Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Today I found 14 cents. . . . all pennies.

The first penny came at a stoplight as I drove home from work this afternoon. In the evening I drove over to Tara’s place to drop off some stamps so she could pay some bills. On the way home I stopped at Sonic and found five cents. Also on the way home I found a penny by a vacuum cleaner at a Citgo gas station and seven more pennies at the car wash next to the post office.

I’m a home owner now. After a very fun day of negotiations, where I did a solid job of walking away twice, my offer was accepted. I’m happy to report that I went up very little on my low offer and they came down a whole lot. As of the end of December (which is when I close) I join the landed gentry.

Totals for the day: 14 cents
Race Totals: $210.64

__________________________________________________

November Monthly Report:

This month I found 296 pennies, 16 nickels, 46 dimes, and 28 quarters. I also found one $1 gold coin and a $5 bill. Oddly, I recorded 32, 35, and 36 cent finds on two different days.

Monthly Total: $21.36
Change Cycle Days: 5
Dollar Days: 4
Monthly High: $5.17 (November 27th)
Monthly Low: 12 cents (November 20th)
Daily Average: 71.2 cents
Homes Purchased: 1

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Today I found 35 cents. . . . 2 nickels, 1 dime, and 15 pennies.

All the change came at Ale Gator’s Car Wash, where I stopped this evening after meeting with my real estate agent. This evening I placed a low, almost insultingly low, offer on a house that I want. The next few days should be fun. I like the house, but I also like my apartment and realize that a home is not a great investment in Texas (very low appreciation and a bad market don’t help). I’m going to have a good time with the negotiations, because if I do get the house it will be on the cheap. If not, I will be able to continue to write about the “car wash next to my apartment complex” without inserting the word “former” into the sentence. Either way I’m happy.

Totals for the day: 35 cents
Race Totals: $210.50

Monday, November 28, 2005

Today I found 35 cents. . . . 1 nickel, 1 quarter, and 5 pennies.

On my way to a morning appointment I had to take the toll road. It was jammed with traffic so I knew that I wouldn’t be able to check for lost change. However, when I threw my change into the machine one of my quarters actually bounced out and landed on the ground. As I wasn’t going to abandon my lost quarter I had to exit the car (with a line of traffic behind me) retrieve it, and place it in the machine. Since I was already out I figured I would take the 30 cents on the ground (one nickel & one quarter). The guy behind me was understanding, or at least he didn’t honk at me.

On my way home I stopped at the Kwick Kar Wash. It was also very busy, but I still retrieved four cents (all pennies). In the evening I went to HEB, a local grocery store, to pick up some lunch meat. On the way out I found a penny under a change counting machine.

Totals for the day: 40 cents
Race Totals: $210.15

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Today I found $5.17. . . . 1 dime, 7 pennies, and a $5 bill.

Driving to the Texans game this afternoon I was stopped at a red light and I spotted two pennies in the roadway. Just as the light changed I was back in my car, the pennies in hand.

Speaking of the Texans, they put a scare into me this afternoon. They managed to take a 24-3 lead over the St. Louis Rams into halftime. I was worried that their near perfect season and draft position might be compromised, but lucky for the Texans they remembered they were in fact the Texans. They quickly blew their halftime lead, surrendering 10 points in the final 34 seconds of the game. Not to let a bad effort go to waste they promptly lost in overtime. Good job boys.

Leaving the stadium I found a $5 bill blowing down the sidewalk as I was trying to drive out of the parking lot. As traffic was at a standstill retrieval of the bill was not a problem.

Final finds of the day were five pennies at the Kwick Kar Wash and one dime at the Sonic, which is next to the Kwick Kar Wash.

Totals for the day: $5.17
Race Totals: $209.80

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Today I found 58 cents. . . . 1 nickel, 2 dimes, 1 quarter, and 8 pennies (the lucid change cycle).

Yesterday marked only the second time that I started and finished a book in the same sitting. More on the book later, but after I was finished (around 4am) I rewarded myself with a trip to a closed KFC drive-thru where I found 21 cents (two dimes & one penny).

In the evening Tara and I went out to eat and checked out a few stores so I could get some Christmas list ideas. After dinner we went to Fry’s Electronics, where I found nothing that I wanted except for a penny sitting on a pay phone. On the way back from Fry’s we stopped at the Kwick Kar Wash where I found 29 cents (one quarter & four pennies). Our final stop was Wal-Mart where I found another seven cents (one nickel & two pennies). The nickel was sitting atop a gum ball machine, the first penny was on the ground by a cash register, and the second penny was on the ground by another cash register.

The book that I read was Cork Boat, by John Pollack:


The author, a speech writer on Capitol Hill (and later for the Clinton White House) had an amazing childhood. He traveled extensively with his father, a geography professor, and had always had a vivid imagination. Since childhood he had dreamed of building a boat out of wine corks. As he grew older, and became frustrated with his job, he developed a serious case of wanderlust. He walked away from his high paying job and began collecting corks at rapid pace (he had been collecting them his entire life on a small scale). One by one he collected corks and ultimately build his ship (with over 165,000 individual corks) and sailed it down a river in Portugal. The story, fascinating enough, is even more interesting as he weaves in stories from his life, first hand observations on the government during September 2001, and unique trivia. Basically, either someone can really relate to this crazy quest or they think he is insane. I related and really enjoyed the book.

Up next is Ford: The Men and the Machine (an 800 page text covering over 100 years and four generations of the empire built by Henry Ford). I’m guessing that it will take more than one sitting to finish it.

Totals for the day: 58 cents
Race Totals: $204.63

Friday, November 25, 2005

Today I found 62 cents. . . . 2 dimes, 1 quarter, and 17 pennies.

It was the trifecta of car washes that made my day successful. On my way home from work I stopped at a car wash along FM 1960 and I found 14 cents (one dime & four pennies). At the second car wash I found nine cents (all pennies) and at the third car wash, next to my apartment complex, I found 40 cents (one dime, one quarter, & five pennies).

Totals for the day: 62 cents
Race Totals: $204.05

Thursday, November 24, 2005--Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I found $1.02. . . . 1 dime, 3 quarters, and 17 pennies.

I wasn’t sure what, if any, change searching I would do today, but things worked out well. In the evening Bailey called me up and invited me over for some Thanksgiving leftovers. I was already stuffed, but I’m not one to refuse food. On the way to his place I noticed that all the fast food restaurants were closed, so I stopped in at a few drive-thrus.

At a Chick-Fil-A drive-thru I found a penny and at a KFC near Bailey’s place I found 29 cents (one quarter & four pennies). Also, at a Starbucks near Bailey I found 39 cents (one quarter, one dime, and four pennies).

After getting my food and watching the end of the Cowboys v. Broncos football game I headed out. On the way home I stopped at another Starbucks and found five cents (all pennies). I also decided to take a letter to the post office and I spotted a closed McDonalds and a closed Taco Bell along the way. At the McDonalds I found 25 cents (one quarter) and at the Taco Bell I earned myself three pennies to close out a successful day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Totals for the day: $1.02
Race Totals: $203.43

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Today I found 21 cents. . . . 2 dimes and 1 penny.

On my way home from work I stopped at a Chevron gas station for a drink. On the way in I found a dime by the door. I also found a penny by the cash register and another dime in the parking lot.

Update on my co-worker Jennifer: Several days ago I received a call from Jennifer. It was around 10:30pm in the evening and she told me that she was standing in line at Wal-Mart to try to buy an X-Box. Jennifer isn’t into this sort of thing, but she was trying to buy it to resell it on e-bay for a huge profit. Sadly, she did not get it, but the fact that she was willing to wait in a long line for hours to sell something on e-bay was very impressive to me. It was / is something I wish I had thought of.

Totals for the day: 21 cents
Race Totals: $202.41

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Today I found 26 cents. . . . 2 dimes and 6 pennies.

It was the last day of Alice’s trip to Houston, and there wasn’t a lot of change searching. On our way to pick up Bailey and Marti from the airport we stopped at a Sonic and while Alice checked messages on her phone I found two pennies in the parking lot.

In the evening we had dinner and then went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. On the way back home after the movie we stopped at a Chick-Fil-A drive-thru and I found 24 cents (two dime & four pennies).

I’m not quite sure if I actually understood any of the Harry Potter movie. I haven’t read any of the books and between not really being able to understand the accents and not knowing what the hell was going on I got a little lost. Alice was nice enough to explain quite a bit of the movie to me, and I filled in the rest with stuff that I just made up (for example, I’m quite sure that Trent Reznor, lead singer on Nine Inch Nails, was in the movie). I might not have gotten the actual jist of anything, but I was amused, so it was all good.

Totals for the day: 26 cents
Race Totals: $202.20

Monday, November 21, 2005

Today I found 89 cents. . . . 1 dime, 3 quarters, and 4 pennies.

At the car wash next to my apartment complex I found 29 cents (one quarter & four pennies). I also found a sealed box containing lots of food, including a can of beef stew that apparently will heat itself. I’m guessing that the box of food was left by someone who had received it as a donation from FEMA after the hurricane, but had not used it.

Alice and I decided to go to Galveston, TX this afternoon, but first we stopped for gas. Leaving the gas station I spotted and retrieved a quarter from the side of the street by the exit of the Chevron station. Later in the day I spotted another quarter on the ground by the Fisherman’s Wharf where we had dinner. The final find of the day was a dime, from the drive thru window at Sonic, where we stopped for an evening meal.

Totals for the day: 89 cents
Race Totals: $201.94

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Today I found 12 cents. . . . 1 dime & 2 pennies.

Alice and I stopped at Sonic for some tater tots. There I found 12 cents (one dime & two pennies). The pennies were in the parking lot and the dime was near the patio.

Totals for the day: 12 cents
Race Totals: $201.05

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Today I found 84 cents. . . . 1 nickel, 2 dimes, 2 quarters, and 9 pennies. One of the pennies was a 1951 Wheat Back.

The day was spent showing my friend Alice around town, and taking in some local attractions. One of those attractions was a car wash across from a bar on Westheimer. There I found four cents (all pennies), one of which was the 1951 penny (quite scratched up).

Later in the day we had to go drop off Bailey and Marti at the airport. Leaving the airport I spotted and retrieved five cents (all pennies) from the roadway at a red light.

Finally, we drove out toward Katy, TX to do the corn maze that Bailey and Marti had done earlier in the week. Driving down the toll road I found 75 cents (one nickel, two dimes, and two quarters) at a toll booth.

Totals for the day: 84 cents
Race Totals: $200.93

Friday, November 18, 2005

Today I found 82 cents. . . . 2 dimes, 2 quarters, and 12 pennies. I also doubled my initial change finding goal, by surpassing $200 in found change.

On my way home from work this afternoon I stopped at the Kwick Kar Wash and found 10 cents (10 pennies) on the ground. They were scattered about by a bank of vacuum cleaners.

Doing laundry later in the evening I found 62 cents (one dime, two quarters, and two pennies) in the laundry room. One penny was in a washing machine, the two quarters were in a dryer (one on the edge of the lint trap and the other in the lint trap) and the remaining change was in two other dryers.

My final find of the evening was in the 11th hour, at Hobby Airport. I had driven down there to pick up my friend Alice, who will be joining me in Houston for a few days of vacation. As I entered the airport I spotted a bank of vending machines. Upon closer examination I found a dime under one of those machines.

Totals for the day: 82 cents
Race Totals: $200.09

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Today I found 54 cents. . . . 2 quarters and 4 pennies.

After lunch at Rockies Subs, an little hole in the wall sub shop with fairly decent Philly Cheese Steaks, I walked over to Kroger, a local grocery store (it is in the same strip center as Rockies). In the change return slot of a Pepsi machine outside of Krogers I found 50 cents (two quarters). I also found a penny on the ground by a payphone right next to the soda machine. At the post office this evening I found two cents in the coin return slot of a stamp machine.

Totals for the day: 54 cents
Race Totals: $199.27

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Today I found $2.79. . . . 2 nickels, 6 dimes, 4 quarters, 1 $1 coin, and 9 pennies (the mother of all change cycles). I also found a token from the New Hampshire Public Works & Highways Administration. The token will sadly not count toward the daily totals.

The day started with a trip to Missouri City, TX. To get there I had to take the Sam Houston Tollway and the Fort Bend County Tollway. As I had an ample amount of quarters I was able to avoid the lines and go to the direct change lane. At each stop I quickly put the car in park and checked the ground around the change acceptor. My total for the toll roads was $2.51 (one gold dollar, four quarters, four dimes, one nickel, and six pennies).

On my way home I stopped at the Home Plate Bar & Grill for a late lunch and as I was leaving I found a penny on the ground by a gum ball machine. Stopped at a red light at the intersection of FM 1960 I spotted and retrieved a nickel from a crack in the road. Later in the evening I also spotted and retrieved a dime from another crack in the road along Cypresswood Dr.

Close to home I collected my final change of the day, 12 cents (one dime & two pennies) from the car wash next to my apartment complex. The token from the New Hampshire Public Works & Highway Administration was found on the Sam Houston Tollway. Perhaps someone from New Hampshire thought it would get the gate to open. I doubt it, but sadly he or she never found out since it was on the ground, not in the change receptor.

Totals for the day: $2.79
Race Totals: $198.73

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Today I found 40 cents. . . . 1 nickel, 1 quarter, and 10 pennies.

Driving back to my office after lunch today I pulled up to a red light and I spotted something that vaguely looked like change about three lanes away. Putting the car in park I got out to investigate and I discovered a badly run over and blackened nickel. Make no mistake, however, it is certainly a nickel.

Walking to my car in the evening I found three pennies scattered about the office parking lot. I was a bit annoyed, because due to the condition they had obviously been there for a while. On the way home I stopped at the Kwick Kar Wash, which sat totally empty because of a late afternoon thunderstorm. There I found 32 cents (one quarter & seven pennies).

Sadly, the thunderstorm might have marked the beginning of winter in Texas. For the past few months our average temps have been 85ish with lows in the low 70's. The thunderstorm was pushed down by Canadian cool air, and in the coming days our highs are only going to be in the low 70's. Terrible. I’m going to have to break out the winter jacket for sure!

Totals for the day: 40 cents
Race Totals: $195.94

Monday, November 14, 2005

Today I found 98 cents. . . . 1 nickel, 4 dimes, 1 quarter, and 28 pennies.

On my way to the post office to mail some e-bay items I stopped at Ale Gator’s Car Wash. Straight off I found a quarter in the dollar bill quarter exchanger machine. The quarter was sitting on it’s side, up against the coin return slot. Next I found 73 cents (one nickel, four dimes, and 28 pennies) sitting in a sticky pile by the base of a vacuum cleaner. The coins have since been cleaned and been deposited into my change receptacle.

Totals for the day: 98 cents
Race Totals: $195.54

Sunday, November 14, 2005

Today I found 32 cents. . . . 1 nickel, 2 dimes, and 7 pennies.

After grocery shopping this afternoon I walked by a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant (it was in the same parking lot as my grocery store) and found a penny by the drive-thru window. Driving home listening to one of the many Sunday afternoon football games I stopped at Sonic and found 31 cents (one nickel, two dimes, and seven pennies). One of the dimes was lodged in a crack in the middle of the parking lot and I held up traffic as I dug it out with the tip of my car key.

Totals for the day: 32 cents
Race Totals: $194.56

Saturday, November 12, 2005

Today I found 17 cents. . . . 1 dime and 7 pennies.

On my way home from house hunting and dropping off an Astros paperweight that I sold on e-bay ($10 profit) I stopped at a car wash on Louetta Rd. As I chatted with my dad on my cell phone I found 16 cents (one dime & six pennies). After dinner with Tara and a post office run we stopped at the Halmark Car Wash, where I found one penny.

Totals for the day: 17 cents
Race Totals: $194.24

Friday, November 11, 2005

Today I found 32 cents. . . . 2 dimes and 12 pennies.

Thanks to the federal holiday I didn’t have to work today. As it would happen Bailey was off, so I met him over at his place and we went and had lunch. Walking back to my car in Bailey’s parking lot I found 10 cents (one dime). It was a nice feeling to have found change that could have lined his coffers.

Driving home I spotted a Sonic and checked the parking lot. I found four cents. I also stopped at a nearby car wash and found five cents (all pennies). This evening I took a letter to the post office, and as my tradition I checked the car wash next door. I was rewarded with 13 cents (one dime & three pennies).

Totals for the day: 32 cents
Race Totals: $194.07

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Today I found 33 cents. . . 3 nickels, 1 dime, and 8 pennies.

Thanks to a wake up call from Tara this morning I was off to work unusually early. I decided to reward myself with some breakfast tacos at Tiffany’s Bakery. While waiting for my order I spotted and retrieved a dime from the floor by the front counter.

On my way home I stopped at a Hartz Chicken restaurant. I pass it every day, but due to the traffic flow it is usually inconvenient to stop. I made the exception today, and was rewarded with 10 cents (one nickel & five pennies). All the change was scattered about the parking lot and the exit near the street (most of the pennies were mangled due to the aforementioned heavy traffic).

At the car wash next to my apartment I made my final find of the day, 13 cents (two nickels & three pennies). The nickels and a penny were on the ground in a car wash bay while the remaining pennies were by a bank of vacuum cleaners.

Totals for the day: 33 cents
Race Totals: $193.75

Wednesday, November 9, 2005

Today I found 24 cents. . . all pennies.

After leaving Angleton, TX this afternoon I pulled into a car wash to check for some change. Just as I pulled in I received a phone call from Bailey, who did not seem the least surprised that I was change searching. My car wash excursion netted me two cents.

On my way home I stopped and checked the Kwick Kar Wash and the nearby Sonic parking lot. I found a total of 13 cents (all pennies). My final stop of the evening was another car wash, that I hit while going on a recycle newspapers / drop off mail at the post office / return books to the library trip. The second car wash delivered another nine pennies.

Totals for the day: 24 cents
Race Totals: $193.42

Tuesday, November 8, 2005

Today I found 13 cents. . . 1 dime and 3 pennies.

I walked across to the little eatery in the adjacent building for lunch today, and under a vending machine in that building I found 10 cents (one dime). Driving home this evening I spotted and retrieved a penny from the middle of the road (I was at a red light at the time) and at Sonic, where I had dinner, I found an additional two pennies.

Totals for the day: 13 cents
Race Totals: $193.18

Monday, November 7, 2005

Today I found 29 cents. . . 2 dimes and 9 pennies. I also found a British penny, which sadly will not count toward the daily totals.

I didn’t have to work today, and I spent the morning doing some house hunting. I am considering purchasing a house, something I have never done before. The good news is that houses in the Houston area are cheap. The bad news is that doing the home search thing is a pain in the butt. I digress.

On my way home from checking out some houses I stopped at Kroger, a local grocery store, to purchase a sandwich and a drink for lunch. On top of a coin counting machine I found a penny. I also found the British penny there, which although it does not count toward the totals will make a smashing edition to my “Not Change Cup.” One of the car wash pennies was a 1953 Wheat penny, which will go nicely with the other Wheat pennies that I have found during the change race.

In the evening I joined my friend John for dinner. On the way home I stopped at two car washes and found a total of 18 cents (one dime & eight pennies). All change was scattered about on the ground. Later in the evening I took a trip to the local Chevron gas station to get a drink and found 10 cents (one dime) by the door as I exited.

Totals for the day: 29 cents
Race Totals: $193.05

Sunday, November 6, 2005

Today I found 36 cents. . . 1 dime, 1 quarter, and 1 penny.

Outside my hotel room in Los Angelus, CA I found a dime by the front door. Sadly, this would be my last coin find in California, even though several stops were made on the way to the airport. One of the highlights of my trip was stopping at a 7-11 this morning (there are no 7-11's in Houston) and getting a Slurpee. It was nice to be able to purchase a good old 7-11 Slurpee once again. As the Slupree was a highlight it is safe to say that LA does not impress me too much as a city.

After arriving home I recorded a 26 cent find (one quarter & one penny) at the car wash next to my apartment complex. The quarter was in a car wash station and the penny was on the ground by a vacuum cleaner.

Totals for the day: 36 cents
Race Totals: $192.76

Saturday, November 5, 2005

Today I found 23 cents. . . 1 dime and 13 pennies. I also found a Canadian penny, which sadly will not count toward the daily totals.

Prior to departing for the airport I stopped at a closed Boston Market drive-thru in Houston, TX and found 12 cents (one dime & two pennies). I also found five cents (five pennies) at the airport. All five were sitting on the ground by a pay telephone.

Once in Los Angelus, CA I found an additional six cents (all pennies). Four of the pennies were sitting on a stack on top of a parking meter (this is also where the Canadian penny was. It has since been deposited into my “Not Change Cup”). The two remaining pennies were found at crosswalks in the street on Hollywood Ave.

Totals for the day: 23 cents
Race Totals: $192.40

Friday, November 4, 2005

Today I found 47 cents. . . 1 nickel, 1 quarters, and 17 pennies.

On my way back from Angleton, TX this afternoon I stopped at a Jack-in-the-Box to procure some change. The drive-thru was too busy, but I did find two cents in the parking lot. I also found two cents at a Shell gas station that had a Taco-Bell attached to it.

Closer to home I found six cents (six pennies) at a Sonic and 35 cents (one nickel, one quarter, & five pennies) at the Kwick Kar Wash. A single penny find was recorded at Boston Market, where I joined my friends Matt & Anna for dinner. My final penny of the day was in the washing machine at my apartment complex laundry room.

Tomorrow morning I hop a plane for a quick 24 hour vacation to Los Angelus, CA. I found a price so good on the airfare that I had to take the trip. I’ll be gone Saturday evening, but will be back by Sunday afternoon. Please adjust your blog reading accordingly.

Totals for the day: 47 cents
Race Totals: $192.17

Thursday, November 3, 2005

Today I found $1.63. . . 1 nickel, 2 dimes, 5 quarters, and 13 pennies. I also found a blue marble, that sadly won’t count toward the daily totals.

Leaving work this afternoon I found 10 cent (one dime) in the parking lot. I also stopped at the Sonic where I found 28 cents (one quarter & three pennies) and the Kwick Kar Wash where I found four cents. My final stop of the afternoon was the car wash next to my apartment complex. There I found an amazing $1.21 (one nickel, one dime, four quarters, and six pennies). It was a rare occasion where I found the change cycle in one location. The quarters were all sitting in a car wash station, and the rest of the change was scattered about the ground. It was on the ground where I also found the blue marble, that was actually a marble, not a piece of spit out candy. The marble has been deposited into my “Not Change Cup.”

Trivia answer from yesterday: More men in the United States report having slept with a girl named Jennifer than any other name. My co-worker Jennifer was not pleased to learn this, and insisted that I explain that she is not easy in my post. Thus, as reported by Jennifer, she is not easy.

Totals for the day: $1.63
Race Totals: $191.70

Wednesday, November 2, 2005

Today I found 43 cents. . . 1 nickel, 3 dimes, and 8 pennies.

I spent the day in Angelton, TX again. While entering the building where I was working I found a dime in the parking lot. The woman who was my contact told me that several weeks ago she had found two quarters in the parking lot by the trash cans. I checked there, but found nothing.

At lunch I found another dime by the door of the Mexican restaurant where I dined. Leaving the restaurant I found two cents in the parking lot. At a nearby car wash I found nine cents (one nickel & four pennies). I also found a scratched off lottery ticket that was a winner but had been discarded (more on the lottery ticket later). Closer to home I found 12 cents (one dime & two pennies) in the car wash next to my apartment complex.

Tara joined me for dinner again this evening. We also made a trip to the post office, library, and to a gas station to cash my $2 found lottery ticket. Tara suggested that I purchase two more lottery tickets and try to win more money. I’m a bit more fiscally conservative, I suppose (re. cheap) and I declined. However, I did offer to lend her my $2 so she could buy herself two tickets. The deal was that she had to pay me back the $2, but she could keep any winnings. Any guesses as to what happened? She won exactly $2 and returned it to me. She decided against testing fate for a second time.

Finally, a very interesting piece of trivia that I heard on the radio this morning. In a recent survey men were asked for the first names of all the women they had ever slept with. After the results were tallied there was one name that more men reported as having as a sex partner than any other. Guesses? I got it right on the first guess. Answer tomorrow (Hint: A certain co-worker of mine was not amused with the answer).

Totals for the day: 43 cents
Race Totals: $190.07

Tuesday, November 1, 2005

Today I found 36 cents. . . 3 dimes and 6 pennies.

I had to work in Angelton, TX today, and on my way back from lunch I stopped at a gas station (I think it was a Shell) to get a drink. At a Taco Bell, which was attached to the gas station, I found one penny in the drive-thru lane. I also found a dime on the sidewalk leading to the gas station convenience store.

I put in a full day in Angelton, and on the way home I received a phone call from Tara asking me if I wanted to join her for dinner. We dropped off my car at Wal-Mart for an oil change and then went to find a place to eat. Outside Buffalo Wild Wings I found 22 cents (two dimes & two pennies) in the parking lot. I also found that the location was not actually open yet, so we went to Paul’s Pizza Kitchen. Walking into Paul’s I found two cents in their parking lot.

Finally, when I picked up my car I spotted a single penny near the Wal-Mart oil changing station. I also thought I spotted a yellow marble, which I was going to add to my “Not Change Cup.” Sadly, the “yellow marble” was only a spit out lemon candy, the sticky nature of which indicated that it was indeed not a marble. It was an unpleasant experience, and I hope that it does not sour me on yellow marbles in the future.

Totals for the day: 36 cents
Race Totals: $189.64