Yesterday was a day long-awaited. Tom was born in Buffalo and loves the food he grew up enjoying—wings, pizza and beef on a weck. I have come to love it too, and even cook his favorites for him.

He discovered a restaurant in Lakeland, FL, The 716 Pizza Joint, he wanted to try. It also helps that they have everything Buffalo Bill memorabilia, Tom is a huge fan! Even though they lost terribly on Monday night, we made plans to make the one hour drive to try it.

While the food was good, it wasn’t what we expected. Isn’t that the way it is with expectations? Tom has thought of going here for months, and when we finally did there was a let down.

But that didn’t ruin the day. On the way home we decided to take back roads and enjoy seeing the beauty of old Florida, how it looked when I was growing up.

We saw so much farm land and cattle ranches. Homesteaders who are raising goats and chickens. There were bee hives and orange groves too. I loved the drive as much as our lunch.

One day road trips are a great way to connect.

While driving Tom asked me to read the questions from Monday’s post. It was a good opportunity to have a conversation about us—how we are each doing and where we can improve.

We ended the drive checking out the only vineyard we have in Central Florida, Lakeridge Winery. It was the perfect way to finish our day trip, sitting under the shade of huge oak tree, overlooking the vineyard and sipping on Sauvignon Blanc.

We are best friends and when life gets busy, one day road trips pull us away long enough to reconnect.

We have decided to continue making these adventures a regular part of our retired life. You would think we have all the time in the world to do this, but we find that we are busier now than ever. The best thing is—we are doing what we love together. and this had made all the difference.

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Now that the weather isn’t scorching hot, we love having time together outside. How are you making the most of this fall weather together?

Blessings,

Tom and Debi ❤️❤️