Ahhh, the sweet days of summer have come to a close and I’m so very sad. Thankfully we managed to sneak in one last little tropical getaway to the magical Tiki Oasis just a few weeks ago. So what is this thing called Tiki Oasis I keep yammerin’ about? Lemme tell ya .Tiki Oasis is a celebration of Polynesian pop culture and is “the largest and longest running Tiki Event on the planet.” For one weekend every August, Tiki-enthusiasts take over the historic Hanalei hotel in San Diego (now called the Crowne Plaza) and fill the place with art, music, tropical drinks—and of course, fabulous fashions.  I suppose I should start at the beginning….our trip began with a short-n- sweet plane ride down to San Diego:

Finally, we arrived! The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Mid 70s with a touch of a breeze. ALOHA, indeed.

The hotel itself is lovely. Palm trees, little waterfalls, a huge pool and, of course,  lots of cool Tikis all over the property.

The best part is that it’s an extremely family-friendly affair. Single folks, couples young and old, and families with kiddos—all mingled together. The whole weekend was the doing of my sweet friend Baby Doe (aka Dorinda) and her cool hubby Otto von Stroheim. They are the Producer’s Extraordinaire who dreamed up this crazy thang and made it all happen. This was the 10 year anniversary. It’s so crazy impressive I can’t even tell you.

Here is the always charming Doe with her little cutie Dash (and Wolfie on the left—sportin’ his Pineapple Princess aloha togs! My friend Stephanie makes groovy kid’s clothing out of vintage muu muus! More on her later….).

All told over a thousand people frolicked at the Oasis that weekend. I’m so proud of Doe—she is crazy sweet and cool and yet runs these huge events with the precision of a 5 star general!!

During the day, you could swim or browse the amazing vendors who had set up shop on the lawn near the pool and in the hotel conference area. Vintage clothing, records, artwork, tiki mugs and necklaces, even polynesian BBQ spices. There were also a wide variety of symposiums—The History of Tiki, Rum & Chocolate, The Persuasive Power of Punch, Pin-Up Hair and Makeup, Live Tiki Carvings…it was overwhelmingly awesome.

Hey look! It’s Modern Kiddo reader, Mrs. DeTiki! She was a doll and had these really cute retro-style handbags she makes.

Wolfie and Greg loved checking out the awesome vintage car show in the parking lot.

Wolfie had so much fun…I love he started wearin’ this groovy surfer necklace. By the end he had a tiki pendant to match! How cute is that tee, by the way? It’s for Greg’s kiddo band The Time Outs and the rad “Rocky the Rock Hand” artwork was done by Michael Fleming, aka Tweedlebop!

There was literally something to do at every moment. You could do everything….or nothing. We were big fans of the “do nothing” option and I’m pleased to report we clocked many hours by the pool.

Every day amazing DJs spun vintage vinyl—boat loads of 50s/60s exotica, surf, lounge and more. The vibe was super chill and cool. You honestly felt like you were living in a vintage movie….

Aw yeah! The debut of my vintage swim cap!!

I love the elevators…they’re glass and look out on an atrium of waterfalls and palm trees. At night, two guys played stand up bass and guitar IN THE ELEVATOR. See? Even the elevators are cool.

As the sun set, the vendor booths disappeared only to be replaced by lawn chairs…and the night time entertainment began. Fun bands and dance performances. Wolfie was allowed to stay up a little later to watch the first few performances.

Of course I had a blast dressing up. It’s not required by any means, but loads of people get dolled up in their vintage Hawaiiana finest. High off my vintage bathing cap victory, I decided to bust out THE BIG BUN for Saturday night!

I’ll be posting more on the Tiki fashions over at Strawberry Lemonade, my other bloggie.

Whew. OK, that’s it for the Part 1. The next installment will be Kiddo-centric and I’ll tell you allll the cool things there are for you and yer wee ones to do. Because you ARE coming next year….right??