This week’s Wednesday Weekend Inspiration delivers a little fall fun with choices for everyone in the family! No more debating as a family about what to get for dinner or how to spend your Friday night. Start out with dinner at the Windmill Food Hall in Carlsbad. With over twelve food vendors alone you are bound to find something everyone can agree on.
After dinner, head over to Palomar Pumpkin Palooza for a night of Halloween fun everyone will enjoy. I recommend doing this sooner than later because the crowds will begin to pick up each day in October! Between live music, Halloween movies, food trucks, inflatables for kids, a bar for the adults, and plenty of photo opportunities, the entire family will leave satisfied. Even better, the inflatables will do a great job tiring out the kids just in time for bed!
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DINNER AT THE WINDMILL FOOD HALL
The Windmill Food Hall is located in Carlsbad’s iconic windmill building, just off of the 5 freeway on Palomar Airport Road. Previously home to the classic Pea Soup Anderson’s, the space has been transformed to modernize and deliver a little bit for everyone.
Parking is abundant and so is the seating- both indoors and outdoors. Stroll around the food hall to browse the options or sit down and use the QR code on the table to order. The large windows make dining inside feel like you are on a patio, but if you are looking to be tucked away, wrap around the corner and enjoy the quiet “library” type area of the food hall.
Don’t worry about missing a favorite game as there are several large televisions on the outdoor patio. The patio is also dog-friendly if you want to bring the entire family with you! Kids and parents will also love the skee ball and other arcade-style games.
FOOD OPTIONS
The list of food vendors is always growing, but so far you can explore a variety of cuisines in the Windmill Food Hall. Use the links below to check out the individual menus.
- Thai Style
- Secret Sauce Wok & Grill
- Cross Street Chicken and Beer
- Notorious BBQ
- Rolled Up Sushi
- Mediterranean House
- El Puerto Street Tacos
- Craft Pizza
- Corner Coffee
- District 1 Pho
- Cacio
- The Paleta Bar
We love the Pad Thai from Thai Style and the make your own pasta from Cacio. I also love the Bahn Mi from District 1 Pho and can’t wait for a rainy day to try the pho too.
THE MILL BAR
The Mill Bar is always evolving, with specialty cocktails, local craft beers, and even seasonal hard-to-find flavors of local kombuchas. Keep this place in mind during the week for happy hour 4-6, trivia and all-day happy hour on Monday, and buy-one-get-one bottles of wine all day Wednesday (hello ladies lunch crew!!). Weekends deliver live music, yoga, and other seasonal events.
Even better, the Mill Bar gives a 25% discount to all Vets, Active Military, First Responders, and Health Care Workers!
HALLOWEEN FUN AT PALOMAR PUMPKIN PALOOZA
After dinner, head east 1.5 miles down Palomar Airport Road to the Palomar Pumpkin & Polar Palooza. This pumpkin patch has something for every member of the family. Best of all, entrance to the pumpkin patch is free, unlike many pumpkin patches in town. I love that this family-owned business lets families enjoy the photo opportunities without an entrance fee. However, they know most kids will want to jump when they see the “inflatable world” in front of them!
INFLATABLE WORLD – OPEN UNTIL 9pm ON WEEKENDS
Palomar Pumpkin Palooza has a ton of different inflatables for kids, from slides and activity centers for all ages. The kids will stay busy enjoying the variety of jumpers. Make sure to plan ahead and bring socks so they can run around on the turf and jump away.
Prices are:
- $20 for 30 minutes
- $25 for 90 minutes
Although 90 minutes seems long, for the extra $5 I highly recommend going for the longer session. Sit back and relax in the lounge or have fun watching your kids take on the slide of all inflatable slides!
FOOD OPTIONS
Friday and Saturday nights bring a taco truck with a variety of $5 tacos. If you just had dinner at the Windmill, you may not be looking for a full meal. The patch also has a snack stand and bar set up for parents. I saw a lot of Yeti’s walking around too, which makes me think BYOB is not a problem here. They even have a lounge area in the inflatable zone for parents to relax while watching the kids jump. The snack stand sells a variety of snacks, including popcorn and hot chocolate for their weekend movie nights.
MOVIE NIGHTS
Every Friday and Saturday night at Sunset, Palomar Pumking Palooza invites you to bring a blanket or chairs to enjoy a movie on their inflatable screen in the pumpkin patch! You can check out their Facebook page for updates. This year, the schedule is as follows:
- Friday, October 8th – Nightmare Before Christmas
- Saturday, October 9th – Hotel Transylvania
- Friday, October 15th – Ghostbusters 2
- Saturday, October 16th – Frozen 2
- Friday, October 22nd – Incredibles 2
- Saturday, October 23rd – Doctor Strange
- Friday, October 29th – Onward
- Saturday, Octboer 30th – Hocus Pocus
THE PUMPKIN PATCH
The pumpkin patch at Palomar Pumpkin Palooza has a great selection of pumpkins, gourds, and squashes, They have all different colors and sizes for kids to choose from. The actual pumpkin patch has great photo opportunities set up throughout the patch. They have a variety of wagons, but my favorite was the mini Radio Flyer wagons for the toddlers. They were adorable and added to the incredible photo opportunities!
Palomar Pumpkin Palooza is open until 9 pm on weekends. If you are there at closing, you may be lucky enough to help “clean the patch” by tossing older pumpkins into the “pumpkin graveyard” ditch on Hidden Valley Road.
Well, there is your Wednesday Weekend Inspiration for the week! Hope it inspires you to get out and try something new as a family. These mini-adventures are sure to create lifelong memories for kids and adults. Are you looking for a longer weekend adventure this fall?
Check out my post on our favorite pumpkin patch in Julian, California for more details.
