We arrived in sunny California last Thursday evening after 6 days of driving and more than 3000 miles covered. The goats were delivered to their new yard, where they have settled back down to an enviable routine of eating, sleeping, and headbutting each other. Our little neighborhood in Vallejo is delightful, it not a touch out of the way (Amy’s commute to Oakland is tipping the scales at nearly 1.5 hours!).

Amazingly, the truck managed to wait until we were actually in the driveway before breaking down. We managed to blow the air compressor on the last day of driving. A minor fix, but it put our only vehicle out of commission for our only window of “move in and get everything unpacked before Amy starts work”.

So, what am I doing now? Pounding the proverbial pavement (technically pounding the keyboard) as I hunt for opportunities in the Bay Area; continuing to develop the necessary systems to get the OpenCTD up and running; finalizing a few papers that need to get out into the literature; plus I’m working on a secret project that you’ll here more about in the next couple of days.

So, has driving across the country given me any special insights? Not really, no. Except Nebraska is really long and there’s not much in it. Also, and unsurprisingly, goats really do make everything slightly more complicated and significantly more enjoyable.