I’M BAACK! The scuba trip to Grand Cayman was delightful, and I’m much refreshed. The reefs there took a bit of a pounding during last fall’s hurricane, but the diving was still extraordinary. Did several wall dives (Orange Canyon, Trinity Cave, Tarpon Alley), a night dive at Turtle Reef, and a visit to what remains of the wreck of the Oro Verde, among other things. Judging by the crowds, the tourism industry is no longer suffering.

Security was much tighter in the Caymans than on previous visits — especially on the return to the States, where they were handsearching not only carryon luggage but also checked bags. All in all, a swell trip.

The bad news: Stately InstaPundit Manor was struck by lightning in my absence, knocking out the upstairs air conditioner (the control board looks like somebody took a blowtorch to it) several TVs, and my DSL connection. The computer’s OK, but the router and modem are dead, dead, dead. I’m on a backup dial connection (we take a lickin’ and keep on bloggin’ here at InstaPundit!) but I haven’t even looked at email yet. I’ll start — but whether I’ll read it, or just delete huge chunks unread, just depends on how much there is.

Regular blogging will resume shortly. Hope you had a good week!