Little boys and birthdays are full of fun and cake. That’s a fact. Nowhere is this more evident than a Disneyland birthday celebration at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Seriously, go there and see for yourself if you don’t believe me. There is cake everywhere. We took our now 6-year-old bundle of joy and adrenaline to a Disney character breakfast at Storytellers Cafe in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. The hotel is awe-inspiring. The breakfast was fantastic. I love it when that happens. We bought the buffet, which was fresh, amply stocked, and moved along quickly (unless you waited for a personal omelet, but that’s all you). The buffet was just under $24 per person for adults and slightly under $12 for kids. Smaller kids (0-2) are free. The breakfast was hosted by Chip and Dale, of Chip and Dale fame, and with some of their other Disney animal friends they visited each table in turn and spent a good amount of time with each child (and adults, too). ...[more »]

We recently visited Legoland in Carlsbad, California (just north of San Diego), and the results were a bit mixed. Kind of like nuts. The good: It is all about Legos, which are, obviously, awesome. The bad: the rides are awful. The majority of rides are geared towards children under the age of six, because personal experience has shown that Lego-obsessed kids around 8-years-old were barely able to hold back a yawn. Sure, it’s great that the younger kids have fun — it’s for them, I get it, but there should be something for kids of other ages, not to mention an occasional block thrown to the adults. The good: The park itself is quite beautiful. Most of the walkways are wide and clean, and the landscaping is lush and pleasant. The bad: The lines are really long and do not have any sort of theme or interactive components that might keep kids occupied or entertained. The good: The food served is pretty tasty by theme park standards. The bad: The food is expensive, which is...[more »]

Cheekwood Mansion Exploringthe sprawling gardens and extensive art collection at Cheekwood is a must for Nashville visitors. Built by the Cheek family, owners of Maxwell House Coffee in 1932, the historic limestone mansion and formal gardens are closely tied to Nashville history. A visit to the gardens and galleries offers an intriguing peek at grand, Southern lifestyles during the early 20 th century. A view of a Cheekwood pond From the lovely gardens to the extensive art collections, Cheekwood supplies indoor and outdoor fun. Start with the art galleries, which include the courtyard gallery, Carrell Woodson sculpture trail, video installation galleries and the permanentcollection. The newest exhibit, “PermanentResidents: Artists From Cheekwood’s Collection” will open on March 31. Noted for an impressiveassortmentof American art, Cheekwood will display selected works from 19th Century American artists. The sculpture trail was my particular favorite,...[more »]