Around this time in 2023, I caught wind of a brand-new conference event in Northern California, called Resort-O-Rama.
It was from the organizers of Tiki Oasis—a huge and long-running tiki festival that takes place every year in San Diego, and that I'd been too intimidated to ever attend (maybe because I wouldn't be "tiki" enough!).
But Resort-O-Rama somehow seemed more approachable to me—maybe because it was new, or maybe because it was more generally centered on Mid-Century aesthetics, which I'd earned my place among as a documentarian of many Mid-Century buildings and as a regular attendee of Modernism Week in Palm Springs.
But three years ago, I was working harder than I'd worked in over 10 years, with no paid time off—and making less money than I'd made in almost 20 years. I had neither the time nor the money to get myself up to Northern California for a long weekend.
Fast-forward to 2026, and I hear that Resort-O-Rama is happening again. I'm working a little less hard—still with no PTO—and making a little more money. But, I thought, there's still no way I can get myself there on my own. At least, not just for fun.
Besides, I've still been working on The Los Angeles Breakfast Club history book—and, although a year later than we initially expected, we're in the final stretch.
Courtesy Resort-O-Rama
