According to livability.com, Cincinnati is ranked No. 10 in the list of 2013's "Top 10 Spring Break Destinations for Families: Quick Getaways." 

Livability chose their top 10 destinations based on the cities that make the most of the short amount of time spring break offers. They used their city database along with Trip Advisor, Expedia and Yelp reviews to find places that have "temperate climates along with lots of attractions, parks, natural areas, affordable hotels and kid-friendly restaurants."   

But as a friend just commented: "Do they know we don't have a beach?" Apparently. Because things they're really excited we do have include one of the "top-ranked and oldest zoos" in the country along with the Cincinnati Art Museum, the 21c Museum Hotel and the Clifton Cultural Arts Center. And an IKEA, "which has a free supervised play area for kids." They really love the Newport Aquarium and our parks (Eden Park and Ault Park) as well.

Their list of Must-Do Activities and Attractions?

1. Enjoy the view from the Carew Tower Observatory
2. Tour the Cincinnati Museum Center
3. Ride the Cincinnati Railway
4. Peruse the plants at Krohn Conservatory
5. See the signs at the American Sign Museum
6. Visit the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum

The post-World War II/Baby Boomer/Generation X family vacation is probably best epitomized by the 1983 film National Lampoon’s Vacation. If you grew up in that era, you likely (at least once) piled into the “family truckster” and headed for a popular vacation spot like an amusement park, beach or national park. Your destination probably featured cheesy side attractions like alligator farms, tacky historic villages, unremarkable mini-golf courses and gift stands stuffed with authentic souvenirs, most of which were made in China. After one or two trips, the kitsch and camp were recognized by even the youngest family members, and many of the sub-attractions were mocked or became the butt of inside jokes.

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Births are excellent occasions to celebrate and reflect on how we got here and where we're going. One moment it/he/she doesn't exist, the next moment it/he/she does and instantly you can't imagine what life was like without the new arrival.

Today we at CityBeat are celebrating the birth of a new publication, A-Line, and web site. In case you're wondering, it's a girl.

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If you or your business or organization was featured in the Best of Cincinnati issue that hit stands last week, please grab this badge to use on your website or Facebook page. Congratulations to all the winners in the issue.

General public tickets went on sale this morning for the 2011 Western & Southern Open, which this year hosts the men’s and women’s professional tennis tournaments simultaneously for the first time. The combined tournament is Aug. 13-21 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason and offers the richest purse in event history, totaling $5.2 million.

The Western & Southern Open will be one of only five professional tennis events (other than the four "majors") hosting men and women simultaneously in 2011. The other combined tournaments are in Rome, Madrid, Miami and Indian Wells, Calif.

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Hi, friends! CityBeat this weekend will be running two live chats — one during the UC-West Virginia basketball game Saturday and another during the SAG Awards Sunday. Feel free to stop by and share your thoughts on Bob Huggins' return to Cincinnati (maybe he'll wear the mustard yellow suit — have to join our chat to find out) or how honestly Mark Zuckerberg was portrayed in The Social Network (we heard everything in the film was true).

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The holidays are a cheerful, exciting time spent with close loved ones you don't get to see as often as you'd like.  But somewhere between the sixth repeat of A Christmas Story and your third plate of "seconds" (who's counting?), you may find yourself wanting to strangle someone. Maybe all the gifts are unwrapped and you find yourself depressed in an endless sea of crumpled paper and ribbon. Perhaps you polish off that last glass of egg nog (or, in the Kern family, Lambrusco punch) and realize that's the bottom of the barrel. Or Grandpa starts talking about how next year, Obama won't even let us have a Christmas.

Whatever the situation, it's nice to get out of the house during the holiday weekend. And this year, there are plenty of excuses to do so.

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As expected, the freshly painted and lighted Roebling Suspension Bridge made several appearances on last night's ESPN telecast of the Bengals-Steelers game. Also as expected, the Bengals failed to win ... but that's another blog post for another time.

Matt Cunningham has an interesting story in this week's CityBeat about the volunteer group Covington-Cincinnati Suspension Bridge Committee, which is responsible for the bridge's new decorative lighting.

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The iconic Roebling Suspension Bridge reopened Friday after seven months of painting and repairs. Despite some talk about painting it brown to replicate the original color scheme when it opened in 1866, the "blue bridge" remains blue.

New lights are still being installed, with the official relighting scheduled for tonight to coincide with the Bengals-Steelers Monday Night Football broadcast.

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More than 1,000 slick-dressed professionals, ranging from ambitious youngsters to seasoned gurus, gathered at the Aronoff Center for the Arts yesterday for the sold-out TEDxCincy conference. TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a nonprofit set of conferences held in the spirit of ideas worth spreading. TEDx is an offshoot of TED created in 2009 to serve as a platform for self-organized local events that promote conversation and discourse amongst members of a community, who are encouraged to share their ideas to create their own TED-like experience.

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