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Travel Sober

Turning Negatives into Positives

By Bob Kocher

Greetings everyone,

Right after I came into recovery, my sponsor was patiently listening to my whining about this and that.  When I finished, he said directly to me that I could turn any negative into a positive by staying sober or in Al Anon, or whatever program I found myself pursuing.  So let's look at how this also pertains to travel.   
 
Thank God for cooler heads and pertinent information about the Corona Virus not being the plague that people worried it might be.  For those of you who don't know, the virus is not as much of a threat as the flu that's out among us this year.  Carrying and using hand sanitizer and washing hands at every opportunity offers protection.  Another tip is to use EmergenC or Airborne daily while we wait for a vaccine to come out.  In the case of SARS and the Avian (Bird) flu, which were much more dangerous than Corona, the preventative vaccine became available just a few months after the first cases were reported.  CNN's Sanjay Gupta reported about this recently, which you can Google. 
 
So, what does this have to do with travel, you ask?  The answer is that travel deals are springing up all over the place for all types of vacations.  All of the airlines have been running special lowered fares for the last two weeks.  Cruises and all-inclusive resorts  are coming out with promotions right and left.  Now is the time to take advantage of the panic created when any health scare comes onto the radar.  The travel providers are just as nervous as we are and lower prices are the end result.  
 
If you are planning a trip, call us and let us help you with the best price and value added extras.  You will be surprised at what your buying power is at times like these.  Many cruises are now offering 3rd and 4th children, even adults free on many sailings; paying only the taxes.  This means more for less and we all know "More is Better" in moderation, of course.  
 
One more thing I learned this week. Beth and I are going to Florida in April during a heavy travel time.  I was searching feverishly for decent airfares with no success. Using Kayak.com (which I like) I accidentally clicked on a button to "Include Nearby Airports", when looking for departures out of San Jose.  I thought it would populate major airports, which it did, and it also offered Monterey, which I never would have thought of.  Low and behold, the fare to Miami was over $200.00 per person less and is closer for us to get to from the Central Coast of CA where we reside.  
 
We hope that all of you will embrace the upcoming season of new beginnings and make some plans for doing something fun.  And as Always, travel safe and TravelSober