August 23

I wake up around 5:30 and continue driving, but don't get very far. I'm not waking up as fast as I need to and so I pull over again, this time behind some shopping center in Tacoma with a Target and a Safeway. I turn off my phone, not wanting to be woken in case KMPS calls for an interview. Around 6:45 I wake up and drive around the parking lot and into the Safeway for some fruit, and I go ahead and call KMPS and don't have to wait very long before he gets me on the air.

I find the Gig Harbor North store, despite being distracted by a recruiter who calls and spends nearly an hour with me on the phone discussing the lengthy process that her agency will have to put me through before even submitting my resume to the client. I'm not thrilled about that, but what am I going to do in this soft market.

Then on the way to the second Silverdale store a producer from "The Wayne Brady Show" calls to gather more information about the project so they can decide if they will want me on the show.

After Silverdale I head back down south, stop at the original Gig Harbor store and take a better photo, and also the Tacoma place store, and then continue on down to the new store in Lacey, where the manager had heard of my project from a customer, and he was so cool that, after taking a photo with me, which required me to put my "uniform" (jeans) on, he donates $7 gas money for my project, which spurs me on to to decide to travel to eastern Washington after all.

On the drive down to Portland I get a call back from the recruiter who sets up a personal interview for Sunday, and so now I have the additional factor of needing to be in an area where I could get good reception.

At the Mill Plain Center in Vancouver, WA, one of the partners had actually heard me on the radio, which I had expected since I had done several Portland interviews.

I finally get that cash infusion from my mother, what I think should be enough to get me through California and back to Texas. Enough so that I can go over to Wal-Mart and get a money order to send in my credit card payment. I had set aside money for that, but I had to dip into that amount a few days earlier.

It was getting close to the rush hour now, and I was trying to figure out a route that would avoid most of the rush hour. So I drove down the 205 to a new store in the Sunnyside Town Center, which I expected to be a huge development, as town centers usually are, but was in fact just a small strip center, tiny really. Then I heady to Sandy, and arrived just in time for the Hood-to-Coast run. The store was packed, and I had to wait a while to get my turn. Anticipating this, I went ahead and got some KFC and had some food during my wait. Finally they got a break and I got my spiel in.

So now I'm heading inbound against the rush hour traffic, and I stop at three more stores as I work my way back into downtown Portland. I pass the 24-hr fitness inadvertently while taking the wrong route to the Kearny Plaza store, so that saved me the trouble of looking it up. I keep forgetting to ask for a store directory. From Kearny Plaza I went to Goose Hollow, but I just wanted to leave my batteries there and get coffee in the morning. The manager, however, didn't seem to care about my project and would not let me leave my batteries to charge overnight. She probably wouldn't have given me coffee, either, so I didn't even ask. I rushed up to the Cinema 21 on Hawthorne, thinking I was late to see "Tadpole". But I was actually early for once. The attendant looked at me with reluctance, but he agreed to plug in the batteries. I should point out that I suspect September 11th had something to do with the looks I've been getting across the country when asking people to plug in my batteries. Anyway, I drove up Hawthorne to see if I could spot this Internet Cafe that had been listed on a web site, but the address didn't even exist. "Tadpole" was pretty good.

I dropped off my batteries at Kinko's and went over to the parking lot of the 24-hr Fitness to sleep.


August 24

The Starbucks opens at 6:00, but I for once get some extra sleep for an hour. At Goose Hollow, the manager from the previous night had apparently left a note for the morning staff that I would be coming by. I don't know what the note said, but the partner said she wasn't allowed to give me coffee. However, she paid for it herself. Interesting.

At the Tanasbourne West store a customer there had heard of me. I noticed that the manager spotted me the drink by charging a refill and paying for it herself, as opposed to partnering it out. It's interesting to see how different partners and managers handle it differently.

I had to go back to Goose Hollow to pick up my folder with my articles. This is the second time now, maybe the third, that I had forgotten them somewhere.

I went to the Multnomah County Library, which I remembered offered Internet access. It used to be unrestricted, but now they limited it to an hour a day, and without a library card I had to get a guest pass. It was free, but I still had to pay for parking while parked outside the library. I got on the machine and tried to download my log to the hard drive, but that didn't work. I asked an attendant for help and he lent me a floppy disk, but the machine hung when I tried to open the file in Word. After much hassle, he finally got me onto a machine that was able to open the file, and I was able to add a day or two to my log. I was also able to to copy down the names of Internet cafes in the California area.

I moved on towards an Internet Cafe nearby, but it did not open 'til noon. I drove down Hawthorne where I found another, but it did not open 'til 1:00. Further down Hawthorne I spotted this restaurant with a clever name, I forget now, and I decided to check out the menu. It looked good, but just too expensive. Further down I noticed that some type of fair or festival was going on, a summer arts festival of sorts, and I noticed people set up along the sidewalk. So I parked and asked around and was directed to a tent, where a lady in charge said that I could just set up anywhere as long as I wasn't obstructing the way.

So I set up my sign and hung out for the next two hours chatting with people about my project and collected $4.25 and a Starbucks card that the nearby store was handing out. I didn't have to pay for parking this time, so that's pure profit, baby! Some lady with a local coffee-related paper said she might interview me but she never got back to me. Even though I hadn't eaten, I was enjoying the sun and chatting with people, and I would have liked to have stuck around, but I wanted to be in Spokane by evening, so I took off after two hours.

Before leaving the city, I got a much better photo of 15th & Fremont, a store which I'm now thinking is maybe cooler than Phinney Ridge in Seattle. I marveled at how I had managed to miss the better angle I discovered this time around. That original photo I had up was awful. I also went inside to refresh my memory about its decor, and I checked the balance of the Starbucks card I had been given on Hawthorne. Of course it wasn't $500--only $1.

Not long after leaving Portland I got really, really sleepy. I pulled into some parking area for the visitors center for Multnomah Falls, but it was jammed up so I just kept driving. But there was a proper rest area not too far down. I parked in the shadow of a truck, and with the air conditioning running managed to get some sleep. At some point the truck moved, and so the sun was falling directly on me, and I woke with a start, sweating. So I moved to the shade of another truck. I slept for almost two hours, which meant I would not make Spokane by evening, but I wasn't in a great hurry. That was the first nap I had managed to take in a while, and it felt good. Now the challege was to make Wenatchee by 9:00. But I ended up altering my route and going for Richland and Yakima first.

Now that it had been 24 hours since I had eaten, I decided to go for those chocolates that I still had from the Starbucks headquarters tour. But I felt the sweet chocolate on an empty stomach might make me sick, so I stopped and got some Wendy's. The Snapple at the market was amazingly cheap, only 70 cents, and no tax in Oregon.

I had driven this stretch of I-84 before, in both directions, but both times at night. This was the first time I got to see the river to my north, that the highway followed. A highway sign said something about extreme fire danger, and I thought back to those fires that were ravaging the state, but I didn't end up seeing any fires. I took the US-730 spur to I-82 towards Richland, by which time it was already dark. I kind of regretted having dawdled in Portland, but I had fun.

I arrived at the Yakima store minutes before closing and took a photo with the partners. On my way out of town I looked for a place to sleep and found a Safeway parking lot where I slept for a few hours and then drove on towards Wenatchee and stopped at a rest area. I put the remaining chocolates, melted, on the roof to harden in the cold, and made a mental note not to forget them.


August 25

I "slept in", not starting my drive until 7:00 instead of trying to be in East Wenatchee by 6:00. I had a long day ahead and wanted to start fresh if I was going to reach Sacramento by morning. Despite my mental note, I almost forgot the chocolate sitting on the roof of the car. But I stopped at the restroom before I left the rest area noticed the chocolate.

This is the view from a turnout on I-82 westbound just before reaching I-90.

Almost to East Wenatchee, I ignored the road signs and (incorrectly) followed my map, and I ended up heading away from town a ways before noticing that the sun was in the wrong place in the sky for me to be heading south. But once I turned around and drove back I found the store straightway.

I thought a saw a sign on US-2/97 just north of E. Wenatchee that stated that hitchhiking was PERMITTED. Can't remember every having seen such a sign before.

After visiting the new E. Wenatchee store, I reshot the others and went into Wenatchee looking for a Burger King. I had already had both fruit and yogurt and decided that I needed more food for the long day of driving I was facing. Bought a juice at the North Wenatchee Starbucks to go with the sausage biscuit that BK didn't offer in this part of the country. So I drove around looking for a bagel shop, but did not see one. So I settled on some take-out eggs and a biscuit from Sally's Diner, where I noticed that they tacked on 35 cents for the to-go order, and I wondered how many other restaurants do that.

This is the view from US-2 just west of Coulee City.

I really should stop taking notes while driving, as I almost went off the shoulder. That would have hurt. Perhaps I should invest in a recorder.

I noticed that the U.S. highways I've been driving on during this trip have all sorts of rest areas that are not marked on my Rand McNally atlas. That sucks because I'd rather sleep at a rest area than at a gas station or some other parking lot, and several times I've stopped at some parking lot, and then went I started driving again noticed a rest area just down the road.

As I approached Spokane I started thinking about a plan for getting my laundry done while I visited the two Starbucks, one far north of town, the other far east of town. But I was hesitant to leave the laundry near downtown for fear of its being stolen. So I pulled into a laundrymat a few miles west of the city boundaries and put in a couple of loads. I asked a lady to put them into the dryer for me and left some money. She seemed trustworthy.

I drove clear across town and visited the Liberty Lake store, and then I nearly left without a photograph. Stupid. This took longer than I had expected, so rather than visiting the other store first I headed back and retrieved my laundry. But I only had to travel about an extra mile or two, so it was no big deal. On the way to the other store I stopped at Kinko's. Then I stopped where the 24 Hour Fitness should have been, but wasn't. There was another gym right next door, and the attendant seemed annoyed when I asked him about the 24 Hour. What did he think, that I was going to drop my membership to the other gym and join his right there and then? Anyway, the 24 Hour had moved, just down the street from the new Starbucks, so I didn't waste any time getting my shower on and then visiting the store.

On the way out of town I got a craving for waffles from having seen the sign for the Waffle Caffe, but it had closed at 2:00. I also got a craving for Mexican food, and spaghetti. For some odd reason, I experienced nausea after eating the banana I still had left.

On the way out of Spokane I had totally forgotten that I was expecting a call from a recruiter for a personal interview. Fortunatelly I still had reception when the phone rang. I pulled to the side of the road and the call cost me over 30 minutes. I didn't think I was going to make Sacramento by morning.

After weeks of hanging my socks out the window to air out, I finally forgot and lost one.

In Pullman I stopped at Kinko's and e-mailed Sandra in Sacramento to tell her that I would not be able to make it by morning, and that we would have to reschedule.

I visited the new Pullman store, and then crossed over into Idaho and finally visited the MOSCOW store. I remembered that someone had told me there were already Starbucks in Russia, and I'll be this Moscow store was the cause of the confusion.

Dang! I totally forgot to look around for the topless car wash. Ah, it probably would have been too late in the day anyway.

I got some take-out spaghetti at some local restaurant, Basilio's I think it was called. I tried to eat while driving, but I finally had to pull over to avoid making a complete mess.

It was nighttime by the time I got down to Lewiston. This is a view from Lewiston Hill.

After visiting the Lewiston store, I napped in a parking lot across the street while waiting for two customers to leave and move their truck so I could take a photo. Then I started driving but didn't get far before pulling into a turnout, which I wouldn't even have noticed had I not seen a truck parked there. For some reason, I had a pretty bad headache, and even a couple of acetaminophen weren't helping.


August 26

I still had a headache when I woke up, and I didn't have any good reason for it. The headache had persisted throughout the night no matter how much water I drank. Had me worried.

I stopped in Grangeville for two gallons of gas and cursed myself for not having filled up back in Lewiston. Gas was getting more expensive as I headed south, it seemed. About 10 miles from New Meadow a sign warns me to watch for livestock, and sure enough, after a while a cow cross the road right in front of the suburban I was following. No collision, though.

I crossed the 45th parallel again, just north of New Meadow on US-95. I don't remember seeing signs for the 45th parallel, though, when I crossed down from Toronto towards New York and Chicago, and then back up towards Canada.

The gas was even more expensive in New Meadow, and the Chevron attendant couldn't tell me why. There was a visitor's center next door, and the attendant there told me that it might be cheaper in McCall, by just a bit, but more expensive in Ketchum, which was near Sun Valley, a resort.

My t-shirts were still not dry from being washed. I had given the lady just one quarter for the shirts, to warm them up so I could sun-dry them. I had to keep rearranging them whenever I stopped the car to put the more wet ones on top.

I split off from US-95 and took SR-55, a scenic route.

How could I pass up Gramma's Homestead Restaurant for some takeout eggs and biscuit? Heck, I probably wouldn't have stuck around even if I had the extra money for juice and tip, as everyone in the restaurant was over 50, and I felt out of place. As I was leaving, though, a younger couple showed up.

On the way down the Banks, the rain started coming down, and of course fool drivers were going too fast and wanting to follow too close and make dangerous passes, and me with no glasses. In Banks, which seemed to be all of one restaurant and market, and some type of plant, I asked about the best way to get to Ketchum, whether the longer way down towards I-84, or around the mountain and through the national park, the scenic route, shorter but slower. I was worried about fire, as two different people told me there might be fire around the summit. But the cook hadn't heard anything, and I decided to take my chances.

The attendant at the visitor's center in New Meadow had been wrong. The gas was actually cheaper in McCall. I stuck around to let the manager or owner know about the misinformation, but I really didn't think she would be able to do anything with the information. It just so happened that the guy I was waiting behind was having trouble with the pump, so I ended up wasting quite a bit of time waiting to catch the manager's attention. I almost left, but I didn't want to seem impatient.

Holy spit! I could have almost died! Further on down the mountain, I feel something on my arm. I think I'm just brushing up against the strap for my camera that sometimes hangs out from the armrest/container next to me. I turn to look, and IT'S A HORNET, or other stinging insect of that type. Don't ask me to identity it exactly--I never get close enough to introduce myself. I'm running in the other direction. But I'm trapped in car, and so I do my best to get it off the road as quickly as possible, undo my seatbelt, and run out of the car flapping my arms. I managed to do all this without being stung, thankfully. But now I still have to get the thing out of my car. I look for it, but I can't find it. I grab a small towel in case I do. I had lowered both windows and opened both doors, and after a while I thought the thing had just flown out. So I got back in the car, skittishly of course, and prepared to begin driving again. When suddenly IT WAS STILL THERE, in one of the the central A/C vents. So back I rush out of the car. I use the towel to snap at the thing to try and get it out. The thing was pesky, and it took a while of snapping at it and then backing away quickly. All the while, there was a strange noise coming from all around the trees. I suppose it was not a strange sound to a local, but to me, it sounded like some type of creatures I didn't want to tangle with, whether big or small. Finally I got the stinging thing out of my car, and I continued driving, very much on-edge.

This is the view from the Emile Grandjean scenic overlook on SR-21, 35 miles north of Stanley.

Finally! After about eight long hours to drive about 360 miles, I finally arrived in Ketchum, Idaho. Much later than I expected. But it was worth it. The Starbucks was really cool. And I was surprised to learn that it had been open for four years. See, when the barista back in Lewiston told me he had heard reports from customers of having visited a Starbucks around Ketchum, I said it was probably in a resort, or a grocery store. Because the Ketchum listing had just shown up recently on the Starbucks web site. To think, I could have visited it long ago, when I originally visited Boise. I had the time. Oh, well. I got it now.

I was expecting a Sprint PCS signal in Ketchum so I could return a couple of phone calls from recruiters, but I was still roaming. I continued south, on SR-75 now (which I had picked up north of Ketchum, when SR-21 ended), and then west on US-20 towards Boise. Finally I picked up reception and was able to return to calls. But then I started to lose the reception, so I had to backtrack a big and wait to finish the call, losing some time. I wasn't in a real hurry, since I expected the Starbucks in Boise to be open 'til at least 9:00 or 10:00, but the barista in Ketchum had suggested they might close earlier, and since I had missed it once already back on Christmas Eve., I did have that possibility on my mind, and it would truly suck to go out of my way as far as Boise, twice, for naught. But once I got reception, I called the store and assured myself I had plenty of time.

When I got to I-84 I stopped for gas, and a sticker on the pump read "100 % PURE GASOLINE", and I wondered just what I had been getting elsewhere. 50% water??? Molasses?

I decided to treat myself to a snack, Sweettarts and Hershey's chocolate. The girl said the chocolate bars were 83 cents, or two for a dollar, and I just stared at her for a while. I guess I was still dazed from the drive to Ketchum. But I finally figure out what she meant, and I went for the two bars, which I ended up having to eat quickly because they were melting.

I picked up I-84, heading westbound this time (as opposed to eastbound from Portland), finally I ran across the 75 MPH SPEED LIMIT that I had been waiting for for weeks, since I left Texas.

As I arrived in Boise and at Kinko's, "All Things Considered" aired a story about Ellen Feiss, an overnight Internet celebrity because of her short "switch" ad for Apple. It sounded so fascinating that I sprang for the extra minutes of computer time to download and view the add. I ended up spending more than I'd hoped to spend, as I also had lots of e-mails and job listings.

At the Capital Village store I met a barista who had just driven to Boise a week ago, from Cleveland (where he had been when I passed through the city).

There was 24-Hour fitness in Boise, but I passed on the shower since I would be driving many hours to Reno.

I updated my mother on when I would be heading back to Houston, again explaining why I needed to continue my project now rather than just sitting in Houston looking for a job.

My atlas isn't detailed enough for me to figure out how to get to US-95 from I-84, and so I have to pull into a service station and finish my conversation with my mother, and then go inside and ask for directions.

I'm switching stations and one is playing the classic 2 Live Crew's "Me So Horny", and then the DJ announces that they will be in Boise tomorrow, and I truly regret having to leave and missing their show. Psyche.

US-95 south of Caldwell is a really shitty road, but it improves, and then it gets really, really dark. A fox or some other animal crosses the road. I pull over onto some turnout, or maybe somebody's driveway, to wipe off my headlights, and I have to look for the Windex for a while, and it's cold, and I notice even more just how dark it is, and I wonder if there are any rattlesnakes around, and I'm feeling sleepy, but I decide that it's a drive way after all, and so I keep driving for a while.

I'm remembering back to some barista who commented that my journey must really be lonely, and I'm thinking that it's really not, not while I'm focused on a goal.

I find a turnout and get some sleep.


August 27

I woke and started driving shortly after 6:00. I had slept plenty, but since I had only had two cups of coffee the previous day I was feeling a bit of a headache, which would only get worse as the day progressed if I didn't reach Reno soon. But now that it's daylight, I'm able to make some really good speed, 90-110 MPH, the faster speeds being necessary to pass these trucks that are moving really, really fast and don't seem to want to slow down as I'm passing.

And finally, after nearly six weeks on the road, they get me. I'm blazing as I pass a truck, but of course I allow myself to slow down right away after passing him and as I approach a suburban up ahead. But I don't slow fast enough before I am able to spot the light bar on his roof, and the next thing I know he has slowed down and turned on his lights. When I pass him, I already know what's going down and just pull over. Thankfully, he only wrote me up for 75 in a 70, a $40 fine, compared to the $190 dollar fine for 83 (and let's not think about what the fine would have been at 110 MPH). The fine was low enough that I just stopped in Winnemucca down the road and paid the fine, hoping that the clerks would "lose" my paperwork and avoid it going on my record in Texas.

It's still two hours to Reno, and I didn't want to deal with both a caffeine withdrawal headache and hunger, so stopped at BK and settled for a croissanwich--no biscuits in this part of the country. I continued on while I ate my sandwich, then stopped at a rest area to brush my teeth, when I stumbled across something you don't see, or hear, every day (thankfully). Some guy was really hurting in one of the stalls. I got a glimpse of the guy's face as I passed because he apparently had rushed in too preoccupied to close the door--he had a grimace like he was in some serious pain. From the next stall I could hear him breathing heavy, like he was struggling to breath, like he was about to pass out or die or something. I also heard the automatic flush go off over and over. I'm not sure if he was standing to trigger it on purpose or not, to avoid clogging. I have to doubt that he was of any type of mental capacity to be worried about not clogging the toilet. I had to feel sorry for the guy. But the smell--jeez! I got out of there ask quick as I could, leaving the poor guy to his misery.

The speed limit here in Nevada on the interstate was also 75 MPH. I tried to keep up with a black Audi, which was kind of tough as I tried to add up how much I spent for this Canadian survey form. Don't know why I'm bothering to fill it out, the way they treated me at the border, holding me up and documenting me and all. Like anybody is really going to make up this Starbucks project as a cover story to get into Canada.

As I approached Reno I tried to return a call from a report with the Des Moines Register, but my phone battery started flaking out, and my phone would turn off abruptly. I had to let it charge for a while before I could call her. Her story was not directly about my project, but about Starbucks finally coming to Iowa, and she included a bit about my project since I had a unique perspective on Starbucks. I also called Sandra at Good Day Sacramento and scheduled when we would meet on Thursday morning.

I experience some puzzlement about which Starbucks were which, thinking for some reason that I had mixed up the labeling like I did in Jacksonville. So I went up to a store at McCarran & Pyramid and it definitely looked like the store I had visited before.

After all the driving I had done, from Spokane to Lewiston to Ketchum, it felt good to get a shower in. I also stopped at the Best Buy to pick up the new Dixie Chicks album, "Home". That's my fourth album so far on this trip. I may be on the road, but the music goes on. I had a good reception at both of the newer Reno stores, especially at the Coughlin Ranch store where the manager had me wait for her to go get a disposable camera for a photo, and where one of the baristas was kind enough to help me get what would otherwise have been a time-consuming self-portrait of me hanging from a beam in front of the Starbucks.

On the way out towards Carson City, I stopped at Krispy Kreme for an impulse donut, but they wouldn't have any fresh ones 'til 5:00, so I passed.

On the way down to Carson City I spotted a place called Mom and Pop's diner, and I decided to check it out. As I walked up, I asked a lady painting a wall of what appeared to be the business next door if she ever ate there, and if the food was any good. She said yes, and, yes, since she owned the place. Oops. But it was closed, so I would have to try their biscuits another time. She recommended Red's Old 395 Grill down the street. So I went there, but the dinner prices were way too high, but I was able to find some fry bread on the menu at a reasonable price. More than reasonable, as for under $2 I got a mess of fry bread, more than I could eat at one sitting. So I munched on that for, like, the next hour, washing it down with some lemonade from the Starbucks in Incline Village.

The Starbucks in Incline Village was pretty cool, but the drive, except for the construction and traffic, was great. The view out along the lake was beautiful. I thought about driving all the way around the lake, but the manager said it might take 2-3 hours, and I figured even longer with the rush hour traffic. I decided to leave that ride for some early Sunday morning.

The gas prices along Lake Tahoe were ridiculous, like those in NYC. Later I would check GasPriceWatch.com and learn that, in fact, Tahoe had the highest price in the nation.

About 5:30, after 5 1/2 weeks on the road, I finally reached California, where almost 1/3 of the stores on my list were. Unfortunately, I was pretty much out of money, and I already knew that I wasn't going to be able to get them all. The question was how many I would get.

I found myself caught off guard at the inspection station, not sure which lane to be in until the agent said I needed to be over in his lane. Fortunately he didn't waste my time with a search.

Things got really interesting as I approached my first store in the Sacramento area. A producer from the Wayne Brady show called and asked me if I could be in Los Angeles the next day to tape a segment for the show. I told him that since I was up in Northern California, yes, it would be a long drive, but it was possible. He said he would get back to me shortly and let me know whether it was on.

Meanwhile, I visited a store in Latrobe, where the manager did not seem to think my project was all that original, but his attitude seemed to change when a customer overheard me talking and then recognized me from "The Early Show". So I got my free coffee, and the lowdown on a new store not listed on the web site when I left, down in Folsom. I had fully expected this to be the case, that in the weeks I was gone they would open stores in California, where more than one store opens a week, not listed. The lady and her very cute daughter gave me directions to the Broadstone store, and I headed there next, where one of the partners struck wacky poses as we took some photos. And when I finished, I had a message from Sean at the Wayne Brady show to call him.

I had the option to fly or drive, and I decided it would just be easier to drive. They would cover the gas. More than that, even. $200 for the expenses. A good deal. So we had to do a pre-interview, and I told Sean to let me get on the freeway and on my way down towards L.A. before doing that. I looked and my map and figured to stop at one more store not too far off I-5, and I headed there and got stuck in traffic as Sean called with some preliminary questions, including how many stores in each state I had visited. So while I sat in traffic I totalled those up for him. I got a pretty good reception at the ??? store, where the barista had heard of me. Tried to get out of there as quickly as possible because expecting call from Sean. I started driving and got the call, and went into the pre-interview. It went quite a while, long enough that I started to lose the phone signal. So I had to drive miles and miles to the next exit, turn around and go back until I had a good signal, and then finish the pre-interview and turn around again. This sucked even worse because it was getting late and I was getting tired, and they had a hotel room for me down in L.A. that I wanted to get to. But I didn't make it. I had to stop at some gas station lot and sleep until morning. But since I didn't have to be on the set 'til noon, I had plenty of time.


August 28

I was back on the road again at 6:00, with plenty of time. I lost a little time on the way with an interview with a radio station in Philadelphia that I had completely forgotten about in all the Wayne Brady excitement. I stopped at a new store in Castaic, and then a few new ones in Santa Clarita and a bunch of reshoots that I had been needing to get for two years, since my laptop was stolen. I had to stop at Kinko's and e-mail another producer at the Wayne Brady show a link to some photos they wanted to use, of Starbucks for which I had interesting stories. And I had to get in a shower, but forgot to shave. Oh, well.

Somehow I frittered away all the spare time I had and by the time I got on the highway to West Hollywood I knew I was going to be late. I did some pretty fast driving, so by the time Fran called I was already on Beverly and a few blocks from the studio. Got up to the gate and had to wait for someone to come and get me, and then had to drive around looking for parking. Fran was going to have a P.A. park my car so we could get started, but I managed to find something in the meanwhile. There was a lot of excitement on the set, as this was the second show, and the judges from the immensely popular "American Idol" TV show were on, as well as dancers and singers and Richard Simmons. I had makeup put on for the first time in my life. Went over the interview questions with Sean, and he emphasized how much of a high energy show it would be be, and how I needed to be high energy.

My expenses were being paid as if I were an employee, so I had to fill out a tax form.

A couple of the other guests on the show, in the room next door, were a local group called Jondo that would be performing and judged by the American Idol judges. They were chess players, and I got my ass whupped thoroughly in some five minute chess. Rustier than I had thought.

The singers had food, which reminded me that I still hadn't eaten. But I was fairly nervous, and after a while I stopped feeling the hunger. I certainly didn't feel it when it was time to go on stage. I was disappointed that they abandoned the use of the map they had put together showing my progress. We also didn't end up using the photos of those three stores where I had interesting stories.

But I think I did okay on stage, better than my "Early Show" appearance, when I was caught off-guard. Though I did walk right past Richard Simmons, forgetting about him as I shook hands with Wayne Brady and then sat down. Wayne was pretty cool, and the best part of the appearance was that the show awarded me two round-trip tickets to London. Caught me totally by surprise. And Sean had given me a clue back in the dressing room. He had said that Wayne would give me a gift, a token of appreciation for appearing on the show, and I thought it would be like a t-shirt or something that everybody got. I never imagined it would be tickets to London. Made the drive down down from Sacramento totally worth it.

Immediately upon leaving the show around 3:00 I rushed to Versailles for some much need morros. But they were out of tostones, so I settled for Yucca. Still hmmm... hmmm... good.

I needed to start heading back relatively quickly, because I was still pretty tired and would need to get some sleep soon, in addition to the six-hour drive, in order to make my live shot for "Good Day Sacramento".

I managed to visit five stores in the way out towards I-5 north. At the new Burbank store I was given a MUG award, usually only given to partners!

Man, but I was feeling sleepy inspite of the shots I was doing at each store. I had to pull over to rest at the first rest area on I-5, just past Gorman, and sleep for a few hours.

As I approached Stockton, I saw no fewer that four CHPs blazing southbound--must have been something serious.

I arrived in Stockton and drove over to the store to see when it opened, then went back to the Kinkos to check my mail and get some sleep.


August 29

I got up before 6:00 to visit the new Stockton store, and also the one up in Lodi. I lost some time revisiting the Lincoln Center store because a partner had e-mailed me saying the photo I had up on the site was wrong. Sure enough, the store looked nothing like the photo I had seen when I reviewed my page at Kinko's. I took a photo, and I went inside to find out if it was a partner from that store that had e-mailed me, because I couldn't remember who it was exactly. The mystery still remained of what photo I actually had on my site.

After chatting at the Lodi store, I left to discover I wouldn't make my meeting with Sandra for "Good Day Sacramento", and so I called her. Thankfully she had scheduled two shots, and so she decided just to have me meet her at the second store, the store I hadn't visited her at yet. So I relaxed a bit and didn't worry about the traffic. I arrived a bit early now, with enough time to reshoot a couple of stores before meeting Sandra at Howe and Fair Oaks. The short segment went well, with my getting a fancier drink than drip-coffee, for the show's benefit, and some goodies too.

On the way to Kinko's I passed a 24-hr Fitness and took care of my shower. I must point out that I find it creepy when guys brush their teeth, shave, etc. in the gym BEFORE putting their clothes back on after a shower. Come on--at least use a towel!!! Speaking of shaving, I need some more blades for my Mach III razor--it's starting to hurt. While we're on the subject of personal hygiene, I had to brush my hair for the first time since I left on this trip (having gotten the closest cut possible just before I left).

Dropped off my batteries at Kinko's. Then got me a BK biscuit sandwich which hit the spot, not having eaten since yesterday afternoon. Some juice from the Sunrise and Madison store, where I chilled for a bit eating breakfast and reading Clancy before going in to deliver my spiel. While photographing the store, I found this odd polaroid of some kid who had seemingly gotten himself in trouble, because his driver's license # was on the back of the photo, not something a friendly picture would likely contain. In all the excitement, I went and left my articles at the store, and had to go back after visiting several others in the area, which cost me some time.

At Roseville Parkway and Sunrise, I was getting clever with my self-portrait and decided to catch myself in the air jumping. After several tries, the manager was about to leave, so I asked him to take the shot as I jumped. That worked fine, but I ended up with a sore arm from all the reaching up. Damn--out of shape.

After picking up my articles, I drove up to Yuba City, which gave me a break from all the coffee I had had already. The weather had turned quite hot not, as compared to the cool air of the morning, so I changed into my shorts. And I lost another sock. And I'm a bit embarassed to point out that my shorts keep falling down, because I put them on while in the car and forget to tighten the cord. So several times I've gotten out of the car only to have them fall down and I quickly jump back in the car. Fortunately, no one has noticed yet. To my knowledge.

Anyway, at Yuba City, one of the baristas had recognized me from the radio or somewhere and was glad I showed up when I was there.

After Yuba City, I drove to Davis, where I had to call for directions and deal with a surly barista who was mighty curt. I finally foind the store, only to experienced puzzlement and a sense of deja vu. It looked really familiar. so I went inside and confirmed my suspicions that it had been open the last time I was through the area. As I went in and saw a barista going out for a smoke, I hope that she had been the on that was short with me on the phone, so I didn't have to deal with her inside. Anyway, I had some coffee anyway, took another photo of the store and moved onto 3rd and F. On the way, I spotted a Kinko's and stopped in to try and figure out what the deal was with my list. What had happened was that during "The Renaming" of a few months back, I had relabeled Davis as Davis & Stevenson in Vacaville. So I just took a better photo of 3rd and F and moved on.

Back to Sacramento to visit 15th & Broadway, which was on my list, but somehow not on my map. But with an location a main street like that, it was easy to find.

A few more reshoots, then back to Kinko's to sleep out back in the lot. Sometime during the night I woke up to hear these loud popping noises and thought a war had broken out. Turns out some state fair was in town, and with it nightly fireworks. Freaked me out.