Our First Year at Riley

Things have been quiet around here lately! In all honesty, it’s been tough to find the motivation to hop on and start typing with all that’s going on. I’ve actually photographed a ton of content, but getting the words on the screen hasn’t been much of a priority. However, with today marking one year since we arrived at Fort Riley, I wanted to document what the last 366 days have looked like. 

If you would have asked my opinion on Kansas roughly 14 months ago, I likely would have rolled my eyes, pouted, or huffed. Let’s be honest. Kansas just doesn’t have that sexy appeal that duty stations like Newport or Hawaii have. At the very least, Kentucky had bourbon! 

Having now spent and entire year at Fort Riley, I can tell you without a doubt, that my assumptions about Kansas were all wrong! I’ve heard Fort Riley referred to as the Army’s hidden gem, and I can confirm, it’s completely true.

When we arrived on base last summer, my first impressions of Fort Riley were how big the base itself was, and how nice and new the buildings all seemed! The commissary (military grocery store) is probably one of the largest and nicest I’ve ever shopped at! Even the areas around the base aren’t the boring flat stretches of plains that you expect. 

Before being able to move into our on-post home, we had to spend about 40 days in the on-post hotel, which was wonderful! There was a pretty good hot breakfast every morning, then once a week, the Relocation Services team hosted a free dinner in the hotel lobby. Not only was there free food, but all of the services and organizations from around post came for a meet and greet and to hand out information. The hotel also had a great pool, which kept the kiddos busy while we waited for school to start.

As soon as we moved onto our street, we were welcomed by neighbors from all around. Throughout the year, I’ve loved the various events that we’ve done together as a neighborhood. Back when life was normal, we’d host monthly brunches and Bunco nights. Around the holidays, we did a progressive dinner with 14 hosts along with 14 appetizers and the 14 drinks of Christmas. We had such a great time doing the progressive dinner, that we decided to do another one in early March. 

Shortly after arriving, I also joined the Fort Riley Spouses Club. These clubs (previously officer or enlisted spouses clubs) have been around for ages and at all of the bases we’ve been stationed at, but this was my first time joining. This year, I’m actually volunteering on the governing board! I also took a position on the Combined Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to our community.

The girls attended school here on post, and will go back in the fall for first, third, and fifth grades. It’ll be the first time in EVER that they’ve completed two whole school years at the same school. I think…knocks on wood. What’s nice, is that the school is within walking distance, so we get some good energy out walking home in the afternoons.

I absolutely loved their school and teachers, and actually ended up getting a subbing job there, which was short lived. My first week of subbing was the week before spring break, and well, we didn’t end up going back after the break.

Having explored the area off and around post a little bit, I have to say it’s much better than some of the other Army bases we’ve been at. I don’t consider myself particularly outdoorsy, but we’ve had a good time doing some of the hikes and trails around here. This past weekend, we even rented a boat from MWR’s Outdoor Rec and took it out on the local lake. 

Manhattan, the closet “big” town to Fort Riley, is more like a small college town. There’s a mediocre mall, but all the shops you’d need sprinkled around town. We have a Target, Home Depot, a few Walmarts, Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A, Marshall’s, Joann, and TONS of really cute smaller/boutique/local stores. I’d say there isn’t a huge selection of chain restaurants, but OMG there are SO many delicious local places. 

The best part, is that Manhattan isn’t particularly far. It only takes about 15 minutes to get there once you’re off base. Getting through this gigantic base also sets you back another 15 minutes though. At least that’s the case for where we live. 

As I mentioned before, I absolutely love our neighborhood. Our house is pretty fantastic as well! Coming from Rhode Island, where our house was less than 1600 sqft., it’s been so nice to have space to put all of our stuff away. We have a nice big two car garage which was wonderful in the winter when we got snow.

All in all, it’s been an amazing year here! We only have another year left, but I’m trying to convince John to stay for an additional year. But, it is the Army after all, so who knows?!