realtor vacation: Returning to Sacramento From 2 Months in Hawaii
- 02/04/18 08:42 AM
My plane from Hawaii landed about midnight Friday. When I woke up yesterday morning in a daze, wandering into the living room in my nightgown, I think my husband must have heard me click the heat up a few notches. Shortly afterward, he came into the kitchen as I fumbled for the coffee. He held out my robe so I could slip into it.
You may not be familiar with the northern California tradition here in Sacramento of putting on a robe when get up, he said. Then he wandered back to bed. I stood there for a moment. Hey! Where … (12 comments)
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realtor vacation: Have You Ever Heard of the Genius of Fukubukuro?
- 01/03/18 10:37 AM
Suppose you walked into a store, like Michael Kors, for example, in Waikiki. Maybe you're shopping for a new sparkly evening bag or even a new pair of shoes because perhaps you've thrown your old shoes into the trash in an alley the night before (long story). As you walk through the store, you notice packed bags sitting on display. Your eyes fall in that direction because it seems out of place.
Then a salesperson says, hey, wouldn't you like a SURPRISE? All you have to do is give us $500 and you can own what's inside this bag with a retail … (26 comments)
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realtor vacation: The Trouble with Fishing for Marlin in Hawaii
- 12/29/17 07:05 PM
Most people would find it no trouble at all to go deep-sea fishing in Hawaii, particular with the hopes of reeling in a big fish like a marlin. But it's not as easy as it sounds. It seems even more difficult than fighting a bluefish in Maine. You don't just stand there with a rod and reel, which is what I thought when I first went fishing 7 years ago out of Honokohua Harbor.
Nope, they strap you into a chair. That's so you don't go flying overboard when you get a bite and the fish takes off. Your fishing apparatus is also … (13 comments)
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realtor vacation: A Culinary Adventure in Mexico City is Pretty Much the Norm
- 02/25/17 09:03 AM
I have decided that I don't look nearly as naked without makeup as I used to think I did. Even though my eyes seem to sink into my face, I don't care anymore. I suspect that means I'm officially moving into old age and accepting it. Hey, I've got a milestone coming up in a few months; I will turn 65. When you're 20, you never picture yourself at 65. Well, I did, but only to the extent that I'd be sitting on my front porch with a rifle, yelling, "I'm not moving and you're not taking my land." Which is … (20 comments)
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realtor vacation: Photos of our Visit to the Pyramids of Teotichauhán
- 02/22/17 07:36 AM
That's my husband above talking to our guide Gabriel from Journey Mexico. Sometimes you get really lucky on a trip and you connect with a guide who is brilliant, and Gabriel was that guide for us in Mexico City. The guide assigned to us to see the butterflies in the mountains of Mexico and the guide for Oaxaca were not nearly as interesting, nor captivating, nor brimming over with enthusiasm, knowledge and passion for his subject as Gabriel.
Sort of like real estate agents. You can hire the average-run-of-the-mill agents who do an OK job, or you can get an agent who … (10 comments)
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realtor vacation: Ancient Trees at Pre-Columbian Ruins of Monte Albán
- 02/14/17 08:25 AM
In the foreground of this photo, below ground, you see the South side of the Ball Park at the ruins of Monte Albán outside of the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. This was no ordinary hole in the ground. It is shaped like an H. Players cannot touch the ball with their hands or head and relied upon, according to our guide, knees, elbows or hips to hit the ball. They played the game to settle a dispute, with a little twist. Usually the loser was put to death afterward.
I can imagine a few negotiations in Sacramento real estate that might benefit … (8 comments)
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realtor vacation: Back from Mexico With Photos of Escamoles at Pitiona in Oaxaca
- 02/13/17 09:30 AM
An amazing fact about a vacation to Mexico is how inexpensive everything is as compared to top resorts and restaurants elsewhere. If you stay away from the beach areas, a Mexican vacation is very different. What would ordinarily be easily a $300 to $400 dinner is less than $100, often $60 to $75. A Glenfiddich 18-anos single malt Scotch is four bucks. An American could get used to this, which is probably why so many retirees flock to Mexico.
One of my goals for our trip to Mexico, aside from the Monarch butterflies, was to try escamoles. I became almost fixated on … (10 comments)
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realtor vacation: Come on a Seahorse Farm Tour in Kona
- 12/21/16 10:50 AM
We woke up yesterday morning fully intending to take advantage of the break in the rain at our vacation house in Hawaii and drive up to the Mauna Kea Summit. I rented a jeep specifically for this purpose. However, due to all of the unusual amount of rain on Big Island this month, which turns to snow on the mountain, the road was closed.
Never fear. There are plenty of interesting things to do in Kona. Even my husband, who was resistant to the idea, enjoyed our visit to the seahorse farm. Plus, I got to hold a seahorse! I have … (6 comments)
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realtor vacation: You Will Not Believe What Grows in Hawaii Gardens
- 12/12/16 10:02 AM
Because at some point my tenants (who are living elsewhere while I am here) will either buy a new house or go back to Canada, I have to find us a gardener. Fortunately, the HOA tends to the front yard, but my side and back yard don't take care of themselves. Everything grows like crazy.
I had a guy come over yesterday to give me a bid. He asked how much I wanted to pay. Well, I dunno, the guy next door hired a gardener for $40 a month, I pointed out. He said, "I'll do it for $60." What? What? You … (22 comments)
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realtor vacation: Great Place in Kona to Get Your Nails Done
- 12/11/16 07:59 AM
I am not a person who enjoys getting a manicure, much less in Hawaii, but I do appreciate pretty nails. Which means wherever I travel, I need to find nail salons. I've been to so many all over the world that I've become an expert at picking out a salon among the hundreds offered in any given location.
You can read reviews online like, oh, say, Yelp, but you need to know how to decipher those reviews. You know, did somebody post a nasty review, like saying the salon cuts your cuticles so they bleed -- which probably means they once dated … (17 comments)
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realtor vacation: How Non-Muslims Can Tour the Mosque in Casablanca
- 09/12/16 03:14 AM
This Sacramento Realtor is one of those oddballs, I guess, who enjoys learning about other religions and cultures, which is partially why I love to travel. One way to do that is to tour religious structures, but you can't always do that. There are some places that prohibit outsiders. Although we were able to visit the Mormon Temple in Sacramento once during a rare open house, and that place is incredible.
It's not just the architecture that I find alluring, it's the spiritual feeling inside the buildings, even though I do not believe in a higher power nor a supreme being. Yes, … (4 comments)
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realtor vacation: Feliz Navidad and Off to Cuba
- 12/24/15 01:02 AM
This will be my last post for a few weeks on Active Rain and in my Land Park Blog. I have to focus on one social outlet when I'm off to Cuba, and that will be my personal blog on my Elizabeth Weintraub website. Although we have house sitters taking care of the homestead in Land Park and our critters, they can't post blogs for me, so something will have to give.
But you know what? It's OK! It's Christmas time and we have two weeks of holiday fun nicely lined up this December and January. I will return on January 8th, … (16 comments)
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realtor vacation: Introspective Muses About Coming Home to Sacramento
- 12/20/15 05:47 AM
Remember those comedy sketches from the old Laugh-In shows where everybody is dancing and then suddenly they freeze in spot while the camera pans to a character who tells a joke? When time just stands still for a moment and you're privy to an insight from a stranger. Imagine if you take an incident like that and marry it with the style of Ed Hopper's Nighthawks painting, throwing in a little 2015 technology, well, you would get something similar to my blog this morning. Which also includes a live performance of a Hawaiian musician playing an acoustic introduction to Hotel California … (5 comments)
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realtor vacation: Snorkeling Adventure With James Arness in Hawaii
- 12/18/15 12:16 PM
If you've got to make it your last day in Hawaii, I figure one may as well make one more snorkeling adventure, and who better to share it with than the spirit of James Arness? To walk on the boat that he had custom built. To sit where he sat. To touch the rails his hands once graced. But can you picture James Arness snorkeling?
The problem with snorkeling is it grabs you and won't let you go. On Christmas Day we leave for Cuba, and there is even more snorkeling in Cuba. One of the rules is you have to meet … (7 comments)
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realtor vacation: A Solo Getaway on the Beach Starts Today
- 11/30/15 09:52 AM
My husband was a little bit shocked when he realized that December 1 is today and I am leaving. Well, he is not as astonished over the mere fact I am leaving because he knew my vacation was fast approaching but he seemed to have forgotten that I'll be working elsewhere for 3 weeks. Back when I informed him last March, it probably didn't seem like that long of a time for me to be otherwise occupied. 3 weeks seems long to him now.
Yes, 3 weeks of caring for the cats. 3 weeks of feeding the critters, changing their litter … (7 comments)
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realtor vacation: The Social Life of Vegetables and Fruits in the Kohala Garden
- 09/09/15 03:21 AM
One of the places I rarely go online is Facebook. Probably because I'm too busy chatting about real estate on Active Rain and also because I can get sucked into it. Just like I can get sucked into Twitter. Start reading it, and the feed never stops, never, it just keeps going, and I never catch up to where I started, and it drives me crazy.
If you give in and turn your life over to Facebook, well, I envision only bad things happening. But every once in a while, it's fun to pop in and say hello, see what everybody has … (6 comments)
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realtor vacation: When Your Restaurant Closes for 2 Days in Hawaii
- 09/08/15 03:58 AM
The main restaurant at my hotel in Hawaii closed for two days; I guess Mondays and Tuesdays are too slow here on the Big Island to justify keeping it open. That left the beach bar for dinner, probaby sandwiches and salads, or I could hop the shuttle to the Mauna Kea. I had a great time there for all of 45 minutes on Saturday, but that was the clambake, which was held at a different restaurant.
My hotel at Hapuna Beach feels like it's run by tax accountants, except there is no place to shop. Oh, there's a gift shop but it's … (8 comments)
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realtor vacation: Mobile Website, Mobile App and Meditating in Hawaii
- 09/07/15 05:00 AM
In the world of mobile devices, sometimes photos look better on your phone than they do on the computer. I noticed a Tweet I sent last night while at the restaurant. It was a photo of Ahi, which was part of a trio of fish served to me. Why they would cook ahi is beyond me. Ick, yuck, ishy, bleh! But when I looked at the photo on Twitter today on my computer, which I only went to because About.com retweeted one of my articles, it looked so horrid I had to delete it. Don't want anybody to think that was … (9 comments)
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realtor vacation: You Are Not a Pig if You Eat Three Maine Lobsters in Hawaii
- 09/06/15 05:30 AM
Some guy who fancies himself a Sacramento home buyer just called me to talk about a home in Elk Grove. Yes, even on a Hawaiian vacation I pick up my calls. He doesn't seem to know much about the area, and he thought the home he was calling about was an REO because that's how Zillow classified it. It would seem that he couldn't even take the time to read the copy on the home but just picked up the phone. I tried to explain how he could improve his home buying experience, but with some people, when they actually believe … (21 comments)
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realtor vacation: Websites, Cat Puke and Hawaiian Crabbing Feast
- 09/05/15 04:56 AM
Even while in Hawaii, unpleasant things continue in my life. I am still struggling with my website; it's a never-ending story from last June. A few days ago, the website guys rolled back my site because they had made some sort of error, or inserted code where it should not have been, I dunno, but they wiped out 3 of my blogs. They are having a problem because I have a photo on top of a photo and a slideshow, and javacript errors are happening in WordPress.
In my mind, you'd think they'd spend 30 minutes on this project and they would … (18 comments)
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My plane from Hawaii landed about midnight Friday. When I woke up yesterday morning in a daze, wandering into the living room in my nightgown, I think my husband must have heard me click the heat up a few notches. Shortly afterward, he came into the kitchen as I fumbled for the coffee. He held out my robe so I could slip into it. 
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