STORY 2: Beautiful Plumeria Cove, Tiki Kids & The Magical Tutu Lole
BEAUTIFUL PLUMERIA COVE
Located on the southeast side of the island is Plumeria Cove, the home of the world’s most beautiful beach. It is almost impossible to get to as it is surrounded by palm trees of all sizes and heights growing closely together with lots of green vegetation, bright fragrant flower bushes, and tropical ferns. This beautiful jungle is so tangled and intertwined that a person has a hard time pushing their way through it. Frequented mostly by local surfers and beachgoers, it is also the location of two other well-known Plumeria Cove landmarks. The first is the little parking lot that is nestled in the middle of the jungle just off the only road in the area. The parking lot was constructed just large enough to serve as the helipad for the Hidden Paradise Resort with a little extra space for the vehicles that transport arriving and departing resort guests. It also serves as a meet-up for resort employees catching the bus and is a local parking spot for the rare island vehicle that needs a place to park when visiting the beach or the island’s second landmark, Tiki Kids.
There are two narrow pathways leading away from the parking lot. The south pathway will take you to the beach that sits just east of the cliffs and the east pathway will take you to the Tiki Kids side of the beach The jungle around the parking lot and these pathways is so thick that the surfers have a difficult time getting through them with their surfboards. Instead, they will travel down the beach from the residential side of town and leave their surfboards at Tiki Kids where they are safe and easy to retrieve.
TIKI KIDS
The pathway to Tiki Kids is marked with a small wooden sign and after about a 5-minute walk through a narrow path filled with dense tropical vegetation, it opens up to the most beautiful, little, white-washed bamboo shack surrounded by green, leafy plants, colorful tropical flowers, white sand and lots of seashells. Behind the shack, you can see the beach and the seashore and up the stairs on the deck you will find racks and racks of handmade children’s clothing created exclusively from tropical print fabrics of all colors and styles. There are also many shelves of folded tropical shirts and outfits mixed in with comfy chairs where you can sit and rest. All of these beautiful items are for sale and are surrounded by exquisite tropical flowers in pots of bright, bold colors. The entire place smells like Plumerias and the ocean and feels like a place you never want to leave.
To the left of the open-air store is a small mysterious room where the proprietor lives and works. No one has ever been inside this room because there has never been a need for it. Magical things happen at Tiki Kids. If you decide to drop by to have tea or coffee with the proprietor, there is always a table with a fresh pot and the exact number of cups waiting. If you are visiting to pick out fabric, the best and most perfect fabric will be waiting for you on the fabric rack. If you show up and mention that you need a special dress, there will be a sketch already created showing the perfect dress. Since everything is magically prepared for you, it seems like there is never a reason to go inside that tiny mysterious bamboo room where all the sewing magic happens.
Everyone loves to drop in at Tiki Kids. Of course, Tutu Lole lives there and everyone adores her, but also because magical things happen there. If you drop by to have tea or coffee, there is always a table with a fresh pot and the exact number of cups waiting. If you are visiting to pick out fabric, the best and most perfect fabric will already be waiting for you on the fabric rack. You can show up and mention that you need a special dress and Tutu will hand you a sketch of the perfect dress that she just happened to finish drawing, and it will be just what you were looking for. And it seems like there is never a reason to go inside that tiny mysterious bamboo room where all the sewing happens.
People just seem to be mysteriously drawn to Tiki Kids and all of it's magic and mystery, This tiny white-washed beach shack is the pride of the island communities, Plumeria Cove is it's center, and Tutu Lole has everyone's hearts.
THE MAGICAL TUTU LOLE
The proprietor of Tiki Kids is Tutu Lole who has been around for as long as anyone can remember with her 3 friendly shop cats, Coco, Uku, and Honu. She is a mystical, magical grandmother figure that sews beautiful island-style clothing with bright and colorful tropical fabrics.
Tutu Lole is a short, roundish grandma who always has a smile on her face and an offering of something sweet to eat or drink. Bright pink lipstick is her daily makeup, and her long gray hair is always up in a bun. Every day she wears a different version of the same colorful muumuu she sewed for herself using a unique fabric design you could never find in any store. Everyone loves her and the island kids call her grandma, but no one really knows where she came from or what her real name is. “Tutu” means “Grandma” and “Lole” means “fabric” so she has always just been called Tutu Lole.
Follow along with us and the adventures of the island children, their friends and family, and others who love to visit Dreamtide Island, Plumeria Cove, and Tutu and her dream shop and watch her create the perfect magical clothing for customers who come from far and wide to experience the magic of Tutu's Dream Shop.