I was curious as to whether they would do something clever
like make hash leftovers out of the Christmas buffet
($21.95, advertised on placemats both here and at the hotel
next door; when we poked our noses in we found the place
pretty deserted: serves 'em right for serving a crummy
breakfast), and Carol said she'd have a bowl of Total, so
we used the last of our free breakfast coupons. It was the
same old story, except the omelette station was manned
(actually womanned), so I decided to do the obvious
experiment. The rather sullen cook, as it turns out,
makes an excellent omelette, marred only by the fact
that the butter was very stale, which is in keeping with
what we already know about the procurement practices of
the Doubletree's foodservice department.

This of course meant that we were full enough to decide not
to lunch at Mrs. Wilkes', which is fine, because this famed
bastion of cheap eats now charges $13 for lunch (5c more
than Paula Deen), and the Monday offering is abbreviated
compared to the rest of the week's. On the other hand,
there are probably 100 cities we'll visit before time to
return to Savannah, so it was a missed opportunity.

We walked around town a bit, mostly traversing ground that
we'd trod before but getting a couple new squares and seeing
the Davenport and Juliette Low houses, among other historic
sites. Ended up, of course, at the Moon River Brewing Co.,
where the beer and food are good and fairly priced, and the
help is genial if maddeningly slow. Samplers are 9 x 4 oz
for $8, not a bad price.

Wild Wacky Wit (4.8%) - their riff on Belgian white
beer; it's almost totally unhopped but with a huge dose
of coriander and orange peel. I liked it better than any
wheat beer of any kind that I'd ever had, which surprised
Carol a lot

Moon Light (5) - standard, plasticky, somewhat more hoppy
than the norm

Savannah Fest (5) - same as at the Fiddler's, i.e.,
moderately hoppy, moderately spicy, decent

Swamp Fox IPA (7) - heavily hopped and floral, with an
aroma that I likened to lychee and Carol to pear juice. She
liked it, which surprised me a lot. We ordered a pint of
this and a pint of the Wit; the beers cost .25 less down
on the waterfront

Captain's Porter (6) - dark, coffeelike, okay, not special

Road Trip Cider (5.8) - quite acid, very fruity, made with
Pink Lady apples; Carol liked it a lot, I not at all

Irish Stout (4.8) - kind of weird, with a medicinal,
neither Irish nor stout flavor

Moondance Pale Ale (4.2) - very sissy in taste and alcohol;
as much like an American beer as a microbrew can be

Claire [sic] de Lune Kolsch [sic] (5.4) - seemed to be your
average low-hopped lager, pretty characterless; of course,
as it was the 9th we sampled, perhaps some sensory fatigue
had hit by the time we got there. This beer got the silver
at the latest GABF, so somebody must like it.

Carol lunched on a bowl of the special enchilada soup,
which she diagnoses as salsa, Velveeta, chicken, beans, and
squash. She found it quite good, though.

I didn't want any food, but after Carol pressed me a bit
by saying there wouldn't be time for dinner, I ordered the
spicy onion rings, which, after they finally came out
after half an hour, were crunchy and all right, if a bit
grease-soaked and not spicy at all.

Staggered back to the hotel to claim our bags and then to
the bus stop (saving another $23 plus tip), where the #2
took us on a circuitous but only 30-minute trip back to
the airport.

1226 DH1947 SAV IAD 1710 1844 CRJ 11CD

Check-in took all of one minute (efficient and pleasant
counter staff), so we had a bunch of time - luckily there
is a business center (outside security) that has no phones
but free Ethernet (one of the fastest services I've seen),
so I could check the mail and play for a while while Carol
shopped (got to give her credit, she didn't buy souvenirs
or any other junk until we were there). It's a no-frills
service with, shall we say, a minimal support presence,
essentially limited to a sign that says "If you d not
normally use high-speed Internet connections on your laptop,
this may not be for you. If you need an Ethernet cable, you
may borrow one with a photo I.D. deposit. Proceed to the
visitor center on the lower level for this service."

Presently Carol came back with the news that a line was
forming at security, so at 4:30 we got in queue; through
in about 5 minutes and discovered that the Passport Club
admits members of the major airlines' clubs - or the
general public, for that matter, upon payment of a $2
day pass fee. There's a TV room (TV blaring CNN or the
local equivalent), flight monitors (the departures one
still had the early morning info on it for some reason), a
few carrels with local phone lines and Ethernet ports, and
a drinks area (free coffee and water and a passthrough to
the Budweiser Brew House with a sign that promises discounts
on booze). It's an interesting little amenity, but actually
the business center is nicer, and, aside from us, was
deserted during our stay there.

Loaded up on time, had the same idiot safety announcement
(the FA said it's by someone whose name is like Rich Little
but who is not Rich Little), took off in short order,
headed north lickety-split, and then circled about for a
good while, the winds getting continuously stronger and
the ride bumpier. A few minutes later than scheduled we
endured what Carol said was the worst landing she had ever
suffered through. It was, I admit, a fairly barfolicious
little ride. Probably not DH's fault, as United has both
a 767 and a 757 arriving just at that time, and the Weather
Service website said that there had been gusts to 44 mph
that evening.

A warning about the parking shuttles at Dulles. They are
said to stop at 2B, 2C, 2F, and 2G. We waited a while at 2C
until we figured out that they stop there provided they are
not full. Walked to 2B and got on with no problem. On this,
one of the bigger travel days, the things were hideously
crowded and chaotically slow.