Off to California without an aching in my heart

(apologies to Led Zeppelin for the thread title)

Hey, folks, if you don't see me around the forum so much for the next couple of days, it's because I'm far away, off in California. My little brother turned out to quite the little smartypants and just got a job programming out West. (Previously he was programming the robots!)

Currently he's living in Massachusetts, so his new employer is flying him, his wife, and eight month old son out to San Francisco so they can find an apartment. It's quite rough in the red-hot housing market, so they've brought me along to handle childcare in case they have to run off at a moment's notice to see a place. I figure I won't get to see them when they move out to CA, so I'm just happy to go along for the ride (and it's free!). It's a pretty crazy schedule, though, so I don't have time to do anything at all besides support them (which really bums me out because I'd love to see Tennis Tom. He's promised me a genuine Picon Punch, and he's got the real stuff to make it from.). We left this morning at 3:30 and return on Wednesday morning at 6:00. If they don't have an apartment by then, they're going to be truly freaking out, so I'm on full time baby squooshing duty.

Here's a picture of the little tyke I took on the plane this morning:

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Cute, eh? Despite the look of apprehension, he was a real hero on the plane. Not a peep!

BTW, regarding the title of the thread, Led Zeppelin IV was one of the first two albums I bought, on a cassette tape, in the early 80s. Here's the song I think of whenever I hear the words, "going to California":

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Thanks, @Enrique and @LindaRK. I had a great time. It was a bit of a crash course in baby care - something I know nothing about, but it was really good to be able to spend time with them before going out West.

Here's another pic of the tyke, as we camped out on a bench, waiting for his parents to set up a new checking account:

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No, sadly not. I'm the type of guy who doesn't care so much about my living environment, but they are pretty much the opposite, and it means a lot to them. With a dog, a cat, and a baby, they really wanted to rent a single family house while they saved up money, but despite their best efforts, it looks like it wasn't to be. There was a house that they really wanted to rent, but, as of the time we left California, they hadn't heard back from anyone. On the plus side, we were able to visit many apartment complexes, including quite a few with significant greenspace, so they should be able to get a unit there.

They really had their heart set on a little freestanding cottage, but my hope is that an apartment complex will offer support from other stay-at-home moms, which could be super helpful for these new transplants from rural New England.

 

Isn't he? I just updated my avatar photo using another photo from the same series. I like it because it shows how smart the kid is already (because you can read off his face that he thinks his uncle is AWESOME). The only problem being that the photo cuts off his chin. The problem was that junior seems to think that my phone would feel very interesting inside of his mouth. It makes it hard to take photos using the phone.

Maybe he just thinks the phone is awesome (and potentially tasty). Hmmmm....

@BruceMC, most definitely. My first two tapes were Led Zeppelin IV and Aerosmith's greatest hits. Being a New Englander, the Aerosmith was mandatory, but it was the 1980 version of their greatest hits. It was back when then they played classic 70s rock and way before they got more pop-based.

 

Oh, I loved every minute of it. Well, maybe not every minute, but I invited myself over for tomorrow to get a bit more time in before they move away.