Eat up before you go, and save your $$$ to get schnockered.

Weather was perfect for the fifteenth annual Southern Brewers' Festival yesterday: sunny with occasional clouds, low 80's, decent (for the natives) humidity, and a good breeze. I just wish there was someone to go with me. The place was crowded with several hundred 50-somethings and 20-somethings but only one me.

Let's do a little math. Say there were 12 breweries with, on average, three beers offered. That's 36 beers, at $3.00 per beer, which totals up to far more money, time, and alcohol than I can handle on my own. If eleven of you accompany me next year, we each can buy three and pass them around -- much more affordable with much less chance of alcohol poisoning. (Don't worry about drinking from my mug; it has been years since I had mono.) If there were 20 brewers (I was too busy not running into people to count), then 19 of you need to come along.

Robomarkov: Make this a family vacation. Scribe-Ari and the smalls can go to the Creative Discovery Museum just two blocks up the street while you and I get sloshed. Then she can drive us home.

Geosomin (if you're reading this): you and J would probably enjoy it. If you're ever in Chattanooga, look me up.

My one mistake was waiting until I arrived to eat. I saw a vendor called Fatstuff's with cheesesteaks for sale. It was all right, even with American cheese (they offered nacho cheese also, the blasphemers!). However, it most certainly was not worth the $8.00 they charged. I could have had two and two-third beers for that much money! Even my souvenir T-shirt ($10.00) was a better deal (and that was half the price of the one I bought at the Beach Boys concert at NMSU a few summers ago).

Oh yeah. I had Highland Brewing Company's oatmeal porter. It was good.