Lydia Pert

So You Want To Visit…A Series

Dave and I are very fortunate to be able to travel often. Dave is a pro at travel hacking, so we end up with enough airline, hotel, dining, and entertainment credits that we can go on nice vacations about every other month. And thankfully, self-managed PTO combined with work from wherever privileges allow us to…
Pros and Cons of Moving a Lot

I like to joke that I move “more often than an escaped convict on the run.” It’s funny, but also pretty accurate. I’ve moved 7 times in under 7 years, and it’s been a wild ride. I feel like for a lot of military spouses, you either love moving so often, or you hate it.…
Might As Well Jump

I started my skydiving journey just over a year ago — my tandem was August 8, 2020, and my first solo was September 5, 2020. I took the slow and steady approach and earned my license on April 18, 2021, and have been jumping consistently ever since! It was touch and go for a while,…
What To Do At: Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Dayton, Ohio Updated on August 1, 2022, to reflect almost a year of living in Ohio. Ohio is a move that has been a long time coming. Ever since Dave was accepted into FA52, we knew we would eventually end up here for him to go through grad school. I was…
What To Do At: Fort Lee, Virginia

Fort Lee Petersburg, Virginia Fort Lee is probably the most familiar base to us at this point. I lived in Virginia Beach (less than two hours away) for my last two years of college, and Dave was stationed at Lee when we first met. We lived there for several months back in 2016 while Dave…
What To Do At: Los Alamos National Lab, New Mexico

Los Alamos National Lab Los Alamos, New Mexico We lived in Los Alamos for one year, 2018-2019, for my husband to work as a guest scientist at the lab. Dave was in awe every day to work at the site of the Manhattan Project and walk where some great scientists like Oppenheimer walked. We found…
What To Do At: Fort Polk, Louisiana

Fort Polk Leesville, Louisiana Fort Polk was one of those places we never wanted to go, but settled in so beautifully we were heartbroken to leave. There is so much to love about this place: the year-round warm weather, beautiful scenery, unique activities, phenomenal food, and friendly people. This was one of my top duty…
What To Do At: Eglin AFB, Florida

When Dave and I first started dating, he was stationed at Eglin AFB to go through EOD school, and I was down for long visits on a pretty regular basis. It was a magical place to begin our relationship, and we hope to end up living there again someday. We actually had a BNR from…
What To Do At: Fort Carson, Colorado

Fort Carson Colorado Springs, Colorado I lived in Colorado from winter of 2014 to spring of 2016 — which was quite a long time ago. I recognize that there might be better restaurants or activities now, but I’ll still share some things I enjoyed while living there. Where to live off post: I still hold…
What to Do at What Base: Round 2

It’s been over three years since I first shared my blog “What to Do at What Base.” Since that post, I have moved three more times — and one of those moves returned me to Fort Lee, where I discovered just about everything had changed since the first time I lived there. Upon doing more…