44 Years, One Adventurous Love

Forty-four years of marriage doesn’t come from one grand gesture. It comes from a thousand small choices that keep two people close, curious, and willing to say yes to the next adventure. I’m Dan, and I’m sharing a personal anniversary story about Linda, the woman I didn’t just fall in love with, but learned to travel through life with, from college days to right now.

I share about the moment everything changed, including the not-so-traditional proposal that started with a phone call from New York City and ended with us getting married just over two months later. I take you back to our shoestring wedding on her parents’ farm, built with community, borrowed resources, and a whole lot of heart: a handmade dress, home-baked cake, chairs borrowed from a funeral home, and even a generator from the fire department. If you love real-life love stories, simple wedding ideas, or practical relationship lessons, you’ll hear how the “perfect” day isn’t about polish, it’s about meaning.

From there, the story turns into the day-to-day practices that help a long marriage last. I share how Linda keeps us connected through daily “good morning” texts, notes of encouragement, and a steady push to try new things. I also explain a simple communication tool we still use when we disagree: asking, on a scale of one to ten, how much something matters. It’s one of the clearest pieces of marriage advice I’ve ever received, and it keeps our shared life moving forward without resentment.

If this resonates, subscribe to Dan the Road Trip Guy, share it with someone you care about, and leave a review so more listeners can find these stories. What’s one small habit that has strengthened your relationships over time?

Transcript

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Welcome And What We Do

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Dan the Road Trip Guy. I'm your host Dan, and each week we'll embark on a new adventure, discovering memory and life lessons of our incredible guests. From everyday travelers to thrill seekers and everyone in between, this podcast is your front row seat to inspiring stories of passion, resilience, and the pursuit of happiness. So buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Falling For Linda’s Adventure

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Who knew when I fell in love with Linda that I was marrying a woman who had an adventurous heart? I was actually supposed to record this on August 7th, but we were off on one of her adventures. August 7th, 2026 marked 44 years of marriage to Linda. 44, a number that seems to follow us around in life. Sometimes it shows up as simply 44, and sometimes it shows up as 444. And every time it does, it feels like a little wink from above. So maybe this year really is a bit special.

Best Friends To Married Fast

SPEAKER_00 1:06

You've heard the story of how I met Linda if you listened to episode 51 from back in March of 2024. What I do want to revisit is how the two best friends ended up here 44 years later. For me, I've always said that going from friendship to dating to marriage just felt like one continuous moment. And honestly, that's exactly what it was. We didn't have a traditional engagement. We simply moved from friendship to dating to marriage. And we are still the best of friends. We complement each other, which I believe makes each one of us better. I have always had a thing for remembering dates, especially the significant ones. June 7th, 1981, our first kiss. That moment shifted us from best friends to something deeper and something lasting. People often ask me, how did you propose to Linda? Well, it's not your typical story. We dated our junior year of college. Her roommate was rarely around, so we spent a lot of time together. We both worked part-time in Lexington, commuting from campus in Richmond. Life was simple and we were happy. In May of 1982, Linda left for New York City for an internship. I stayed behind, living with my brother and working in Lexington. While she's away, she learned her roommate wouldn't be returning to campus. So one day she called me from New York and said, if we don't get married, I'm not going back to college. Well, that's all this guy needed to hear. I said, Okay, sounds like a plan to me. And just over two months later, we were married. We

The Shoestring Farm Wedding

SPEAKER_00 2:46

might call it a wedding on a shoestring. We got married on her parents' farm. We spent the entire summer working in Lexington. Then we went home a week before the wedding to clean up the pasture, fence off the cows, and prepare the beautiful tree we would stand under. We didn't have money for a fancy wedding, not for anything extravagant, but we had heart. And on that day, that shoestring wedding that we pulled together has held this marriage together for 44 years. Her neighbor made her dress. I did rent some tuxedos in Somerset. Local ladies baked the cake. We borrowed the chairs from the funeral home. The fire department loaned us a generator for an electric guitar we didn't plan on. We rented an arch from a store in Burnside, Kentucky. My brother took the photos on film. It wasn't fancy, it wasn't polished, but it was ours, and it felt perfect.

Honeymoon Surprises And First Home

SPEAKER_00 3:40

For our honeymoon, we headed to the beach. Linda and her sister had stayed at what I would call was kind of like a Route 66 style motel, but when we arrived it had been remodeled into a Hilton, and the price tag matched. Not exactly what we planned, but we made it work. Her aunt Linda and her uncle Rusty gifted us a week at their condo in Reddington Shores, Florida. You would think in August, in Florida, it would be warm. But that week it turned cold. Too cold to even get in the pool. But again, we made the best of it. We had signed up for our first home, Married Housing, at Eastern Kentucky University. 715 Brockton, I'm pretty sure was the address. It was a cozy little one bedroom cinder block apartment, and it was perfect. We filled it with a borrowed table from a friend at home who had a restaurant. We had a love seat that her mom and dad gave us, and we had a lot of plastic, and my parents, they had bought us our first bed.

Daily Habits That Keep Love Close

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Life with Linda has been an adventure. I said that from the get-go. I can't imagine a day without her. We've been apart for my travels, her travels, even the time she was stuck in Haiti after the earthquake. But she's never out of my mind. Every morning for years I've gotten a text from her. Good morning, with an exclamation point, and I reply the same. Sometimes she'll add an encouragement or a verse from her daily Bible reading. Sometimes I find a note on my bathroom mirror. Not a to-do list, but of but a you've got this note. She pushes us to try new things I wouldn't try. She gets me to taste foods I thought I didn't like, and I usually end up liking them. Clean t-shirts magically appear in my drawer, thanks to the magic genie I suppose I married. Years ago, our mentors taught us something we still use. If one of us wants to do something, the other is hesitant, we ask, on a scale of one to ten, how much do you want to do this? If the answer is above five, we say, okay, let's do

The One-To-Ten Decision Rule

SPEAKER_00 5:42

it. People often ask the secret to a long marriage. There is no real secret, but there is one thing that stands out to us. We have found things in common to do, and we've kept doing them. If you're married, find something you both love. It does matter. So here we are at year 44. I look forward to many more. Well, that sort of rhymes, doesn't it? I don't know if we'll see 88, but hey, it's a goal. And I like to say, Linda, I love you more today than I did yesterday, but less than I will tomorrow. Happy anniversary.

Anniversary Message And How To Reach Me

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Thank you for tuning in to Dan the Road Trip Guy. I hope you enjoyed our journey today and the stories that were shared. If you have any thoughts or questions or stories of your own, I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out to me anytime. Don't forget to share this podcast with your friends and family and help us to spread the joy of road trips and great conversations. Until next time, keep driving, keep exploring, and keep having those amazing conversations. Safe travels. And remember, you can find me on the internet at dantheroadripguy.com.