Hippieland Vol. 2

The Magic Bus arrives at the gathering place. I climb in and see Daisy and Butterfly.

"Good morning ladies!" I tell them as I board and sit in the front seat.

"Good morning, Hippie!" They both say.

Daisy is a middle aged, long haired brunette with a cool personality. She also is a hairstylist on the side. Butterfly is in her thirties with blonde hair that reaches shoulders. She's a aspiring songwriter who has had a couple of her songs used by one of our resident musicians.

"I need to go to Hippie's Hangout." I inform Daisy while the bus is beginning to be filled with people.

The Magic Bus is a converted school bus painted with psychedelic art. The bus travels throughout the island for free. Folks who'd rather not walk or bicycle enjoy riding on the Magic Bus. A sound system was placed in the bus allowing riders to listen to music while they ride. Psychedelic music plays all the time on the bus. The bus is also a smokeable environment for those who want to toke up while in route to their destination.

The bus fills with people going to the island beaches, the spa, the tiki bar, and the restaurants. Folks are chattering amongst each other. "I Am The Walrus," by The Beatles comes on the sound system. Some light up cigarettes, joints, and pipes. The Magic Bus departs the gathering place and heads for it's first destination, Tranquility Beach on the north side of the island. Tranquility Beach is home to Hippie's Hangout, Schooner's Pub and Tiki Bar, and Coconut Palms Resort.

Tranquility Beach is one of the more popular locations in Hippieland. It holds the distinction of having the ability to see the sunrise, the sunset, the moonrise, and the moonset. The beach contains a boardwalk with arcades and casinos. That was based off Daytona Beach, Florida. Living in Daytona Beach for a couple of years had a huge impact on my younger years. I lived beachside for five months before having to leave due to financial difficulties. Tranquility Beach has a public beach for our visitors and residents of all ages. The shore turns a spectacular peach color during the sunset. The ocean is a amazing shade of turquoise. We have sailboats, motorboats, and fishing boats available for folks to utilize. The local boat Captains have a great amount of experience. Chairs, umbrellas, hammocks, and canopies are readily available.

The Magic Bus arrives at Tranquility Beach after a ten minute trip. The bus stop is in front of the bustling boardwalk. I make my way off the bus and head towards Hippie's Hangout to the right of the boardwalk. Hippie's Hangout has been a dream of mine for years. An artistic community that you can enter and enjoy all forms of art. The Hangout is the gathering place for the creative personalities that are on the island.

The entrance to Hippie's Hangout is decorated with two stain glass circle windows. When looking at the building, to the left is a sunburst over a shore and ocean. The sky is stained purple. The right stain glass circle window is a moon over a shore and ocean with little stars in the sky. The middle of the entrance is a wide opening decorated with a mix of hanging strings of sea shells and bamboo stalks. As you enter, the first room you enter is the common room. People may gather, chat, and listen to music with video screens of continuous beach waves coming ashore. Residing in the hangout are multiple rooms for any type of artist. There's a soundproof music studio, a painting room, and a serene writing room. Hippie's Hangout is also home to an up to date multimedia studio for creative projects, such as The Hippie Beachbum Show, Hangout With Hippie, and Dangling Conversations. The studio also holds a soundproof DJ booth that operates the music played throughout the island. All genres of music are played with no limitations. The back area of the Hangout is decently sized lounge that serves THC infused drinks. The exit, contained at the back, is a walkway directly onto the beach with a few round tables available for those who want to spend some time outside.

I enter the Hangout and proceed directly to the DJ booth observing the activity in the common room. The common room and the other rooms are being deep cleaned this morning. Happens every Thursday. There are no set hours for the Hangout so artists can come and go when they choose. The only time the Hangout isn't available is Thursday mornings. We have different DJ's that work the booth throughout the day. Some of our popular DJ's have certain timeslots during the day or during certain days of the week. My timeslot is 9am to 12pm. daily. I follow the Hippieland Morning Show that airs from 6am to 9am.

After sitting down, I put on the headphones and pick out the first song, "Under The Boardwalk," by The Drifters.

"Groovy morning, Hippieland, this is Hippie Beachbum comin' at ya for the next few hours. Let's spend some time under the boardwalk." I say into the microphone to kick off my timeslot.

To be continued......