I needed this so bad!
It’s been a long time since I went to any tiki events. Well, I guess that would be true for all of us. I believe that the last tiki event I attended before everything shut down in 2020 was On The Hiyu’s last tiki cruise that happened in October of 2019. That was a long time ago! So when I saw that On the Hiyu was putting on another Sunset Tiki Cruise, I was so excited!
If you’re not familiar with On the Hiyu is, it is a decommissioned ferry boat that has been converted into an arts, events and entertainment venue. There are two areas on either side of the boat where bands can perform…
Or grab something to eat …
And upstairs there’s not one but two full service bars and one of them happens to be a tiki called The Pau Hana Lounge!
You could not ask for a better day for a tiki cruise. The weather was sunny but not too hot and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We lined up along the south end of Lake Union located in the heart of Seattle and one by one boarded and said goodbye to the mainland, well at least for a couple of hours.
Those in the know, bee-lined it to the Pau Hana Lounge to be first in line to get tiki drinks. The line gets long really fast and the seating fills up quickly in the onboard tiki bar.
Once everyone was onboard, the boat headed north from South Lake Union to the ship canal where it’s always fun to watch the draw bridge open up above you.
Once we got out into Lake Washington, we headed south towards Mercer Island and Bellevue. The views you get from being aboard On the Hiyu are truly incredible!
For entertainment, two bands performed: Lushy, and The Dusty 45’s. Both bands played the first tiki cruise and it was great to see them both again. As the day turned to night, the boat made its way back to where we started and after about three hours, it was all over.
This Seattle Sunset Tiki Cruise meant a lot to me because it was the first time I was able to see (in-person) and reconnect with tiki friends that I hadn’t seen in a very long time. I missed my tiki ohana greatly and it was great to have a feeling of normalcy again, even if normal is all my friends and I wearing Hawaiian shirts and drinking Mai Tais!
I’d like to that Jason Craig for his pictures used for this post.
And Cara Paradise for letting me use her picture of The Dusty 45’s
Here is the On the Hiyu Website
And Facebook Page
It was a fun time, great to see you briefly!
We had a great time, cannot wait for next year’s cruise!
It was a beautiful evening spent with wonderful people!