The Milwaukee Art Museum (www.mam.org) greatly exceeded my expectations when I took some family including 3 small children there. The kids had already visited the excellent children's museum (the Betty Brinn Children's Museum) across the street earlier in the day, and before going home, we hoped they would be willing to endure a quick stroll through the art museum for the sake of the adults. How surprised I was to see that the children (ages 1, 3, and 6) had more fun at the Milwaukee Art Museum than they did at the Children's Museum. In fact, they had even more fun that the adults did, though we loved the experience.

The Milwaukee Art Museum is remarkably family friendly, even for families with fairly conservative values that don't want their kids being exposed to excessive nudity or other awkward or distressing scenes. It's a place where families can experience some beautiful and inspiring art, and where children can grow in appreciation of the arts. Our 3-year-old grandson and our 6-year-old granddaughter were both highly impressed by the main exhibit featuring Rembrandt, Reynolds, and other great classics from the Kenwood House in England. They loved the paintings and picked their favorites that they wished they could bring home with us.

Then as we went into other exhibits, the 1-year-old often laughed with glee at the art she saw and enjoyed browsing the wide-open spaces the museum offers. She probably had the most fun of all, sometimes shouting in delight. Sorry, fellow visitors! Our quick stroll lasted much longer than we thought and the kids would have enjoyed staying longer. So glad we went there! Kids under 12 are free, while adults paid $15. Well worth it.

Here are some photos from our Dec. 2012 experience:

I took the family to Solea in Appleton on Casaloma, just west of the Fox River Mall. Their Mexican food is a pretty good choice for families with small children because they have a good children's menu and their food isn't too spicy in general. I was pleased with the Veracruz style tilapia that I had, though I enjoyed the tilapia at El Jaripeo more. A tamale that I ordered on the side was one of the best I've ever had, and I really liked the green salsa topping, lettuce, and sour cream that came with it, making a sometimes boring item more interesting. My wife had a burrito that was OK but lacked flavor in the filling. However, the service was excellent and willing to take things back and make adjustments to ensure that we were happy with the food, though we learned this after we were done and my wife expressed some minor disappointment. Our other guests generally enjoyed their food and we were all pleased with the family-friendly service.

Mapquest.com is a good tool for finding your way around the Fox Valley. Mapquest now includes some information about Wisconsin communities such as Green Bay. The info for Appleton is just extracted from Wikipedia at this point, but I'm happy to announce they do provide some local photos of the Appleton area. You can upload your own favorites, if you wish. 

Based on positive reviews from readers, I trekked out to Little Chute while in town over the Christmas holidays and took some family members to enjoy lunch at El Jaripeo. Very good Mexican food, with rapid service and little waiting for food to arrive. The food in general seems to be a little less spicy than typical, perhaps to accommodate Wisconsin tastes, but flavor is good and costs are low. I enjoyed Los Cavos, a seafood dish with nicely grilled, tender tilapia topped with sauce and roasted shrimp, large and tender, for $10.99. Others enjoyed less expensive lunch specials or combination plates, or the excellent children's menu.

They serve horchata, a favorite rice drink of mine, and it was good. Many places don't serve this basic Mexican drink at all, s I really appreciate the ones that do offer it.

The chips and salsa are good. We had a very mild but fresh basic salsa, an excellent bean dip with melted cheese on top, and two additional salsas that were more fiery. Really nice mix.

Setting is nothing special but it's comfortable and clean.

Overall, good food, good prices and very good service. Located on Highway 96 (Main Street) on the outskirts of Little Chute.