(They have closed) Over the long Memorial Day weekend, I talked my family into visiting one of my childhood favorites, the new Nut Tree in Vacaville. I still remember this California landmark vividly when I would visit as a child, so I didn’t know what to expect now that it has reopened. We decided to first have lunch in the old Black Oak Restaurant that I’ve always seen on the other side of I-80, which is a family-friendly coffee shop style place (similar to a Dennys, but with nicer décor).

When we first pulled up to the new Nut Tree, I was a little disappointed. It is now one big shopping mall, replete with Old Navy, Borders, Starbucks, and other familiar retail outlets, with the family park area situated in the back. The Family Park is a small but clean and well thought out park with sort of an old-fashioned fell to it. It’s free to get in and roam around, but you have to purchase tickets to go on the rides. Some of the rides are:

One of my kids favorite places to go, hands-down, is the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito. If you haven’t been there, they are located in the beautiful Golden Gate National Recreation Area at Fort Baker in Sausalito, which overlooks San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge, and the views are amazing.

Birthday parties—and unique and interesting places to have them—are a popular subject on this web site. Coincidentally, we’ve been planning a 4th birthday party for our son, so I’ve had the chance to do a lot of research. Here are a few suggestions for fun and out-of-the-ordinary children’s party venues in Marin:

I’ve heard a lot of talk from moms in the last week about the hazards of using plastic products for children. There are concerns, spurred by recent reports like this in the San Francisco Chronicle, that chemicals used to soften polyvinyl chloride (PVC), namely bisphenol A or BPA, may pose health concerns when used in children’s toys, baby bottles, and sippy cups. Glass baby bottles are making a comeback, and I recently ran across this nifty little gadget: Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Sippy Cup

The whole family, or at least the ones that like tomatoes, will enjoy this special event at Cornerstone Festival of Gardens near Sonoma this weekend, April 14-15. Tomatomania will include a huge heirloom tomato seedling sale, with colorful varieties like Green Zebras, Cherokee Purples, Black Krims, and Dixie Golden Giants. Children can learn about all the varieties of tomatoes and how to maintain a wonderful vegetable garden. Some of the free activities for children will include crafts, making vegetable garden markers, and making a scarecrow for the organic vegetable garden.

It’s time to start planning for my son’s 4th Birthday party. I’m always looking for a fun and easy place to have my sons party every year. Last year we had two parties for him at the Round Table Pizza with Merlin’s Magical Kingdom in Novato. An indoor playland with tubes for the kids to crawl through, this is also a great location for any type of get together on a rainy day. Another great place for this age range is the Redwood Empire Gymnastics in Petaluma. We went there for my niece’s birthday a couple years ago and all the kids had a blast. They offer a gymnastics session and they have an area for food, cake and gift opening.