Ohio Tiki Roadtrip 2014

Hanging out at Surly Girl Saloon in Columbus 

Derek and I were super excited to get-a-way for a small road trip to Columbus, Ohio and Cleveland, Ohio to visit the new Tiki bars that opened in both cities and to do some vintage shopping. It was a nice break from the crappy winter (even though it was freezing and briefly snowed in Columbus) and indulge in one of our obsessions....Tiki!

Picture heavy blog! I apologize as the photos are all cell phone quality.

We've gotten pretty good at winterizing our vintage barkcloth Tiki gear. We really don't care it makes no sense, we want to be in the 'Aloha Spirit' while keeping warm. *Wink*

First stop was Grass Skirt Tiki Room in Columbus, I loved the mini volcano! The sun also came out after a freak snow/wind storm.

We had a lot of fun goofing around and snapping photos with some of the amazing decor. I took a lot of photos, even though it was extremely dark inside, which is typical of a Tiki bar. I won't bore you with all the details, but the drinks and the food were great! 

Derek found his perfect mug!

Next stop was Porco Lounge & Tiki Room in Cleveland, which wasn't much to look at from the outside, but it is was a warm and inviting inside the lounge.

We were admiring the owner Stefan's Tiki mug collection, so many vintage and retired Tiki Farm mugs! Heaven!

View from our booth

We had a blast together at Grass Skirt, but Porco was an amazing experience. Not only was our bartender Shawn knowledgeable and friendly, he made our evening special and so much fun! We made some new friends who came over and sat at our booth as well as the rest of the bar staff who came over to introduce themselves. So. Much. Fun. We left with the owner Stefan hugging us and wishes us to hurry back to visit. We really felt like we became part of the Porco family and I can't wait to come back! Sigh.

Haha, I love this goof!

Mmmmm!

We didn't leave Ohio without plundering some vintage shops and we didn't think we bought that much until we unpacked all the bags......

.....and that's just the Tiki items. Haha! Well, I did have my 'no buy' beginning of the month and ended with a (Tiki) bang!

We came home tired, but happy. There are more Tiki trips this year and I can't wait!

Thank you for reading!

Aloooooha!
XOXO-Meagan Kyla

Tiki Road Trip Florida 2013 Edition : Vacation Slides

Warning: This blog post contains many images of Tiki's, Polynesian Pop and other

tropical related paraphernalia. It may cause mai tai cravings, urge to hula and to shout out "Aloha!"

Proceed with caution.

Day 1-Hanging out with my parents in Micanopy, FL

Our trip to Florida was based around two things; visiting my parents and visiting Tiki bars. Though we did other things, the Tiki hunt was the main object and we managed to visit 4 bars in 3 different cities. Yes, we're insane.

It was hard to narrow down my photos to share with you and not to completely bore you to Tiki death, so here are some of the highlights (and low lights) of our Tiki Road Trip Florida 2013 Edition.

So many Shag art prints inside Caffeine

First stop was Caffeine Wine Bar & Bistro in Ormond Beach. The restaurant had an outdoor Tiki bar named the Kona Bar. The artwork and sheer size of the outdoor space was HUGE and it was decorated with more Shag art. 

Unfortunately the actual outdoor Tiki bar was closed, our bartender told us that the restaurant was going through some changes. I really hope they don't change the decor and style!

We sat inside Caffeine and had the mai tai's (the only Tiki drink they served!), they were just okay. It's a bummer that the place was so awesome, but really didn't serve a lot of fresh tropical libations. Still, the experience was awesome and we left giddy and excited for what was yet to come.

My ugly pants are blending into the foliage!

Next stop, Sarasota, FL! We visited Trader Vic's Island Bar and Grill. This Trader Vic's isn't the original bars that are found in 5 star hotels, but it is the first concept restaurant and it was AWESOME. 

Derek deciding what we should have next....

The 1944 Mai Tai recipe was so yummy, fresh and delicious, it wins the best mai tai on our Tiki road trip! 

The manager gave us all these coasters and post cards that she found while cleaning out the office drawers and she gave them to us! The staff was so awesome and we even loved the food. Mmmmmm pot stickers.

Angry Tiki LOL!

Derek and I shared the Tiki Bowl....errrrr, well I made him finish it since I had to drive (don't worry we were there for a few hours!). This was the result:

I've never seen my husband being defeated by a tropical libation! Hahahaha! Poor Derek.

Later in the evening we visited the Bahi Hut Lounge which is also in Sarasota. We were extra excited to visit this lounge as it was est. in 1954 and it was right next to our motel. They claim to have to "world's most lethal mai tai".

There aren't any photos of the inside as this bar as it was the seediest, most disturbing and scariest experience of the whole Tiki bar trip. I don't want to get into too much details, but it will always haunt us....forever. We weren't in any danger, but I now understand the reviews on Yelp and other internet sites. Yikes! Oh, the mai tai was totally disgusting.

Last and final destination was Waitiki in Orlando, FL. We were relieved to find the bar relaxing and the food was decent. Waitiki was nestled in a really cool part of downtown Orlando that was the arts district, we felt right at home.

The mai tai was bad (we didn't even finish it), but the other drinks were great! I loved my singapore sling (or singapour sling on the menu), it was refreshing. This is the bar that yours truly got a wee bit tipsy as we just walked to and from our motel. I slept really well that night. *Wink*.

We sat by Mr. Bali Hai

Hahaha!!!!

Phew! We had a great time, saw a lot of sights, but I'm happy to be home (even though it's now 37 degrees out, brrrr!) and back into the swing of things. Thank you for helping me reflect on our trip!

Alllooooohhhhaaaaaaaaaa!

XOXO-Meagan Kyla