Email ElizabethWorld Botanical Adventure for Ziplining on Big Island
Josh Amolsch, Elizabeth Weintraub, Vika Gerassimenko go Ziplining on Big Island
How did I get to be 66 years old without ever having experienced ziplining on Big Island . . . or anywhere for that matter? When buyer’s agent extraordinaire Barbara Dow and I went to Maui a few years ago, we didn’t bring closed-toe shoes. That’s pretty much a mandatory requirement to go ziplining. Plus, the place where we would go was a long way from the hotel when lounge chairs at the beach beckoned with their siren call.
The sport also seemed a bit scary. Dangling from a cable 300 feet in the air and moving at 40 MPH sounds scarier than it is, though. We heard there were some people who completed only the first of 8 ziplining runs at World Botanical Adventure and quit. Also, some did not complete the final half-mile zipline past the waterfall because it was too long and too high.
Elizabeth Weintraub Ziplining on Big Island across a waterfall.
We felt perfectly safe the entire time. There was a short period of time that we could have freaked out if we had stopped to ponder the trip and what could go wrong. So, we just didn’t do that. When it was time to go, the thing to do is hang on and go. Don’t think. Don’t analyze. It’s easier than you think. If you want to go right, turn the rope to the left and vice versa.
Elizabeth Weintraub approaches end of zipline.
At one point, we could race side-by-side. Exclusive buyer’s agent Josh Amolsch and I waited at the starting line. I took my tip from Vika. The World Botanical Adventure guide said, 1, 2 and I zipped off before the count of 3. Josh still beat me through because he weighs more. I pulled my body into a tight little cannonball, but he still flew by. I cannot begin to tell you how much enormous fun ziplining on the Big Island is. Now that I have a taste, I am hooked.
Ready for our next ziplining adventure
By the end of our adventure ziplining on Big Island, we reached a new consensus, a new level. That level was we now need to push ourselves further, because we could do this ziplining on the Big Island all day long. We soared like eagles through 8 ziplining runs. Along the way, we nibbled on wild ginger, studied an elephant apple tree, and sniffed a sassafrass root that smelled just like root beer. 10 toes and 10 fingers up. Excellent adventure for Labor Day on the Big Island!
Happy Labor Day from the Big Island of Hawaii
My husband left the Big Island of Hawaii yesterday to return to our cats in Sacramento. When he rebooked his flight due to the then pressing Hurricane Lane, he could not get a return flight on Labor Day so he had to leave on Sunday. However, that still leaves our exclusive buyer’s agent Josh Amolsch and the beautiful and entertaining Vika at our house with me. And a few more days of vacation before I return to Sacramento real estate and they move on to the island of Kauai.
You would not believe the energy of these two. Of course, they are about half my age but so what. We had a blast yesterday. After dropping Adam at the airport, we decided to thoroughly enjoy what the Big Island of Hawaii has to offer. Starting with a drive past the Coffee Shack in Captain Cook (which is still for sale) on our way to go snorkeling at Two-Step Beach.
Yesterday I had a new experience at Two-Step Beach. I encountered a giant manta ray while snorkeling, sort of snuck up behind him. He wasn’t swimming very fast so I sauntered along behind. The manta ray began to pick up speed and rose toward the surface, so I swam faster and harder. Almost swam right over him. He was enormous. I could almost reach out and touch his back. Incredible.
Those giant manta rays look like a creature from outer space, with horns on the front, a gray and white body, and a long straight tail. First time I ever came across a manta ray while in the water. Also spotted your usual assortment of parrot fish, needle-nose fish and tangs.
On the way back to Kona, we stopped at Huggos for a mai tai and fish tacos. Followed by renting boogie boards and headed to White Sands Beach. Josh gave me his board, tied it to my wrist and I rode that sucker all the way to shore and up the sandy beach. When we got back to our house, I discovered sand in every crevice, nook and cranny. Well worth it. And I left my cell at the house.
Today, we plan to go ziplining in Hilo at the Botanical Gardens. Happy Labor Day from the Big Island of Hawaii!
You Cannot Call Uber to Report Credit Card Uber Fraud
Swiping a credit card to commit Uber fraud seems like such a hokey thing to do. There are so many other ways to utilize a stolen credit card than hopping into an Uber for a 15-minute ride. I mean, you could be buying $1,000 bags at Henri Bendel, which is what a Sacramento waitress in Midtown managed to do after I lunched at a sushi place on J Street. Or, a thief could purchase diamonds or bitcoin or maybe a semi-automatic rifle. Crooks are stupid. If they had any brains, they wouldn’t have to be a crook.
When I woke up yesterday morning, there was an email and a text message waiting for me from my bank asking if I had authorized a $33.20 Uber ride. There was also a second Uber charge. I immediately went about trying to call Uber to report the theft. My bank said somebody stole my credit information and opened a fake account at Uber.
Since I have an Uber account and my last Uber ride was in June, I thought it was odd that the bank would contact me about it. There must have been some other reason the bank felt it was suspicious. I dunno, maybe because Uber fraud is on the rise. Found many links about Uber fraud through Google. But no way to contact Uber. Well, you can email, but you know what happens to emails. Oops. Time for lunch, oh shoot, deleted.
Jumped on Twitter and sent a tweet to @support_uber. They asked me to follow them and promised to direct message but I got nothing after that. So, I hopped on Facebook and found several Uber Facebook pages. Not much came from that except I found a bit of solace that other people were victims of Uber fraud as well. Misery loves company.
Like I explained to my bank, I almost feel like paying their Uber bill just so I don’t have to replace my credit card and notify 50 vendors of my new credit card information. But if the crooks use it for Uber, they will use their new-found “wealth” elsewhere. This time, I have been fraud-free for almost two years. It is painful to realize we are all marks. Nothing is safe. And Uber doesn’t seem to give a damn about its customers. If they had contacted me yesterday, probably could have nabbed the crooks.
As a result, I called my bank a second time at the end of the day when I could not get Uber to respond. By that time, there were two more Uber charges on my card for a total of four trips. Turns out the charges were made in The Netherlands, which my bank says is Uber’s corporate office. So I suspect they noted international charges when I am using my card on vacation in Hawaii. No international hotels. No international meals. Tip off.
Speaking of tips . . .
TIP: Our exclusive buyer’s agent Josh Almolsch informs me that Lyft is cheaper than Uber. He doesn’t even use Uber anymore.
Photos and Video of 12 Meter Cliff Jumping at South Point Hawaii
Vika Gerassimenko after cliff jumping at South Point Hawaii
Cliff jumping at South Point Hawaii was not one of my dreams. However, because exclusive buyer’s agent Josh Amolsch and his beautiful fiancée Vika Gerassimenko are visiting us over the Labor Day weekend at our house in Hawaii, we supported Vika’s leap off the cliff at South Point. As I explained in the car, if somebody was chasing me, firing a gun in my direction and threatening to kill me, I might find a reason to leap off this cliff. Otherwise, no.
But cliff jumping at South Point was a goal Vika needed to accomplish. I can understand that. We all have goals we want to achieve in life. It is very important that once we picture a goal in our minds that we realize our dream. The thing is anything you can imagine you can pretty much do, within the realm of reason. I say this because I might say I want to dance on the head of a pin, and I know that won’t happen. OK, maybe a pinhead. I would dance on a pinhead. I know a lot of pinheads. Sorry to admit.
Josh Amolsch jumps off the cliff at South Point Hawaii
I would be remiss if I didn’t say that I was unaware that Josh opted in for cliff jumping at South Point. After all, like he put it, if Vika jumps and he does not, I would write about it, even though I assured him I would not need to point out that fact. In any case, I suspect Vika encouraged him to take a risk, to put his life at risk, and to engage in cliff jumping at South Point. Although, after watching his face when he emerged from the water, well, let’s just say he was stoked.
Vika Gerassimenko, Elizabeth Weintraub and Josh Amolsch at South Point Hawaii
Here are the three of us after both Vika and Josh had completed cliff jumping at South Point Hawaii. I’m such a short little squeak sandwiched between these two giants. There are so many ways to die that I don’t need to elaborate. I am reminded of it every day. Like how the poet Tom Clark, buddy of Allen Ginsberg, was killed after walking a few blocks from his home in Berkeley when he was hit by a car. Stuff happens every day that we can’t always anticipate or prevent.
Cliff diving at South Point Hawaii? Well, it’s preventable. However, if you’re really into the excitement of it all, here is a video of Josh Amolsch leaping into the abyss:
Realtor Day Off at A-Bay Waikoloa, Hawaii
What should we do on our Realtor Day Off? Exclusive buyer’s agent Josh Amolsch and his fiancée, Vika, had several choices of things to do yesterday. That was their first full day visiting Adam and Elizabeth Weintraub at their house in Hawaii. With Labor Day approaching, and our fall market about to commence the week after, going to Hawaii sounded like an excellent plan. Choosing an activity was more difficult than putting together our game plan, though.
There are so many things to do on the Big Island. Last year I dragged my husband to my old haunts at The Marriott Waikoloa Beach north of Kona. We figured it was an experience Josh and Vika would appreciate as well.
The first stop was the free parking lot at the Lava Lava Beach Club where we would have lunch. Signs all over said No Beach Parking. People follow signs in Hawaii. OK, clarification: tourists do. This is one of my favorite spots for lunch. Although the menu has changed quite a bit. They used to feature lunch specials with a grilled fish platter, but no more.
When I say it is Realtor Day Off, I mean it was Thursday. It doesn’t necessarily mean that we Sacramento real estate agents take off for the day. But it means we might not be glued to our computer so much, and we try to slip in a little bit of fun. Look at how quiet and calm the view to the south appears. Not a big crowd for a Thursday.
After lunch involving sandwiches, salads, and I was lucky enough to get a Tahitian Limeaid, which was very good, we sauntered down the old ruins path. This is a paved path that leads to ancient ruins, plenty of tropical vegetation and the cats of the Waikoloa Canoe Club at Anaeho’omalu Bay. My favorite one-eyed cat was gone. Looked like a new litter.
We ended up at the beach in front of the Marriott. All beaches in Hawaii are public. These guys in front of us were fishing for halalu. These are juvenile akule or bigeye. At first I thought maybe they were catching the fish for bait but no. It was dinner. To feed their family. Fry up with a little oil, the guy said. And man, were they hauling them in. Hundreds. July and August are popular months to catch these little fish.
On our way back to Kona, I asked Adam to keep an eye out for traffic on the side of the road near the 82nd marker on the Queen Kaahumanu Highway. A few days back, I read in West Hawaii Today that tourists were stopping along the highway to observe a lava tube there. A million times I’ve driven that stretch and not noticed. WHT reported that some people crossed the highway by wandering into on-going traffic while looking at their phones.
The lava tube was created by the 1801 Huehue lava flow from Hualalai. Here I am crouching down while Adam shoots the tube. Can’t wait to see what we come up with to do today since Realtor Day Off is over.
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