.

For Space Mountain, Quinn was the one who came up with the two poses. Thanks to Julie’s parents for playing along and everyone had lots of fun.

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Nobody in our family likes to ride Splash Mountain except for me, so I took a solo trip. It’s actually really fast and easy for solo riders to get onto the ride. Just walk up the exit and enter the single-rider line where I waited all of one minute before boarding. They usually seat you in the back seat, which is nice because it’s the driest. In this case, I moved up a spot so a mom and daughter (who you can’t really see) could ride together.

You’ll also notice that the front seat gets the most wet… so if you don’t like getting wet then get seated in the back.

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Lastly, here are a couple photos from Disney California Adventure. Julie and I rode Radiator Springs Racers in the single-rider line but we still got to be in the same car. This was something we would have done on Sunday with the entire family, oh well.  The Tower of Terror is a ride I’ve enjoyed more and more each year, though I do always like to “hang on for dear life.”

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Geocaching at Quarry Lakes

Last week I took Riley over to Quarry Lakes regional park to do some reconnaissance on some geocaches within the park. This was in prep for a hike today with Quinn and the Cub Scouts (see blog post).  It was a lot sunnier and nicer last weekend, as you can see in the shot with Riley. Quinn did find a way to have fun though.

The Greatest Ice Cream Ever Created

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As this blog has already well established, Mother’s Circus Animal Cookies are the best cookies ever made. And thanks to fans of the cookies such as yours truly who vocally demanded their return, Mother’s Circus Animals are still available in stores again. But today at the store I discovered something that’s even better than Mother’s Circus Animals.

Better than the Circus Animals cookies?

Even better.

Mother’s Circus Animal Cookie Ice Cream!

Yes, friends, this is here and it’s real and I’ll tell you what, it’s delicious!  It’s from Sunnyside Farms, which is a store brand available at both Lucky/Save Mart and at Raley’s. The ice cream features big chunks of Circus Animal cookies all inside pink and white cookie batter ice cream.  There’s a nice blog post that gives additional details about the Mother’s/Sunnyside partnership. The good news is that the post was dated in July 2011, so perhaps the “limited edition” is something that will last for a longer time.

If you have love for these cookies you definitely need to try this ice cream. It is really great.

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How to Break Down a Box

A little “how to” courtesy Riley and Quinn. I asked Quinn to break down a box in order to put it into the recycling. The running joke in our family is consistent and never gets old (“Kevin, can you break down that box?” “Sure. Stupid box, stupid stupid box”). Think about it.

Anyway, Quinn had some trouble and soon went running for his souvenir Louisville Slugger. Next thing I knew Riley had joined him in the back yard and sporting a play sword. I think you can agree the boys did an effective job of “breaking down” the box. Literally and figuratively.

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The Joy of Disneyland

There’s something amazing about the joy on a kid’s face when they experience the magic of Disneyland. Here are some of the best shots from our trips in April and August of this year.

Quinn and Riley on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Quinn and Riley on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Riley on Silly Symphony Swings
Riley on Silly Symphony Swings
Thumbs Up for Mickey's Fun Wheel
Thumbs Up for Mickey's Fun Wheel
Francis' Lady Bug Boogie
Francis' Lady Bug Boogie
Dole Whip and Enchanted Tiki Room Garden
Dole Whip and Enchanted Tiki Room Garden
Quinn Going Crazy on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Quinn Going Crazy on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

I love that last one of Quinn so much…

Beat AZ!

A minor bit of handiwork to transform my official San Francisco Giants “Beat LA” shirt into one appropriate for today’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Beat AZ! Beat AZ!

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