We’re starting our 9th year of homeschooling! I’m so excited. It just gets better and better.

Many people ask, is that legal?? Yes! It’s legal.

Lots of people homeschool, including here in 29 Palms. Here is a website with some tips about getting started:

CHEA Of CA

If you are considering homeschooling, send me a message! I’d love to help you get started. I recommend being an independent homeschooler. You have much more freedom with this option. You are not obligated to any one curriculum, or even to a certain schedule. You have the freedom to choose curriculum that fits your children’s learning styles. You have the freedom to make your own school schedule.

One of the biggest benefits for us is being able to take off of school when my husband is able to take leave.

The other reason that we love homeschooling is that we are free to talk about God any time we want! We can pray and learn and be a family that worships the Lord 24/7.

Who says there is nothing to do in 29 Palms???

There is a Bingo Night every other month at the Officer’s Club. On the alternating months it’s Bunko. I go to play Bingo. I get some girlfriends to join me and we have a great time.

The cost is $10 for 10 games, plus you get some appetizers. The bar is open next door for your pleasure.

It starts at 7pm but come early! You’ll want to make sure you and your friends get a table together and have enough time to get something to drink and get some food. We arrived at 5:40 last time and there was already a line!

It ends about 9pm. The prizes are things from the exchange usually. Purses, jewelry, perfume sets, sometimes tickets to a fabulous Southern California place.

I was finally able to take pictures of Ocotillo Housing. I’m not sure what ranks are assigned to the some of the areas – mostly in the officer side. Hopefully though this will help those of you that might be living over there.

Ocotillo is the only housing that officer’s live in. A friend of mine that lives over there says it takes her 7 minutes to get to the commissary. There is a gate there so it’s quick to get out in town. There is also a small MCX there and a lot of playgrounds.

(Thank you to Samantha for taking the pictures while I drove slowly around the neighborhood.)

This first area is on the way to the golf course and the Ocotillo Community Center/pool. It’s a small area for NCO’s. The housing is very similar to some of the housing in Adobe Flats (also for NCO’s). However these streets were wider and just seemed more private and quieter. I talked to a spouse living here and she said they have been so pleased with it and while they wanted Adobe Flats at first they are thrilled that they ended up over here.

The Ocotillo housing office/community center. The pool is in the rear. And behind this area is where the base golf course is.

This is part of the officer housing. A friend whose husband is an O-4 lives in one of these duplexes and someone else I know that is O-5 lives in the single units. I don’t know for sure if that is how it is broken up though.

As you can see some of the duplexes appear smaller than others but I couldn’t tell if it made a difference in area.

The officer housing has backyards that you can fence if you’d like.

The following housing is from a street that I know is E-6 to E-9. There is another longer street that has the same type of housing that I thought was all E-6 to E-9 until I met an O-2 that lived in them also. So I’m not sure about those.

Ocotillo in general seems like a really nice area to live in. We were driving through around 10 in the morning and there were some children at the playgrounds, people out walking, and in general seemed real quiet.

The General’s house is also over here as well as the Command circle..houses.. I didn’t drive down that road.

Hope this helps those of you that will be living in Ocotillo Housing.

At the beginning of February my husband unexpectedly got PCA (permanent change of address) orders to a different unit here on 29 Palms. He was with 1st Tank Battalion previously (since we moved here last May) and is now with 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. Their communications chief was not going to be able to deploy with them and so they sent my husband over to do so for him. No hard feelings, I promise.

Roy loves his new unit..has had nothing but good things to say about it as a whole and about all the guys he’s working with. They left this past week for Iraq and will be gone approximately 7 months. I’ve heard from him a couple times already and he’s doing fine…still adjusting timewise.

In the meantime the kids and I have a full life to lead. School, sports, scouting…all sorts of things.

Another spouse and I have started a Yahoo group for the family members of 3rd LAR.

http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/3rdLAR

I’ll keep you updated on anything important happening with Roy.

Are you a homeschooler moving to 29 Palms?  Welcome!!  There are many of us here.  I have enjoyed getting to know the families here…I have been surprised by the numbers for such a small area.

Over 30 families are part of a group called Growing Palms.  You can check us out at this Yahoo Group. We meet at the park on Fridays, do field trips, holiday parties, etc. I’m also hoping to start up a Mom’s Night Out next month.

Not homeschooling but are interested?? Let me know! I’d love to give you more information. Homeschooling is most definitely legal in CA and it’s very simple. To get you started check out Just the Facts from the California Homeschool Network.

This is Condor Housing and it is for E-1 to E-3. One of these days I’ll post a map with each housing area labeled. Condor is near…..Condor Elementary! If you come in the Condor gate, go past Adobe Flats, and turn right at the first right, you’ll then pass housing on the right…community center on the right…Condor Elementary on the right..family pool on the left…and then…it’s Condor Housing (Sunflower Terrace is across the street from Condor Housing – I’m posting those pictures next).

These are apartment style homes. I forgot to count how many to a building. I believe there are 1- and 2- bedroom units. I know for sure there are 2-bedroom units there. No garages but there are storage closets. Several playgrounds.

I don’t really know too much about these. I did call housing a couple months ago about some future renovations and I was told that Condor is the next housing area to be torn down and replaced! There are no dates yet though but that is what is scheduled next. They don’t want to have “apartments” anymore. Just the regular townhouses.

Here you can see the carports that are out in the middle of each little parking area/loop.  I don’t know how many parking spaces you get.  The units are either downstairs or upstairs..like apartments. 

Same units as the ones above..but facing straight ahead and pointing to the left of the complex.  Now that I look at these pictures again, you can see that there are 2 sort of “L” shaped buildings there and they share that parking lot.

The upstairs units have a balcony.  The downstairs units have a patio with a wall around it.  The wall is not enclosed all the way but it does make for a nice private area if you get a downstairs unit.

This complex and Sunflower Terrace are nice if you have school-aged children.  The school is just across the street.   Very convenient.  And there are several playgrounds..lots of grassy area.  Condor has the big parking lots and wide streets in between each of the little sections…good for riding bikes or taking walks.

Condor housing is also within walking distance to the community center (there’s a small gym in there), and the family pool!  The family pool is super nice.  It has one real big pool..with a deep end.  And then it has a kiddie pool that is HUGE with a mushroom and a little slide.  There are lots of chairs and on one side there are a lot of benches that sit under an awning.

Next is Adobe Flats. This is NCO housing, though nothing surprises me on this base anymore, so don’t hold me to that if you see other ranks living there.

There are 4 sections, though I’m not sure where the lines are drawn. I’m sure it’s between the types of housing that are over there but you don’t see specific signs telling you are in Adobe Flats III or what not.

This housing area has its own clubhouse and pool! Isn’t that great??? The pools are open sometime in May and stay open until September. There has been talk of opening slightly earlier…I know the one near me was open when we moved here in mid-May, but just on the weekends and afternoons. During the summer they’re open every day, all day long.

Adobe Flats is near the Condor gate. It’s just minutes from the commissary, home store, community center, and the elementary school. Hmmm…most housing is just minutes from there. Even Ocotillo…WAY on the other side..is still only 7 minutes to the commissary. So I guess Adobe Flats would be more like one minute driving.

One of the nice things about Adobe Flats is being near the gate. Zoom Zoom and you’re out the gate and at 55 m.p.h. heading for town.

Oh and another thing I thought of. The street going in and then out further up is one way. Please keep this in mind. ONE WAY. Don’t ask me how I know. LOL

In this first picture I have just turned right into Adobe Flats on the ONE WAY STREET.  If you look past the sign you can just barely make out the gate.  Just before the gate is where the ONE WAY STREET comes back out onto Del Valle (the main road).

This is the first housing you see.  They are 2 bedrooms.  I’ve never been inside one.  If you’ve been told you’ll be in Sunflower Terrace (E-1 to E-3 housing) these are the same.  One car garage.  Little backyard/patios.  There are several streets of these.   Notice how the road off the ONE WAY STREET is not ONE WAY.  Very confusing…to me.  LOL

The back of the units.  Little fenced in areas.  Nice.

This is probably Adobe Flats III or IV.  They are 3 and 4 bedrooms, 2 car garages.  I have been inside one of these. It’s nice!  The living room is really big.  Average dining room.  The kitchen isn’t huge but it’s decent.  Typical base housing..typical kitchen for this size house.  Off the kitchen/in between to the garage is the utility room.  Nice built ins there.  Extra storage.  Upstairs is a small loft area that is in between the bedrooms.  It’s not huge by any means but in the one I saw they had some toy shelves there, a little kid table, beanbag.  It was nice.  Decent bedrooms.

Here is the back.  So.  The downside.  No backyards!  You have those closed in patios and that is it.  You are allowed to put things outside the gate.  I’ve seen little playsets and so forth but they can’t be there during mowing (this is my understanding) and you can’t do anything about things being stolen.

There are lots of playgrounds though! And the streets are super wide!   And because of the 2-car driveways there were not many cars on the street. Great for riding bikes and taking walks and such.  In the newer area of Adobe Flats the trees are really little still.  Not much shade.

Here you can see one of the older areas…big trees..the leaves will be back soon. It does get cold here in the winter.  It even snowed!!!

I’m not sure what size these are.  There was a whole section of these one-story.  By counting windows they seemed like 3 bedroom units but I can’t know for sure.  These streets are quiet, and very nice with all the trees.  They have back yards similar to the first house I showed you on this page.

Another of the front of these little houses.  Cute.

Here’s the backyards again.  These story ones are 3 bedrooms I believe.  I was told the ones with no windows o nthe upstairs were 2 bedrooms.  These have 2 windows i nthe back AND one in the front so I’m thinking they’re 3 bedrooms.  But if they’re 2 bedrooms also someone please let me know so I can update! 

I have more housing to post and am getting there little by little.    As I learn more about each of these housing areas I’ll update the posts.  Adobe Flats is a HUGE housing area but looks like it is well-maintained and actually pretty quiet.  The ONE WAY STREET seemed a little busier as it’s the main road around..and the older units just have one-car spaces so there were more cars parked on the street.  The ONE WAY STREET explains why all the cars on both sides of the street were facing the same direction. 

I went out this morning and took a bunch of pictures of housing. Previously I posted about the Shadow Mountain Housing. These pictures are of Joshua Heights. When we were first moving here, we were told that the housing was being used for everyone, as people were being moved out of housing that was being renovated or torn down or what not. I “heard” from people living there that they had all ranks, including officers, living around them.

When we moved here last May, housing told us it was for E-6 to E-9. We did not have an option for this housing as the next 5 available houses were all in Shadow Mountain. Recently a friend that lives there told me that they are now offering these to E-4 and E-5’s as reenlistment incentives. When I called housing last week to ask where an E-5 with 2 children would live, I was given Joshua Heights as one of the areas.

What will it be for when you move here??? Who knows! I recommend calling housing, give them your stats, and let them tell you what housing you’re eligible for!

Joshua Heights houses are big. They are the largest on base. The stats I was given when we were moving here was 1600 sq ft, not including closets, stairs, or garage! The garages are all 2-car..decent space. Lots of storage inside, good sized closets. The kitchen isn’t real big but is nice, and there is a large pantry area on the side of the kitchen. There is a “loft” area at the top of the stairs that has a built-in desk. Super nice. All the landscaping is desert. Which means rocks. There are small backyards that are fenced already…rocks in the backyard.

Unlike Shadow Mountain, I’m told they don’t have an issue with flies over there. However, they do get a lot of pigeons and one can often see pigeon doo-doo on the roofs. There are a few covered playgrounds. Very nice. There is a community pool and clubhouse just before you enter Joshua Heights. It’s convenient to the commissary and hospital. Really, all the housing is convenient to everywhere..but those are even closer. LOL

Before we moved here, we were really hoping for Joshua Heights. Big houses, more storages, 2-car garages, not as many cars in the street due to 2 parking spaces in the driveway, close to pool, etc. We’re content with what we got and I’m glad to have a one-story. If you get Joshua Heights, I would think you’d be really pleased with your house!

And now on to the pictures…they are duplexes.  Most are 2-story.  There are 3 and 4 bedrooms units.

There are not many 1-story units and they are reserved for those in the EMFP program in which one  requires a one-story.

Back of the house with the “yard.”

Some of the units are situated sideways to each other when there is a curve in the road.  Here is the unit on the left.

And the unit on the right.  The sideways ones have long driveways!

These are the houses that are in the Shadow Mountain housing area (where I live). I’m going to try and remember to take pictures of the other housing areas also. I know that they’re switching around which housing is for certain ranks and I’ll try to post that information also.

In the meantime, here is SM..it’s for E-6 to E-9, children or none, they are 3 and 4 bedroom units. They all have grass backyards, but only some are fenced in. You can fence in yours if you want, but then you have to mow it yourself.

This is a 4 bedroom, one-story. The five-bedrooms look the same…they are a little wider. There are only 10 5-bedroom units so the wait is long. Most of the 4-bedroom units on base are 2 stories, we just happened to be one of the lucky ones that got a one-story.

This is another 4-bedroom unit. Notice there are 2 windows in the front..one is the master bedroom. Then there are 2 bedrooms on the backside. If you get this style in a 3-bedroom, then there is just one window in the front and that is the master bedroom. It’s BIG with a nice sized closet. Not so much in the 4-bedroom.

And the last style of house is this. I took it from the side so you could see how the garage is in the front and the house is kind of behind it. The 3-bedroom looks the same, this one just happens to be a 4-bedroom. The kitchen/dining areas of all of these are very spacious. I’ve never seen such big kitchens in base housing!

And this is a 3-bedroom one story. You’ll notice in the 4-bedroom above that the garages are in the center…the units are joined at their kitchens/dining rooms. In the 3-bedroom, the garages are to the outside and the units are joined by their bedrooms.

Hope that helps give you an idea of what some of the 29 Palms Housing looks like. These are the older ones and there are lots of new ones, but there are some benefits to living in Shadow Mountain. First, we have grass. Course this means we get more flies but I do love having a backyard with GRASS in it. Second, we have the biggest kitchens on base. If this is important to you, then you’ll like Shadow Mountain. Third, we have trees. There are trees in some other housing but not all of them. There are downsides too..we have little garages..and there are more cars parked on the street because of the one-car driveways. Also, you have to water your grass yourself if you want it green. And mow if you fence in your backyard.

Leave me a note if you found this blog by searching for 29 Palms housing!

And don’t ask me what 3/4 stands for because I can’t remember! I’m sure a Marine wife in the know will comment and tell us. LOL

The kids and I took a drive outside the gate today so I – actually Samantha did the snapping while I did the driving – could take pictures of some of the signs. There was someone out there already taking down her sign. They are keepsakes!

Here we are driving up to where the fenceline starts.

The beginning – behind the fence is one of the housing areas.

Some people use plastic cups to spell out words. Here is one example.

The rest of these are just a sampling. There were soooo many signs! Samantha took a lot of pictures! These are some of my favorites.

Lance Corporal New Daddy! I wish I could have been there to see him meeting his baby for the first time.

I have no idea what all the signatures are…I wish I could have read them.

“Welcome home, Chrissy. Love your goldfish.”  LOL  your goldfish??? Is that his “cutie” name or is it really her goldfish????

Quite the artist here.

LOVE. IT.

Nice tie-dye action!  Samantha was really impressed.

This girl put some serious time into this! That was a lot of ribbon to tie on.  I wonder who she thinks will remove it????  LOL

Gotta love Grandma!

There were several of these “family” ones.  So sweet!!

HEE HEE…there were .. um … several like this but some I sped past quickly so Samantha wouldn’t read them. LOL

SO CUTE!  Made me all teary-eyed!

Awwwwww

CRASH. CRASH. BOOM.

And this last one to share….there were so many…it was hard to choose.  This last one is for CHARLIE!  Welcome home, Charlie.  We haven’t met yet but I’m sure we will soon.  Charlie’s family is one of our new friends here at 29.  I met Misty 5 days after we moved here and she made me feel so welcome and loved from that first day.  I’m so glad we’ve met them.