I cannot say enough wonderful things about our experience here at Rubel Castle. Our host, guide,…read moreand local "Rubelligent" volunteer, Ms. Kathleen had all the intel about this historical property. She was so knowledgeable and helped set the stage for us to slip into a forgotten era and get a glimpse of how imagination met inventiveness with a DIY charm. ~ A LITTLE BACKSTORY FOR YOU ~ It's not pronounced Rubel as Barney from Flintstones. Rather, it's like Target is to Targét when we are trying to be fancy. So that's Rubel as in "Roo-bell." Unlike modern-day construction, Rubel Castle wasn't built overnight. It was made of collected recyclables and construction rubble that spanned many decades and took several friends and volunteers to build it. For Michael, however, the lifetime inspiration was first sparked at the age of 9. His love for canons was where it started and the rest is history you can hear about on the tour. But don't just show up like we did randomly one day. To book, visit RubelTours.org and make a reservation. ~ OUR TOUR EXPERIENCE ~ It's as if Michael Rubel, the creator and mastermind of this enchanted dominion had intended it to be--magical. Built in the castle period of wood and tin, every corner captured our interests, from antique cars to the 1890's Seth Thomas Tower Clock with a unique backstory (and only six in existence today). There were old vending machines, tools, trinkets, and machinery that time had long forgotten. Did I mention there was a drawbridge? Yes, and a dungeon too. I was just waiting for a dragon to come swoop down on us next. Walk in the footsteps of famous visitors like Alfred Hitchcock, Dwight Eisenhower, Jack Benny, and Bob Hope. It's a feast for the eyes no matter where you glance. I particularly enjoyed the bottle house that Michael built in 1968 as his "home" as a kid. That independent spirit was quite charming to see. ~ WATERCOLOR NATURESCAPE ~ We were fortunate to have our gracious host lead us on a tour and organize a special art crafting experience outdoors. It was absolutely lovely beneath the trees and between rusted vintage cars from the turn of the century. We each got a small canvas to paint our flowers in watercolor. (This particular experience takes place in the Spring and Fall, weather permitting.) We heard the squirrels rattling in the leaves and birds chirped and sang in the trees above. We discovered that peacocks apparently originated from this property, compliments of Michael Rubel. And did I mention that on the far side of the property, a custom garden was in full bloom? BOOK A TOUR Help support the Glendora Historical Society and keep this magnificently unique city-castle maintained. It's worth it.

A castle in Glendora? Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you--Rubel Castle is real, it's magnificent,…read moreand it's gloriously eccentric. Thanks to the sheer persistence (and probably delightful stubbornness) of Michael Rubel, we now have this quirky, towering State Treasure sitting right in the middle of Glendora like a fairy tale that accidentally took a detour through a hardware store. This place is beautifully done, and part of its charm is that it's a full-on hodgepodge of relics, antiques, crystal trinkets, and "wait... what is that doing here?" moments tucked into every nook and cranny. You'll marvel, you'll laugh, you'll squint in confusion--honestly, it's everything you'd want in a castle built with love, imagination, and a dash of madness. And let's talk about the makeshift cemetery. Quirky? YES. Fun? Absolutely. Slightly spooky? Only if your imagination is over-caffeinated. But it fits the vibe perfectly--like the castle whispered, "You know what I'm missing? A tiny cemetery." The tours are fantastic, the guides are passionate, and the whole experience feels like you're stepping into a living scrapbook of California history and charming chaos. Overall: Amazing, amazing place. Book your tour. They only do tours every first Sunday of the month, so set your alarms, mark your calendars, tie a string around your finger--just don't miss it. Rubel Castle is truly a California State Treasure, and an absolute must-see for anyone who appreciates creativity, history, and a little eccentric sparkle.

After all the rave reviews here on yelp, we booked a Claremont food tour back in February for the…read moremiddle of March. Well this little thing called coronavirus happened in the meantime, and so our March tour was shut down. They offered us a full refund or to postpone the tour for a later date. We opted for the full refund. This was in mid to late March. At the end of April, after weeks of delays and still no refund, I wrote a review on yelp expressing my frustration about this situation. That same day, the Fun Belly owner Carlos got in touch with me and over the next few messages basically told me that Fun Belly themselves don't handle billing/refunds (instead employing a company called EzTix), but that he would get in touch with his rep at EzTix and try to make things right. Within 2 days our refund had been issued. Wow. So while I didn't have the opportunity to go on the food tour, I still think it's important for prospective customers to know that Fun Belly has an owner with some real integrity. It would have been so easy for Carlos to say, "Well, the refund is out of my hands, go deal with it yourselves", but he went the extra mile to make things right. Once this shutdown is over and I'm actually allowed to leave my house, we'll definitely rebook for the food tour we never got an opportunity to go on. I know we'll be in good hands. Five stars for Fun Belly, 0 stars for EzTix.

I had such a grea GREAT time on this food tour. When I signed up to attend, I anticipated sampling…read morefood from different restaurants. What I did not anticipate was the insightful history and background of the area, each restaurant we toured and all the witty dialogue. Because you attend these restaurants with Fun Belly, the owner's and management come out to speak with you and it makes you feel like some sort of food critic, or Mafioso, because they showcase their craft just for you. This made the experience so much better than what I imagined. Oh one last thing, samples, hardly. Several of us on the tour could not finish our food at some of the venues by the end, we were all stuffed. My friends and I booked again for another tour offered in a different location. :D

Be very careful when you deal with this mon and pop company, they are every thing is non refund…read moreable, I mean every thing every thing non refundable, they book hotel with experian.com pay for cheap non refund able room, then they wouldn't tell you!! I do have very very bad experiences with this travel agent, if I can give them a minus star I would do it, terrible company, irresponsible company, I want file a small claim against this company's but it is not worth my times and energy for few hundreds dollar!! If you give them any money think "NON REFUND ABLE", they would take advantage of senior people like me without blinking of the eyes, I am so disappointed it, when deal with this horrible company!! following picture is what travel agent call city view In Ho Chị Mình City in Việt Nam.

Cali Travel has been wonderful. They've been very helpful, concise and extremely responsive…read more Especially Han. She's been a delight to work with. I highly recommend Cali Travel for all of your travel needs!

Thanks to the research of Super Elite Yelper Gary I., we were able to tour the Phillips Mansion in…read morePomona prior to dinner nearby. The mansion, built in 1875 and maintained by the Pomona Historical Society, was the home of the one-time "richest man in LA County", Louis Phillips. Tours are conducted by reservation only and as of this writing, can be reserved here: https://www.pomonahistorical.org/phillips-mansion for $15. Our docent, pictured below, gave us many interesting details and pertinent history of the building. The grounds are lovingly maintained; the building itself could be called a "fixer-upper". It's good to see the work in progress and the building does seem to be in good hands. This tour is very highly recommended.

We enjoyed immensely the Phillips Mansion and Currier House tours yesterday afternoon. We…read moreappreciated our docents' enthusiasm and knowledge regarding the history and preservation of these buildings. The main goal for the Currier House currently is weatherproofing it from further damage. I hope that the Pomona Historical Society finds success in obtaining funding and the proper skilled craftsmen to restore it again someday.

How beautiful; a wonderful way to end a romantic evening. It does take time to sit and watch,…read more20-30min from actual start time, but is sooo relaxing to just think or talk quietly to a lover.

Watch the sun set at this magical installation art space, on the Pomona College (Turrell's alma…read moremater) campus. Filed in Off the Beaten Path.

I found Boat & Bottle when looking for a memorable experience to take my wife on for our first…read moreValentine's Day as a married couple, and I am very glad I did. Captain Sebastian was super friendly and a fantastic communicator, making sure we had all the information we needed to make it to the launch ramp on time (directions, parking, etc.). We got lucky and caught a SpaceX launch from the boat, which was surreal to see. We opted for the V-day package which included flowers, chocolates, and balloons and really added to the ambience. Overall it was a magical night, and I highly recommend to anyone looking for a unique date night.

I booked a boat and bottle for my sister's birthday. Captain Sebastian was kind, communicative, and…read morean all around amazing host! We will definitely be booking again!!

First, Chị xin đại diện nhóm xin ngỏ lời thank you for all your hard works prepare for our Viet Nam…read moretour. Second, I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for the exceptional courtesy service and friendly of local tour guide (Thuận, Ngân và Nhựt) cùng với những bác tài là những người đã đồng hành, sự quan tâm từng chi tiết nhỏ đến nụ cười luôn nở trên môi như là người nhà trong gia đình trong suốt chuyến đi. Nhờ sự nhiệt tình, chu đáo và kiến thức phong phú của những bạn hướng dẫn viên mà anh chị đã có những ngày đi chơi vui vẻ, thoải mái cùng với những kỷ niệm thật đáng nhớ. Dưới đây là vài ví dụ điển hình. 1. Ngân đã giúp group đóng thùng và gởi đồ của nhóm mua từ Bắc vào thẳng Saigon hotel cùng với sự nhiệt tình đưa tiển lo lắng mọi điều cho mọi người trong nhóm lúc check in ở phi trường để chuẩn bị cho chuyến tour kế tiếp. 2. Sự nhiệt tình của Nhựt nên nhóm đã có những tấm hình thật đẹp trong suốt chuyến đi ở miền Trung. Thank you for making the tour so much fun, truly unforgettable and much more enjoyable. I look forward to the opportunity to travel with your company again.

Very rude phone etiquette. Bitch didn't answer my question and when I asked her to clarify what she…read moremeant. She hung up!! Topic Asian service. No customer service at all

Great adventure! This was my second time taking a tour with Hangar 21 and I highly recommend them…read more The pilot ensures a safe and comfortable flight, orchestrating between controls, air traffic, and pointing out the sites to see. If you want to see the Los Angeles area, Hangar 21 is the way to go!

This is our 3 time taking a helicopter ride. First 2 were in Hawaii…read more This time we were celebrating my 27yr old Autistic daughter's birthday. She absolutely loved it. Helicopter was brand new and felt like a Cadillac. Our pilot was amazing and very knowledgeable historically about the place I love and have called home for 48yrs. He also went out of his way to take us over our home so my wife could see us. Thank u so much for the experience! We will definitely be back again!

Went canyoneering with Pete and Kyle this past weekend plus another 11 people. I wasn't sure at…read morefirst because our meeting place was in a shopping complex. But after the briefing, we're told we were the most on time or even early group that arrived for many trips they had, even the day before, they started at 11.30, instead of 9.30am. The briefing took about 15-30minutes to make sure everyone knows about the safety and addressed any concerns that they might have before heading up to the mountain. We're then followed them to their car to get the gears for each person. Once everyone got their gears and everything is cleared, we all got our cars lined up behind their Honda Fit and drove up to Mt Baldy. We got there like around 9.30-9.45 ish, and started hiking around 10. It was a pretty steep hill to hike and lots of rocks, so better wear shoes with good grip. Also, this was actually a beginner canyoneering so don't worry about bringing your own rock climbing shoes. Just make sure you bring sunscreen, hat and make sure your bag is waterproof or water resistant, because you'd be going down a waterfall. After climbing for about maybe 45minutes or so, we finally reached the top of the San Antonio waterfalls and both Kyle and Pete started setting up the ropes. They also told us what we need to do and watch out for before sending the first person to go down. There were a total of 4 waterfall to traverse, but the 2nd and 4th were the best, we really got soaked!!! They were also the tallest ones, so if you have a gopro or camera, it would be best to take them during that 2 rappels. I got stuck on the last rappel and I wasn't scared or anything, just curious how to get down and somehow they managed to do something with the ropes, got me down safely. I would totally recommend them if you want some adventure around LA. They're very credible and they have many levels of canyoneering to try as well. They recommend us to try the second level, which is at Eaton Canyon but we have to hike about 10miles round trip, which made me guess myself if I want to go. At least if I'm looking for something fun to do, now I know who to look for. If they're nice and you feel they give you good service, please tip them. It was an awesome Sunday for me last week!

I'm (almost exclusively) an indoor, top-rope climber - not really the adventurous type. But a…read morefriend who is new to the sport wanted to try climbing outside. Since we don't own any gear we decided to try a guided trip. This was fun. The hike into the climbing area was easy and beautiful. The climbs were difficult but achievable. The day was just about perfect. I think my favorite thing was that the guides let us set the pace. Pete would give us options and say "What sounds like fun next?" There was no pressure to follow a specific agenda - and when one in our group was done climbing and just wanted to hang around - that was cool too. When I read some of the other reviews here about 200ft rappels I was worried I would be outside my comfort zone all day - I can be really difficult when I get scared - so I told them what I wanted and that's exactly what I got. An easy, fun day outside with some cool people and no pressure. The guides were friendly and funny, they were more than prepared, and they definitely made the day for me. Next time I go climbing outdoors - it'll be with So Cal Adventure Co. They know what they are doing.