Mid Century Goodness - Part 3

Today we wrap up our look at the wacky world of Lake George with a visit to the Magic Forest.






The day I stopped by the Magic Forest, it was raining so the Diving Horse show was canceled. I really wanted to see it, how often do you get a chance like that?


It wouldn't be Lake George without more concrete sculptures. This time we find Uncle Sam, Santa Claus and another Paul Bunyan greeting us in the parking lot.













Right on the edge of the parking lot, along SR 9, you can find this beatiful work of art to help draw folks into the park. When was the last time you saw Mighty Mouse riding an elephant?









Wouldn't it be fun to take this out for a spin around town?










A damsel in distress being rescued by the prince.......










It looks like the prince runs up and down the tower along this track. He was either broken or not running while I was there.









More giant characters around the park.














They also have a safari train ride thru the magical forest. It does not run on tracks, it's more like a hayride along this bike path.





















So after seeing all the kitchy roadside goodness the Town of Lake George has to offer, when you drive by the Tiki Resort, it does not seem unusual at all, in fact it fits right in!

Mid Century Goodness - Part 2

Mini Golf Mania!

You can’t throw a rock in Lake George without hitting a putt putt golf course. I found 8 courses with a 6 minute drive each way of the Tiki Resort. They are everywhere.


You want pirates, they’ve got pirates.




The Lake George area must be the concrete sculpture capital of the world. Cartoon characters, animals, dinos, folk heroes, exotic places and landmarks, you can find all them in Lake George. Let’s take a look at two of the wackiest courses you can play.





A Mohican Indian and Tom Sawyer’s Tree house.





Catch a wave in Hawaii.






Paul Bunyan is popular around here, you can find him in a few different places.









Don’t forget your parka, it gets cold in Norway.





The Spanish Guitar.





How about a trip to the Orient……Japan……





…..or maybe a ride in a rickshaw in Hong Kong.






But this hole was my favorite. If you can hit your ball up the little ramp in front of the kangaroo and jump it into the pouch, it comes out his tail pipe around back.





Golf Around the World is a great course, but hands down, the kitschiest course has got to be Goony Golf.




It’s the Gooniest!

What a great mascot they have.


















Several of the characters around the course are animated, their arms or legs spin around.





My favorite dino at the course. His little arms move up and down and at night he looks wonderful when the course is lit with colored lights.

Mid Century Goodness - Part 1

For the next few posts, I’m going to be taking a slight ‘non-tiki’ detour to explore the roadside mid century populuxe wonderland that the resort town of Lake George, New York has to offer. As I mentioned in my last post, Lake George is located upstate, about 1 hour north of Albany, in the Adirondack Mountains.



I was in Lake George for about 3.5 days, so while I was there I did quite a bit of exploring around town and discovered lots of great things.


How about lunch at Mr. B’s Best? They had excellent roast beef sandwiches.

Anyone want to stop for a treat at Martha’s Dandee Cream?






Step on up to the window to place your order.



Later on in the evening we could pack the kids up in the car and head over to The Glen Drive-In Theatre (an almost extinct part of Americana)



If you really want to experience the roadside kitchiness of Lake George, how about cruising along SR 9 in this 1961 Plymouth Tempest (For Sale, only $5,500).




How about heading downtown for a visit to the House of Frankenstein Wax Museum? They had some really classic/cheesy torture scenes. Note the animatronic Phantom playing the organ in the second story window.



You can see Dr. Frankenstein……




…..and his monstrous creation




When the sun sets, the neon comes on




About six miles down the road from the Tiki Resort is the Town of Glens Falls, NY. The Hudson River flows right along the edge of downtown. At the falls, there is a cave called Cooper’s Cave.



In 1826, Cooper’s Cave became famous when author James Fenimore Cooper visited the area and was inspired to write his most famous novel The Last of the Mohicans. The story is about the French Indian war that took place in upstate New York in this area. The Mohican theme is popular in the area and you will find references all over town.



A Mohican Indian stands guard at the lobby.



Then at night, more great neon.




Kids, do you want to go out and play on the Indian swing set?




More to come……

Tiki Resort 2010 - Lake George, New York

A few weeks ago I traveled to upstate New York to attend the Fraternal Order of Moai National Convention and Ohana, Luau at the Lake tiki weekend in Lake George, New York. Lake George is located about an hour north of Albany, in the Adirondack Mountains. It is really a beautiful place to visit.



Lake George in the background in the Adirondacks


Here is the Tiki Resort with its midcentury goodness, including the multiple A-frames and fake palm trees.






The Paradise Building



Outrigger canoe along SR 9





There are multiple tikis around the resort. Two of these orange fellows guard the main entrance to the building. The black tiki with the ornamental headdress on the right has been standing at the Tiki Resort since it opened. Originally, it was located at the previous entrance building (shown in the 3rd picture), but after the lobby was expanded and the restaurant was added, he was moved down to the new main entrance. As I understand it, this fellow has been nameless for the decades he has been standing guard. So as part of the weekend, there was an official naming & dedication ceremony. He was named I’ke (pronounced eye-key) in honor of Dwight Eisenhower (Ike) and his establishment of the Federal Interstate Highway System and the countless roadside icons that popped up along the highways and byways.





The back of the resort. A swimming pool is behind the black iron fence. All of the weekend’s outdoor activities (when it was not raining) were happening poolside.





Detail of the mask hanging on the back of the Paradise Building.

The Tiki Resort was a great place to visit and a fantastic place to host a tiki weekender!