Having returned to Connecticut from Florida a day earlier, I went for a morning walk at Fort Trumbull last week, enjoying the spectacular view of New London Harbor, and reflecting on this and everything else - besides loved ones, of course - that I've missed about this locale during the past eight months.

The novelty of Florida hasn't completely worn off 2 1/2 years into retirement, and I do prefer the winter warmth and sunshine there while Connecticut folks are shoveling snow and scraping ice from their windshields. The highways there are smooth and wide with well-groomed medians. They are seldom choked by the frequent congestion one encounters on Connecticut's worst-in-the-nation roads and bridges. There's no income tax in Florida, and there are hundreds and hundreds of miles of beautiful beaches that are open year-round to the public and have ample, free parking.

For these and many other reasons, Florida is the fastest growing state in the nation, with many northerners not even waiting until retirement to move there. You can't drive past most cities without seeing construction cranes at work on new housing, corporate, and commercial complexes.

But the pizza there isn't as good as it is here in Connecticut. In fact, try as they might, nothing even comes close to Waterford's Supreme Pizza or Crown Pizza, or New London's Recovery Room. In fact, Frank Pepe's Pizzeria in New Haven, often listed among the very best in the country, opened one restaurant outside of Fort Lauderdale in 2022 and is opening another in Delray Beach, Fla. this year. Given the dearth of quality pizza in the state, Pepe's will do very well there.

The Italian restaurants there can't touch those in southeastern Connecticut, either. During those Florida months, I yearn for the bolognese at Tony D's, chicken parmesan at On The Waterfront, or the spaghetti and meatballs at Buon Appetito or Andiamo.

There are golf courses everywhere in Florida, but none boast the warm comradery at Great Neck Country Club. If you're looking in Florida for lush fairways and slick greens like those at GNCC, you can expect to pay a large initiation fee and annual dues that are much higher than what golfers pay here. And you won't find a Butch Langley or his sister, Beverly, anywhere down there to welcome you as they do at Langley's.

I'm anxious to stop in at Filomena's to visit with the inimitable Mike Buscetto and listen to his spicy back-and-forth with fellow entrepreneur Scott Gladstone, whom I will gladly treat to a club soda. And now that the weather here has finally warmed, there's live music outside to enjoy with cocktails and dinner. Patrons even get up and dance. What fun!

Radio options in Florida can't compare with my local favorites in Connecticut. As a lover of classic rock, I miss WNLC- FM, especially its double-shot weekends that feature everything from Aerosmith and Pink Floyd to Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains. The Florida rock station in our area features interminable stretches of advertising and mindless blather. As for talk radio, there's no one there who compares to the great Lee Elci on WJJF. His is the highest rated local radio program here, but in conservative Florida, Elci would rule the entire state and could probably get elected governor in the next cycle.

Among other things high on the to-do list here is a visit to the newly refurbished Slater Museum at Norwich Free Academy. As an NFA alumnus (Class of '72), I got a sneak preview this spring of the renovated museum from Dayne Rugh, the brilliant young director who has transformed Slater from its former dank self to a bright and open showpiece that hasn't betrayed its historic roots. If you haven't been there since the re-opening, do yourself a favor and go.

And, finally, there's nothing like The Day in south Florida. Like it or not, you read The Day, probably every day. Like them or not, you read David Collins, Mike DiMauro and Rick Koster, and you won't find their likes in the Sunshine State, either.

I'm always disappointed when readers - upset with our left-leaning local newspaper - say they're going to cancel their subscription. Sure, you can do it, but you'll be sorry, realizing soon enough that you're only depriving yourself.

As a conservative, I gnash my teeth when I see liberal editorials and the work of The Day's favorite political cartoonist, Mike Luckovich, who should be on retainer for the Democratic National Committee. But they provoke strong sentiment, which is part of what they're supposed to do on editorial pages throughout the country.

Without The Day, where else do you find obituaries, birth notices, police logs (albeit days or even more than a week late), local weddings, engagements and anniversaries, meeting notices, real estate ads, high school sports, zoning disputes, and other local news? You don't. No, it's not the same paper it once was; few papers are anymore, what with social media, less advertising revenue, smaller news holes, and thus, smaller newsroom staffs.

Yes, the grass is greener in many ways in Florida - literally and otherwise. However, there's still lots to like about Connecticut. The land of steady habits offers any number of creature comforts that bear out what Dorothy lamented years ago in The Wizard of Oz - "There's no place like home."