On July 10, Susan and I will celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary.

To mark the occasion, we have planned a long weekend trip to Madeira Beach, Florida. Madeira Beach is on the Gulf side of Florida, next to Johns Pass and St. Petersburg. It is just south of Redington Beach.

We visited Madeira Beach several times back when Susan’s parents, George and Martha Campbell, lived in Winter Park, Florida (in the Orlando Metro area).

We are flying on Allegiant Air into Tampa on a non-stop flight from Tulsa. I love flying on Allegiant. The flights from Tulsa are non-stop and I am embarrassed to say how cheap the airfare was.

Because of the coronavirus, people are scared of flying. Several of our friends have canceled travel plans made six month ago because of the danger of contracting the virus.

I am convinced that the airports and the airlines have taken enough safety precautions to make this trip relatively safe.

Oklahoma has missed the brunt of the coronavirus and Florida has done a masterful job of handling the situation.

You would think that Florida, with its large senior population, would have been hard hit by the virus. But Florida had a lot going for it. The governor has common sense.

Florida is not as densely populated as New York City or New Jersey. And there is evidence that the virus, like that flu, may be seasonal and it may not last in hot weather.

The coronavirus seems to spread the most in a cool, moist, indoor environment.

It’s amazing that we found a hotel in July right on the beach in Madeira Beach for an affordable rate.

We will sit by the ocean and watch the waves. We will eat some spectacular seafood fresh from the Gulf and we will have a relaxing four-day weekend.  And all for what we might have spent on a weekend in Dallas or even Branson.

After our anniversary jaunt, we will turn our attention toward Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations.

We almost always stay in Tulsa for Thanksgiving. It’s very difficult to get a good flight somewhere that week and the flights will be very expensive.

And it’s kind of nice to be at home where we can feast on a wonderful turkey dinner, watch some football and enjoy watching our adult children play games on their cellphones. (I am being sarcastic about the cellphones.)

And the Campbells are in Tulsa now and it is nice to spend some holiday family time with them.

Christmas will be a different story. Every other year, we have taken our kids on an ocean cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines to the Caribbean. Twice, we have been on a ship for Christmas and it was a wonderful experience.

Things have changed.

The coronavirus struck the cruising industry and bad things happened.

Passengers were quarantined on ships. Ports would not let ships dock.

Stock prices plummeted.

Cruises were canceled for weeks, if not months.

So, I have a concern that it might not be wise to take a cruise this year – even though I really want to.

Carnival cruises are very affordable and our entire family enjoys them. It’s great to be together.

It could be a very expensive cruise this year because we now have two grandchildren, ages 2 and 10 months.  On Carnival, you pay full fare for children. And cruising really is designed for toddlers or babies.

I know what you’re thinking. Why not book a Disney cruise? Well, those cruises are about double of what we normally spend.

Timing could be a problem.

If Susan and I get stuck on a cruise ship for two extra weeks, we won’t put out a newspaper. That’s really bad for business.

If for some reason Allegiant couldn’t get us back to Tulsa in July, we could rent a car and be back in 24 hours. That would be a nightmare but workable.

So, we need to come up with a Plan B and maybe a Plan C.

One Christmas, we booked a condo in Branson and that was a lot of fun. But many of the shows and attractions in Branson are closed at Christmas and that limits the entertainment choices.

We could rent a place in Colorado but those are very expensive and weather could be a factor in getting there and getting back.

We could head back down to Florida. Our kids love Florida and we know our way around.

What I don’t want to do is stay in Tulsa for Christmas without any plans.  “Staycations” are tough when you have a home office. I am always tempted to work on the holidays and that misses the mark.

We will enjoy our July trip to Madeira Beach.

Maybe we will be on the ocean for Christmas and maybe not.