Helllooooo There!

[Cole.]

Hey. [:

My name's Cole. I'm a college-age girl originally from Michigan, but currently in California. Grand Rapids/Spring Valley to be exact (Spring Valley is just outside of San Diego for those not familiar with it). I'm only living out here for two months... and that will be up in about 3 weeks. I know, many don't understand why I'd give up sunny San Diego for the bitter winters of Michigan, buuut I have residency in Michigan. I really wanna finish my degree now that I know what I want, and not wait a year to go for cheap here. ;D

Anywho.

I've been smoking hookah for a few years now at our local hookah lounge. In the last year, I made friends with another student who owns one. When I get back to Grand Rapids, we're going on a hunt to find me a good hookah. (So, if anyone has suggestions for me to look for/look out for while I'm shopping, it'd be greatly appreciated!) Before I moved I was going to buy myself a pumpkin, but since reading reviews here on the forum and doing a little research, I've decided I want a more mid-size hookah, with about two hoses. And, a big enough mouth on the base so I can easily fit ice cubes in there.

We've got a few places in mind to go to in Grand Rapids to look at hookahs. Hopefully, we find the right setup. [:

Have a lovely weekend!

[Chreees]

Welcome to HF! This is a great place to get all the info you need from people who are friendly and know their stuff.

As for what kind of hookah you should look for, it sounds like a Mya would suit you best. Take a look at H-S's page on Myas to see what all there is (They basically have all the Myas listed):

Small Myas: [url="http://www.hookah-shisha.com/c-16-small-mya-hookahs-mini-hookahs.html"]http://www.hookah-sh...ni-hookahs.html[/url]

Big Myas: [url="http://www.hookah-shisha.com/c-241-mya-hookah-mya-saray-hookahs.html"]http://www.hookah-sh...ay-hookahs.html[/url]

Keep in mind that both the small and big Myas will smoke the same, so it basically comes down to aesthetic preference on which one you get. I used to have a Mya QT and it smoked like a champ. A main reason I suggest Mya is you said you wanted a two-hoser, and Myas have the auto-seal system so you don't have to hold your thumb over the hose.

Hope this helps, and again, welcome to HF!

[NitetimeReign]

Hey there and welcome to a great forum with great friendly people.

I'm with Incubas on this as well considering MYA has the auto seal. I still have a qt that is one hose but can easily be converted to 2 hoses, and it smokes great. Have fun and a good weekend to you as well.

[Cole.]

Wow, yup, this is an awesome forum. Haha.

Thanks guys! I'll keep my eyes peeled for a Mya around town then, and if not, I'll order from one of the sites. [:

[Cp44]

I heard in Michigan the Starbucks serve hookahs or certain coffee shops.

[Cole.]

[quote name='Cp44' date='10 June 2010 - 11:13 AM' timestamp='1276182832' post='471345']
I heard in Michigan the Starbucks serve hookahs or certain coffee shops.
[/quote]

While that may have been true before (though I've never heard of any that do that... mayyyybe someone franchised a store and does it in a college town like Ann Arbor or Lansing, but not where I'm from in West Michigan), as of May 1st Michigan is a non-smoking state. There is no smoking anywhere in any building except for certain casinos in detroit, and registered cigar bars (something about they HAVE to have a humidor). Hookah Lounges are able to get by I believe so far. I haven't been in town since the law passed, but will be seeing if the HL in Grand Rapids is still alive or not. As far as I know from my questions beforehand, they simply had to stop serving food and drink. Which, there, gets really annoying not to be able to have that.

So basically, if there was such a place, they exist no longer or will be shut down. ]:
(oh my god can you imagine starbucks' take on hookahs? hahahaha it would all be even more overpriced and have ridiculous names. also, I imagine the flavor wouldn't last that long.)

[Cp44]

F*** the smoking ban, I couldnt believe it passed in VA and VA is the 3rd largest tobacco producing states I believe. The hookah bars I go to are stupid too they knew about the ban but decided to wait too long to renovate according to the new rules. Now some of them cant serve food and are remodeling like crazy.

[Cole.]

Yeah according to facebook they had an all nighter or something the night coming into the smoking ban. I believe it passed... I hate it though because I'm a waitress. Hopefully once I get back people will be starting to come out to the bars again, despite not being allowed to smoke. Sigh. I personally believe smokers should be allowed to have an area, in restaurant, where they can smoke. However, keeping that area glassed off and using at least a standard high-powered air filter would be required. I agree smoking isn't the best habit, but it's getting a bit ridiculous. I was talking to some folks here in Cali the other day outside a starbucks (they were smoking). They said in a certain town a bit north of us, you couldn't even really smoke in your own backyard. Why? If it blew over into a neighbor's home, they could call the police and you would get in trouble.
WTF?

I'm hoping more smoking shops open up in Grand Rapids. We're attracting a great new crowd (especially with Art Prize) and I think our HL could use the competition. They're almost always stuck up jerks, at least to my friends and I. That, and its always full of hipster kids. haha.

[Cp44]

Yea I agree with you its getting crazy but I'm in the process of rebuilding my house and a new deck. The deck will be partially covered for a reason to enjoy my hookah, cigars and meals with the family. Its cheaper to smoke at home then going out to the hookah bars.

[Cole.]

For sure. Awesome, though!! I want a porch like that. Though, more of a sunroom type thing, so I could have more than a three season porch. haha.