Organic White Pineapple Yummerz!

A nice lady stopped by the shop to order some shirts. She goes by the name of Liz and owns a small organic farm called Kalamania Farms and Woods which is located on the east side of Kauai in a town called Anahola. We got to talkin' and she was mentioned that she would also like to get a logo created for her farm as well as order a banner for her booth at the Farmer's Market. We chatted for a bit about what she had in mind and I am going to start working on her logo next week. We agreed on a fair price and a partial payment of some of her organic produce. She then went out to the truck to get her deposit; a white pineapple which she called a "Kona Sugarloaf." Let me tell you this...IT WAS SOME GOOD EATIN! I ate half of it raw that afternoon, used part for my morning fruit smoothie and wrapped the rest up in some bacon along with a few teri shrimps and then cooked it on the BBQ. Well my BBQ technique needs help and some of the wraps got a little scorched but for the most part the end result broke da mouth. My tastebuddies can't wait for my next payment of fresh organic tropical delights.

Explorin' the Kuamoo-Nounou Trail

I was house and dog sitting up in the Wailua Homestead which is located up Kuamoo Rd past the hauntingly dilapidated remains of the Coconut Palms Hotel and the beautiful Opaekaa Falls. The house was a block away from the Kuamoo-Nounou Trailhead which is about a half mile past Opaekaa Falls and wraps along the lower slopes of Nounou Mountain known also as the "Sleeping Giant". I woke up early stuffed the last of my Spam Musubi in my pocket and hit the trail to see what I could find. The trail starts across near the intesection of Kuamoo Rd and Melia St and goes past several homes on the left and a fenced off field to the right. I passed a couple Lilikoi vines (Yellow Passion Fruit.) and found these two Lilikoi fruits on the ground so gathered them up to eat later.



After crossing a wooden bridge the trail veered left into a thick grove of trees, ferns and all kinds of other tropical foliage and fauna. The trail was very uneven with lots of exposed roots and plenty of mosquitos looking for breakfast. When I stopped to take photos I had to move fast or get munched. I guess I walked about a mile or so up the trail which was still damp and slippery from the rain the night before when I came across a couple covered park benches that had a great veiw of Wai'ale'ale, Kalepa Ridge, Lihue Basin and the Makaleha Mountains.

I was going to turnaround at this point but something in me decide to push on further up the trail. Well I am gald I did because check this out! After rounding the bend about another quarter mile up the path I came across this giant bamboo plant.

There were several large canes about 8' long and 3" in diameter lying on the floor. I went after the big daddy that had fallen and was wedged between the bamboo and some branches in another tree. After 5 minutes of getting nowhere trying to bust it loose from the vegetative stranglehold and getting drilled by the damn mosquitos, I settled for one of the bamboo canes that was easy pickin'. I choose a fairly straight one, banged it on the ground to knock out any spiders, lizards or centipedes that might of been living in it. I stopped at the picnic area to eat my musubi and lilikoi then headed back down the trail with my bounty. The bamboo was a choice score and made a great addition to my new Tiki room back at the shop. So on this lil excursion I got two yellow passion fruits, a jumbo piece of 'boo and a nice veiw. Not bad considering it was now only 8:30 in the morn.

Progress Shots of My New Tiki Room in Kauai

Here are some progress shots of my new Tiki Room that is being put together upstairs at the screenprintin' shop I am workin' and stayin' at here in Lihue. Up the stairs first door at the top on the right.

Reed fencing for the walls. These rolls came from Walmart of all places only 16.00 bucks a roll! Quite the deal.

Lookin' into the room which was previously a darkroom that was crammed with old equipment parts ink and junk. The slidin' door has been removed so a regular door can be installed.

Skipper muddin' the ceiling and walls. He also cut out and framed the window as well as insulated and sheet rocked the wall shown and another on the other side of the room partition.

Lookin' back out the door and at Skippydoo's elbow grease.


Keep Checkin' back more progress shots to uploaded soon!

Even more niceness added to the Ohana Hut Raffle

UH-OH Chongooooo! I am back with more good news! Another magnanimous geture is being unveiled. Added to the colossal gallery of fabulous prizes by the likes of Freddie "Ballz" Balsomic, Brad "Tiki Shark" Parker and Cheeky Half at Velvet Glass.com. Here is what are two beautiful works of art you could win for less than a gallon of gas! Cast your eyes below.


Two tikilicious hand carved pendants by the MAD MAN FREDDIE BALSOMIC


A giclee mystic tiki #9/ the Sunken Tiki created by Brad "Tiki Shark" Parker. This kinda magic usually sells for $100.00 and worth every penny.


Pee Ku Boo Print 10.25" x 13.25" another bit ticket item that might be yours for a few clams. Also thrown into the treasure chest from Maggie and Mark at Velvet Glass.com is set of their mighty fine greeting cards.



So details of the how you can get your hands on a raffle ticket can be found Here. Other prizes that will be raffled off can be found at this link, this link and this link. Check it them all out but hold onto you eyeballz so they dont pop out of your skull!


I was asked if this is going to one big jackpot win or a will each item be raffled off separately. The answer is they will be raffled off as individual items with the execption of the Ohana Hut and the shelf. If you have any other questions please ask.

I will be getting around to talkin' with the good folks at Forbidden Island to dial in the evening of the raffles protocol. So stay tuned for more announcements and fun.

Spam Musubi

You either love Spam Musubi or you hate it. I for one enjoy the taste of one of Hawaii's favorite foods. Although I must admit I don't particularly like the smell of nori. I have been told you can make musubi with just about anything teriyaki chicken or beef, Portuguese and Vienna sausage and even hotdogs. I did a bit of googling and found out about the history of Spam and a Spam musubi Recipe at Whats Cooking America. So I went out and bought me a Musubi Maker and the rest of the ingredients needed to whup up my own Spam Musubi. It was easy to make and came out ONO! (Delicious)

Buddhist Bon Dance July 7, 2000

Lat night I was sittin' in the studio pretty much thinkin' I was in for the night when I got a call from a friend. She asked me if I wanted to meet up with her and some other friends who were going to check out a Buddhist Bon Dance in Kapa'a. I had no idea what it was all about but it sounded interesting so I jumped in the van and headed over to the Buddhist temple. When I got there it was quite a interesting scene. There was a bunch of people sitting around a circle and watching dancers of all ages and race in colorful kimonos as they danced around a wooden tower called a yagura. There were other people bangin on a giant drum and later a lady got on the top of the tower and sang a cool song in Japanese. I hung out for a bit and took some pictures that you can see on my Kauai Flickr Set. When I got home I Googled the Bon dance festival and learned about more about this interesting Japanese festival on the Wikipedia website. I am really glad I got over to check this out. This is the type of cultural stuff that has always intrigued me about island life and customs.

Even more goodies added to the Ohana Hut Raffle

Holy Shiznit! This is out of control!!! I am almost beyond words here folks. I am going to be busy all day today getting back to the people who have bought raffle tickets and donated items to what has become an amazing gesture of friendship by so many. Let me run this by you all again. For a measly $3.00 clams you have the chance to win these AWESOME ITEMS You can also win these:
A one of a kind hand painted by Chongolio Ohana Hut made possible by the endless generosity of Stuckie at Munktiki with a custom bamboo shelf built by none other than Bamboo Ben which has given an eyeball scorchin' paint job by Ken "Little Lost Tiki" Ruzic. With embellishments added by everybody's favorite neandrathal and yellow people animator GROG.




A super sweet comic book illustrated by Jack Kirby featuring Moai that come to life donated by the talented tentacles of Squid


A one of a kind Aquamarine rocketship decanter from Make Da Mug the genius and hardworkin' force behind Tiki Farm



Seven signed mini prints by none other than the aloha oozin' and talent overflowin' man they call Thor.








Now if that wasn't enough to get your peepers poppin' there is more!!!

The paint slingin', brush smokin', bad motor scooter known as Sam Gambino has kicked down an original signed Shrunken Clown Ink Wash (picture will be posted soon) and this signed print:


Also donated by the the multi talented creative madman Notch are a couple of his much coveted tiki mugs. (pics added soon)

All this and more to be raffled off, thanks to Conga Mike and Martiki, in one exciting night at one of the known univerese's finest Tiki bars Forbidden Island

So what you think!!!! Coconuts or what. Not sure what I did to receive so much Aloha from you all but I am completely flattered and greatful to have such genereous and thoughful friends and to be a part of such a unique group of folks.

More prizes for the Ohana Hut Raffle added

Your not going to believe what Mr and Mrs Swampfire have thrown into the raffle pot! Check these beauties out:


Limited edition print by Doug "Swampfire" Horne
"Marquesan Hat" #26 of 200
Matted size 16"X20", textured straw mat
Value $75


Resin necklace made by Stacey
Size of resin piece is 1.25"X7/8"
Artwork by Doug Horne
On adjustable leather cord
Value $30

Boy did that just make the pot even juicier and one of these awesome items can possibly be yours for the small price of $3.00! Once again I have to thank all of the Ohana for their support with donations and purchases of the raffle tickest. I am totally blown away by the generosity and friendship you have given me. I almost feel like I should have a terminal illness or something rather than a large hole in my wallet. So to help curb my pangs of guilt I am going to sweeten the deal a little more and throw in this Chongolian original; The Tiki Turtle-lele a handpainted, green bauble embelished ukulele



I can't say in enough times MAHALO MAHALO MAHALO! to everyone who bought tickets and donated there fantastic creations to me out.

One of a kind Bamboo Shelf Donated to Ohana Hut Raffle

Check out this KILLER Bamboo shelf that will house the hand painted Ohana HutBamboo Ben constructed and Ken "little Lost Tiki" Ruzic is paintin' up. These two creative super geniuses have gone beyond the call of friendship and have collaborated and are donating this BIG TICKET item to the Ohana Hut raffle making it a serious jackpot for the lucky winner who gets their ticket pulled. Check out this link to the Ohana Hut Raffle thread on Tiki Central to see some of Little Lost Tiki's sketch ideas of what he thinking about embellishing the Bamboo shelf with. Keep checkin' back, more raffle items are on the way!

Ahi, ahi, ahi! (fire, fire, fire)

As my freind Tim and I headed into Kapa'a from Lihue to the Olympic cafe for a pitcher of beer and some Kalua pig quesadillas, we came across this firey scence just outside of Kapa'a. People were parked along side the road and watching this good sized fire burn it way just along side the highway. This is the second fire this week along that stretch of road. This fire was nothing compared to the one that was blazing in Maui over the weekend. Hard to believe that one of the wettest places on earth is suffering from a drought. Later that night, Tim and I pulled over along side a mountain road to watch helicopters dip giant buckets into the Waialua River to dump over the fire that was just about under control. Fortunately, the road was not shut down and I was able toget back into Lihue.