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Summer Is Almost Here

Our condo at Lake of the Ozarks, MO is pretty much summer-ready at this point, and SO AM I!  I’m looking forward to fun on the water with our new toys

and sleeping in our incredibly comfortable bed.

I can’t wait for all the fun to be had on the water with friends and family, exploring the restaurants we know and love and some new ones, and shopping at the outlet mall.

Even more so, I’m looking forward to exploring the parts and places unknown to us during some of our weekend trips. We know there’s a lot of other places to discover and explore than what we’ve already experienced.  Here’s a list:

 

Fun for the family!  Choose from 4 different rooms to crack the code and make your escape from the room.

15 miles of winding trails which take you past caves, a spring, a natural bridge, sink holes, and down to the lake.  There is also, what remains, of a huge stone castle that was built in the early 1900s.

Missouri’s largest state park which has 89 miles of lake shoreline. Swimming, camping, boating, hiking, mountain biking, and horseback trail rides.

A 60-degree cavern which has onyx formations, giant mineral columns, delicate soda straws and huge draperies throughout.  Weddings are also performed here year-round.

Another cavern that offers guided tours through the stalagmites, Onyx Falls, and Hanging Gardens. You can even plan a Valentine’s Dinner in the caverns.

3 thrilling Ziplines  with amazing lake views. They offer team building experiences and eco-education that can be followed with a picnic lunch.

Leisurely kayaking and stand-up paddleboards on calm waters in a serene setting. BYO picnic lunch and enjoy the lakeshore picnic grounds.

 

We’ll see how many of these activities I get to check out this year. It looks like plenty to keep everyone entertained and I’m looking forward to it!

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Travel Music Tuesday–Blake Shelton

Blake Shelton–Some Beach

Have you ever heard a song that reminds you of a place you have traveled to? Or maybe it just inspires you to want to go somewhere mentioned in the song or go because of the vibe of the song.

Get Some Beach on iTunes:

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A Sigh Of Relief

It’s done! I can breathe again! Well, I’ve always been able to breathe, so maybe that’s not the best analogy. I’ve finally been able to get my blog rolled over to the new, self-hosted platform–see my previous post here–but it was not without it’s challenges. Or maybe I should say self-perceived challenges.ecstatic-2821540_1280The transition started off easy enough. All I had to do was roll all previous posts to the new site and then tailor it to look the way I wanted. And it was easy, except that I just figured out that I somehow left 60 posts on the old site. I guess that wasn’t as easy as it seemed…I might just leave them there for now. If you subscribe to my blog, you were also moved over to the new site. Once everything was set up, moved, and situated the way I wanted it, it was time to move my domain.

I had to wait for Siteground to release my domain name, which is tlcpostcards.com. You may have noticed my recent web address being a temporary address more like box 5501.temp.domains or maybe not. Or you may have had trouble finding my blog on the new platform, like I did. I now know that when a hosting platform tells you it will take 7 days for your domain to be released, it doesn’t mean it could take that long, or may take UP TO 7 days. It means IT WILL take 7 days. And during that 7 days, who knows what will happen with your blog. (I’m sure someone way more techy than me might know, but a simple end-user like me has no clue.)

Some days I could post on my temp domain, then my temp domain disappeared, along with some draft posts. I could still draft a post on the old platform, but it was down to having only 2 subscribers left on it. All the changes I had made to my theme (which is the way it looks on screen) were gone. I was sure I had done something seriously wrong. woman-2696408_1920

I called my new hosting platform (BlueHost) twice only to be told that my domain hadn’t been released, but my blog was fine. I even had them check that my domain was pointed to the right servers–even though I still don’t really know what that means…Their service reps are so kind and patient, especially with a newbie like me. They assured me everything was fine. Finally, after still not being able to access my new blog for almost a week, I called BlueHost a third time. Once again, the rep assured me my new blog was fine, still there, and even described it to me over the phone. When I explained I still could not access anything, she said, “Oh, you just need to clear your cache”.

Now I’m not sure about you, but I had no idea what a cache even was or that I had one, much less did I know I needed to clear it or how to. Soooo, I next asked her for instructions on how to do it. I know by this time she surely thought i was one of the slowest people she had ever spoken to.

It took me about 15 seconds to “clear my cache” and VOILA! There’s my blog, back in business on the self-hosted platform, looking just the way I had left it. I was even able to publish a post from last week with no issue.

I’m hoping to get the rest of it cleaned up in the coming days/weeks (hopefully it won’t take months) and tweaked to look EXACTLY how I want. If you happen to be a fellow blogger who is looking to switch your hosting, do give BlueHost a look, they are so helpful and knowledgeable. Thank you so much for following and thank you for your patience!

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LOTO Weekend Getaway

Spring is upon us and we’re headed back to our condominum at the Lake of the Ozarks. We still have a few cosmetic things to accomplish in the coming days and still have our goal within reach of having everything complete and ready for funning and sunning visitors by April. We hope to have it ready to go on the VRBO rental market towards the end of summer as well.

Hubby’s going to finish painting the kitchen and bathroom cabinets. No, your eyes don’t deceive, some of them are currently white and some of them are off-white. Who does that? We also get to install a new faucet this weekend, which is really needed! After that, it’ll be time to find some curtains and a few more red accents. And SOMEDAY, not any day real soon, we’ll be able to upgrade the appliances, which I hope will really make the kitchen pop.

Lake

The bedrooms are mostly done.  Aside from a few minor decorating touches in the master bedroom, like some more pillows on the bed and having the dresser painted, they are pretty much ready for sleeping in. We actually adore the master because the bed is much larger and way more comfy than the bed we have at home!

Master BR
Sunset BR
Beach BR

The ultimate task, which may or may not get completed this weekend will be the kitchen table. Even though it’s character was one of the selling points of the condo, the poor thing is so beat up I haven’t had the heart to take any pictures of it. Right now it’s a sage green color with green and tan checkered seats. We are planning to paint all but the wooden top and re-upholster the chairs in colors that will flow better with the rest of the condo.

Our goal is to make enough progress on the condo that we (or I) have time to go to my favorite place Saturday–Coral Reef Seafood! They have been having cooking demos on Saturdays–2 weeks ago was Mussel Mania–and Chef Ryan has been doing it justice.

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Mussels with Andouille Sausage in a tomato sauce

Not only does he demonstrate how to make the recipe, we then get to sample it. He demoed three mussels recipes which were all incredible!

Really, I can’t say enough about Coral Reef. If you like seafood, you must stop by. Even if you aren’t interested in the cooking demonstrations, they have some of the freshest seafood available. Justin’s Stuffed Roughy and the Large Wild Gulf Shrimp are the usuals we buy to take back home for dinner later in the week.

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Coral Reef Shrimp, Lake Ozark, MO

Besides that, they have a Bake N Serve Seafood Lasagna that I have my eye on for a future dinner. I’ve also heard they will be having crab legs on sale this weekend which may have to be dinner Saturday night.

And dare I mention that their non-seafood items are great too? I believe they have the best andouille sausage I’ve ever had, and they also have a selection of steaks, side dishes, marinades and spices.

Apparently, I have a lot to look forward to this weekend.  I can’t wait, c’mon Friday!

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A High-Five To Myself

I have to high-five myself at this point. When I started this blogging gig, I knew there would be some “techy” things I would need to learn about. I don’t consider myself very “techy”, but apparently, I can Google instructions and follow them in order to make things work which has saved my butt on this blog.

As time has gone on, I’ve surprised myself along the way. Learning throughout this past year about graphics, widgets, headers, footers, HTML code,affiliate marketing, SEO, crawling bots, and so on was really beyond my reach. Or so I thought. BUT, I got most of it figured out and set up the way I wanted it on my blog. AND I can even carry on an intelligent conversation with my colleagues about, say, SEO and what it is.

Fast forward my learning to February, 2018. This is when I realized the way I had my blog set up was limiting. I couldn’t do certain things I wanted to do, I couldn’t use the theme that I really preferred (how the blog looks to you), and soon, I would have more traffic than it was set up to handle. stop-1013732_1280From what I could tell, I would need to move to a self-hosted platform.

And guess what? I did it!  You may have noticed recently, that my webpage looks different. Not drastically different, I still have the same logo and same pics used in my header. The coloring is still the same so I think it still has the same feel. But, I now have a side bar menu instead of dropdown at the top, a different layout and blah, blah, blah. Not to bore you with the details, let’s just say that I’ve re-vamped this blog literally from top to bottom and had to learn so much in order to do so. presentation-1454403_1280Thank you for your patience as I’ve transitioned over to the self-hosted platform. I’m still waiting for my domain name to be released, so you will see something besides “box5501.temp.domains…” in your address bar when on my blog.  Once the domain privacy on my previous platform releases my domain name, tlcpostcards.com, everything on my blog will be fully functional again and I will be able to proceed as usual and hopefully probably learn some more “techy” things. I hope this results in you have a better experience with my postings. Thank you for following!

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Things To Do In Nuevo Vallarta Mexico

Last month we were in Nuevo Vallarta Mexico and participated in some of the excursions available there. What we found on the excursions we took, is that in this part of Mexico, service is pretty top-notch. Even though we didn’t get to do absolutely everything, I’d think it’s safe to say that you will have an incredible experience on pretty much any of them. I was also impressed by the prices which were incredibly reasonable.
Rhythms of the Night–this was hands-down my favorite. You cruise on a huge catamaran over Banderas Bay, enjoying the sunset, to Las Caletas. The island is lit only by candle light.

Catamaran ride
Las Caleta by candlelight

You enjoy a romantic outdoor dinner next to the beach. The buffet-style dinner was of unbelievable quality and offered shrimp, fish, chicken and beef along with many accompaniments and desserts. After dining, you may have time to go relax in a beachside hammock or you may proceed up to the amphitheater for the “Cirque de Soleil” style native show. (The performances were pretty impressive!)

After the show, you are entertained by your crew and dance under the stars on your catamaran ride back to Puerto Vallarta. It was worth every penny for the 4+ hours of entertainment, but maybe not worth the extra cost to upgrade the tour.
Pegaso Whale Watching—this was an incredible, all-day excursion. You depart early in the morning on a sailboat going the opposite direction across Banderas Bay. On the ride to Las Marietas, you watch for whales and you may be lucky enough to witness them breach or see a Momma and baby.

You then arrive at Marietas Islands marine preserve for some snorkeling. When you re-board the sailboat, you are served a delicious “brown bag” lunch, and begin the sail home with cocktails. The crew does a great job of accommodating everyone’s tastes for lunch and keeping a cocktail in your hand.

This is a very relaxing trip, but is an all day affair that packs a lot into your day. It is, however, a great way to take in all the scenery of Banderas Bay.
Puerto Vallarta City Tour–this was another fun, full-day excursion that allows you the chance to experience the local culture by bus and on foot. You begin the day by visiting local landmarks and monuments such as City Hall, the Guadalupe church, and the Malecon boardwalk.

Nuevo Vallarta

Sightseeing is interspersed with shopping opportunities until you re-board the bus and head south into the rain forest where you will enjoy a delicious lunch and beverages of your choice.

After lunch, you will walk around the corner to a small tequileria, where you will learn the history of the family business and process for making the tequila.

The process is pretty interesting and it’s nice that you are allowed to taste the different flavors and grades of tequila. Even if you don’t typically like this liquor, you will likely find one you do like.


The tour ends with one last shopping opportunity and that includes buying bottles of tequila before your ride back to your resort. We also learned that tequila is good for marinating and cooking with so we brought home a bottle of almond tequila and use it to marinate shrimp.
We found that every excursion we embarked on was somewhat educational, a lot of fun, and provided quite a bit of culture. Service on each of them was exceptional, which I believe to be consistent for most excursions in the area. There were other activities that we would have liked to have done as well, but we ran out of time. But on our next trip to Nuevo Vallarta, we will be checking those out.