Home is the Sailor, Home from the Sea...

Back from a cruise filled with incident and amusement--


--

No, no, nothing like that, but the damned song did keep running through my head. Although not an unflawed experience (serious problems on one day with passengers returning to the ship being stuck in an appallingly long line in the blazing sun, leading to at least two requiring medical attention), the cruise was an opportunity for rest, lots of time with my parents, sister, brother-in-law nephew and niece, and my beloved la Caterina. (My nephew has grown into a splendid young man whose company is most enjoyable, and my niece had the waitstaff eating out of her hand with her charm.)

We saw some magnificent sights--dolphins dancing outside on our last night, a whale sighting on our first, and some beautiful churches along the way. St. Luke's Episcopal Cathedral in Portland Maine was a highlight with its breathtaking Lady Chapel:



The service at St. Luke's was marvelous, and the hospitality the Cathedral's Dean and parishioners showed la Caterina and myself couldn't have been warmer. One member of the parish not only recommended a good place for a fresh lobster lunch, he drove us there so that we'd beat the rush.

I did very well in bookstores throughout the trip, filling she gaps in my theological library, completing my set of Randolph Churchill & Martin Gilbert's official Churchill biography, and even finding a Tauchnitz Copyright edition of Phineas Finn, a work that is, of course, quite dear to me. (There'll be a special book gloat post in a couple days.)

But the best part of vacation, any vacation, is the loafing. Reading books of dubious merit, spending time with family and celebrating both my Dad's birthday and la Caterina's (in celebration date order) was what made the time so special.

I could touch on the news, but I'm still on vacation mode, and staying that way a bit longer, I think. There'll be time for discussion of other things later. I'm probably going to have some thoughts about the religious liberty issues raised by the Kim Davis affair.

But I did just want to note that while I was gone, this little one-person blog, which has veered from religious matters to political, to literary, has surprised me by blowing past the 100,000 page views mark. In fact, it's at 100,265 as of this writing. I've sometimes feared that I was merely writing for myself and a handful of others, and maybe that's so--but at least you keep coming back. I'm grateful for that, and for your company here in this little corner of cyberspace. Many thanks.