I was thinking about Dos, having recently enjoyed the Austin
and (part of the) Japan ones, and noted there's another
Alaska one coming up, See here for details.
This report attempts to demonstrate that one can be sick
as a dog but still enjoy a Do if the thing is set up well.

=

Sadly, somewhere between Williamsport and Newark I managed
to get this massive intractable cough, barely managed by
large doses of medication. Several segment runs on US Air,
not supremely pleasant to begin with, were turned into
sheerest torture, and the other denizens of the various
aircraft, earnestly plying the air currents to such garden
spots as Baltimore and Philadelphia, must have been rather
put off by my snorts and throat clearings. Suffice it to
say that I tried to put myself into an alcoholic and drug
induced trance, over which a discreet curtain may be drawn,
for all of these. I found myself in Newark at the end of a
string of these flights, and the Do trip began in earnest on
a windy late July day.

UA4885 EWR IAD 1010 1140 Q40 4C

My seatmate on this flight was a UA 757/67 first officer
who kept me entertained with tales of the rather bumpy
merger for most of the rather bumpy flight; he didn't seem
overput out by my impertinent questions and potentially
contagious condition. We landed a little late owing to
weather and flow control, and I hobbled down to Fuddrucker's
for a burger (you can get one rare, and it's more meat for
the money than at the otherwise estimable Five Guys) and
then to the LH lounge for drinks and wireless. I prefer the
business lounge downstairs and generally go there. The pours
were generous (a young Middle-Eastern-looking bartender who
pretty clearly didn't himself drink and who had no clue
about what he was pouring) and the boozal quality high.
Snacks were at best interesting, and I was glad to have
had a burger-filled stomach before arriving.

UA1122 IAD SFO 1505 1747 738 7C

It was getting on to boarding time when I arrived at the
gate - the roped lines with the zone labels were flagrantly
ignored, and it was the usual snafu - relevant as my upgrade
had not cleared, and I was battling the masses for overhead
space - the one disadvantage of the bulkhead.

My seatmate, a rather lovely woman of about my years, and I
reflected on how upgrades were harder than ever to come by
(I was #4 in line for 0 seats, she #5) and how - despite
what people say - the flight really is much longer in coach.

I tried to snooze without success. An expired drink coupon
was refused, but a fresh one was found, and Courvoisier
helped ease the discomfort.

UA1257 SFO ANC 1947 2345 738 2AC

I was feeling really rocky, what with the cough and not
having gotten any rest, so I greeted lili at the club with
rather less than the usual enthusiasm. For the hour and
change there I kept counsel with a succession of cups of
pineapple juice and pass-o-guava, while envying lili's
Stag's Leap Artemis Cabernet, which I probably wouldn't
have been able to taste anyway.