Bottom line: Anywhere but California will do.
how about anywhere but
southern California will do
i really want a Bay Area start, and as far as I know, we haven't been affected by the H1N1 virus too badly (but, i am slightly oblivious to local news...)
other possible starting locations (that haven't been used yet):
Boston, MA
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Washington, DC
Atlanta, GA
New Orleans, GA
Dallas, TX
Houston, TX
St. Louis, MO
Detroit, MI
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
Phoenix, AZ
San Diego, CA
San Jose/San Francisco, CA
Portland, OR
Anchorage, AK
there are many other possible places, but I'm getting tired trying to list them all...
and again, I really don't think they'll want to stray too far from L.A. due to budget so we might see a start in Arizona, Nevada, or NorCal.