I'm Back!!!

[Ysabel Kid]

Hi fellas!

I'm back! I've been out of the country since 6/19 on vacation with my family, celebrating my wife's and my 25th wedding anniversary, my 50th birthday, and Y2K's 16th birthday. With three big events to celebrate, we decided to really do a major vacation, and have been saving up for it for years. We flew to Rome, spent a few days there, and then jumped on a cruise stopping in Santorini, Istanbul, Ephesus, Mikonos, Athens, and Naples. Four countries (Italy, the Vatican, Greece and Turkey); two continents (Europe and Asia) - it was fantastic! Got home late on Independence Day. Other than Y2K getting a serious sun burn on Wednesday 7/2, it was a perfect vacation. Time with my family, wonderful historic places to visit, perfect weather - and NO e-mails! Paying the price for it now with a couple thousand e-mails between work and personal accounts. Going to take me several days to dig out. I hope everyone here was safe and sound while I was away.

Pictures to come - we took a bit over 4,000 of them!!!

YK

[Bullard4075]

Welcome back,you were missed.

[gamekeeper]

Glad to see you back around the fire Jay.
Sounds like quite a trip!....

[Griff]

Glad to see you back around the fire Jay.
Sounds like quite a trip!....

+1! Don't put ALL the pics in one post!

[Blaine]

I'm glad your back....You deserved a great vacation...

[AJMD429]

I'm kinda working on something like that for 3-4 years from now. Not out-of-country, but a real 'tour of the U.S.' type thing to see the places I've never been (basically 'out west' both north and south). Those kinds of vacations are awesome. Glad you got one...!!!

Hope your 'digging out' isn't too bad; I know how that is, even if I take just a couple days off...

[Old Savage]

Welcome back!

[Sixgun]

Yo kid! Don't hey have internet over there? You mean you forgot all about us, living in poverty, struggling to eat, no primers, etc.

You gots to let us know how they think about us cowboys!-----6

[Ysabel Kid]

Yo kid! Don't hey have internet over there? You mean you forgot all about us, living in poverty, struggling to eat, no primers, etc.

You gots to let us know how they think about us cowboys!-----6

The ship had internet access, but it didn't work the first half of the trip, and at $0.79/minute, I elected not to use it when it did start working again! I love you guys, but hey - I'm not made of money! The trip alone was one of those "once in a lifetime" and cost a small fortune. Worth every penny though.

Plus... I really, really, REALLY needed to get away from work for a couple weeks. Usually when I go on vacation I check in on e-mails daily, if not several times per day. I seldom get a real brake. This was one. Sure, there was "free" wifi in many places at the various stops, but I was too busy seeing the sights to worry about it. I'll pay for it for a while, but it was worth it!!!

[mark08]

How to dig out from all that e-mail.... select "ALL" then select "DELETE" If it was important it will return.. Used to come back from vacation and at work throw everything into the trash. If important, would get a notice or phone call... SIMPLE

[JReed]

Sounds like a heck of a trip. Look forward to the pics when you get a chance.

[Sixgun]

How to dig out from all that e-mail.... select "ALL" then select "DELETE" If it was important it will return.. Used to come back from vacation and at work throw everything into the trash. If important, would get a notice or phone call... SIMPLE

Ha! I like that. Personally, I'm to the point where I check my e-mail about once a week and anything with "fwd" goes away very fast.......unless I like the guy, then I'll briefly look at it.----6


Kid,
I hear ya. I do the same thing. You needed to clear your head and the last thing you need is stupid obligations that mean little, if anything. That's the reason that I still do not have a cell phone. Nobody every calls to say, "hey, I found a hundred dollar bill with your name on it". They want something.

[JohndeFresno]

Great to have you back!

I miss the moccasin framed photos and newsy posts.

[M. M. Wright]

Welcome home!

[Stan in SC]

Welcome back and Happy anniversary. I looked last week and I thought that your end of the state looked kind of vacant.
Happy Birthday to Y2K also.

Stan in SC

[Old Ironsights]

I spent 24 hours too long in Istanbul/Turkey...

Not a place I would ever want to (am legally prohibited from) return(ing) to... (Thanks, UnkEss...)

[Ysabel Kid]

I spent 24 hours too long in Istanbul/Turkey...

Not a place I would ever want to (am legally prohibited from) return(ing) to... (Thanks, UnkEss...)

We actually enjoyed our visit there quite a bit, though I would never want to live there (or anyplace else, for that matter, with 15 million residents ). My brother spent about 2 years there for work 15 years ago.

It's a historic city for sure, and I figured visiting one Muslim country at some point in my life would be a good educational experience - and if I had to pick one, I might as well pick the saniest one of the bunch! Turned out we were in the city at the start of Ramadan - go figure.

BTW, it proved once again what a liar BHO is. I remember a quote from him saying that when he was growing up in Indonesia that hearing the "call to prayers" was one of the sweetest sounds he recalls. If so, he's tone deaf. Now I know what they do with all the cats in the city. They pick a few at prayer time and strangle them over a loud-speaker!

Nonetheless, culturally it was fanscinating and I'm glad we made the stop. I don't feel a need to return, but enjoyed the brief visit.

[RIHMFIRE]

Glad you guys had a great time.....but who picked the trip?
For some reason the women in our family usually decide.
Can't wait to see some of the pics......4000 of them...wow

[Birdman]

That's a trip of a lifetime but you sure had 3 very good things to celebrate. I'm glad it turned out as good as it did.