Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Today I found $2.09, hitting for the purest of all change cycles by finding 2 nickels, 5 dimes, 1 quarter, 1 gold dollar, and 24 pennies. One of the pennies that I found was a 1940 Wheat Penny. I also found a rubber bouncy ball. Sadly, the rubber bouncy ball does not count towards the day’s totals.

On my way to Hempstead, TX, a drive that I have grown to love because of the change finding opportunities, I checked in at a local car wash and found 14 cents (one dime & four pennies). A nearby Taco-Bell drive-thru added 12 cents to my totals (one dime & two pennies). Another car wash, also in the vicinity, offered me 29 cents (one quarter & four pennies).

Returning from work this afternoon I took a different route and visited an Arby’s drive-thru where I found 12 cents (one dime & two pennies). Sonic again provided me with my monster find of the day, a gold dollar. At first I though it was a token of some type and was going to happily add it to my Not Change Cup. Upon closer inspection I discovered that it was destine for greater glory. This was the first gold dollar of the change race and I was pleased to find it.

Continuing home I spied another car wash and unearthed 19 cents (one dime, one nickel, and four pennies). The nickel and dime were by a vending machine on the ground and the pennies were scattered about. It was at this car wash that I found the rubber bouncy ball, which will indeed be added to my Not Change Cup.

I swung into Kroger to check a coin sorting machine. On my way to the store I was attacked by a crow, who actually flew into my back. At first I though it was an accident, until it returned to take a swipe at my head. Perhaps I was too close to a nest, or perhaps it wanted the change that I was collecting. I may never know. The coin machine was empty, but I did find a penny under a vending machine by the store doors. My final stop on the way home was at Randalls, a local grocery store, where I found two cents. One cent, a 1940 Wheat Penny, was in the change sorting machine while the other was on the ground by the machine.

In the evening I went grocery shopping and I found a nickel by the check out line. On the way home, not having eaten dinner, I stopped in at Sonic for half price burgers (a special they run every Tuesday). While waiting for my order I did some change searching and found 15 cents (one dime & five pennies).

Totals for the day: $2.09
Race Totals: $46.06