VALLEY AIDS QUEST TO FILL UP CUP MAN AIMS TO HIT EVERY STARBUCKS.Byline: CAROL ROCK Staff Writer NEWHALL -- Winter walked into the Starbucks store on San Fernando Road San Fernando Road is a major street in the city and county of Los Angeles. It starts off in Castaic as The Old Road, passing through Santa Clarita and the Newhall Pass, where upon its intersection with Sierra Highway near the junction of the Golden State (I-5) and the and Carl Court on Saturday afternoon in search of a sample of the day's brew -- and on his way to becoming a legend. Winter -- who maintains that's his entire legal name -- has a goal of visiting every company-owned Starbucks store in the world. Asked by a cheerful server why he is on his quest, Winter answered, ``No good reason,'' as she handed him a short cup. ``It's Christmas Blend,'' she told him. ``What a surprise,'' he said. ``Please fill it to the top.'' Wearing a black T-shirt with ``Starbucks'' embroidered em·broi·der v. em·broi·dered, em·broi·der·ing, em·broi·ders v.tr. 1. To ornament with needlework: embroider a pillow cover. 2. in white across the chest, Winter asks for a 4-ounce sample of the day's coffee at each location he visits. Saturday's sample was No.6,286. If Starbucks stopped opening stores today, Winter would only have about 1,000 cups to go. But the corporation's goal of having 40,000 locations worldwide means he's got a lot of drinking ahead of him. ``We're flattered by his enthusiasm for the Starbucks experience and wish him well in his endeavors,'' Starbucks spokeswoman Sanja Gould said. After finishing the short shot of caffeine, Winter pored over a map of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , plotting the rest of the weekend's journey. He planned to visit 15 more stores by day's end and 28 before this morning. The 34-year-old Houston native arrived in Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Saturday after completing a consulting job up north. He's been on his Starbucks quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the a decade, driving a road-weary 1997 Honda Civic The Honda Civic is a compact car manufactured by Honda. It was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door coupe, followed by a three-door hatchback version that September. With the transverse engine placement of its 1169 cc engine and front-wheel drive, like the British Mini, the with 246,000 miles on it -- 168,000 of them used up in search of coffee. Sometimes, he admits, he rents a vehicle to get to a store, especially if it's in a far-flung region. He travels relatively light, plugging in a battery charger, his cell phone and laptop computer in the store while he sips his coffee. A computer programmer by trade, he uses the Internet for a good portion of his journey -- from getting directions and mileage estimates to finding a decent bagel or waffle See WAFL. spot near a target store. Along the way, he also photographs each store, sometimes reshooting them on a subsequent visit to get a better angle or light or eliminate cars that might have obscured the faade. He posts his photos at www.starbuckseverywhere.net, along with a blog chronicling his cupside observations. A map of North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. sports a series of blue and yellow dots -- blue are stores that are open but not yet visited; yellow are stores that have been announced but are not yet open. He has spent more than $30,000 of his own money on the venture, counting gas and airfare (a small amount of that is for coffee, since he usually gets his sample free). So far, his place in the annals of coffee is secure, and he's already been included in books on strange and unusual quests alongside Virginia resident Peter Holden, who has visited 12,000 McDonald's restaurants There are more than 30,000 McDonald's restaurants in 119 countries. Restaurants The first McDonald's was not a restaurant at all, but it was a sit-in stand. The company's early franchises were built to a standard pattern that did not offer seating; this was in part to prevent . Winter's next target was a store in Woodland Hills, followed by several in Orange and Riverside counties. ``If I went full throttle Full Throttle can refer to:
CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Winter, 34, is on a quest to visit every company-owned Starbucks in the world. He visited the one in Newhall on Saturday. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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