FOR MOM, A GIFT OF TIME : Outings With the Family Are Always a Top Treat

Despite what you may have heard from the American Restaurant League, the road to Mom’s heart on Mother’s Day isn’t necessarily paved with bearnaise sauce.

Sure, it’s sweet to see a family turned out in their Sunday best, together in a good restaurant showering Mom with gifts, fine food and house champagne until her eyes brim with grateful tears--or the Visa card maxes out, whichever comes first.

There are, on the other hand, plenty of mothers who would trade all the omelets in the world for a day just spending that ever-elusive “quality time” with their families. The trick is finding something to do that will keep the whole clan interested. A “Barney” marathon, we would assume, is out.

Here are a few suggestions to help give your mother, grandmother or any other mom-like figure in your life one of the finest gifts she can receive on Sunday: time with the people she loves most:

* The Dana Point Youth and Group Facility, 34451 Ensenada Place, at Dana Point Harbor, offers a family sandcastle workshop Sunday at 2 p.m. Moms are admitted free on their day; all others pay $3 a head for hands-on instruction in the fine art of pounding sand. Tips and tools for sand sculpting are provided during the 90-minute session. You don’t need reservations, but the class fills up quickly, so you may want to come a tad early to secure your place in the sun. (714) 661-7122.

If you want to grab a bite before or after, the adjacent Mariner’s Village is an option. You also can pack your own to enjoy on the beach or in a grassy picnic area nearby.

* While you’re in the neighborhood, consider taking a short stroll down the boardwalk to the Orange County Marine Institute, 24200 Dana Point Harbor Drive. The learning center offers marine-animal exhibits, as well as a variety of family-friendly excursions like a 90-minute harbor cruise aboard their state-of-the-art research vessel, the R/V Sea Explorer. The Stately Pilgrim, a replica of the brig that Richard Henry Dana sailed on before writing “Two Years Before the Mast,” is moored alongside the institute and open to the public Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (714) 496-2274.

* For the mom who doesn’t jump out of her skin at the sight of a lizard, a hike in one of the local wilderness parks may be the ticket. In Mission Viejo, there’s the recently opened Gen. Thomas F. Reilly Wilderness Park at Wagon Wheel Canyon, located at the end of Oso Parkway where it meets Coto de Caza Road. Trails here wind through stands of oak and sycamore and along low hills; reach the top of one and you’ll be treated to a vista that looks like something straight from the opening scene in the old “Bonanza” series.

Bear in mind this is a wilderness park. There’s no Evian water at the snack stand--in fact, there’s no snack stand. The restrooms are pretty rustic, too. Then again, how many Porta Potties did you see on the Ponderosa? (714) 728-0235.

* Nature lovers in the central county could check out Santiago Oaks Regional Park, 2145 N. Windes Drive, located in the horsy Orange Park Acres neighborhood east of the city of Orange. You can pack a lunch and spread out on a picnic table under a canopy of oaks; there’s also a handful of barbecues, play equipment and a horseshoe pit. Parking is $2.

Work off lunch on the trails (rangers lead hikes most weekends), or veg out on a couch in the nature center for some live “bird-vision.” Acorn woodpeckers and other native birds frequent the feeders outside the center’s picture windows and quail bop in the underbrush below. (714) 538-4400. There’s a bonus to this park: If you blew it and forgot to buy Mom some posies, there’s a nice roadside flower and produce stand a holler away on Santiago Canyon Road near Orange Park Boulevard.

Suit Her to a Tea

Somewhere along the line, some gentle soul determined that Mother’s Day and tea parties go hand-in-glove. Folks must agree, because there are more tea parties going on this weekend than you can shake a pinky at.

* One of the most popular ones, an outdoor affair at Santa Ana’s Discovery Museum, is sold out already, but there are other options. On Saturday, for example, there’s a tea in Irvine’s Northwood Community Park, 4531 Bryan Ave., from 1 to 3 p.m. that includes games and gift-making sessions for kids aged 5 to 12. Moms join their crafty offspring for tea and tributes at 2:30 p.m. Kids are $12; moms are free. (714) 552-4350.

* Tustin’s McCharles House, 335 S. C St., offers a cozy, antique-filled setting inside a restored 1885 Victorian cottage as well as an outdoor patio; it’s beautifully decorated this week in honor of moms, and women in general. The restaurant will be closed Mother’s Day so the staff can celebrate with their own mums, but will be open regular hours through Saturday. Teas range from $14 to $20 per person; reservations are strongly suggested. (714) 731-4063.

* If you’re up for a jaunt to Long Beach and you don’t mind plunking down $25 a person, the Victorian Tea Company, 225 W. 10th St., presents Mother’s Day teas Saturday and Sunday at 1 and 3 p.m. Proprietress Barbara Neal Peebles presides as the veddy proper “Queen of Tea,” presenting an “Anne of Green Gables” themed event with “cowcumber” sandwiches, “faery”cookies and chocolate teacups. Reservations are a must. (310) 437-1933.

Theater Works

In one week, mothers typically see more acting in their kitchens--”But Mom! If I have to go to the dance in that dress, I can never show my face at school again!”--than most drama critics see in a year.

Why not let her watch somebody besides her kids strut and fret upon the stage? There are several offerings suitable for families coming up. The following have tickets priced under--in some cases, well under--$15.

* “Anne of Green Gables,” a stage version of the classic tale presented by Laguna Niguel Community Theatre, continues Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. through May 21 at Crown Valley Community Park’s Outdoor Amphitheater, Crown Valley Parkway near Niguel Road, Laguna Niguel. Moms will receive a gift at Sunday’s performance. $6 to $8. (714) 661-3622.

* “The Wizard of Wonderland,” a musical fantasy that combines elements from the “Wizard of Oz” and “Alice in Wonderland” will be staged by Broadway on Tour beginning Saturday at BOT’s new home, the Grove Theater Center, 12852 Main St., Garden Grove. Shows are Saturday and Sunday through June 18 at 2:30 p.m. $6. (714) 636-7213.

* “Oliver!” the musical inspired by Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” continues through May 21 at Golden West College, 15744 Golden West St., Huntington Beach. This weekend’s shows are tonight, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m. $12 to $14. (714) 895-8378.

* “Lucky Stiff” and “The Fantasticks” are presented in repertory by students from the Orange County High School of the Arts at the Webb Performing Arts Center at Los Alamitos High School, 3591 Cerritos Ave., Los Alamitos. “Lucky Stiff,” a musical farce, is performed Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. (shows continue through May 20). The evergreen musical fantasy “The Fantasticks” runs Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. (continues through May 21). $5 and $10. (310) 596-4304.

* “Bye Bye Birdie,” presented by the Brea Civic Light Opera, bows out on Mother’s Day at the Curtis Theatre, 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea. Shows are tonight and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. $7 to $15. (714) 990-7727.

Mom as Masterpiece

There’s a great big county of museums and galleries out there that now have exhibits and programs that can appeal to mom’s aesthetic tastes without turning the kids (or dad, for that matter) into a pillar of salt from boredom. . . .

* In Fullerton, the Muckenthaler Cultural Center, 1201 W. Malvern Ave., hosts “Impressions in Tin: Mexican Tin Works,” a visiting collection of painted tin devotional art, decorative art and toys on loan from the Mexican Museum in San Francisco. Weekend hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Nearby, the Fullerton Museum Center, 301 N. Pomona Ave., on Sunday opens a collection of photographs and video tapes by White House photographers that depict news-making people and events in 1994. (714) 738-6545.

If you must brunch, there are several good restaurants in downtown Fullerton that lie just about midway between the two museums. Also, Rutabegorz restaurant, around the corner from FMC, has killer salads and desserts in a nice, funky setting. (714) 738-9339.

* The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, 2002 N. Main St., now has “Between Empires,” a collection of ceramic and gold from pre-Columbian Panama. The adjacent Topaz restaurant hosts its annual Mother’s Day brunch with live music ($5.95 for kids; adults, $14.95). Reservations are required. (714) 835-2002.

The Bowers Kidseum, which opened last December, offers a whole bunch of hands-on exhibits, as well as a weekend program of films and storytelling celebrating this month’s theme: “ Gente del Sol “ (“People of the Sun”). Kids and adults can team up in the art lab from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to create Huichol (God’s eyes) yarn paintings. Admission of $1.50 to $4.50 gives access to both museums. (714) 567-3600.

4-Wheelin’ Moms

If you want to drive mom someplace besides crazy this weekend, consider a spin down San Diego way. There’s the San Diego Wild Animal Park near Escondido at 15500 San Pasqual Valley Road. Through Sept. 4, 18 robotic dinosaurs made by Irvine-based Dinamation International Corp. roar, spit and generally behave like creatures with brains about the size of a walnut. The park also has many real wild animals in natural settings, along with Dino Island, a touring theme-park ride cum computer-animated film by Iwerks Touring Technologies that recently finished a stint at Santa Ana’s MainPlace mall. Park admission is $11.95 to $18.95; children 2 and under admitted free. (619) 480-0100.

* You can let mom get wet behind the ears, and just about anywhere else she wants, in Shamu’s Happy Harbor at Sea World, 1720 S. Shores Road in San Diego. Don’t let the name fool you--although it is designed with kids in mind, this new two-acre watery recreation area can be a blast for grown-ups, too.

There are huge pirate nets to scale, suspension bridges to maneuver, water cannons to blast and a large water maze. Sea World also has its regular lineup of marine animal exhibits and shows. Park admission: $20.95 to $28.95; kids 3 and under are free. (619) 226-3901.

If all this puts mom in the mood for fresh fish, Carlsbad’s own Harbor Fish, 3179 Carlsbad Blvd., is a fine stop on the way home. The very casual restaurant (paper plates, etc.) has killer clam chowder, shrimp and fish tacos at reasonable prices, and is steps from the blue Pacific. (619) 729-4161.

MORE KID STUFF IN MISSION VIEJO: STORYTELLING CONCERT

Professional storyteller Ruth Stotter and Jeff Gere spin tales, tall and otherwise, along with members of the South Coast Storytellers Guild on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Bathgate Elementary School, 27642 Napoli Way. Recommended for ages 8 through adult. $8. (714) 348-9778.

IN NEWPORT BEACH: THEY GO WAY BACK

On Saturday at 7:15 p.m., families can gather ‘round the campfire at Upper Newport Bay’s Shellmaker Island, 600 Shellmaker Road, for a free trip into Orange County’s past, when archeologist Michael Macko discusses “Prehistory in Upper Newport Bay and Orange County.” (714) 640-6746.

IN ANAHEIM HILLS: WILD THINGS

Oak Canyon Nature Center, 6700 E. Walnut Canyon Road, offers two parent-child workshops for preschoolers Tuesday: “Fill the Bill,” an overview of basic beak management for ages 2 to 4 (10 a.m.); “Doing the Locomotion,” a look at animal motion for ages 4 to 6 (1 p.m.). $3. (714) 998-8380.

* MOTHER’S DAY TREATS

Orange County restaurants make it easy to get Mom out of the kitchen on her special day. Page 31