Before we head 'Way out West' ***

(*** the title of a wonderful Laurel and Hardy movie.)

On Wednesday morning we fly out, heading for San Francisco and points North. We're excited to be attending the wedding of a wonderful couple: Anna Benincasa and Steve Morales ... she's making an honest man of him, at last!

The nuptials will be in Healdsburg, CA., and shortly thereafter Lyn and I will take ourselves off to visit fondly treasured folks in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. There will be only one, lonely, little gig on this trip; in Merville, on Vancouver Island. Before we head home we'll be running the gauntlet of several hundred buccaneers, at the Northern California Pirate Festival, in Vallejo, CA.

Since last I updated (I'm dreadfully unreliable, but then, you know that) this blog; we haven't been doing much cruising. Once we returned to the comforting embrace of the Saltisford Arm, we collected our car and headed - through the Channel Tunnel - to a lovely little festival in Blankenberge, Belgium.

Once the festival was over - by late of Saturday evening - we had Sunday off; so we boarded a tram for a 5-mile jaunt up the coast to Zeebrugge. I was particularly interested to learn about the British raid there; on St George's Day, 1918. In an effort - very late in the war - to prevent U-boat egress to the North Sea, a gallant attempt was made - by a British Navy and Marine expedition - to block the harbour and lock gates of the canal. British casualties were 583 men and German losses were 24 men; the raid was publicised by the British around the world as a great success and many medals were awarded. 'Twas ever thus!
"But what good came of it at last?" Quoth little Peterkin.
"Why, that I cannot tell," said he, "But 'twas a famous victory."
THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM by: Robert Southey (1774-1843)

We'll be back, in about a month, just in time to cast our ballots in the 'United Kingdom, In or Out of the European Union' referendum. It's a question on which I might ponder more, were not the 'exit' camp being led by (the recent Mayor of London) Boris Johnson ... our version of Donald Trump ... and very likely our next Prime Minister ... God Save Us All!

My apologies that this report isn't, at all, 'watery'. We'll be cruising again in July. 'Til then ... A'dios.