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The Book of Mormon at the Orpheum in San Francisco
The Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco Presents the Book of Mormon
Because I have the patience level of a chimp, my husband and I drove to San Francisco yesterday to see The Book of Mormon at the Orpheum Theater. The Tony-award winning musical is coming to Sacramento next March, but who can wait that long? The drive into the city is only 90 minutes, even on a Sunday afternoon. I was thinking about the trip to San Francisco when I drove to Folsom and back last week to preview a home I am listing shortly in The Parkway. It was 45 minutes each way from Land Park, and that equals the distance in time to San Francisco.
Elizabeth Weintraub in San Francisco at Farmer’s Market
Which means when my husband suggested we take the Capitol Corridor train, and then the B.A.R.T. into the city, I thought it would be simpler just to drive and, since he didn’t want to do it, I would. Although, I’ve got to admit the streets of San Francisco are often confusing with red lines and lanes for things like buses and taxis only, street cars, coupled with odd don’t-turn-here signs and let’s not forget the homeless rolling off the sidewalks asleep. Amazingly we drove directly to the Market Street parking garage, which was one of the nicest parking garages I’ve ever seen, featuring extremely clean, painted cement floors, floor-to-ceiling columns and an unusual orderliness to it, as though the garage exists in another dimension like The Twilight Zone.
Spinach salad with Salmon at Market Street Grille
We grabbed a leisurely lunch at the Hotel Whitcomb, inside the Market Street Grille. I chose the place because it was close to the Orpheum and located inside an historic hotel, and I love the feeling of older architecture, it speaks to you; plus the food was decent. Even the decor of the restrooms was lovely, an unframed oil painting of a rose in full bloom, the edges of each petal outlined in a shimmering gold held my fascination while I waited for the long line of tourists to enter and exit. I shot my sister in Minneapolis a photo of lunch, and she returned the favor with a picture of a PB&J sandwich.
Stage curtain at The Book of Mormon
Going to San Francisco, for me, is like going to Spain. It’s another country, reachable by floating across the magical harp. A perfect place to see The Book of Mormon. If you go to see the musical, and you’re not Mormon, you will laugh your fool head off. If you go to see the musical and you’re Mormon, you’ll still probably grin wide here and there because Parker and Stone just weren’t snarky enough. Oh, sure, there’s the Book of Mormon stuffed up where the sun doesn’t shine, the f-you’s aimed at the Heavenly Father, crapping, puking, sodomy, references to raping babies, but you can easily overlook that stuff when your eyes open wide in amazement during my favorite production number: the Spooky Mormon Hell Dream, featuring Gengis Khan, Hitler, Starbucks and Johnny Cochran.
You don’t have to be snarky with this musical because the story of Mormon does it all for you, all by itself. The truth is right there. There is nothing funnier sometimes than the truth. I found it hilariously stupendous and give The Book of Mormon 5 stars.
Hop the Light Rail to Folsom Historic District From Midtown Sacramento
When my husband suggested we pop over to Midtown to hop the Light Rail to Folsom on Sunday, I was a bit less than enthusiastic about the idea. The first thing that sprang to my lips were unkind and unfair words about sharing space with stinky people. My sole experience with Light Rail was a long time ago, from Midtown to the California State Fair, and let’s just say that I fully support funding for public transportation but even my cat’s litter boxes are less foul.
Of course, if my husband had first suggested that I install the game app Ingress on my iPhone, my level of enthusiasm would have edged up a notch. It would have drawn my attention away from the dude who was bugging strangers to ask if they’ve gone to church and then bouncing back and forth, repeatedly, in his seat.
The light rail runs parallel to Folsom Boulevard, all the way from Midtown Sacramento to the end of the line where the historic shops in Folsom are located. We could have just as easily driven from Land Park to Folsom, but then we could not have played Ingress. Our eyes would have been on the road and not our iPhone screens. To be fair, Ingress is a game that you’re supposed to play walking around Sacramento, but riding the Light Rail to Folsom from Midtown moved me from a Level I to a Level II fairly quickly.
There are Ingress portals all over Sacramento, which you can hack and blow up and swipe. You have to choose immediately upon signing up whether you want to be Enlightened or the Resistance. I’m a rebel, so picking a side was an easy decision.
Upon arrival on the Light Rail to Folsom, it’s just a short hop, skip and a jump to the shops in the historic district. Rows upon rows of clothing, jewelry, wine tasting rooms, bars, restaurants, antiques and specialty shops. I can see how the Light Rail to Folsom would be a popular mode of transportation for kids in their 20s desiring a night out to pub crawl.
I wasn’t planning on doing any holiday shopping but when you’re in Rome, you know. It’s not like I didn’t have a credit card stashed in my wristlet. Since I will be out of the country in the South Pacific this holiday season, it was as good a time as any to shop for friends and family. We stopped for lunch at the Hop Sing Palace, one of those Chinese restaurants that seems wedged in a certain time period, unchanged for decades, plushy booths, pink napkins, skinny Singapore Sling cocktail glasses, and the cuisine alone is worth the trip to Folsom.
I recommend the Light Rail to Folsom as a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. There is even an ice-skating rink, which was melting in the Folsom summer sun. Plus, if you’re not interested in shopping, eating and drinking, or watching ice skaters, you can also walk through the adjacent neighborhood and admire the homes in Folsom in the historic district. For more information on homes in Folsom, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
A Short Sale Home in Woodland Closes
The first time I spoke to a particular seller of a home in Woodland, this Sacramento real estate agent was in the middle of a four-day vacation in South Carolina at Hilton Head. My husband and I were driving across the island, searching for a restaurant featuring Gullah cuisine when my cellphone rang. The seller was such a refreshing voice to hear. A person who wanted my help. I like to help people, that’s why I sell real estate.
Unlike a caller earlier that day, a seller from Folsom who was furious because I had answered my phone “when I was not at home.” On a Sunday, no less. He expected me to physically be in Sacramento and was very upset that I was not, even though it didn’t make one hill of beans difference regarding the sale of his home in Folsom. He evidently believed that he knew better how to run my business than I. Not every seller is a rational person and not every seller makes sense.
This person yelled and screamed and was obnoxious. I offered to cancel the listing for him, since he was so irate. Nasty people? No time for them. So, it didn’t bother me in the least when he immediately listed with another agent at a higher price. Last I saw of his home he had canceled that listing 30 days later because no buyer in her right mind wanted to pay his price. Sometimes, these types of things are a blessing in disguise when I no longer have to deal with them.
The woman who called and needed my help wanted to sell a short sale home in Woodland as a short sale. Well, I sell hundreds of Sacramento short sales, so she came to the right person at the right time. Turned out she lived in North Carolina, and was astonished to hear I was driving around South Carolina. But she had confidence that I would sell her home. She had gone to my website and knew my experience and decades in the business. It didn’t matter to her that I was in Hilton Head at the moment.
Later that week, I met with the tenant who lived in the home in Woodland. I shot professional photographs, studied the comparable sales and the seller chose a sales price. Other real estate agents in Woodland expressed an opinion that they thought the price was too high but it was right on the money. We received an offer from a qualified buyer, the BPO came back at value, and the short sale home in Woodland closed yesterday.
The negotiations took 5 months. Two loans plus mortgage insurance, so approval was necessary from all three. The buyer waited patiently all of this time because the seller selected the right buyer from the beginning. An added bonus was the bank did not require a price increase because prices have gone up since then. That can happen with short sales that take a while to close, just fyi.
The thing is no matter where I am or what I am doing, this Sacramento real estate agent always tries to answer her phone. I continually work on selling my listings. I don’t turnover my work to an Elizabeth Weintraub Team member while I am on vacation, although I certainly could. Because I don’t have to be sitting behind my desk to sell real estate in the Sacramento Valley. That’s why we have laptops, iPads, cellphones and DocuSign. What matters is that I get the job done and my client is happy.
