Day 2 (2)

In Sacramento I was feeling lonely and decided to go for a walk to find a bar or pool hall or anything that would be open late and have folks to interact with. After 45 minutes of walking I found myself in what I can only describe as the "bad" part of town and found myself adrift in a sea of bail bond houses and tire shops...and a Denny's. I needed to muster the courage to make the trek back to my hotel and needed a safe port; the Denny's seemed like it would serve well.

Inside I found 1 waitress and a very full dining room. I bellied-up to the bar and ordered a soda. I wanted something light, not to greasy and not fried. As my eyes skimmed the menu I realized Denny's mightn't have been the best choice. After unsuccesfully searching for something I wanted to eat on the menu I started to look around the restaurant. It was then that I noticed the kitchen had a lot of orders up and the waitress was very, very busy. She had a look on her face that I knew all to well. It was the hopeless frustration combined with the steely determination of a waiter who is "in the weeds". My heart went out to her.

I decided to offer my assistance. I figured I could bus her tables and bring refill drinks while she did the actual waitress stuff. She said she couldn't accept because she didn't know if her manager would allow it. So I asked the manager (who was /not/ helping, btw) and convinced her to let me help for a bit.

So I bussed and poured water for about 45 minutes and got a free Country Style Steak from Denny's. Another waiter, Viet, showed up after a bit and I took my food and went to the hotel.


Made it to Tucson today. I am gonna spread the rest of the trip over two days. Take it nice and slow.