Soon we'll be heading off to Maine, for a much needed vacation. There are no plans to meet any Boston area Husi sorts, it would be fun, but I've already put the family through the "hang out with people you don't know and be bored" thing (more below), so we'll just skip it.

The other night I tried to cure the Too Lean Check Engine Light, by first slowly putting a pint of water through the PCV valve into the running engine, then by taking apart the MAF sensor (and learning Torx drivers come in standard and tamper proof version, I now have a pretty metallic green tamper proof folding Torx wrench) and cleaning it. If I can spritz some paint on the minivan, it will all look and act distressingly mundane.

In other getting ready news, there's packing, shopping, printing out area attractions, printing out two player Catan variants, buying tequila, etc. I should burn some mp3 CDs, too. Did I mention I really, really need time away from work?

It will be nice just being with the family, as last weekend was a lot of socializing. Saturday we went to the local amusement park, paid for by the new office, lunch included. Aside from two minutes being introduced to Mrs. Ha's doctor, we hung out with Mrs. Ha's friend and her kids (D12 and S7). I went on a few rides, experienced severe shrinkage in the too cold for an old man waterpark, and had an okay time. The girls had fun, which was important, and we didn't have to spend a cent in the park, which helped our budget (we did do dinner at the restaurant next to the park, as eight year old was starving).

Sunday we went to a bud's picnic and hung out for a few hours, catching up with some old friends I haven't seen in years. I enjoyed the catching up, Mrs. Ha had a good talk, but the kids were bored, so we left after a few hours.

Big news on the two wheeled front, eight year old has two wheeling down. I'm not ready for her to go out on the chip'n'seal, but she rode around the block at my parents, and up and down the sidewalks at home. It was strange, four spokes were broke on her front wheel, so I used the wheel from the Hitchhiker (same size). It looks like ebay may be my best bet for new spokes.

In dino-burning two wheeling news, I'm thinking my bike is running way too lean, leading to a high idle. This can be verified by squirting WD-40 around the carb and air box, something to do when I get back.

The new job is going well, the biggest complaints about the old tiny office were remedied by merging with the big office. Maybe the drama llama will transform into a drama-alpaca.