AA2337 ORD DFW 0825 1100 M80 21AB

No upgrade for me, and lili had herself downgraded to keep
me company, a nice gesture.

Another weather-affected flight, though these tough old
birds fly through just about anything, and though we
jounced about quite a bit, we were on schedule for a change.

The flight attendants were substantially nicer than on
the previous flight, plus as the seatmate of an Executive
Platinum I got free stuff, including free-flowing Dos Equis
(a beer that used to be respectable but now tastes no nicer
than Budweiser), and this tiny tube of Pringles whose list
price is $4, or about what you'd pay per ounce for a steak
at the Texas Roadhouse.

AA1544 DFW IAD 1330 1726 M80 20AB

A rematch with the Centurion, where though the menu was
the same, the food was quite a bit better, especially the
short rib thingies, which were packed with meat. A server
who had waited on us cheerfully on the last visit appeared
glad to see us, so I guess a buck tip is still considered
adequate.

Again no upgrade, but another perfectly adequate flight
that as usual came in not exactly on time. What also didn't
appear on time was the Westin Dulles shuttle, but it was
okay out, and people were generally cheerful at the bus
stop, and all was right with the world, except I wanted to
get some food into me and get some sleep. Eventually we
got to the hotel, which looks very much like the other
one we were just staying in.

It was a little beyond the businesspeople with an early day
tomorrow dinnertime and not yet the pickup bar time, but
still the service was slow; plus the guy who was there when
we arrived spilled dirty wash water on me and didn't make
any apology or even acknowledgement until I asked for a
couple napkins to sop up the mess. Thereafter someone else,
the black guy, very competent and cheerful, served us.

lili ordered a cheap Barolo, which tasted about equally
cheap and Barolo. I had a Great Lakes double dark ale that
was very tasty but that I think must have had unadvertised
lactose in the formula, because afterward I got really,
really sick.

Her main course was a quite good burger and fries; mine was
the sirloin strip with chive mash and onion strings, only $4
more than the burger (on the room service menu it's twice
the burger). Turns out that it's a half strip, an inch thick
but bisected widthwise, just a perfect size for a light meal.
Its vegetable was a leek and oyster mushroom stew that was
just brilliant, especially with the decent demi-glace that
had been splashed over. I presume you get the full steak
from room service.

It was a relatively sleepless night - I started off sick
sick sick and progressed to sick sick and then just very
queasy. I wasn't eager to get on another plane, but those
segments kept a-callin'. So the 0600 shuttle was the next
order of the day, and it came way too soon.

AA2275 IAD LAX 0750 1027 738 6F, 3A

Tiffany was a bright and outgoing attendant; the other FA,
whose name I've forgotten, was having a seriously bad day
and did beverage and snack service only with the greatest
reluctance and in fact offered me no drink at all. I didn't
bother her, as I was in somewhat fragile condition and
didn't want to bother my seatmate too much.

After that flight, we rejoined at the club, which was
oversubscribed, and it was a while before we could find a
place with plugs to sit at, and when we did, it and the
adjacent table were sticky with spilled drinks. At some
point cleaner and more agreeable seats opened up, at
which point miraculously a staff person swooped down and
cleaned up our previous spot.

AA2876 LAX SAN 1255 1341 EM2 7AB

This of course leaves from the commuter terminal, and so
we bade goodbye to the club and took the bus over there.
Turns out there is another club there, small but reasonably
stocked; I got us a couple glasses of red wine, and soon
enough it was time to board our next half-hour leg, which
was unnotable, there being little or no Weather in this part
of the world, and the local flight attendant being at
least outwardly cheerful.