• My husband and I have been together for 13 years, but we never stopped taking solo trips.
• I travel alone at least two or three times a year, and it makes our relationship even stronger.
• Solo travel lets us explore our own interests, and also helps me appreciate my husband even more.

Earlier this year, I took a train to Oceanside, one of my favorite places in Southern California — but I did so without my husband.

This was one of the many solo trips I've taken since we got married six years ago. These days, I typically travel alone at least two or three times a year.

Don't get me wrong: I love being around my husband, and I always prefer to take trips with him whenever possible. However, solo travel has become an integral part of staying connected to myself.

For us, taking solo trips while married isn't about escaping each other. It's about investing in our individual growth — and, by extension, our relationship.

Here are a few ways it's made us stronger as a couple.

Time away gives us some much-needed space

Both my husband and I have worked from home for the majority of our marriage, meaning we're almost constantly together. We also live in a two-bedroom apartment, so there's limited space to retreat.

Going on regular solo trips allows us to break out of the familiarity (and occasional annoyances) of constant proximity.

As someone who has struggled with codependency in the past, creating space in our togetherness reinforces my sense of autonomy — which, ironically, makes me feel more present in our relationship, not less.

We have more to talk about once I'm back

Although my husband and I have been married for over six years, we've been together for 13 years, or a third of our lives.

We know practically everything about each other, and our conversations can often start to feel mundane as a result.

It's not that I don't enjoy those everyday chats about how cute our cat is (very cute), what to have for dinner (often chili), or what we want to watch on Netflix — but solo travel gives us new stories, perspectives, and sometimes even new interests to discuss.

Solo travel helps us enjoy our individual hobbies

My husband and I have a lot of shared interests, but we have individual passions, too. While I took up "grandma" hobbies like cross-stitching and gardening during the pandemic, he became obsessed with baseball.

A couple of years ago, my husband planned a solo trip where he went to a baseball game every day. Although we've gone to plenty of games together, going to that many would have been too much for me.

By taking his own trip, he didn't need to worry about whether I was getting antsy or not having a good time — he could fully immerse himself in the experience.

These types of trips let us both lean into what excites us individually, which makes talking about it later even more fun.

Recharging helps the way I show up in our relationship

As introverts, my husband and I both need alone time to feel refreshed.

Although we find ways to snag bits of quiet peace at home — a nap here, a meditation there — oftentimes, a change of scenery can give us both that much-needed sense of feeling recharged.

Traveling alone, especially when nature is involved, lets me take a breather and move at my own pace. I always find that I come back more present, patient, and open — all the things that help me show up as a better partner.

It makes me appreciate my partner and our marriage even more

Maybe it's my love of Jane Austen novels talking, but there is something to that classic idea that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

By the end of a solo trip, I always miss my husband intensely and can't wait to be back in his arms.

On a recent trip I took to Florida, we made sure to talk every day, sharing funny stories or just how we were feeling. Sometimes those conversations even veered off into flirty or sexy territory, which definitely helped build anticipation for when we were reunited.

Even more meaningful, though, is that the distance often helps me appreciate him in a deeper way. When I get back, all the little things I love — the way he makes me laugh, the comfort of his presence, even how he loads the dishwasher — are highlighted in a new way.

Ultimately, although it seems counterintuitive, traveling alone reminds me how lucky I am to have someone I can't wait to come home to.

• Din Tai Fung is keeping machines out of the kitchen for now.
• The chain's chiefs say making their iconic pork dumplings, with their precise 18 folds, is delicate work.
• A machine making them would mean "sacrificing heavily on the quality," CEO Aaron Yang told BI.

Din Tai Fung thinks robots aren't good enough to make their iconic pork soup dumplings.

The Taiwanese chain's North America CEO, Aaron Yang, said Din Tai Fung's xiao long baos, which are known for being pleated at the top with exactly 18 folds, are "very, very delicate." Yang, 33, leads the company alongside his brother, Albert Yang, 32.

And they make a lot of them — Din Tai Fung sells an average of 10,000 handmade xiao long baos every day at each of its North American outlets, the chain told BI. It has over 173 outlets in 13 countries, including the US, Canada, and the UK.

"The way we make the skins, they're paper thin yet strong enough to hold the soup inside," said Yang.

"We are just very uncompromising about quality," he said. "We've seen machines make soup dumplings, and you're definitely sacrificing heavily on the quality."

Yang said their compromise with automation in the kitchen was to deploy it in areas where "it doesn't affect quality," like having a little robot helping the staff run to deliver orders.

"In New York, our kitchen is pretty far away from the takeout area. So we actually have a little robot that runs back and forth delivering the finished takeout bags from the kitchen to the front," he said.

Before the robot was deployed, one person walked back and forth in the restaurant throughout the day.

The human touch

Din Tai Fung's take on automation is in line with that of other chains like Chipotle and Shake Shack, which have both largely kept machines out of the kitchen for the time being.

"We still believe the best way to Chipotle is down the line with a team member, highly customized, great variety, big, beautiful burritos and bowls down the line," Chipotle's CEO, Scott Boatwright, said on an episode of Yahoo Finance's "Opening Bid" podcast that aired in December.

Boatwright added that human interaction is "a core equity of the Chipotle brand."

Chipotle di, tap a robot called"Autocado" in July 2023 to cut, core, and peel avocados, reducing the amount of time needed for the task by half.

Shake Shack's CEO, Danny Meyer, said in a December episode of "Opening Bid" that he did not plan to increase automation in his chain.

"I think when it comes to making the product, there's something about the human touch, smashing that burger, seasoning the burger, flipping the burger, knowing exactly when it is time to come off, where not any two burgers at Shake Shack taste exactly the same," Meyer said.

Starbucks is taking a similar approach, leaving the crafting of drinks to their baristas but rolling out an AI tool that helps baristas remember drink recipes.

• Extreme flooding in Central Texas leaves at least 24 dead, and girls missing from a camp.
• The flooding hit Kerr County, Texas, causing widespread damage and multiple fatalities.
• Authorities urge residents to shelter in place and avoid travel near water bodies.

On what should have been a festive Fourth of July, disaster struck in Central Texas.

Extreme flooding left at least 24 dead in Kerr County, and between 23 to 25 children missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls camp along the Guadalupe River.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said at a press conference on Friday night that there were 24 confirmed fatalities in Kerr County resulting from the torrential rains that hit in the morning. One person was confirmed dead in Kendall County, but Sheriff Leitha said it was unclear if it was related.

It's unclear if the dead include any of the children from the camp.

As many as 12 inches of rain have fallen in the county over the course of the day, with additional rainfall anticipated this evening, local station ABC 7 reported Friday afternoon.

Kerr County and neighboring Kendall County remain under a Flash Flood Warning until Saturday.

As rain continues to fall, a desperate search is underway for those who may have been swept away by the floodwaters.

"There's still several people unaccounted for," Leitha added.

Camp Mystic, located in Hunt, Texas, has around 750 campers; at least 20 girls were unaccounted for on Friday afternoon, according to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

"That does not mean they've been lost," Patrick said on Friday afternoon at a press conference. "They could be in a tree. They could be out of communication. We're praying for all those missing to be found alive."

Patrick said during the afternoon press conference that the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes.

During the Friday night news conference, which was live-streamed on Facebook, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called upon God and the community.

"It needs God, but also needs a robust response by the state and local governments, and by people who live in these communities impacted," he said. "We had a meeting with officials at the state and local level, and there is extraordinary collaboration to make sure that we are going to address everybody's concern as quickly as we possibly can."

Camp Mystic welcomes girls once they've completed second grade. In the Guadalupe River camp group, girls can enroll in one of three sessions, each lasting either two or four weeks. The sessions run from May 30 to August 10, with dates divided across the summer.

On Facebook, parents and community members have circulated flyers with contact numbers, urging the public to help locate the missing children.

An 8-year-old from Dallas is among the missing. Her mother told WFAA News on Friday evening that she was traveling to reach the camp.

Kerr County has an estimated population of 53,900 in 2024, according to the US Census Bureau. The county sits in the Hill Country region of Central Texas, including cities like San Antonio and Austin. Beyond the Guadalupe River, the region is home to several others, including the Colorado, Concho, and Blanco Rivers.

The Kerr County Sheriff's Department said on Facebook that it was responding to a "catastrophic flooding event."

"Our Office is working with a wide variety of local and state agencies to respond to calls and rescues," the department wrote on Facebook.

"The entire county is an extremely active scene. Residents are encouraged to shelter in place and not attempt travel. Those near creeks, streams, and the Guadalupe River should immediately move to higher ground."

With the county focused on locating the missing, several local cities have canceled Independence Day events.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

• Lance Koster was ready for a career change and believed Texas was the best place to make it happen.
• In 2024, he and his family left Salt Lake City for a small Texas town, where he found nearby work.
• While the Kosters admit they miss living in Utah, they say they're happier than ever in Texas.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lance Koster, a 61-year-old Pilot instructor, and his wife, Michelle, who moved to Justin, Texas, in 2024.

Justin is a small town about 40 minutes north of Fort Worth. According to recent Census data, its population is 6,197.

The essay has been edited for length and clarity.

Lance: In my career as a pilot, my family and I moved around the country a lot. In 2010, we ended up in Salt Lake City and lived there for 14 years.

We loved Salt Lake City. Its landscape was amazing, especially the mountains. We were always skiing, biking, or camping. And while we didn't have much family there, we made a lot of friends.

However, we needed to make a change. The job was getting a little difficult, and my traveling was starting to increase. I was spending a lot of time away from home.

My wife and I are getting a little older, and I was ready to slow down — I wanted to be home at night and not on the road. I thought it was best to take a position training up-and-coming pilots, which would give me a more stable schedule.

Throughout my career, when I was training, my family and I spent some time in Texas. There are a couple of large jet training facilities in the state, so I knew there would be opportunities for me to become a pilot instructor.

My family and I have also always been intrigued by Texas. Every time we've visited, it's been a pleasant experience. When it was finally time for us to make a change, it was the most logical destination.

We moved to a small North Texas town

Lance: In June 2024, I got a job as a pilot instructor at a company located at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. In September, we bought a home in Justin, just north of Fort Worth.

It's a small town, but it's growing quickly.

A lot of the people who live in Justin have lived and worked here their whole lives, so it's actually a little uncomfortable for them that it's growing at such a rapid pace. Still, we've had nothing but pleasant experiences.

Our home in Justin is 3,500 square feet and has five bedrooms and three bathrooms — enough space for my wife, me, and our two teenage sons. We live in a new neighborhood developed by homebuilder KB Homes.

We really like our neighborhood. It has both larger and smaller homes, which was perfect for us.

My wife's mother was living with us in Salt Lake City, and when we moved to Texas, we wanted to find a home with a mother-in-law suite, but we weren't having much luck.

So, we decided to buy a larger home that would fit the four of us, and a smaller home for my mother-in-law, also in the same neighborhood. She now lives about a quarter mile from us and is fully independent.

There are pros and cons to living in Texas

Lance: Salt Lake Valley, where Salt Lake City sits, has a population of almost 2 million people, so even though we lived in a suburban area, it still felt pretty busy. Life is a lot slower in Justin.

The town has a little downtown, with a small grocery store and a couple of restaurants. We have to drive about 15 or 20 minutes toward Fort Worth to do most of our shopping at places like Costco or Walmart.

Our younger son likes living in Justin. He works at the grocery store, which is about half a mile from our house. However, it's taken our older son a little more time to adjust.

The biggest change we've noticed since moving is the culture — it's a lot different. Justin is a lot more diverse. Utah has a large Mormon population, and when you're not part of that, it doesn't always feel like you're included.

The weather is a lot different in Texas, too. Salt Lake City was a lot cooler, and while it does get warm in the Summer, it's nowhere close to how hot it gets in Justin.

We started building a pool in December and finished it a couple of months ago, so we have our own little oasis in the backyard to beat the heat.

Michelle: Another big difference in Texas is that you do not have to pay income tax. But the property taxes are high. Our house in Salt Lake City was 1,000 square feet larger than our home in Justin, but our property taxes here are three times the amount.

Everything here is also so spread out compared to what we were used to. We lived at the south end of the Salt Lake Valley and it would take us 25 minutes to get downtown. If we go to Dallas from Justin — almost 40 miles away — it can take us anywhere from an hour to two.

We're happier than ever

Michelle: We do miss our friends in Salt Lake City — we made some very good, lifelong friends — but we don't plan on moving back. They all come out to visit us, and we see them when we go back.

Our son misses the mountains in Utah, especially in the south. We had really nice views everywhere, and based on the mountains, you could always tell if you were facing north, south, east, or west. Everything about it was beautiful.

That said, we've accepted our new home, and the locals have accepted us, too. We've already started making friends. We've even hosted parties at our house on cool nights, and it's been great.

It's hard for us to quantify, but we all agree, we enjoy it here more.

• I stick to a $200 weekly grocery budget to feed a family of five.
• I use store apps to clip digital coupons, watch for sales, and plan our meals.
• By keeping a list and buying in bulk when it makes sense, I waste less and save more.

For me, grocery shopping is more of a game of strategy than a chore.

With a family of four, plus one more when my oldest daughter comes home on weekends, I stick to a weekly food budget of $200. There's a little wiggle room, but definitely nothing over $250. If something doesn't fit into this week's budget, it simply gets bumped to next week's list.

That kind of discipline helps me stay in control and avoid unnecessary stress. These days, prices are high, so I've had to get smarter about how and where I spend my money.

I always monitor weekly sales, clip digital coupons, and plan meals ahead of time. I've started treating grocery shopping like some follow the stock market: I look for patterns in sales, plan my moves, and try not to let emotion lead the way.

Tracking coupons for different stores helps

I have memberships at both BJ's and Sam's Club, but my mom and I split the cost to make it more affordable. They each have their place in my routine.

BJ's is great for finding digital coupons. Their app tracks what you buy most often and offers coupons on those items. That saves time and money. Before each trip, I go through the app and load the deals I need right into my account.

Sam's Club is where I grab all my paper goods like toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissue. Their store brand has become a staple in our household. I've tried switching it up for cheaper options before, but the quality is solid and worth the price.

Aldi will always be my spot for produce. I don't need bulk amounts of fruits and veggies, so I shop there for just what we need: celery, lettuce, tomatoes, and fruits. Their prices are reasonable, the quality is consistent, and because I'm buying smaller quantities, I don't end up tossing spoiled food later in the week.

Planning meals ahead of time helps me avoid waste

Every week, I ask my family what they want to eat. That keeps everyone happy and gives me a clear direction when I sit down to plan meals. I always cook enough to have leftovers, which helps for the next day's dinner and cuts down on extra cooking.

I also buy extra of things we use a lot, especially when they're marked down. If chicken thighs are on sale, I'll grab a few packs and freeze them.

But I don't believe in hoarding. I've learned that if you buy too much of something just because it's cheap, you can end up tossing it later. Plus, I can't stand clutter. I aim for a healthy middle ground: enough stored to be prepared but not so much that it turns into waste. There's real value in being stocked, not stuffed.

Lists keep me focused and help me avoid spending extra

I never shop without a list. Before each trip, I go through what we have, check what's on sale, and write down exactly what we need. That list is what keeps me from grabbing extras that weren't in the plan.

And I don't play about being in a store too long. I actually map out my route in the grocery store in advance based on what's on my list. If I don't need paper goods, I'm not walking through that aisle. There's no point in wandering just to "see what's there." That's how people blow their budget.

I move through the store with intention and purpose. Aimlessly browsing aisles might work for people with no budget, but I've got a household to feed, and every dollar matters.

This routine helps our budget and meals go further

This shopping method has helped me stretch our budget without sacrificing the kinds of meals we enjoy. I'm not just saving money, but I'm also being more intentional about how I feed my family.

The best part is, we all have a say. Asking my family what they want to eat takes some of the stress off me and helps avoid wasting food no one asked for. It's also easier on the budget when I'm not guessing.

We keep a shared shopping list so everyone can add what we're running low on. It turns grocery planning into more of a team effort, and it's made us more intentional about where our food budget goes.

President Trump on Friday signed his signature tax and spending legislation, the "big beautiful bill," into law, meeting a July 4 deadline that at times appeared out of reach.

Why it matters: It's a huge achievement for Trump and congressional Republicans that will reshape federal fiscal policy for years to come. The megabill cuts funding for social safety measures, extends tax cuts —primarily for the wealthy — and finances Trump's immigration agenda.

Driving the news: Trump signed the measure as part of a highly staged White House Independence Day celebration featuring a bomber jet flyover and the annual fireworks on the National Mall.

What they're saying: Trump called the bill "the greatest victory yet" while addressing a crowd at the White House in a speech saying his administration has kept its promises.

• "This is the single most popular bill ever signed," he said despite polls showing it's deeply unpopular.
• He also praised the Iran mission and "unmatched" military, which he talked about rebuilding and modernizing.

Catch up quick: The House narrowly cleared the bill for Trump's signature Thursday after it passed the Senate two days earlier.

• Both moderate and conservative House Republicans called for adjustments to the bill after the Senate made changes, but none were made before the final vote.

State of play: The legislation slashes food and health benefits for the poorest Americans, which could lead to overcrowded emergency rooms, an increase in chronic health care issues, more medical debt and ballooning hunger.

• Meanwhile, it boosts funding for immigration enforcement, allowing the administration to approximately double immigrant detention capacity and hire significantly more enforcement personnel.

Behind the scenes: Polling from throughout June showed that Americans largely disapprove of the megabill.

• Ahead of midterm elections, Republicans plan to message their legislative victory by branding Democrats' opposition as voting to raise taxes on small businesses and American families.
• Democrats have their own campaign planned based around their opposition to the bill, which they're planning to make a centerpiece of their strategy for taking back the House in 2026.

Go deeper:

• Where SNAP cuts in Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" could hit Americans hardest
• How the GOP spending bill will fund immigration enforcement
• "Big, beautiful bill" pushes millions of people away from social safety net