She left Napa on Sept. 28. As of last week Pope had traveled more than 6,000 miles and visited more than 36 Costco stores in 19 states. This is just the tip of the Costco iceberg. As of Mon. Nov. 14, there are 499 Costcos in 44 states in the United States.

“There have been so many cool things that have happened along the way,” said Pope from a stop in Ohio.

For one, she’s met some Costco executives, including CEO Craig Jelinek.

“He was super friendly,” she said. Jelinek said he thought her odyssey was a great idea “and joked that maybe he would join me. I told him there was room in my van,” she said.

She’s been invited to a number of Costco grand openings and other special events.

Pope said the biggest surprise from her trip “is just how cool people are.” She’s been invited to stay in locals’ homes and to join them on other outings.

The kindness and support of strangers has been unexpected, said Pope.

“The random people that I’ve been meeting along the way (outside of Costco) who encourage me by laughing with me at the seeming absurdity of a venture like this and embrace my excitement about it by taking it as their own – I’m amazed by this camaraderie.”