Last blog-post of 2008

They say that ice and snow are snarling highways and airports around the country as winter storms blow from west to east, which makes me appreciate all the more the opportunity I have to enjoy a quiet and peaceful holiday at home with Jenny and Vienna.

We've mailed our family newsletter, strung twinkling lights, baked Christmas cookies, and played holiday tunes, and today we'll trim the tree (a bit late). We also have just enough time to finish wrapping presents before settling in to watch It's a Wonderful Life and drive around nearby neighborhoods looking for our favorite lighting displays tonight. The cats are remarkably friendly these days as they prefer our company to the cold outside. In short, all's right in Woodland.

I need not overestimate the gap between our present calm and the stresses awaiting in the new year. It's almost as if we're taking a pause, all of us, holding our breath before leaping off a tall diving board. We hope there's water in the pool, but we're not entirely sure. The economy, the war, the unknown... Today we enjoy a respite, but we know that the future will be tough.

So we draw inward a bit, closer to friends and family. We require fewer things and more meaningful moments. We celebrate all manner of holidays this season but generally agree that this time calls for each of us to commemorate love above all things, love for those who have guided us to this point, love for those who share our joys and woes, love for those who stand with us when the winds blow.

I hope you have happy holidays and a prosperous 2009.

Drift Tiki Lounge

Last week, I came to the Phoenix-Mesa metroplex to write about Waffle House (it's a long story) and, along the way, I thought I'd check about area tiki opportunities. I came across some positive reviews of the (apparently revamped) Drift in Scottsdale with low expectations. Wow, was I delighted to be wrong.

The folks who designed this place - definitely a nouveau tiki place - get a lot right. Dark and exotic interior? Check. Grand tiki idol? Check. Aquarium in the bar? Check. The only disappointment: Hipster music pumped loudly, even on the outside porch. A big fat minus on the island vibe. But not a buzzkill, given the deal on Mai Tais.

I showed up during happy hour and ordered one, getting a second one for free. Uh oh. I decided to find a comfortable place to chill, knowing it'd be a while before I could drive; I don't want to experience Arizona law enforcement in any other manner than a rerun of Cops. The Mai Tai itself was standard bar-fare: nondescript rum in a plastic decanter, not the sublimely sour concoction of Hawaiian memories. No matter. The price was right.

I sat outside on the patio, the chill December air banished by a fireplace and overhead heaters. While I'd spent the day eating Waffle House grub, I somehow found room to down some free Happy Hour pupus. Amy (the manager) dropped by, and we chatted about my trip. She kindly offered another Mai Tai . No thank you, I replied. Driving. But if you're in town, stop by. It's a swell place.

Here's my revised list of top tiki experiences.

10. Castaways in Colorado, CO
9. Drift in Scottsdale, AZ
8. Thatch in Portland, OR
7. Forbidden Island in Alameda, CA
6. Trader Vic's in Chicago, IL (closed)
5. Tiki-Ti in Los Angeles, CA
4. House Without a Key in Oʻahu, HI
3. Hula's in Santa Cruz, CA (ranking skewed by homefield location; ask for the Tiki Room)
2. Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale, FL
1. Kahiki in Columbus, OH (closed)

For 'completists' only: Kon Tiki, in Tucson, AZ, Tonga Room, CA, and Alibi in Portland, OR

Of course, you've got to see the Enchanted Tiki Room in Disneyland (CA) at least once.

Next stop: Hala Kahiki in River Grove, IL

(Photograph by Andrew Wood)

Mesa Motels

During my recent trip to Phoenix, I spent some time in nearby Mesa. Happily, Main Street contains some fine motel architecture - like the Highway Host (above) and the Kiva Lodge (below) - and a sublime sunset on my last day in town.


The video (below) celebrates a terrific motel, the Starlite, which features one of the truly great animated motel signs in the country.


Trouble seeing the video? Point your browser to this link (click "watch in high quality" for best view):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDp_iM0kr9c

(Photographs and video by Andrew Wood)

Update on Blogging Schedule

I'm taking some time away from the blog until next week, spending a few days in Phoenix to write an essay on (and at) Waffle House.

I plan to blog for a couple of days before Christmas before taking my end-of-year hiatus until soon after New Years Day. Then it's back to normal.

I hope the holiday season finds you well...

2008 Wood Family Newsletter

Greetings!

I've uploaded the 2008 Wood Family Newsletter. If you'd like to take a look, click the link below:

http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/wooda/2008newsletter.pdf

Highway 9 - 500th post!

Ah, the Highway 9 detour, adding an hour to an already hourlong commute about twice a year. A wreck earlier this morning on the 17 stopped traffic in both directions because, after all, you know, it was raining. So, it's a morning of drizzly, hairpin turns for me.

We're taking the windy road through Felton and Boulder Creek, passing hut tubs covered with fallen leaves, passing the houses that look like they were built in the seventies by stoned buskers, passing the redwoods that have stood for centuries.

And I'm sitting by a guy who gave me the stink-eye because I dared to sit where he'd placed his luggage. A line of people behind me, some who may end up standing for hours, and he's feeling territorial. I offer to help him move his bag, but he chooses to hold the case on his leg, seething.

Mondays...

Barking Dog

Today I found myself standing once more at the Highway 17 bus station, waiting for the predictably late coach to arrive. Today it would be filled with dozens of extra passengers than normal, UCSC kids heading home for the holidays, hauling their gear to the train station. I boarded to a smell of pot smoke and cat pee. I had to smile.

Just a moment before, I heard a loud bark, followed by another and another. I looked down the road and saw a huge dog, a livestock dog, sticking his head out the window of a SUV. This dog was barking at the passing trees, barking at the passing cars, barking at the passing birds. His tail was awag and his eyes were bound open with excitement. This was one happy dog.

Ah, heck, the ride won't be that long.