There's a cool authentic mastodon bone inside! The black light room is fun too!…read more The Fallbrook Gem & Mineral Society is such a hidden treasure in the community! If you've never been, it's absolutely worth stopping by. They have a fascinating collection of rocks, minerals, fossils, and beautiful handcrafted pieces that are both educational and visually stunning. The volunteers were friendly, knowledgeable, and clearly passionate about what they do. They took the time to answer questions and share interesting facts, which made the visit even more enjoyable. One important thing to know -- they receive funding based on visitor counts. So simply stopping in and supporting them with your presence truly makes a difference. It's a small effort that helps keep this unique place running for the community. Whether you're a serious rock enthusiast or just looking for something different to explore, this spot is definitely worth a visit!

Really small mini museum but they have super friendly staff/volunteers who are so knowledgeable and…read morealways happy to share information on gems and the area. We've now been here twice and each time got to check out some really neat rocks. It's worth a visit if you're in the area. They have some glow in the dark rocks in the back which are cool for the kids to see. They also have some fossils and dinosaur displays. But the rocks here are the true gem here, no pun intended! Today I left with a 12 inch piece of selenite and the girls left with some pretty stones from the discount drawer and their free visit stone (kids only). They have stones and other trinkets for sale towards the front of the museum. We will be back! Seems like they always have cool pieces.

Pennypickle's Workshop was such a fun and unique experience! I honestly felt like a kid again with…read moreall the interactive, hands-on activities throughout the house. There's so much to explore, and every room has something different that keeps it exciting. The science experiments were really cool and engaging, making it a great place for kids to learn while having fun. The whole house is designed in such a creative way that it feels like you're stepping into a playful, imaginative world. They also have a small gift shop at the end where you can pick up souvenirs. It's nothing fancy, mostly typical trinkets and gadgets, but it's a nice touch to wrap up the experience. Overall, such a fun place for families and kids. Definitely a 5-star experience and something I'd recommend if you're in the area!

Pennypickle's is a fun place to explore with your little one on a day away from home. The staff…read morewere so kind and helpful. Lots of things to look at. My daughter and I spent over two hours playing. Admission is done in time slots. Staff clean and sanitize between time slots. The room I enjoyed the most was the music room, with the kitchen room being second. The gift shop is at the entrance and stocks science themed toys. Coffee can be purchased at the front for $1.50. If unsure when it's beat to go, call ahead as Pennypickle's hosts many field trips, especially during the first morning time slot.

Before driving an hour home, we always stop in this lot to use the public restroom. Only this time,…read morewe decided to walk over to the museum. It's free to enter with a suggested donation of $5. First floor has a gift shop and historic artifacts of the city of Temecula, upstairs is an interactive play area for kids and an exhibit. Very tiny museum but so much to do. I was fascinated by the exhibit theme of how tequila and mezcal is made. Very informative and the artwork were impressive. Great way to cool off and if you have children, it's the perfect place to keep them occupied.

It's free with suggested donations but the last time we went the suggestion was $10 each which I…read morethought was $5 before so that was weird. It's a little small with two floors and a small gift shop. The second floor is super cute for young kids. It's interactive and they can play and dress up. It's a fun little activity to do if you're in old town and want to fill your day up. It won't take up much time.

Great outdoor spaces with lots of nature to enjoy. My favorite is the covered table overlooking…read morethe pond. There an admission fee, but very reasonable considering you're supporting a great cause. We'll be shore to come back with more time to enjoy all the garden sections.

Such a beautiful and amazing place. I am usually here for drinking events, like Meading in the…read moreGarden. The paths for walking through the grounds are well kept, it's so nice to look at the garden views and different kinds of plants and trails. There is also a children's area to play in. The further you explore, you will find wildlife, dinosaur statues, sculptures and more. It's a great place to visit if you want to take a break and enjoy nature. There is plenty of free parking, you just pay a small entrance fee to get in, it's totally worth it.

A fantastic slice of early California history with a beautiful church built in 1811, fascinating…read morecemetary, a 200+ year old pepper tree, coffee shop, excellent gift shop, museum, and tours of the buildings and grounds. There is even a priest who sits outside to bless you and any items you purchased in the gift shop -- a nice touch! Notwithstanding Father Junípero Serra's apparent and controversial role in the cultural and physical destruction of Indigenous peoples, the place is a great peek into the past from religious, cultural, and archtectural perpectives.

My goal is to visit all of the missions in California. As an elementary school teacher, I find it…read moreto be fascinating to explore the locations that I teach about during the school year. It helps to personalize all that is taught in classrooms across California. Mission San Luis Rey is one of the prettiest missions that I've visited so far. The parking lot is large, and it also has an overflow to accommodate larger crowds during special events. There is a large, white church that is in the center of the parking lot. Due to its size and proximity, it immediately grabs your attention. Many people begin exploring at the church, but there's much more to see. If you walk to the far left side of the property, you'll see the actual entrance. There is small gift shop as well as a counter where you'll pay your entry fee to explore the museum. One thing that I liked about Mission San Luis Rey is that replicas of various artifacts looked pretty authentic. Also, the backstory for each item was described in detail. The mission was incredibly clean, demonstrating how much pride people take in the presentation of the property. There is a small cemetery adjacent to the church. You can walk around and pay your respects to people who had either a physical or emotional impact on the mission and the community. The grounds are well-maintained and it remains inviting to people who want to explore around. The church is large and inviting. You can purchase candles and place them near the entrance as well as the room off to the side or another room closer to the front of the church. The displays are beautiful and well-lit to draw your attention to details. People maintain a low tone in the church to allow guests to pray, have a moment to themselves, or to make a connection with a higher power. Before you leave, make sure that you stop by the small coffee shop. It's located near the bathrooms near the south side of the property. There is a little gated patio area where you can hang out with friends, family, or even your dog! Mission San Luis Rey is a great place to visit. People are very friendly and quite helpful. When we went to the mission, the weather was perfect and we had a clear view of the area. It was a great experience and I will definitely come back for another visit. I don't know which mission we will visit next, but so far, this is my favorite.

This is one of the lesser mission outposts so not a main of the full 32 California missions. It is…read morea sub-mission or an adistenzia mission. I was thrilled to find this. It was a surprise down in Pala. It is located about 20 miles away from the Oceanside Mission, St. Louis Del Rey. It's a small area located on a Native American reservation in Pala. The grounds and gardens are very lovely. Serene and peaceful. The original cemetery is still there. The chapel was open on this Saturday that we visited. They had beautiful frescoes and their stations of the cross were really spectacular. There's a Bell tower which interestingly is one of the few that is separate from any building. It has two bells in it both made in Mexico. The stillness and serenity and opportunity for meditative reflection were exquisite. Sadly, the museum is only open on Saturdays and we were not there on the correct Saturday as it is only twice a month. If you want to go to the museum and gift shop, then you will need to plan ahead and call to make sure that they are open. But the church and mission were really the main thing that I wanted to see. What a treasure!

I made it a "mission" to visit all 21 missions & noticed in my passport that included mission San…read moreAntonio de pala. So I called during the week to confirm museum & gift shop hours/times. Was told it was open only the 2nd & 4th sat of the month 10-4pm. So I prepared to go the 2nd sat. Which is today. We only saw one car in the parking lot, but still walked around to the museum & gift shop. Door was locked. Knocked. No answer. Tried calling the number. No answer. I understand that it is one of the smaller missions but still they should have something written/updated on the door, website, &/or voicemail. Would love to give them another try, because I need this last stamp. but I'm afraid if I come on the 4th Saturday I would just be setting myself for disappointment. Please be more accessible. People would love to see this quaint mission!

I had such a great experience at the Fallbrook Art Center! The admission was only $5 for the…read moreexhibit I attended (though I love that pricing varies depending on the exhibit -- it makes it accessible and fair based on what's being shown). The space itself is welcoming and thoughtfully curated, and you can tell they really care about supporting artists and the community. The exhibits were engaging and well-presented, with a nice variety of styles and mediums. What really stood out to me was the staff -- everyone was incredibly friendly and welcoming. They made the experience feel personal without being overbearing, and they were happy to answer questions about the artwork. It's such a gem in Fallbrook. Definitely worth a visit if you appreciate art, want something affordable to do, or just want to support a great local spot. I'll absolutely be back for future exhibits! You can also get decent priced quality food next door.

A beautiful showing of multiple artists in various mediums. Wonderful treasures for purchase…read more Be sure to allow for a memorable lunch at the attached bistro "Cafe des Artistes"‼

It's a tractor farm!!…read more Recommend bringing cash, this place does take cards but they are solely run by the donations so they really benefit from the cash donations. Support this gem! We've been coming here for a few years and just wonderful seeing every year gets better and better. It's been slowly coming back to life and really is just every little kid dreams come true. Today's Father's day so it's a special event and great for more affordable family gatherings. You just can't beat it. Bathrooms clean, and there was food. But we brought our own snacks and food. Definitely recommend bringing snacks and water. Wear hats, or umbrellas and shoes, gets dusty! Tractor rides and demonstrations, and you can drive a tractor! Our kiddos 2 and 4 got to drive a tractor! Come visit this place, you can see what they have and learn about the farming life, history and the old days how they did it. You can go on many of the tractors just to play on and run around. The black Smith shop is really nice up close encounter to see the blacksmithing at work and can purchase goodies if and when they are available made in shop. They also do repairs as well! The working sawmill is definitely a treat to see! The spindle museum is very interesting and amazing work done at hand. The train station is underway going through remodeling projects. However, it is still really awesome set up, and the volunteers are extremely nice. The watches and clocks is really pretty to see and the history fun. There's an entire property just to walk around and appreciate all the cool construction vehicles, tractors equipment. Just can't beat it. Great way to get outside, walk around and see your kids just beaming with excitement. Sometimes they have the petting zoo and horse rides. We didn't get that far this time with all the added stuff this year. But definitely fun thing to do. We come here about 4 times a year, Father's day and then more in the fall time with the Halloween and Christmas. It can get toasty so take that in account. Come in the mornings and spend a couple of hours. There's even more! So come see for yourself for the next event which is on the website...or even just in a week day to hang out burn some energy. Special events are definitely worth it especially for a lower crowded area and more connections with the folks that run this place. Great family outing!

Came today to see their Tractor Show with my son. He is 1.5 years old and obsessed with tractors. A…read morelot of old machinery outdoors. A bit of a steep price of $10 to get in. We went to the farmhouse and saw cookies being offered but I seemed to have offended these ladies when I asked if any of their items had peanuts because of my son having a peanut allergy. It was a simple question but they were so mean about it. Not too sure if I'll come visit again. It was quite a drive and the volunteers at the farmhouse definitely rubbed me the wrong way about my food allergy question.

So I've been meaning to come to this festival for ages - just wasn't able to get around to it this…read moretime of the year since I usually either forgot when it was or had something else going on. Finally made it in 2026. Parked in the shaded parking lot of Fallbrook High School and in a short while a comfy air conditioned shuttle bus took a bunch of us up to the 7-11 at the south end of the festival at Main Ave and Fallbrook Street. I had read all the reviews so I knew not to expect a lot of avocado themed items like I would have imagined they might have - avocado beer, avocado wine, Indonesian avocado coffee (es apulkat), avocado shaped bumper cars and other avocado themed fairground rides, folks walking around dressed in avocado costumes, a guacamole wrestling ring, etc. But I did go on a scavenger hunt of all avocado related items mentioned in reviews from years past. The festival is on Main avenue between W Fallbrook Street and E Mission Road on the north end. There were all sorts of booths like you'd see at a street fair or farmers market. There was also The Fun Zone - a huge play area for kids with all sorts of things like a giant slide. So first thing I got was the Holy Guaca-Moly guacamole and chips for ten bucks - it seemed like there was one of these booths at every other intersection along Main avenue. It was good guacamole but you don't get a lot for the amount they were charging. Next I went to the Coal Bunker to try the pork and the shrimp stuffed avocados. They also had chicken as well as quinoa stuffed avocados. Of the two I tried the shrimp most definitely ruled - would get that again. After that I went to Bakin' It Up to try their avocado ice cream and avocado fudge bar - the avocado ice cream was a nice cold treat for a warm day and the avocado fudge was very creamy - no surprise since avocado is the first ingredient listed on the packaging. I also went next door to The Spoiled Avocado, who were also advertising Avocado Fudge. They were giving out samples and this was different - actual chocolate pieces made with avocado oil - they were not creamy but solid pieces in all sorts of flavors - classic, walnut, orange, peanut butter, salted caramel. I also paid a visit to the Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society which was a nice detour to get away from the crowds. Finally there seemed to be a lot of folks selling boxes of Hass from Del Rey Avocado Company. I would have gotten one as well but instead I got Zutanos from Everdawn Farms and Fuertes from Del Sol Ranch so I left the festival content with my avocado haul.

Very disappointed. Nothing about this was avocado themed. The only thing "avocado" themed were a 2…read moreor 3 guacamole stands every other block. This was just an oversized, overcrowded street market.

Great place to see contemporary and up and coming artist's artwork. You can spend hours casually…read moresoaking in creative works. Parking is conveniently located near. There are a nice amount of restaurants in walking distance. I enjoyed the thr art scavenger hunt with my family. My daughter was totally engaged, so we viewed every installation.

The Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) is all about bringing people together to explore the art and…read morestories of Southern California artists. OMA has everything this art lover is looking for and more. Their staff are super friendly and helpful contributing to the welcoming atmosphere of my museum experience. The exhibitions are always intriguing...current ones like The Art of Autism, Fabulous Fiber, Space Between, Stories that Connect Us, and Ventana Huichola are captivating. I love "The Touch This" experience. It's a fantastic opportunity to touch the art! My inner child enjoys this connection. The educational workshops for all ages are usually hands-on and engaging. There's FREE Art For All on the 1st Sundays from 12pm-2pm to join the fun art-making experience led by artists and cultural partners from the community. If you want to conversate with local artists, there's a FREE Coffee & Conversation also happening at the same time and of course other events with artists/educators to register for. All in all, OMA is by far the BEST museum I've been to. It definitely stimulates my mind and senses. Highly recommended!