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Denny's #6758 Goodyear, Arizona 19 October 2000 12:30pm MST 1218 N. Litchfield Rd. (602) 932-3070

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Roberta
• What we ate: P7A77 - Garden Burger, Applesauce, Diet Coke; Amie - Sunshine Slam (eggs over easy), Grits, Iced Tea
• Amie's job interview from a couple of weeks previous was a roaring success, so we were on the way to move her to San Francisco (I shall be following in a few months). Actually, we were going to the general SF Bay area, not SF proper, so I don't want to get any emails from the snobby locals yelling at me. We loaded up Der Satürn with a few suitcases of clothes and various electronics and headed on up. The Project has been slacking a bit in the last few years, so I was hoping we would make up for some lost time on the way.
• The first Denny's we stopped at was just outside of Phoenix in Goodyear. The Denny's had the standard "Southwestern" appearance, which is usually brown stucco made to look like adobe, since that's how they built their Denny's hundreds of years ago. This may have not even been stucco; it could have been a foam material called EIFS, which is made to look like stucco made to look like adobe. But ya gotta satisfy the cranky old people who move out here from the midwest and who think if it doesn't look like a cheap knockoff of a Taco Bell then it's not "true" to the region. Fuckers.
• Anyway, back to Denny's... Amie's pancakes were light and fluffy and probably the best pancakes ever eaten at a Denny's. Her grits were good, but a little on the runny side. As to my meal, I've ordered the Gardenburger a few times, and they never seem to be able to make it properly. I get a variety of combinations of condiments, but never what's listed on the menu. Not this time. This time it came with all the trimmings, even cucumbers! I did have to ask for the side of light honey mustard - and the waitress acted like it was a special request - but that was okay because I had cucumbers.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: Nothing

Denny's #1971 Blythe, California 19 October 2000 2:40pm PDT 876 W. Donlon St. (760) 922-331

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Renae
• What we ate: P7A77 - Coke; Amie - Coke
• We were approaching the "Agricultural Station" at the border that I thought was just a front for a border stop (gotta make sure those borders are closed, ya know, since we rightfully killed, raped, and pillaged for this land ourselves). But it seems it's nothing more than a place to make people stop and get coupons. Happy day, they had coupons for Denny's! We should have gone back and gotten a few dozen more.
• The Denny's in question is right over the border. I saw a guy walking around who sort of looked like WAY (I think his name was Larry, but it may have been Lenny), but the waitstaff didn't mention him when I asked. I tried to get one of the "If I don't suggest the feature of the day, your meal is FREE!" pins, but nobody seemed to want to give them up, so I got a menu instead.
• WAY: Larry (maybe Lenny)
• Free Stuff: Menu

Denny's #6863 Thousand Palms, California 19 October 2000 5:00pm PDT 72248 Varner Road (760) 343-3739

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Cody
• What we ate: nothing
• Our Denny's Travel Directory said there would be a Denny's in Indio. We tried to find it, but couldn't. We did, however, find a place called "El Sinaloense" that's not fooling anyone.
• The visit in Thousand Palms was just about as successful. Cody said he was new there, but he used to work at the Denny's down the road in Palm Springs. He was happy enough to help, but he didn't know much.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: two pieces of ZOOB

Denny's #6829 Palm Springs, California 19 October 2000 5:15pm PDT 63960 20th Avenue North (760) 251-0858

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Amy
• What we ate: nothing
• Nobody here knew Cody from Thousand Springs - not even the manager. Now that I think about it, I'm not even sure Cody worked at the other Denny's either. This Denny's was surrounded by thousands of windmills that anyone who's driven I-10 through Palm Springs is sure to remember. I tried to get a good picture, but the little snapshot camera I had didn't have a zoom or anything. You can sort of see them in the distance, but it's not nearly dramatic as it is when you're there.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: nothing (to be fair, Amy looked for a while)

Denny's #7099 Cabazon, California 19 October 2000 5:35pm PDT 50920 Seminole Dr. (909) 922-0112

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Hjordis (general manager)
• What we ate: nothing
• This Denny's more than made up for the previous few lackluster visits. Behind the restaurant were two sculptures featured in a certain special-effects laden motion picture containing the most memorable dinosaur scenes ever put on film... that's right, these are the dinosaurs from the Burton/Reubens/Hartman epic, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure! Here's a shot of both of them, of the T-Rex, and of the Brontosaurus with Denny's behind it.
• Hjordis the general manager is a pistol. She was very curt with me. I asked what the restaurant number was, and she demanded to know why I was asking her. I commented on her name (that I was reading and writing down from her name badge), and she proceeded to spell it for me, even though I was clearing reading it. I asked if there was a Weird Al look-a-like, and she asked if this was some sort of hobby of mine, and she wasn't phrasing it as a compliment. I immediately liked her. Even more so when she gave me a mug! Hot damn! Pee-Wee dinosaurs AND a mug! Maybe California isn't so bad after all.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: Coffee Mug

Denny's #7351 Banning, California 19 October 2000 6:00pm PDT 6305 W. 5th St. (909) 845-2813

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Cecilia
• What we ate: P7A77 - Patty Melt, French Fries, Coke; Amie - Moons Over My Hammy, French Fries, Iced Tea
• Amie was getting cranky, so I knew it was time for food and a nap, and a chance to use that coupon! The Denny's was one of the original building designs, but with a mid-90s logo sign, and some chrome trim on the roof for the new Diner look. While waiting for our food, we attempted to map out how many Denny's we'd be visiting on our way through the LA area. It was going to be a long night.
• They were full into the dinner rush, but Cecilia was still happy to help me get something for free - a rare trait in the day shift, especially when they're busy. She went around looking for something but came up short, so she gave me the "suggest the feature of the day" pin off of her shirt! Yay! I guess they're not as strict here as they are in Blythe.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: "If I don't suggest the feature of the day, your meal is FREE!" pin

Denny's #7353 Beaumont, California 19 October 2000 6:50pm PDT 449 E. 4th St. (909) 845-1790

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Tamica
• What we ate: nothing
• Mock me for leading a sheltered life, but it's rare that I ever actually see a phone booth. Usually I just see those little cubbies in front of 7-11 or something. So here are some phone booths at Denny's.
• After waiting around for quite a long time in the lobby (everyone kept passing me off to someone else, and the place was almost empty), I wasn't even able to get anything good for free. But they sure acted as if what they were giving me was the best damn thing ever.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: Take-Out Pie Box

Denny's #0278 Redlands, California 19 October 2000 7:20pm PDT 1180 Alabama Street (909) 798-2475

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Denise
• What we ate: nothing
• I was so very excited when Denise gave me a handful of coupons. I thought maybe our funding for the rest of the trip would be greatly supplemented. It turns out they're only for the Denny's in Redlands. If anybody wants some, give me a call.
• WAY: no
• Free Stuff: Coupons

Denny's #1647 Ontario, California 19 October 2000 7:40pm PDT 502 N. Vineyard (909) 937-1720

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Millie
• What we ate: nothing
• As I was approaching there was a lady sitting on the curb and rather loudly protesting to someone over a cellphone that she was not drunk. She saw me taking a photo and informed me that this is one of the few Denny's with a lounge, and that she was a bartender there. I didn't feel like letting her know that such beasts are more common that one would think. Denny's Lounges, that is, not drunk bartenders.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: nothing

Denny's #6846 Ontario, California 19 October 2000 7:50pm PDT 1409 E. 4th St. (909) 983-2511

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Thomas
• What we ate: nothing
• There was a thick, dank smell to this Denny's. When pressed for free stuff, Thomas eagerly reached below the counter and produced a ZOOB box. He asked if that would do. I hastily approved, hoping I could snag it and run before a manager made me pay for it. Alas, it was empty. Maybe I could use it to store the two ZOOB pieces Cody in Thousand Palms threw my way.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: Empty ZOOB Box

Denny's #6847 Pomona, California 19 October 2000 8:10pm PDT 1504 Gillette Rd. (909) 623-5814

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Frank
• What we ate: nothing
• The poor folks at this place were a little distraught by my visit. One woman took a while processing what it is I was getting at, and asked me if I just do this at all Denny's. Frank asked me if he was going to get in trouble with corporate, like he thought I was a corporate spy firing people who gave in to my demands.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: Menu

Denny's #0145 Baldwin Park, California 19 October 2000 8:25pm PDT 14550 Baldwin Park Towne Center (626) 338-0217

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Mary (manager)
• What we ate: nothing
• I don't have very good night vision. So searching for Denny's while driving in heavy traffic on a five-lane highway with short off-ramps isn't the safest thing in the world for me to be doing. I'm not really sure why I felt it was necessary to drive in one of the left lanes while doing this, nor why I thought it was a good idea to suddenly cut across several lanes when a Denny's was spotted, just barely making it to the off-ramp, which involved driving pretty much perpendicular to it, since we had already missed the turn-off.
• Mary was good-natured about my visit (I didn't bother to tell her I almost killed a pile of people on my way in). I think she was just trying to get me out of there quickly, as there was a bit of a condescending tone in her perky attitude. When I asked for something for free, she turned to a waitress (who was busy doing something else and not aware of what was going on), asked for her "suggest the feature" pin off of her shirt, and gave it to me. The waitress was a little taken aback. I think for a second she thought she was being fired.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: "If I don't suggest the feature of the day, your meal is FREE!" pin

Denny's #6988 El Monte, California 19 October 2000 8:35pm PDT 3540 North Peck Road (818) 442-1314

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Jessica
• What we ate: nothing
• I didn't learn much from the Baldwin Park experience, because once back on the highway, I proceeded to get in the left lane again, which required more near-death experiences navigating the off-ramp. It wasn't very good planning on my part to have the evening part of our journey happen in the middle of a major metropolitan area with a Denny's at every other exit. At the very least, it wasn't good planning to have me be the driver.
• There were a few fire trucks in the parking lot. Amie said she saw a kitten wandering around, but I don't think the firefighters were there to get it out of a tree. They really didn't seem to be doing much of anything other than sitting around.
• It took a while to get something out of them because Jessica wasn't sure what she were supposed to do. I used this confusion to try to get a carafe out of her, but no luck. I got her to start reaching for the mugs when she said that they had cameras and the manager could see what she was doing. Right after that the manager came out. He didn't seem to care what I was doing, and told Jessica to give me a mug. It took a few times of her asking him if he was sure before she finally did.
• After leaving, Amie thought she saw a sign for another Denny's on the other side of the highway, so I spent a good deal of time trying to figure out my way through dark car dealership parking lots before I finally gave up. We saw another one as we were passing by the next exit off the highway, but I decided two close calls with fiery disaster were enough for one night, so we skipped it.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: Coffee Mug

Denny's #0139 Agoura, California 19 October 2000 9:35pm PDT 29145 Canwood St. (818) 991-2393

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): undetermined
• What we ate: P7A77 - Cherry Cheesecake; Amie - Vanilla Shake
• I was planning on making the El Monte visit the last for the night (we were going to spend the night in Ventura, on the other side of Los Angeles), since we were getting a bit tired by this point, and not much exciting was happening at any of them anyway. Then I saw this sign in the distance and recalled how a friend of mine had ranted and raved about how cool it was and how there was this ball at the top with a bunch of lights on it and stuff, and figured if I didn't stop then I'd get yelled at when I got back to Tucson. He's right, it IS a cool sign, much like Denny's #0002 in Las Vegas, Nevada, across from the Stratosphere and also the one in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I was disappointed the top light-ball part of the sign was either turned off or burned out.
• I'm glad we stopped because I was in the mood for dessert and that cherry cheesecake was mmm-mmm tasty. Unfortunately, while the sign and food were great, nothing for free here. I went through my usual ordeal, to which they asked if I was on a scavenger hunt. I said yes, of sorts, and they said they're not giving anything away for the scavenger hunt. It seems there was some sort of local thing going on. I tried to tell them that I wasn't part of that, but by then it was too late. So damn you to whatever group it was that soured Denny's to giving away freebies! You owe me some ZOOBS.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: nothing

Denny's #7184 Lompoc, California 20 October 2000 10:15am PDT 1405 North H Street (805) 735-5560

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Mike & Rob (managers)
• What we ate: nothing
• While searching for a convenient place to eat in Santa Barbara, we ended up at The Good Earth (without Pearle Buck), which is a lot like a Denny's, only quieter and more expensive, and with seemingly more healthy versions of the food. Amie had the All-American, which was very similar to the All-American Slam. Hmm. We were taking the scenic highway up the coast, so we didn't expect to see any Denny's, especially since none were listed in our Travel Directory. But, lo and behold, on the edge of one of the towns sat that familiar green, red, and yellow sign!
• Mike & Rob acted like alert version of graveyard workers. Meaning they seemed keen on the project and didn't care about giving away stuff, but they moved at more than a sloth's pace. I asked if there was anyone who looked like Weird Al there, and they said that I sort of did. I'm not really sure if that makes any sense, since I really look nothing like Weird Al (not that I would mind if I did), but sometimes ya gotta put up with the wacky managers. And after a bit of thinking, they both said that Todd (who doesn't work there any more) looked like WAY, and that he was a manager!
• WAY: Todd (ex-manager)
• Free Stuff: Name Tag

Denny's #0289 San Luis Obispo, California 20 October 2000 11:35am PDT 1460 Calle Joaquin (805) 543-7220

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Barbara
• What we ate: P7A77 - Sampler; Amie - Coke
• This is a teeny-tiny little Denny's with one of the older signs, but inside had a Diner conversion. The game where you put in a dollar and a claw comes down and almost grabs an item that's way too heavy for the weak springs in the claw to ever withstand so you put in another dollar and try again and almost get a hold of the edge but it slips away and so you put in another ten bucks and still don't end up getting a fifty cent toy but it doesn't matter because you're drunk and waiting for a table was filled with "scary" Hallowe'en-themed toys. Things like ghosts and masks and witches and stuff. And a Britney Spears doll. I don't think this needs any more comment.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: Table Display

Denny's #1924 San Luis Obispo, California 20 October 2000 12:15pm PDT 208 Madonna Rd. (805) 543-3138

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Dynia
• What we ate: nothing
• Ever since we started seeing signs for San Luis Obispo I knew that the name was familiar to me in some way, but I couldn't place it. Here is where I found out why.
• Dynia was wondering why I was doing all of this, and after everything I said just looked at me with wonderment and pity. When I asked about the Weird Al lookalike, she informed me that Al went to college at CalPoly in San Luis Obispo and did his early recordings in a bathroom there. Of course! That's why I knew the name! This is where Al learned to live and love!
• Since Dynia seemed to be hip to subversiveness, I asked her to give me a monkey bowl. She scolded me and said they were officially called vegetable dishes. I said she should give me one anyway. She did.
• WAY: No (sadly)
• Free Stuff: Vegetable Dish (NOT a Monkey Bowl)

Denny's #7051 Morro Bay, California 20 October 2000 12:40pm PDT 850 Quintana Rd. (805) 772-3827

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Jami
• What we ate: nothing
• The front of this restaurant is sorta neat looking as far as these things go. It's an almost Japanese-style design, tho' I think part of that is from camera angle and slope of the driveway. It took me a long time to get anything out of these people. They were confused, as most all daytime employees are, and Jami went in the back to find me something and was gone for a LONG time. I figured she was just hiding back there until I left, so I wandered around and happened upon this. You can't see it clearly in the photo, but this was composed of multiple painted panels at varying levels to give it that 3D quality. The only thing that frightens me more about someone displaying such a thing is that it was made in the first place.
• I didn't have time to reflect upon it further, because Jami finally came back and gave me an apron! It has that smell that all Denny's aprons have, no matter how many times you wash it. Now I have a place to put all my pins.
• Since the reason we were taking this route and not the Denny's-filled I-5 is because of the scenic highway. So here, for you, are a few postcard-esque pictures from that drive. This first one is a shot of some rocks and the ocean. Here's another of the ocean with some rocks. And this is Amie sitting on some rocks in front of the ocean.
• WAY: No
• Free Stuff: Apron

Denny's #0038 Monterey, California 20 October 2000 5:20pm PDT 755 Abrego St. (408) 372-3077

• Attendees: P7A77, Amie
• Wait-person(s): Jose
• What we ate: P7A77 - Charleston Chicken Ranch Melt, French Fries, Coke; Amie - Chili Size Burger, French Fries, Iced Tea
• On the drive to this Denny's we passed through the Big Sur area, which has the type of scenery of which everyone takes photos, but also has this big rock with a farmhouse on top and a big muddy field of cows in front. I'm not sure why, but something about that appeals to me.
• Talk about your classic restaurants. This is one of the few REALLY old signs I've seen, and it might even be one of the original Denny's logo designs. The manager wasn't sure when the restaurant was opened, but he said a few weeks previous a customer was in who said he had worked on the plastering for the building back in 1961, so that's the best guess they have for it. All I know is that this Denny's is so old, it doesn't have a Lounge, it has a Tavern. I'm hoping Denny's #0001 has a Saloon.
• Jose was great. The food we wanted was on the Lunch Special menu (only available at the discounted price until 4pm), but he gave it to us anyway. We're still not sure what size is "chili" size for a burger, tho'.
• In case you were worried that humanity might have a chance at survival after all, you were wrong.
• WAY: Regular Customer in Bar (name unknown)
• Free Stuff: ZOOB Menu Insert

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