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World 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!
Legends of Wine at State Capitol in Sacramento
2016 Farm-to-Fork Legends of Wine at State Capitol in Sacramento.
You cannot say there is nothing going on at the State Capitol after spotting the crowds mobbing the west steps for the 2016 Farm-to-Fork Legends of Wine event in Sacramento. As we drove down 10th Street, heading for the parking garage, the lines of people were more than a block long. Event planners hurried to shove trash cans at the exit to try to prevent guests from entering at that spot. Once my husband and I joined the line, it moved quickly.
The Legends of Wine event is part of Farm-to-Fork month in Sacramento, having started in a big way in 2013. It seems like every year the Farm-to-Fork movement grows bigger, and it’s not just in Sacramento that this is happening. You’ll find back-to-the-kitchen stuff is across the board in the United States. The hottest restaurants in Minneapolis, for example, are “craft kitchens,” sourcing local produce.
Dawn Herlache and Elizabeth Weintraub at 2016 Farm-to-Fork Legends of Wine in Sacramento
Soon as we slipped through the gate, grabbed a wine glass and bag of bread, I noticed my #1 favorite escrow officer, Dawn Herlache, chatting with her associates from Placer Title Company near a wine booth. We hardly ever see each other but we communicate pretty much daily during the week through email. Dawn has the patience of a saint, decades of experience, and it shows in her work. To say I have high expectations is putting it mildly, and I don’t know why she puts up with me, but my real estate clients and I love her to pieces.
Wine expert David Berkley speaks at 2016 Farm-to-Fork Legends of Wine in Sacramento.
We sampled a huge variety of wines at Legends of Wine, stuff that I ordinarily might never get to taste unless I stumbled across the winery by accident. Although I did purposely visit the Ripken Winery in Lodi last year seeking a petite sirah. Most of our wine tastings take place in Sonoma or Napa, or I find a new wine at The Kitchen I can’t live without, or my husband brings home something new and exciting from the Sacramento Co-Op, and we buy several cases. Don’t get me started on the wine clubs in Oregon or Calistoga or Trenton-Healdsburg.
The person I wanted to talk with was David Berkley, and we seized that opportunity when it presented itself. Berkley got his start at Corti Brothers in 1973, mentored by Darrell Corti himself, who also partnered with him for this event. This is a guy who worked at the White House selecting wines and choosing pairings. He is now 72 and retired. We asked if he indeed personally selected each of the 35 award-winning wineries present at Legends of Wine, wondering, of course, if they just paid a fee for the booth, but Berkley assured us he did.
Elizabeth Weintraub met a Rendezvous 2014 Barbera she likes.
We sampled sausages, artisan cheeses, chocolate, specialty desserts, and many varieties of local Sacramento wines at Legends of Wine. We explored a plethora of wines from Capay Valley, Acampo, Davis, Clarksburg, Lodi, Walnut Grove and, of course, Amador County, just to name a few, and tasted a huge selection of wines, ranging from Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Viognier to Tempranillo, Zinfandel and Barbera.
Two of my favorites were a 2013 Sparkling Viognier from Capay Valley Vineyards and the robust 2014 Barbera from Rendezvous Winery in Clarksburg.
Do You Need a Referral to a Sacramento Realtor?
Elizabeth Weintraub (middle) of Elizabeth Weintraub Team
There are some agents who do not want to work with referrals; however, if you need a referral to a Sacramento Realtor, your search is over. I am a top producer in Sacramento who gets results. Lately, I’ve been receiving a bunch of referrals from a company in San Francisco. They get their referrals through SEO Google juice, same place as many people find me directly, so it’s odd that so many sellers end up in the same spot, hiring Elizabeth Weintraub. Every so often I will have the seller call me directly while also going through this company, so that can make it a bit awkward for the company, yet they understand. There are only a limited number of top producers in Sacramento.
I love referrals, and it doesn’t matter to me where they originate. It is business I would not have had, in most circumstances, without the referral, so it’s welcome. I know there are agents who grumble and complain, and they don’t like to receive leads, just like there are agents who don’t like to answer their phone. It’s never made sense to me. When your phone rings, it’s often a buyer with a question about a home, or a seller who lives down the street and is thinking about selling. A ringing phone means business. Aren’t those people in the Sacramento real estate business? Why don’t they kiss the feet of a referral to a Sacramento Realtor?
Don’t you guys be asking me to kiss your feet now. But you get my point, right?
This company in San Francisco who sends me referrals has access to my production in MLS. I’m not sure how they get this information, but they know exactly how many homes I sell and the neighborhoods and cities in which I sell. I move a lot of homes in West Sacramento, Natomas, Elk Grove, Carmichael, all the way to Lincoln, as well as my home base of Land Park, Curtis Park, East Sacramento, Midtown and the whole Capital Corridor. I’m one of the few referral Sacramento Realtors who feels completely comfortable selling homes in 4 counties.
You can name a street and I’ve probably sold a home in that neighborhood, or on that street or close enough that I know exactly where the home is located. I call the clients immediately upon referral to a Sacramento Realtor like me. No dillydallying around, no waiting until the moment “feels right,” I just grab the phone and pound in the number. Clients are shocked that I respond so quickly. But I’ve had more than 40 years in the business to hone my response time. Communication is my middle name.
I received a referral a few days ago to sell a home in Sacramento. The seller said she knows I have a good reputation, has seen my signs around town. She also realizes I sold the home next door. But still, she went to this San Francisco company to get a referral to me. It’s all good, though, and I am happy for the referral. If she needs that extra endorsement, that’s fine.
If you need a referral to a Sacramento Realtor, please call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. I try to exceed expectations and have the reviews that showcase those results.
Sacramento Housing Report for 2016
October 2014 to December 2015 Sacramento Housing Report, Trendgraphix
Even a busy Sacramento Realtor has to stop every now and then and look at the Sacramento Housing Report. This report includes the last 15 months of sales. It shows the number of homes for sale in Sacramento County, the number of homes that are pending and the number that closed for each of the last 15 months. Bear in mind that the pending sales in a previous month could very well be the sold sales in the following month, which means there could be a 30-day or so lag.
For example, this past December, we saw an uptick in sold sales but December pendings had fallen. That’s because many loans were delayed due to the new government TRID guidelines put in place last October. The homes that closed in December most likely rolled over from the pendings in October. I know I had four closings in December that were delayed yet managed to close in 2015, thank goodness.
The bottom line, no matter how you look the numbers, and I have laid them out below for you, we have little inventory in Sacramento. Not very many homes for sale. Which makes this a seller’s market. And prices are going up. The sold prices have appreciated 10.2% over the past year. Our median sales price, one of the best indicators of market movement, has shot to $297,000 from a low of $255,000 a year ago.
If you’re thinking about selling your home, you might want to call top producer who will pull out all the stops to market your home everywhere possible in the Internet world and real-life world — a veteran broker with 40 years in the business — Elizabeth Weintraub at Lyon RE. Call 916.233.6759. California BRE # 00697006.
Check out Elizabeth Weintraub’s client reviews.
Sacramento Housing snapshot from Oct 2014 through December 2015, Trendgraphix
A Celebratory Dinner at Brown’s Beach House
Elizabeth Weintraub and Hella Rothwell celebrate buying a house in Hawaii for the Weintraubs at Brown’s Beach House.
Prior to dinner at Brown’s Beach House last night, Hawaii Broker Hella Rothwell had to postpone her departure from Big Island and extend her travel plans so she could stay a few more days to see me through the inspections for our new home in Hawaii. On our way back from Old Republic Title, we stopped at Hertz near the airport to revise her car rental and that seemed like a good time to check in with my husband. I haven’t had much time to talk with him in person, and when I pointed out that obstacle, his remark was, “Well, whose fault is THAT?”
He’s right, of course. Nobody told me to buy a home in Hawaii, and that’s eaten up a lot of time, negotiating interest rates, fixing small but important errors (did you know one must disclose in Hawaii the status of being a Sacramento Realtor?), locating a property manager for an “on island” agent, among other things, and let’s not forget scheduling a manicure, of high importance. We drove into Kailua Kona to meet with the escrow officer and deliver a deposit check. Escrow is officially opened, and that meant it was time to make dinner reservations at Brown’s Beach House to celebrate.
I had considered the Four Seasons at Hualalai, as I have stayed at many hotels in Big Island and dined at many fine restaurants. That seemed a bit too far to drive from Waikoloa, and the Four Seasons Ocean Grill is above the water; whereas Brown’s Beach House is closer to my hotel, and it offers outdoor dining on the beach. Walking into the Fairmont Orchid reminded me of how it goes to great lengths to create a fantasy vacation at the hotel as compared to the relative straight-forwardness of the Marriott Resort at Waikoloa.
However, I have to point out that the Gold Floor rooms at the Fairmont are too far from the water. Even an ocean view room with a side view is about $1,000 a night, and I did not feel like we received value for that kind of money. There is a special building of cabanas at the Marriott Resort that is located on the fish pond with the sand bar and ocean right in front of you for about one-third that cost. Although the restaurant at the Marriott is not particularly impressive, there are other fine dining options nearby, including King’s Shops.
Brown’s Beach House is just up the road. It offers that farm-to-fork dining. We started our experience by toasting with classic margaritas, which probably should have been served in tropical crystal and not in the same glass one would pour a single malt scotch, but that’s just my attention-to-detail speaking. The twin grilled lobster tails special was disappointing. It’s not only that it was undercooked, which was part of the problem, but it tasted very fishy and somewhat spoiled.
Our server wasn’t to blame, though; he promptly whisked away the offending dishes and replaced the lobsters. Regardless, we didn’t let that little snafu ruin our enjoyable evening. Before we knew it, three hours had passed. Hella is a helluva-lot of fun. Not to mention, she worked her butt off yesterday to take care of our escrow, AND introduced me to a delightful property manager, Andrea, who has worked on Big Island for 26 years. Andrea offered to invite my husband and me to island parties next year and introduce us around.
