Tiki Tuesday: The Kon Tiki, Tucson, Arizona

On our epic roadtrip of the Southwest, the hubby and I visited just one lonesome Tiki bar...there's not much Tiki out there in the desert, where they need it the most, in my opinion!

The Kon Tiki, in Tucson Arizona, opened in 1963.  It has a great history, and used to host big celebrities back in it's heyday, such as Clint Eastwood.

A pretty fun sign (please ignore the tacky banner in photo, left)

We pulled our rented RV up to this little glowing gem, and it was like an oasis in the desert, beckoning with promise of tropical drinks!

The Kon Tiki supposedly boasts  "the largest collection of Milan Guanko tikis in the world"...perhaps these are a couple?

The decor is pretty cool & authentic, including the obligatory Tretchikoff Chinese Girl.

He's happy there are no piranhas around!

In the entry way there is a big tropical aquarium (I'm such a sucker for a pretty fish tank) which apparently used to house piranhas!!! Pretty awesome. I think it's illegal to have those, now...

The Kon Tiki is a restaurant as well as a bar, and it's really big inside with lots of little rooms, each with a slightly different variation on the tiki decor. The Yelp reviews say the food is pretty mediocre, but hey...you don't go to a bar for the food, am I right?

 You go for the drinks!!! The bartender, Marcos, made me a mighty-tasty Mai Tai. It's a little odd to drink a Mai Tai in the middle of the desert...oddly delicious :-)

The Kon Tiki was an interesting spot. On the one hand, it has a fun history and lots of great, authentic details like this fab lamp.

Mr. Tiki says "please don't use me to hide junk!"

 On the other hand, it has things like the offensive-to-the-eyeballs giant banner out in front that advertised some drink special, and the junk stashed behind the tiki in the front entrance next to the trash-picker-upper and bucket combo. The freebie newspaper stand is a nice touch, too.

Me, in Mai Tai buzzed RV'ing mode

 Paradise? Perhaps not, but it'll do. We're lucky it's still around, and maybe someday the Kon Tiki can get away from the frat-bar thing and back to what I imagine might have been it's original form!

If you're in the Tucson area, definitely stop by the Kon Tiki for a Mai Tai and tell Marcos I said "Hi!"

Tiki Tuesday: Finding Tiki In The Oddest Places

(((OK...just a quick post as it's past my bedtime))

Look what I found in a thrift shop in Page, AZ!

 

This one's got beautiful photos inside:

 

.50 cents each!!!

Now I just need a portable record player and this RV would be hula-ing through the desert :-)

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Road Trip Finds: Gallup, New Mexico

On old Route 66, just over the border from Arizona into NM, is the tiny and very old town of Gallup. I found a little art gallery co-op with a vintage clothing mini-store in the back, called "Planet Mars", and scored this darling home-sewn 49'er style jacket for a song:

This cute cotton dress has a bakelite belt buckle :-) I love the smell of Bakelite in the morning!!!

I also bought three awesome men's shirts for the same spot. The owner, Marcia, was super-nice. She and the other sweet lady at the co-op steered me towards what they thought was the best thrift store in Gallup, and they sure steered me right!

"Hidden Treasures and More" is a hole-in-the-wall for sure, but inside I found this fun booty for ridiculously low prices, by LA standards.

Isn't he cute? He's a pencil holder...the pencil (or pen) makes his tail. The body is a letter holder, and the top of his head holds a little sponge to wet your stamps for you (haha...can you even buy non-sticker stamps any more?)

Last find of the day...enamelware turkey platter!! I find these enameled, brightly colored camping dishes somewhat often, but I have never, ever, seen a platter like this. I'm going to have a heard time getting rid of this one!

We also visited an amazing, haunted old hotel in Gallup today that warrants it's own post...I'll try to get that one up soon...so spooky!

Stay tuned for more road-trip adventures!

 

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