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

Sort of.

We were both recovering from mild cases of the Chinese coronavirus. We had scheduled a long weekend trip to Florida to celebrate our anniversary but we had to cancel because of the pandemic. We then scheduled a short trip to Branson and we canceled that.

So, in September we finally managed a long weekend trip to the Gulf Coast of Florida.

I love Allegiant Airlines. We booked a very inexpensive flight on a Friday morning that got us into the Sanford/Orlando Airport before noon. The non-stop flight took only two hours. Sanford is much easier to get in and out of than MCO – Orlando’s big airport.

In July, we had booked flights on Allegiant into Tampa Bay but they weren’t flying to Tampa in September, so we went to Sanford.

We had to wear a mask on Allegiant and the only exception was when you were eating or drinking something. The plane looked like it was about half full of passengers, which was nice.

We wanted a hotel in Madeira Beach on the Gulf Coast near Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg but we couldn’t find one with a balcony with an ocean view. We did find one in Treasure Island, which is right next to Madeira Beach on the coast. The Bilmar Beach Resort is a large hotel that has been around for decades but has recently been remodeled.

It’s about two hours from Sanford to Treasure Island but I like driving in Florida because it is so scenic and so different than Oklahoma.

Our room had a view of the Gulf of Mexico but – unlike Madeira Beach – it was a long walk to the actual ocean. But that was fine. Susan likes to take long walks on the beach. It can be very soothing, especially after dealing with six months of a pandemic.

We had to wear a mask in the lobby of the hotel and in the hotel restaurant. The only drawback of the Bilmar was that they have more guest rooms than parking spaces. And there was a wedding at the hotel (actually on the beach next to the hotel) that weekend and we had trouble parking a couple of times. They have valet parking but we didn’t want to do that.

The first night, we ate at the Friendly Fisherman Restaurant on the boardwalk in Madeira Beach. We had to wait about 30 minutes because they are only using half of their dining room tables due to state restrictions because of the pandemic. We could have gotten dinner-to-go quicker but we didn’t want to do that.

I had the fried flounder and it was great. Maybe 20 years ago, we went to this same restaurant with our three kids and Susan’s parents, George and Martha Campbell. George took me, my two boys and his two sons on a deep sea fishing trip in the Gulf with the same company that owns the restaurant. They will clean the fish you catch and then serve it to you for lunch.We caught some gray snapper but not enough to make a meal. I ordered the fried flounder and it was great.

The second night, we ate at Crabby Bills in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. I had the coconut shrimp and it was very tasty. My only gripe with that restaurant was that the seating was in large picnic tables. I would rather sit in a booth or a chair. I didn’t want to do that.

We drove back to Orlando on Sunday and had dinner at the Tap Room in Orlando (actually in College Park). Susan’s Uncle Robert and Aunt Dee invited us to this historic restaurant where they occasionally perform as singers and musicians.

I had the fish and chips because I wanted to eat seafood in Florida. And it was some of the best fish and chips that I have ever had. Plus, they talked me into ordering a slice of key lime pie and that was delicious.

We went to John’s Pass near Treasure Island and did some souvenir shopping. It was hot and humid but we didn’t mind too much.

We didn’t do much sightseeing on this trip because it was more of a getaway. Our only agenda was to relax, have a good time and enjoy some fine Florida dining.

Mission accomplished.

The Florida Gulf Coast has really developed since we last visited there.

It was fun to sit on our balcony and watch the para-sailors and listen to the outdoor music on a Saturday night. People were really friendly. And our hotel seemed pretty full. Someone told us that people in Florida are sick of being cooped up and they are really to get outside and enjoy life again.

There were a lot of people on the beach but everyone kept a respectable distance. I didn’t go into the ocean. I didn’t want to do that.

We really like Florida and we will go back. Especially if Allegiant keeps having such good sales on airfare.