Visit a tiki bar

“After leaving (this will all be detailed in a future blog entry), I decided to return to Tiki-Ko for one last drink before hitting the road [...] The bar had gotten more crowded since I had left (a good sign. If the bar is busy, it won't be in danger of having to close down any time soon). Benny and Roy were happy to see me back. Roy fetched a barstool for me to sit on and Benny happily resumed our conversation. [...] I think a large part of why I walked out loving Tiki-Ko so much is because of the employees and how they treated me. I felt like an old friend...not just some stranger passing through.”

“It's always a bit...what? Awkward? Scary? for me stepping into an unfamiliar bar for the first time, especially when I am alone. I've never been a "bar" person, except when it comes to the tiki variety, of course. But this one, on the corner of K Street and some alley in Bakersfield (of all places), kind of had me nervous. What would it be like?”