Now officially in effect, U.S. citizens are banned from traveling to the avidly anti-American nation. Current U.S. travel passports are now invalid there, with few exceptions.

Certified journalists and some charitable organizations, such as the Red Cross, may still have permission to visit the country. There have been recent incidents, particularly the jailing and mistreatment of the American college student. The cruel act of sending him home to die should be warning enough for any sane senior traveler.

Fortunately for Florida, Hurricane Harvey decided to do its damage mostly in Texas. Tampa has been lucky, and so you will be when you dine there. Here are three favorite restaurants in that senior-friendly town:

Bern's Steak House: For more than a half-century, this upscale eatery (1208 S. Howard Ave.) has been a great favorite of locals and visitors in the city's upscale SoHo district. The setting is palatial, and the exotic menu offers a culinary investment in the best steaks in town.

Bern's has won many honors, including a very high compliment from TV chef Rachel Ray. She called it the best steak restaurant in America. A favorite is the traditional porterhouse, served with side dishes of asparagus, caramelized red onions and a twice-baked potato.

A Honolulu court ruled that was the amount of money the airline lost because of the guy’s allegedly drunken tirade. The scheduled non-stop flight from Hawaii to New York City was cancelled after he became violent and threatened other passengers.

So, senior flyers, let that be a lesson to you. Play it cool next time you have to pay an extra $50 to check your bag and another $100 in hidden taxes not mentioned in the advertised ticket price. Don’t go ranting and raving up and down the aisles.

Calmly pay that extra $500 to be upgraded from your cramped economy seat to almost comfy premium economy. And just sit there quietly while you drink the airline’s $10 soda while munching on the $50 sandwich.

Contributing editor JLMcC, Vancouver BC, Canada: The current news isn’t good. A favorite family destination has been labeled Mexico’s murder capital. Despite the recent news of gang violence, never on our frequent visits have we ever seen any crimes. We always felt safe to walk the streets, markets and beaches day and night.

Since I retired, we spend a week almost every late autumn in Acapulco. As Canadian tourists we’ve always been treated with kindness and cooperation, including the cabbies. We book one favorite, José, for an entire day or two at a very reasonable rate, and he takes us everywhere.

We enjoy La Quebrada, the high cliff divers, Majahua Beach, the Botanical Gardens, La Roqueta Island snorkeling, fishing boats and much more.The shopping is fun, beaches outstanding and the cafés delicious. In our opinion,

You can have overpriced Malibu, Miami Beach and San Francisco. Acapulco gets our vote as a friendly place for average, middle class North Americans to afford a tropical vacation at any time of year for reasonable prices.