My New Ride and Road Trip Pics

[BrewCity11]

:rofl: Turk.. I can't believe your modding "The Van" already :) You and Levent gonna drive that down to CMP for the Lemons Race in Sep?

Trust me, it's even funnier to me. Doubt i can make any big road trips in Sept. In Aug, I'm coming back to WI to go to Road America for the Le Mans series weekend. Few buddies of mine always camp out up there for the weekend.

Re; the van, though, just got a call from my mechanic, and the steering has been fixed. No longer a death trap on the freeway. Thank God. I was worried we'd be doing 55 the whole way. Tie rods helped a little he said, but the big fix was the pitman arm.

Also, got both headlights in now, and it's a huge improvement. Won't have to worry about our midnight driving through IN and OH.

[BrewCity11]

Ok, finally somewhat settled in. Bout time i posted some pics.

I bought my best bud a one-way ticket back so i wouldn't have to drive alone.

So, it was believed that the tie rods, idler & pitman arm solved the unstable steering at freeway speeds, but once the van was loaded up, it became even worse.

45 mph, doable
50 mph, pay attention, correct often
55 mph, be careful, don't over-correct
60 mph, white knuckle driving at its worst. constant attention and correction needed. Very stressful to drive.
65 mph, nope.

I did the first leg, from Milwaukee, to the middle of Indiana. Charlie got in and was very overwhelmed with the steering issues. Neither he nor I was comfortable with him driving. I couldn't calm down enough to close my eyes in fear he was going to flip the damn thing. Not his fault, as i had 2 weeks experience driving this bastard, and was better able to control it.

So, two hours later, around 2 in the morning, i was back in the drivers seat. Not getting any real sleep, i was only able to muster 2-4 hours shifts driving. Stopped often for breaks, caffeine, bathroom, and stretching. Somewhere in PA, i took a nap in the grass at a rest stop, for about 20 minutes until a stranger walked up and asked if i was OK. "We don't see people sleeping in the grass around here, wanted to make sure you were ok." lol

Charlie stepped up towards the end of PA, once it was light out again, and did another 2 hours. I finished it off, and arrived at my fam's home at 7:30pm, Saturday the 16th.

That being said, the trip that should've taken 14 hours doing the speed limit, ended up taking 24 hours total. OMG, never again.

Starting the loading




Uh oh, running out of room...




Literally packed to the brim. Couldn't have fit anything more. Actually had to toss some parts that i'm really regretting now. But hey, oh well.

Crossing into IL around 7:00pm. Made a stop at my godparents' home for dinner and to say goodbye. Left there at 9:30pm.


Shot of Great America in Gurnee, IL


My coworkers were nice enough to get me a generous gift card to Best Buy, so i added a little on top and got this great GPS nav. Perfect placement in the triangle vent window on the door.


See that Taurus cutting in front? Right after this pic, another guy in a new Range Rover cut me off, and i let it slide. I'm usually very forgiving when it comes to shit like that. Charlie, my co-pilot was furious, saying "you gonna allow that, cut box that f**ker out". I was like, naw, not a problem. We get up to the window to pay the $3 toll, and the lady says the guy in front (Rover) paid for you. That's karma bitches!


At least the guy didn't snore, lol


Fast forwards to PA, i hate you, you long ass state! Took forever.


Another fast forward, Jersey City in the distance.


Charlie had never been east of MI, let alone NYC. So Monday, we spent the day touring the city, his flight at 7pm. Just some random pics.


The Home Depot. The BMW dealership near Wall St is like this too. Kinda funny for a midwesterner to see.


The famous Katz' Deli. Had the best pastrami sandwich ever. Wish i could've gotten a better pic of this hottie. Trust me, she was smokin. She sat at that table for 20 minutes waiting for whomever she was with. When we finished and on the way out, i stopped and wispered "whoever is making you wait this long should be slapped". She says, "Well its my dad, so give it your best shot". I removed my foot from my mouth once we left the building, lol.


World Financial Center. Still lots of work to do...


And lastly, one of the many beautiful BMW's i see regularly out here.


Still getting used to the state, living arrangements, etc. Miss the comfort of my hometown and friends, But it sure is great to be with family.

Thanks for looking

Turk

[vlad]

you should start posting pics from the warehouse remodeling !
PS no word about meeting the russian ladies? :D

[BakesE30]

YO! welcome to the great garden state!

[akorcovelos]

nice Turk, glad you made it in one piece!

[rwh11385]

Who needs a van? Just get a station wagon.

[deutschman]

Drive around town and/or residential areas wearing a ski mask and stop next to a cop to ask for directions

hahahaha! i have actually seen two guy driving on the freeway in a van with masks on. it was weird.

the van is actually cool. i kinda dig it.

[deutschman]

The famous Katz' Deli. Had the best pastrami sandwich ever. Wish i could've gotten a better pic of this hottie. Trust me, she was smokin. She sat at that table for 20 minutes waiting for whomever she was with. When we finished and on the way out, i stopped and wispered "whoever is making you wait this long should be slapped". She says, "Well its my dad, so give it your best shot". I removed my foot from my mouth once we left the building, lol.

who dresses like this to see their dad? no one does!

[ZM Blue Devil]

Who needs a van? Just get a station wagon.

You have no idea how profound this statement is...

Hang tight...

[Mtriple]

You have no idea how profound this statement is...

Hang tight...

Heeter is a profound man.


True story.

[ZM Blue Devil]

Did someone say station wagon, aka touring?

Picture is worth a thousand words....

Yeah baby! Touring coming to NJ. Tatyana has a friend.

[akorcovelos]

Thats a nice looking touring.

[TrentW]

This thread just keeps getting better and better. Is that Cold Accord's touring?

Best of luck to you in Jersey Turk.

[scabzzzz]

You and and Andre and Levent allkeep me outa the loop. Shame on you....

[BrewCity11]

You and and Andre and Levent allkeep me outa the loop. Shame on you....

FWIW, Andre and i talked about you, no homo