So I just thought I'd check in and see how things are going around here the last 10 days or so? My wife and I have been on vacation in the Mediterranean and I haven't been able to keep up with things.

So when I left, I was busy helping Frankyford with his pick up. I was just wondering if you got anything else figured out? I found the old post but you left it at thinking it was the MAF sensor and nothing was posted after that.

I'd go further into detail about my trip [as I think at least some of you are interested] but I'm really tired right now, so maybe I'll post about it later. It's good to be back. Vacation, tho it's s'posed to be relaxing, can really wear a guy out.

 

let us know how your trip went, usually when i get done my vacation i am tired of being on vacation and feel like i need to get back to work lol

 

First I just want to note that this post is entirely off topic, and if that annoys you, I'm sorry- however in all fairness you don't have to read it. But if you're interested, here's how it went.

Hahaha- yeah, I know. Now that I've had the chance to get a nap in [gotta stay up late as I work nights and get back on the job tomorrow night] here's a rundown of our trip.

Going out- 2 Flights + layovers and transportation time to airport and ship once we landed: 16 hrs travel. Jet lagged bad.

Day 1: About an hour or so after the ship [Royal Caribbean's "Navigator of the Seas" 14 decks high] leaves port in Citivecchia, Italy [I think that's the right spelling] they round everybody up for a "practice emergency drill" and I was dead asleep when that started, so I was rather cranky about the 20 minute interruption.

Day 2: We were already at port in Sicily when we woke up, so we take the morning to wander around and check out a few things [we didn't see anything of particular interest as we didn't go out with a tour group]. The people in Italy are bat **** crazy drivers. I mean, take the worst city in the US you can think of for bad drivers, and it doesn't even compare to how they drive in Italy. People were actually parking their cars on the sidewalks- and it's not like it was a car here and there- everybody did it.

Day 3: Athens, Greece. Again we were already at port when we woke up. After a carb filled breakfast, again we decide to go out on our own- didn't turn out to be the best decision we made. We had a city map, but the map was printed in English, and the street signs were printed in the Greek alphabet, so navigating was a real PITA. But we managed to catch the bus that took us to the Acropolis. If you've never been there, it rests atop a plateau just shy of 500 feet in the air, but the trail leading up to it is winding enough that the hike isn't that bad. Unfortunately, they're in the middle of a restoration right now, so we couldn't get inside the Parthenon, but just seeing it in person compared to photos blew me away. Afterwards, the wife wanted to do some shopping in an area called Plaka just north of the Acropolis, so again we had some difficulties navigating there. Made it, bought a few souvenirs and then began what was at least an hour and half journey back to the ship. Again, the trouble was being able to compare road signs to the map as neither of us had any clue how to read Greek.

Day 4 was at sea. We mostly just relaxed but the "Navigator" had a rock climbing wall so I gave that a shot and made it to the top! First time I'd ever done a rock climbing wall and it was fun, but about halfway up the blood started draining out of my arms so the last stretch of the climb was very difficult just for the sake of holding on with numb hands. But at some point on that wall I strained one of my lower back muscles which made it near impossible to sleep, sit or stand for the next few days and I spent a lot of time in one of the 4 jacuzzi's on board. It sucked dipping into a 100+ degree hot tub on 90+ degree days, but it was the only thing that helped.

Day 5: Ephesus, Turkey. Can't remember the name of the port town but we had a bus ride to Ephesus. This had to be my favorite part of the trip. This was the one stop we actually booked a tour on, and the ruins were amazing. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour lengthy but not unenjoyable. In other words he didn't babble on about every little detail. Again after the tour, we went shopping. This was the part I didn't like- every single shop/restaurant owner was insistent on the tourists visiting their place. About 20 minutes into it, even tho we were in the shade, I put my sunglasses on because if one of them spied you just looking at say, a leather jacket, in passing, they'd rush up to you and try to fit you for it. Every time we turned around we had to say "No thanks" and keep walking otherwise we'd have probably missed the ship leaving port! I mean, I kinda felt bad for not humoring them, but most of the stores were the same- the usual, trinket type souvenirs that nobody really cares about, y'know? Unless, of course, you're into that kind of thing- but we're not.

Day 6: Crete, Greece. Not much to speak of here. The tours that went on that day were just beach tours. Basically lead people out to the beach and let them lay out. We didn't do one, but we walked around for about an hour and realized there just wasn't much going on in Crete, and spent the rest of the day playing mini golf, ping pong, and basketball on the ship.

Day 7 at sea on the return journey to Citivecchia [That's sit-ti-veh-chee-uh in case you were wondering]. Again just kind of lounging about.

Breakfast and lunch were "free style" eating times, but at dinner we had assigned seating, and it was with 3 other couples, so as the days passed we got to know each other and shared our stories over dinner. A couple of formal nights as well so my wife got to dress me up in a nice suit. I didn't drink as much as I expected I would as the cheapest beer on board was $4.75 and the fruity type drinks my wife likes were as much as $9.50. We drank a few times but far from excess- in the entirety of the trip I drank maybe 4 beers.

Days 8 and 9 were spent in Rome. Half of day 8 was spent just getting to Rome from Citivecchia, but we walked around that afternoon and saw the Spanish Steps [known as Spagna] and the Trevi Fountain [Fontana de Trevi] and the Colloseum. We didn't get to the Colloseum in time to go inside, but it looks amazing at night. And something you don't really see in pictures is that it has holes in its structure everywhere. We kind of sat in on another tour guide's lecture about it and she said the reason for it was that it had to do with how the Romans built it, to make it stronger. I personally compared it to the same principle as a hollow pipe- it's stronger than a solid steel rod. And I didn't hear her that well, but I think she also mentioned that the Romans were able to use the holes as ways to erect basic scaffolding- but it was noisy so I may have been mistaken about that.

Day 9 we went to the Vatican, and we had a tour booked on that as well. Our tour guide told us at the start that if you were to see everything that there is to see in the Vatican, it would take about 8 weeks to do so, so she would walk us thru the main points as quickly as possible on a 3 hour tour. Problem was, she had to stop and babble on forever about each piece she brought us to. We had these headsets on so that we could wander so far from the group and still be able to hear her, and as the tour went on my wife and I listened to her at first, then started to drift off a little, and then finally got to the point where we'd just go off and do our own thing in each room. We weren't trying to be disrespectful but this lady would talk about a single display for like 10 minutes at least which really slowed things down. We finally came to a point in the tour right before the Sistine Chapel and she gave everybody a choice- we could turn in our headsets and go straight to the Chapel, or we could continue the tour thru a couple of more rooms before going to the Chapel. We weren't entirely sure, but we think everybody in our tour turned in their headsets and went straight for the Chapel.

The Chapel itself was amazing. It's one thing to look at a video or photograph of it, but to stand there and see it in person took my breath away. It was kind of funny because, before you enter, they tell you that number one there's no talking allowed because it's a holy place; and number two no photo's are allowed for the same reason. But this place was packed- I would compare it to being at a rock concert where everybody is practically shoulder to shoulder with little room to move. And as it happens with large crowds, people try to talk over one another and so it was relatively noisy in there. There were a few guards in there that about every 2-3 minutes would let out a really loud "SHHH" but that would only quiet the room for a second or two and then it was back to the same noise level. And I saw at least 5 people get away with pictures. In all honesty my wife and I probably would have gotten away with a couple except the battery on her camera died before we made it there and she didn't bring a spare.

And finally, today was spent traveling home. We left our hotel at 3 AM Italy time and got back home around 5 Iowa time. 3 Flights + layovers, customs, and travel time to and from the airports= about 20 hours travel time. Serious jet lag. We got home, I sat down in my chair, posted my first message here and then bam, I was out for about 3 hours.

Anyway, that's how it went. All in all it was a great experience and I'd do it again, but not for at least a year or two! The wife and I are talking about taking one good trip a year for our anniversary [that's why we did the cruise this year] and I'm sure she'll start planning next year's very soon.

That's all I've got for now. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask- I'll answer them as best I can, just remember that my memory is about as long as... my little toe.

...Had ya thinkin' I'd say something else, didn't I?

*Edit- Sorry, I didn't realize how long this was till I actually posted it. On a related note, except for the days we were at sea, my wife and I averaged about 10 miles of walking per day!

 

Hey there,
I’m glad you got your truck back. My 2002 was stolen last year and about a month after my insurance paid out and I bought a new to me 1999.5, the police found my truck pretty worse for wear.
my truck was stolen right after I did the 6.0 cooler, and fixed my up pipes and redid the rear main seal in my driveway.

with my new truck I got a ravelco device installed. Literally the weekend I installed it someone tried to steal it. Broke my ignition cylinder and door lock , but saved my truck.

3 months later , it stopped another attempt right after I upgraded my turbo wheel and exhaust. (The night I finished)

it seems to happen whenever I upgrade something

anyways, long story long, I highly recommend a revelco anti theft device it has saved me twice already.

-HP