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Tiki Pinball Serendipity



When my wife and I decided to build our home tiki bar, we both agreed that it had to have a pinball machine. Since I managed an arcade for a couple of years, I have a lot of experience restoring and repairing pins, so I figured I'd pick up something old and cheap, then fix it up.

Well, thanks to Jaime over at the Nonist, my plans changed slightly when he sent me the above image of the backglass art for a 1973 Bally pinball called...wait for it...Bali Hi! I knew immediately that this was the one-true pinball machine that the Tiki Gods themselves had decreed be enshrined in my bar.

Unfortunately, this particular machine is quite rare, only 80 units were ever built, so I had resigned myself to a long and arduous search, but lo and behold, all it took was a bit of Googling and the pinball of my tropical-fever dreams was staring me right in the face on eBay! There was only one catch: the seller lives in Cleveland, and he's unable to ship it to me here in Western Wisconsin.

Well, to make this long story short, after exchanging a few e-mails with the gentleman, I decided that I was just going to have to bite the bullet and embark upon a 1400-mile roundtrip to Ohio next weekend to bring Bali-Hai back to the place ordained for it.

Yes, I've gone completely insane. Thank you, and goodnight.

Posted by MrBaliHai on September 25, 2005 12:20 AM |

Comments

Fucking. Awesome. You are the wind beneath my wings.

Posted by: rone | September 25, 2005 5:15 AM

wow. i must say it amazes me you found that machine for sale at all. but i'm not sure whether to feel proud or guilty. that's a long trip. let's just hope the machine works well, brings your tiki bar good luck, and brings you and your "patrons" enjoyment.

but matt for god's sake travel safely ok?! and handle that machine gently! can't have any bali-hai misfortune on my conscience.

Posted by: Jmorrison | September 25, 2005 8:23 AM

Yong-Mi and I are about three hours west of Cleveland if you need a stop.

Posted by: AjD | September 25, 2005 8:25 AM

You are the wind beneath my wings.

Ha! And I am the hole within my wallet...

Jaime: thanks, don't sweat it. This is totally my decision, you just provided the trigger. I'm a roadtrip veteran and I'm sure the Moai will watch over me.

ajd: thanks, actually I could use a place to crash on Saturday night if you have room, and it would be very nice to see the two of youse. I'll e-mail you privately.

Posted by: MrBaliHai | September 25, 2005 8:56 AM

I hope you document the journey with photos and
commentary of the cuisine of Ohio.

Posted by: Fritz | September 25, 2005 9:47 AM

Ohio has cuisine? I guess I never picked up on that while watching Drew Carey.

Posted by: MrBaliHai | September 25, 2005 10:24 AM

You are truely blessed! Holy Tiki!

Posted by: orangeguru | September 26, 2005 12:19 PM

Truly you are insane. Thank god someone is willing to drive thousands of miles for a pinball machine. It gives me hope for humanity.

Posted by: Chris | September 26, 2005 12:59 PM

Awesome! Congratulations on both finding the pinball machine that was meant for you and your descent into gibbering insanity! Do drive safe, crazy man.

Posted by: Collin | September 26, 2005 12:59 PM

Yes it might be wise to avoid Ohio cuisine altogether and pack a few MRE's on your trek
to retrieve your iconic pinball machine.

Posted by: Fritz | September 26, 2005 1:00 PM

Thanks for the support, gentle readers! Now I'm going to go listen to WFMU's 21 variations on They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-haa! to get myself into the proper frame of mind for next weekend.

Actually, I'm not all that crazy; this pinball is a collector's item, only 15 are known to have survived from the 80 that were originally built, and this one is in perfect working condition.

Posted by: MrBaliHai | September 26, 2005 1:25 PM

Congrats, MrBaliHai! In re Ohio cuisine, there's a chain of Italian restaurants in the Midwest called Bravo! Cucina Italiana. Despite the hokey name, the food, service, price combo was rather good. I've eaten in the one near the Pittsburgh airport. They started in Columbus and there's one in Cincinnati. Our waiter was nervous and trying to explain why they were serving fresh baked bread and a dish of olive oil, but we told him we were from California. He sighed in relief and said "Then you'll probably want to see the wine list?" I just may have to visit Chez MrBaliHai for drinks and pinball ...

Posted by: jim | September 26, 2005 9:29 PM

Jim, there's a Mai Tai here with your name on it.

Posted by: MrBaliHai | September 26, 2005 9:43 PM

This is not insanity. This is perfection.

Best of luck!

Posted by: Sebastian | September 27, 2005 12:14 PM

Wow! Fantastic find!!

Have a safe trip. We'll expect photos of the new baby when you return.

Posted by: czeltic girl | September 27, 2005 5:06 PM

Wow, I just found your blog (thanks to the spiffy new Search All Blogs function at Blogger), and I am so impressed by your tiki dedication! LOL I'm so jealous about that pinball machine, that is so cool that you a) found one b) are so committed to get it! :-) When I have my own house, in a year or two, you'll be my inspiration to go nuts with the tiki deco plans! (I already have a few things here and there in my eclectic 50's/tiki/colourful kitchen... some pics on my blog... though nothing coming even close to your fab bar plans!)

Posted by: muse | September 30, 2005 10:30 AM

Aloha! Fellow tikiphiles are always welcome. I'd visit your site and have a look, but the link you put in the comment box leads to a non-existant domain!

I'm doing a little genre-bending with the bar decor as well. I'll be posting more about that soon.

Posted by: MrBaliHai | September 30, 2005 10:46 AM