Tiny Oranges and Tanaka Farm Strawberry Tours

I love websites that are both fun and informative and Tiny Oranges is just that. Tiny Oranges is an online lifestyle boutique for today's stylish mom. Providing the lowdown on the juiciest places, spaces, products, services, outings and ideas that inspire. Jennifer, the creator of Tiny Oranges always has the best product and outing reviews of Orange County.She also has the absolute best giveaways!! You must check her site out. She recently featured a review of Tanaka Farms Strawberry Tours in Irvine, that is perfect for a family outing. It sounds like a deliciously good time. To read about Tanaka Farms Strawberry Tour review click here.

Amy's Farm

I'm always on the look out for interesting and fun places that my kiddos will like. I've been looking to take them to a farm and came upon one that caters to the little ones. Amy's Farms is a real working farm that provides hands on, guided tours to children of all ages. The guided tour allows you and your child to take a walk through a garden and learn about fruits and vegetables, pet goats and sheep in the petting zoo, feed baby cows, pet horses and see chickens, roosters, turkeys, geese, ducks, pigeons, and guinea hens. The tour price is $7.00 per person. Children 2 and under are free. Tours are 1 hour to 1 1/2 hour longs. You can only tour the farm by making a reservation. The minimum size tour is 10 person- if you have less than 10 people they can add you to another group. The farm is open year round Mon-Fri year round. Tours start at 9:00 am, 9:45am,10:30am, and 11:15am. They offer a selected amount of Saturday tours at 10:30 am. There are season activities as follows year round-

• Only in January, the kids get to pet baby chicks.

• Only in February, the kids get to pet baby bunnies.

• In September, feed carrots to the horses!

• In the summer, everyone receives popsicles.

• In October and November, enjoy the tour, learn about pumpkins, and pick one out of the pumpkin patch!

This place is an absolute blast and is perfect for a playgroup or just going with a group of friends. You can pay by check or cash- no credit cards and can pay on the day of your tour oh and almost forgot - Amy's Farms is located between the border of Chino and Ontario. Amy's Farms 7698 Eucalyptus Ave Ontario, CA 91762 1 block from the Ontario airport You can call and make reservations at 909-393-2936 or click here for online reservations

Schaner Farm in Placentia

Did you know that the suburban city of Placentia has a farm? Located at 1128 North Kraemer Boulevard is the Schaner Farm. The all-organic farm is run by David Schaner where he has been farming the land in Placentia for the last decade. This is the same family farm where he was raised. There are veggies galore, as well as fresh eggs, honey and even avocados!

The farm also sells bunches of wildflowers, pumpkins in October and a variety of other goodies.

This 9-acre farm is open 7 days a week. Monday through Friday from 11 AM to 6 PM and Weekends from 11 AM to 4 PM.

Tom's Farms

If you happen to be in the Corona/Lake Elsinore area sometime, make sure to make a pit stop with the family at Tom's Farms. My husband and I lived in Corona for a couple of years and anytime we had friends or family come out and visit we made sure to take them to this little gem. Tom's Farms is nestled in the Temescal Canyon and it first started out as a little produce stand more than 30 years ago. Tom's farms has come a long way from a small produce stand and is now home to a couple of restaurants. My favorite is Senor's Frogs(mmm.. they have the best nachos and breakfast burritos),they are also home to Tom's Olde Fashioned Hamburgers and Patio Pizza.

On the weekends you can take the kiddos on a ride on Tom's Farms 1800's steam-propelled train! Tour the property and beautiful countryside, including a trip under an Amish-style covered bridge. The kids will also love the carnival rides, balloon artists, face painting and every one's favorite and old fashioned Carousel.

They also have animals on display. This is a big hit with the kids. I remember taking my niece when she was a lot younger and she loved watching all of the different farm animals and sometimes even catching a glimpse of a deer or two. If you can visit on a Saturday the kiddos will be entertained with a magic show. The shows take place every Saturday at noon and 2pm at the Carousel Stage.

Moms and Dads, you will love the different shops. There is a wine and cheese shop - which is home to the best baked bread in the area. I can't rave about it enough!! It's delicious. There is also Wine Tasting daily from 11am to 6pm- You can have 3 tastes for only $1.00. There is also of course a produce shop with the freshest produce in town. There is also a home furnishings store which is great to browse.

There is always great live entertainment on the weekends. There is also a craft show every weekend. The weekend is obviously the most popular part of the week to visit Tom's Farms so plan accordingly. You will be guaranteed plenty of fun!!!

Tom's Farms

23900 Temescal Canyon Road
Corona, CA 92883

951.277.4422

Located at Interstate 15 and Temescal Canyon Road.

Hours: Mon. - Sunday 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.

For additional info click here

The OC Marketplace and Centennial Farm

Have you ever been low on cash but yet wanting to do some cheap shopping and something that won't drain your pocketbook?. Is it a Saturday or Sunday and you are bored as can be? Then my friends I have a great suggestion for you. Yesterday I was experiencing all of the above and decided to go out to the Orange County Marketplace. It's an open-air market located on the grounds of the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Okay, you can call it a swap meet or flea market but it's really not your typical swap meet. For starters most of the customers come from south Orange County. Let's just say that about half of the cars in the parking lot are European imports. Secondly there is preferred parking. Yes, you can have preferred parking at a swap meet!! I was a bit baffled at first by this too but it's not that much farther to walk from the free parking. Lastly, it's close enough to the beach that you get a nice breeze, even on a hot summer day. The merchandise varies from 99c toiletries to new oak bedroom sets. There is something for everyone there. There is no hard selling going on and the environment is very family friendly. There is heavy security and the marketplace has strict regulations for it's vendors, including the fact that they must stay open until closing. Admission is $2 and children under 12 are free. There are wagons available to rent at the entrance to transport your little ones. The OC Marketplace is closed for a month from July to August duing the OC Fair. I'll post on the fair later this month. The Centennial Farm is also at the OC fairgrounds. It is open year-round and has free admission (except during the fair when your fair admission also admits you to the farm area). The farm is located just do the left of the main entrance to the fair as well as being just outside the rear entrance to the Pacific Amphitheater. The Centennial Farm is a real working farm. They have cows, chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens and other animals. You can get up close and pet many of them. There are live demonstrations during the week. Call (714) 708-1619 for schedule information and hours of operation.