Living on a Military Base

So here we are in Corpus Christi, TX and we are living on the base! Our initial plan was to find something nearby, on Padre Island; however, the base housing is actually only one block from the water and much larger than what was available on the island. Plus, there is that added bonus of having gates guarded by guys with M4s as well. ;) We did not know quite what to expect moving on base. My preconceptions were a mix of the idyllic portrayal of living on base from what I have seen on the Lifetime series "Army Wives," with their gigantic, amazing houses, tons of military social events, and wonderful friendships. On the other hand, their is a real life stigma of living on base with catty women, and petty drama. However, after talking to a few of my fellow Marine wives from Virginia, who had sinced moved on to their permanent duty stations months previous and chose to live on base, I heard nothing but positive things, and great experiences. So I was hoping for Lifetime version of base living!

NAS Corpus Christi is definitely not the prettiest or the largest of bases; however, our experience living on base has been nothing but positive so far! We have a cute 3 bedroom house, complete with a white picket fence. Jordan is enjoying having a 2 minute commute to work, literally door to door, and being able to come home for lunch every day. I have spent my first few weeks here setting up our house and trying my hand at gardening in our front yard. In that time, there have been some very surreal moments, where it feels as though we are living such a cliche military, all-American life. For example, hearing revellie (or the National Anthem in this case, as it is on Naval bases) at the start and end of every day. Upon hearing it over the speakers throughout base, you are supposed to stop whatever you are doing (including driving by pulling over to the side of the road) and face a flag for the duration. It can sometimes be hard to hear when you are driving in your car listening to loud music; however, you quickly realize whats going on when you see all the other cars on the road pulled over and you are the only one driving! Whoops! Perhaps we should also train Gunnar to stop and sit everytime he hears it as well! Another surreal moment hit me last week. I was gardening in the front yard when the Military Police drove through the neighborhood on their daily patrol; they smiled, waved, and kept on driving their route. It's weird that a simple moment like that would really hit me. However, at that moment I took a second to just reflect on where our life had taken us in such a short amount of time. Although it seems that our life has drastically changed in the last year from the outside, for us, it seems as if we have transitioned into this military life very gradually. It is still shocking when you have that moment, where you can see yourself and your life from the outside looking in, and really appreciate how much everything has changed in such a short amount of time, but at the same time, how normal everything feels. Each day, all these new military customs and the whole lifestyle become even more normal than the day before, so it has been so fun to document our first experiences and reactions to the military life, as one day we will have these memories to look back on.

As I said previously, we are living only one block from the ocean! The block right on the water is the historic row of officer houses from the early days of NAS Corpus Christi. Unfortunately, it looks like time and weather has taken a toll on most of them, and while some were renovated and are still occupied, others are going to be torn down over the next couple of years. It's such a neat picture of history though walking through that neighborhood, even as it still stands now. The houses are straight out of the WWII era, and I can picture the wives hanging their laundry on the clothes lines in the backyard (which are still standing), while the kids ran around the yard, and old war planes flew overhead. Nestled among these smaller '40s-'50s style one stories, is a very large, gorgeous white plantation home; it's the type of amazing home you see pictured on Army Wives for General Holden and Claudia Joy (If you haven't watched Army Wives-guess you better start!). So while these grand homes portrayed on TV do in fact exist on real Military bases, they are reserved for the highest of officers. The occupant of this house is a Rear Admiral of the U.S. Navy and the current Chief of [ALL] Naval Air Traning, or the CNATRA (prounced Sinatra, as in Frank Sinatra).  This is the guy who is in charge of the ENTIRE Naval Air Training command, and he lives just one block over from us! I was teasing Jordan that I was thinking about getting shirts made, each with a different saying that I could wear as I jogged by his house everyday. My plan was to smile and wave as I ran with Gunnar around neighborhood, with sayings on my shirts such as: "Lippincott for 1st Lieutenant," or, as he got further in his training, and closer to selecting his flight platform : "Lippincott for (JETS/HELICOPTERS)!" Well, while out running the other day, wouldn't you know it but, Gunnar decieded to use the bathroom right in front of the CNATRAs property! As Gunnar stopped to sniff, I could forsee what was about to happen-right in the beautiful planter of the SOLE person who is charge of ALL OF AVIATION for the entire Navy and Marine Corps, so I frantically started tugging his leash with all my might,! " Come ON, Gunnar! NOT YET! Come. on. just. a. little. bit. furtherrrrrrrr!!!" Well, don't let his size fool you-he is a strong pup, and  he decided to pull back equally as hard. And with the leash and collar scrunching up over his poor little head against my pull, he proceeded to squat....right there in front of Ol' Blue Eyes' beautiful plantation home. THANK GOODNESS, I was only teasing about those shirts, and wasn't actually wearing one...otherwise it would have been "LIPPINCOTT FOR REVIEW BOARDS."

The CNTRAs house

Memories of The Sunshine State

It seems every time we move, we realize just how much we truly enjoyed the last place we lived, and how we wish we would have found just a bit more time in our everyday life to relish in our time there. Why is it that its so hard to appreciate what you have right in front of you? Only to realize what you had once it's gone! I started off with intentions of writing a new post to share with you all about our new life here in Texas, but for some reason I kept finding myself going back to our time in Florida! I don't think my brain is quite ready to let go of all these great memories just yet, perhaps in fear that if they are not properly documented, they will sadly, one day, be forgotten. So before we can close this last chapter and move on to the next in Texas, let me just recount all the reasons why we fell in love with Pensacola...


Upon first moving from Virginia, I don't think Jordan and I expected to enjoy Pensacola just as much as we did. We were initially very much consumed by missing our life from Quantico (well except for that whole TBS training part of course). We had loved all the amazing history and culture of Washington D.C. and Virginia, as well as all the amenities that came with living in the suburbs so near a big metropolitan area; we found it was hard not compare the two places. At first glance we could tell that Pensacola did in fact live up to its beautiful reputation, but we had no idea just how much fun the spirit of the city would be as well! Once we got over our homesickness for our last location, we stopped comparing the two places, and began to embrace Florida for everything it had to offer.  Florida is now filled with memories of the breathtaking white sand beaches, and the amazing atmosphere of Pensacola beach, with its great restaurants and live music and decks that overlooked the sand and the sea. We will miss the proximity to, and the support of, great military friends and of course the wonderful dinners, filled with lots of laughter, that we spent with my Aunt Ninalynn and Uncle Randy.

Clockwise: View of Pensacola Beach from the deck of Hemingway's Island Grill,  taking our Christmas card photo at Pensacola Beach,  listening to live music and dining at the Paradise Inn, view of the harbor from The Fish House Deck Bar 

We quickly found out that Pensacola had it's own unique, rich history as well. Pensacola is said to be the America's 1st Settlement; however, it changed hands numerous times over the years and for that reason it is also known as the City of Five Flags. The timeline of its history and various cultural influences is evident in the beautiful mix of architecture and historical buildings in the downtown area and historic village nearby. Nestled within the houses, shops and cafes of the historic village, is a beautiful park, where we enjoyed visiting a number of events, including BBQ cook offs and art fairs. For me, nothing better captures the essence of the area like these festivals, where present day life flourishes and celebrates in the traditions and history of the unique area. Another fun example of the festive spirit of Pensacola is the annual St. Patrick's Day 5k run downtown, which we were able to experience right before we left. Participants got dressed from head to toe in very creative and festive green outfits, and proceeded to run/walk/jog/dance a 5k race. You've never seen so many green tutus or kilts in your life! Pensacola, with its southern hospitality and fun-loving people, was such a unique town to experience. And of course, you can't mention Pensacola without mentioning the famous Pensacola Pelicans that are scattered around the city, each one painted uniquely. In downtown, they even have 1 pelican for each branch of the military, including the coast guard pelican, complete with an orange life vest!

Clockwise: Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard (with his life vest) Pelicans at Palafox St. downtown,  the Marines with their USMC Pelican downtown, another colorful pelican in the historic village, gorgeous homes near the historic village, the New Orleans-esque downtown architecture

There was so much to do and see in Florida, and we tried to pack our last weeks there as full as possible. Fort Pickens was one of our favorite places to see. It is one of a few forts in the area that was built to secure and defend Pensacola Bay; however, of all the forts, it is probably the most famous. It was constructed after the War of 1812, has housed Apache prisoners, including most famously Geronimo, and was used or occupied in a number of other wars including the Civil War, WWI, and WWII. For this reason, the fort has been continuously modified over the years, and now houses an industrial fortress, built to meet the growing needs of the modern wars, within the original pentagonal 1800s brick structure. Just across Pensacola Bay from Fort Pickens is another notable historical landmark, the Pensacola Lighthouse. We enjoyed climbing to the top Pensacola lighthouse and taking in absolutely breathtaking view from the top. While I enjoyed the panoramic views of the shoreline, Jordan of course was watching the view of hornets take off at the runways down below on base...

Pensacola Lighthouse

Fort Pickens

We are also missing the beautiful architecture and history of the Naval Air Station as well. All bases are definitely not created equal, and NAS Pensacola is by far the most beautiful military base that we have seen yet. Just like the surrounding city, the base itself has a beautiful mix of historical buildings from different eras. Adding to its unique beauty is that it sits right on scenic Pensacola Bay. However, arguably the most beautiful view of all (according to Jordan), would be the sight of the Blue Angels flying overhead almost daily, as they practiced in preparation for their national air show tour.

Clockwise: Jordan outside the API building at NAS Pensacola, the maingate entrance to NAS Pensacola,  beautiful architectural example of the buildings on base,  Jordan enjoying the beautiful view of Pensacola Bay from base, inside the National Museum of Naval Aviation

Although we were initially dissapointed to live in Milton, a 20 minute drive away from Pensacola and all these great historical and cultural sites of the main city and the base, we loved our wonderful neighborhood, friendly neighbors, and our backyard view of our small lake. We even miss a few things that came along with living in the country: the RED dirt roads, that finally gave meaning to that Brooks and Dunn country song for us, and of course Jordan's favorite neighborhood restaurant, the Red Barn BBQ! And of all the great memories we made and now have of the area, one of our favorite parts of our time living in Florida, was simply just making that 20 minute drive home, across the I-10 bridge, from Pensacola to Milton. The view crossing the bridge over Escambia Bay never got old, and each time we made that drive, we found ourselves awe-struck by the surrounding beauty of the bay, and the sight of Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach in the distance, and completely overwhelmed by gratitude for being able to live the life that we do right now, which allows us to see and experience all these hidden gems across our great country. 

Clockwise: Taking Gunnar for a walk along Garcon Point and the Escambia Bay, Gunnar enjoying our backyard lake, one of many beautiful sunsets from our back porch overlooking the lake, our neighborhood at Christmas, the inside of our home in Florida (including the kitchen backsplash that we did ourselves!)

So now you see why I wasn't able to move on to our present life here in Texas, as there were still so many great memories and experiences that had been left un-shared. Although we had hoped to spend much more time in Florida, we are so thankful to have had the opportunity to experience it for the time that we did. And while I should have learned my lesson about comparing two completely different locations and instead just embracing each new duty-station for the unique culture and history each brings, I am currently finding myself struggling with that same homesickness phase again, this time for Florida. I think I was hoping there would be some kind of instinctual learning curve for emotionally dealing with these moves, and who knows, maybe there is! And although emotions and logic don't seem to work hand-in-hand as often as we would like, I am willing myself to quickly move on to embrace our new life here in Corpus Christi, TX. Plus, I think if I tell Jordan one more time that "I missssssss Florida," as I have done every single day since we moved here, he may one of these days just tell me to move back there! Perhaps Amy and Branson would adopt me! ;)

The Sisterhood of the Marine Corps

"Two women met for coffee.
They talked about life-
Things they were working through
And things they were learning.
They showed eachother grace
And gave eachother courage.
Even though neither of them
Had all the answers,
They knew that God sure did.
So they laughed and cried
And shared their lives
And in the end
When their mugs were empty,
Their hearts were full."

Many people associate the hardships of living a military life with deployment; however, there are so many everyday struggles that no one really knows about, struggles other than those surrounding the big D (deployment). One's heart really takes a beating in this military life, and mine is still recovering from the beating it took last Tuesday when we left Florida. While I said goodbye to a number of amazing people in Virginia, saying goodbye to our amazing friends, the Reeds, was harder than I could have imagined.

We were so blessed to have spent the last year with Amy and Branson, first in Virginia and then in Florida. Throughout this year , we have grown together; we were able to share and lean on eachother as we adjusted to all the new experiences of becoming Marine wives and military families together. It's hard to explain the ups and downs of military life to people sometimes, despite how close we may be to them in our "normal" lives. Having friends who are going through the same thing and are struggling with the same situations is, and has been, an amazing comfort, support, and blessing. The Reeds had become our military family, our family away from home. The ones we would have holidays with, when we weren't able to spend it back home. While holidays away from family are always hard, Easter this Sunday is going to especially difficult without our military family as well.

It's hard to put into words how a friendship can grow so deep so fast. There is a saying that goes something like, it takes many years to grow an old friend. Well, I for one, beg to differ. I am sure Jordan and I are going to meet many more amazing people, and make even more lifelong military friends on this journey, especially as we are stationed somewhere for 3+ years, and have even longer for these friendships to grow; however, there is something special that Amy and I will always share from this first year as we grew into military life together, it's a bond we will always have. I am so thankful for the time I had with this fellow Marine wife, and although the Marine Corps has torn us apart so soon, I will be forever grateful for the Marine Corps experience which brought us together in the first place.


Memories from the time shared in Virginia & Florida...