Lake Tahoe

For Memorial Day we took a trip to Lake Tahoe. We actually went there on Monday and got to see everyone leaving. This meant super cheap rates, no lines, and we had the whole place to ourselves, (almost).

This is a shot of Emerald Bay - the jewel of Lake Tahoe.

When we went there was no more snow, so we missed that, but there was plenty to see and do. This place is so beautiful that even without snow it is still worth a visit.

If you are looking for a place to buy a second home, Lake Tahoe should be on your list. Prices have gone up recently but not as much as in other tourist cities like Vail or Aspen. And now that prices there are too high, people are starting to buy in Tahoe. So if you want to buy here, now is the time.

This here is Eagle Falls. A short 1 mile hike from the main highway gets you up close and personal.

Portland Oregon

About 12 hours away (driving) from San Francisco is Portland, Oregon. 2/3 of the state's population lives in Portland. And many California residents are moving. Portland has experienced double digit property appreceiation as well as California. In fact, many people who work in Portland, live in the state of Washington across the river. The commute is 1-2 hours each way.

Why they live in Portland is beyond me. It rains there 9 months out of the year. Not severe rain. But drizzles on and off all day long. I guess you get used to it after a while. But I find it miserable.

Other then Portland and a couple other cities, Oregon is one big forest. Tress, trees, and more trees. But it is very beautiful. Especially the area around the Columbia River. Mt Hood is also a great ski spot!

Portland itself is right on the river, and the city government has done a great job at making it a pleasant place to live.

There is plenty of housing, walking paths, beatuiful scenary and things to do.


Here is the marina. Part of the charm of Portland is the many bridges that lead into and out of the city. There are 8 unique bridges in all.

In July, the city hosts a month long Festival of Roses. The city is know as the City of Roses and every year they celebrate. In the center of the city is the International Rose Test Garden.

With dozens of rose varieties and hundreds of other flowers this is a must stop if you are even in Portland.

Just check out this cool picture.

Another aspect of Portland that we loved was the abundance of waterfalls. The snowfall that they get every year has to find its way down to the river and this results in several small waterfalls all over the place.

One of the most famous ones is Multnomah Falls. Pictured above.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, Nope. It's Ameen!

We had so much flying planes in San Diego that we decided to go flying without all the metal. We decided to go hand gliding! And in San Francisco there are several great places to catch some air.
To go hand gliding you have to go off a cliff or a mountain. As air comes in from the ocean, it continues across the land until it hits the cliff. The cliff then forces the air to go up and over the cliff. This updraft is what keep the hand gliders up in the air. Without an updraft the glider would come down rather quickly.

The bad part is the glider has to stay near the cliff to stay airborne. You can;t really use it as a mode of transportation. But when you are in the air, it is so peaceful. You are flying along like a bird. It just might be the closest thing to being a bird there is. And it's safe too. The company we went with has never had a problem in over 8 years!

Here's Hina getting all her gear on and strapping herself to the glider.

But here is a tip. If you want to save money, do not contact a company. Find out where the gliders take off from. We took off from a place called Fort Funston. Go there and you will usually find the instructors that work for the companies and you can get a much better rate dealing directly with these people.


And here she is jumping off the cliff! Yes you really do have to run and jump off the cliff, but it's not as scary as it sounds.
Being scared of heights, I did go but I don't think I will do it again. But it was definitely a memory that will last a lifetime. If you get the chance, go. You won't regret it.

Vegas Baby!

We didn't get a chance to go to Vegas when we were in Long Beach, so we decided to go from Palo Alto. Even though it was a ten hour drive, it was a lot of fun, and tax deductible because I met some of my coaching clients.

The Vegas market does seem to be cooling. New condo projects are still going up. Including one from Trump and another one from Ivanka Trump. But overall several projects are stuck at the drawing board because they cannot generate sales as fast as they used to. Ad to the fact that water is becoming a scarce commodity and you can see why things might be slowing down. But people are still moving there, and Nevada overall is growing.





In Case you've never seen it before here's what 1 Million Dollars in cash looks like!

Las Vegas is a marketer's dream. There are so many lesson here that I cannot cover even 1 percent of them. The things that I can't get over is that people come here knowing they are going to lose, yet they play anyway. I had a guy in the hotel ask me, "Did you win anything?" I said no cause I didn't gamble anything. He then says, "I found this one machine, where I was able to pay for 3 hours for $20. I still lost but at least not as much as I could have." He was actually proud that he only lost a little money.

Once you get someone in the proper mindset you can get them to do anything. Even things that they know they shouldn't be doing.

Touring Around San Francisco

There are so many great places to visit here that we had no trouble finding things to do.

One of the places we visited was Point St. Reyes which is a totally commercial development free zone. Nature all round.

Check out the scenery:





That house down there is actually a lighthouse. In the other picture you can see the miles and miles of beaches that are just the way nature made them.

Northern California is also famous for the amazing Redwood Tree. Redwoods only grow in California/Oregon and China. They are so unique because they grow to be hundreds of feet tall and they live for hundreds of years. They survive by drinking in the fog The leaves on the trees drink up the moisture in the fog and provide it to the rest of the tree. That's why they are so tall.
The major cause of death of redwoods, besides man, is lightning. Even fire has a hard time killing a redwood. The fire can burn the bark on the outside, but inside there is a substance that acts like the foam in a fire extinguisher to put out the flame. And in a few years, the tree will regrow the bark and be whole again. Simple amazing.


Look at this monster tree! It just keeps going and going.

San Francisco

The two best things I like about San Francisco are the views and the weather. I myself, am not very found of tropical weather. Having lived in only in Miami and Houston you might not blame me. But cooler temps suit me just fine.

It's a small city, not very much land but it leaves its mark on you. It's unique and definitely worth a visit. There is enormous wealth and poverty on the same streets.

Want to buy a house near the marina with a view of both the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges? It'll cost you over $3.5 million. And that price is not coming down. There is too much money here. And if you need a mortgage, I can recommend a few names. :)

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the city.

This is the view of the city from the bay. We took this picture on the ferry from Saulsilito.

You get a very similar view from the Golden Gate Bridge, except you are looking down and to the right at the city.

Too bad we won't get to spend the 4th of July here. Fireworks over the Bay sounds like a great idea.





This is the world famous Golden Gate Bridge on a clear day. Normally there is a ton of fog and you cannot even see the top of the bridge. But this day, the fog is gone and it looks great!









This is San Francisco's other famous bridge: The Bay Bridge. It connects Frisco to Oakland and is one of the reasons they have 2 hour commutes.

I don't understand how anyone can stand driving two hours a day to work and two hours back home. I hope that those people at least listen to something educational in the car while they sit in traffic.

This is the bridge that partly crumbled in the last major earthquake in the 1990's sending many cars into the bay. According to our tour guide, it is still not fixed so if they have another earthquake the whole thing might come down.


Here's Alcatraz up close and personal.
They say no one every escaped from this prison. And now according to the Nation Parks Service it is the most visited national park, with more visitors than the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, or Yellowstone.

All those people going to see an old jail. Who says there's no opportunity anymore? You just have to look for it. And never underestimate what people will pay for.