Cabin Fever

T here aren't many things more meat and potatoes than a hearty helping of Lefty Kreh . So there I was Tuesday night, playing hooky from a mundane government meeting to fork down protein and starch with the greatest fly fisherman, author and teacher of them all. Kreh, weeks from his 85th birthday, was at the Boatyard Bar and Grill in Eastport to swap stories, tell jokes and watch a cult fishing movie with old pals and admirers....

It's not often that children say they can't wait to go back to school. But after an extended end-of-year vacation courtesy of a monster snowstorm on Dec. 19, some kids - not to mention their parents - have just about had enough of being cooped up at home. "It's been bad," said Abbe Milstein, who, despite the bitter cold, drove Sunday from her home in Rockville to visit the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore with her three children, Michaela, 9, and 5-year-old twins Adin and Gabrielle, and their father, Andrew Hoenig.

For more than 20 summers, Lenore Campbell and Leo Tims vacationed in a log cabin at Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland. They were in love with a home for which the structure itself is a defining element of the decor. The emotional tug of a log house led them to build their own five years ago on a pastoral lot in Monkton. The enveloping warmth of the wood gives the IBM retirees the sense that their home is snuggling them. "When you walk in, it puts its arms around you," Tims said. Cabin-style houses, especially log houses, represent not only shelter but a lifestyle.

400 new cars The lowdown -- Representatives from more than 30 car manufacturers will be on site this weekend at the 2007 Motor Trend International Auto Show at the Baltimore Convention Center. This nonselling environment will give attendees a close look at more than 400 trendy, innovative and environmentally conscious vehicles. If you go -- The Auto Show runs noon-11 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. tomorrow, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday. $4-$10. The Baltimore Convention Center is at 1 W. Pratt St. For more information, go to motortrend autoshows.

Casanova This lush romantic comedy stars Heath Ledger as the legendary 18th-century ladies' man and Sienna Miller as the liberated lady who wins his unlikely devotion. R. Grandma's Boy This farce in the Adam Sandler vein stars Allen Covert as a 35-year-old video-game developer forced to live with his grandmother (Doris Roberts) and her friends (Shirley Jones and Shirley Knight). R. Hostel Follow the horrific journey of two Americans abroad and one wild man from Iceland. They go to a hostel in Bratislava, Slovakia, that's said to overflow with available women - and turns out to be a torture house.

With four toddlers in tow, Danica Howard was looking for a place to sit. At Port Discovery children's museum Tuesday, she found a bench - across from the Wonder Widgets table - and watched as her son, younger sister and two godchildren placed odd-shaped widgets into appropriately shaped holes. And she remained seated and relaxed even when, moments later, the four abandoned the task and began chasing one another. This week, the combination of frigid temperatures, school vacation and cabin fever has parents looking for indoor activities to occupy the little ones.

`Children's Day' Stroll around the 22 acres of Ladew Topiary Gardens in Monkton Sunday and enjoy "Children's Day." Tour the flower and topiary gardens and manor house, and let the kids enjoy outdoor games, storytelling, sing-alongs, rock-painting and craft-making, face painting, snacks and more. Guided or self-guided tours of the gardens, which feature living shrub sculptures by Harvey Ladew, are offered, as well as guided house tours. "Children's Day" runs from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at Ladew Topiary Gardens, 3535 Jarrettsville Pike, Monkton.

The Union Bridge Town Council has introduced an ordinance that would charge property owners for more than one police nuisance call within a 12-month period. While almost all of the council's conversation during the past few months has been about landlords and problem tenants and guests, the ordinance would apply to private homeowners and businesses as well, Mayor Bret D. Grossnickle said yesterday. "We're not singling out landlords," he said. "I don't know if this is even going to work.

Funnymen who don't know the strength of their humor often prove to be the best. That's the case with comical directors, too, such as Eli Roth, whose unassuming horror movie Cabin Fever wins laughs not only with its overt jokes, but also with its general, warped affability. Roth aims to do nothing more than scare you craftily with this tale of five feckless youths who fall prey to a flesh-eating virus while vacationing in North Carolina woods. Today's audiences have become inured to schlock weighed down with platitudes.