Happy Mother’s Day to all! Are you wondering where to take your mom or your special friend who cares for you year round? Stockdale’s at 6523 University Ave. (near the Joan Kroc Center) is San Diego’s best kept secret, and it features a home style southern buffet for only $22.95. The buffet features fried catfish, glazed ham, smoked turkey, southern fried chicken, the best mac n’cheese, killer coconut cake and much more scrumptious fare. Stockdale’s participated in the San Diego Dining Out for Life event and that’s how I discovered this gem. It is best to call for reservations. 619-265-1494.

At exactly 11:20 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, the light on the Santa Monica Pier Ferris wheel went off and riders took one last spin. The legendary Pacific Wheel has thrilled more than 3 million ocean-view riders aboard its 20 gondolas and is a landmark by the beach illuminating the skyline with its 5,393 lights. After operating for 12 years, the Ferris wheel was auctioned off on Ebay for $132,400 to an Oklahoma developer, with half the proceeds going to the Southern California Special Olympics.

The Santa Monica Pier is a favorite tourist attraction with lots of shops and outstanding outdoor restaurants, and is home to the famous Looff Hippodrome carousel. The carousel, housed in a designated landmark, the Byzantine-Moorish building, was designed and built in 1916 by Charles Looff and was faithfully restored in 1984. The pier is also a favorite set for the movie and television industry, and can be seen in such memorable films as The Sting, Titanic and Forrest Gump.

The new Ferris wheel is a $1.5 million state-of-the-art, 90-foot tall wheel that will feature computer generated special effects lighting with 15,000 LED lights. It is currently being installed and will be unveiled on May 22.

This just in … Falcon Studios lifetime exclusive Matthew Rush will make a special appearance on Thursday, May 22 at Bacchus House during the Raining Men wet underwear contest. If you’ve been living under a rock, Matthew is perhaps the most popular porn superstar of the decade, with a string of notable videos, and the subject of many sexual fantasies. This awesome muscle god is also an avid swimmer, and competed in the Gay Games in Australia. On top of that, he’s an awfully nice guy.

Bacchus House has been bringing some of the top porn personalities to San Diego, including Johnny Hazzard, Roman Heart and Blake Riley. With a winning combination of cheap drinks, hot guys and porn stars dancing in their wet underwear, it’s time you check it out!

Last weekend, Cristina Monet and her diva sisters got together and put on one of the best drag shows ever at Lips Restaurant to benefit Wigs for Kids. The extravaganza featured the zany Babette Schwartz, everyone’s favorite Fifi, the talented Morgan, the sexy Tootie and the Lips Girls. The turnout was fantastic and the audience had a great time enjoying the sumptuous hors d’oeuvres, and the incredible show. The event raised more than $3,000 for Wigs for Kids, which provides hair replacement for kids who lose hair as a result of chemotherapy and other medical treatments.

Do I have your attention yet? If you aren’t planning to party in town, there’s still time to fly out to Chicago for a very hot Memorial Day weekend. Mingle with a few thousand leathermen from all over the world as they converge on the windy city for the 30th annual International Mr. Leather contest, with special guest performer Andy Bell of Erasure. International Mr. Leather Mikel Gerle from Los Angeles will be handing over his title after a very successful term. Circuit party DJ Tony Moran will be spinning at the official after party at the House of Blues. There is also a huge leather market featuring all types of leather and fetish wear, toys and novelties, videos and even a piercing booth at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. For more information, visit www.imrl.com.

While in Chicago, you may also want to attend the Grabbys 2008 Erotic Video Awards. This is like the Golden Globes of the gay porn industry, produced by Gay Chicago magazine. The Grabbys will be held on Saturday, May 24 at The Park West Theatre and hosted by Chi Chi Larue and Honey West, with porn stars Jake Deckard (Raging Stallion), Dean Flynn (Titan Men) and Trevor Knight. The official after party will be at the Circuit Nightclub on N. Halstead, produced by those nasty boys at Rentboy.com. For more information, visit www.grabbys.com.

I’m such a foodie and San Diego is such a great city with so many outstanding eateries. One dining adventure took me to the Little Sheep Hot Pot at 4718 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. What sets the Little Sheep apart from other hot pot places is its authenticity. Mongolian hot pot style of cooking is a very family and group friendly meal. Some refer to it as a Chinese fondue which was invented by Genghis Khan. You start by selecting your choice of soup base: regular, spicy or vegetarian. This is what sets Little Sheep apart. Other places may bring you a pot of plain clear soup base, but Little Sheep’s soup base is heavily infused with herbs and spices, including garlic, cilantro, ginseng, lotus seeds and many other Chinese medicinal spices. Each table is equipped with an induction cook top that keeps the soup piping hot. Then, you select your choices of meat, seafood, veggies and other goodies that you dunk into the soup and cook yourself. I would suggest a variety: beef slices, tiger prawns, fish balls, baby bok choy, napa cabbage, tofu, shiitake mushrooms and glass noodles. This interactive style of dining is really fun and entertaining. You can also order some side dishes, including Mongolian Kimchi, pickled jelly fish, beef or chicken skewers, chicken wings, dumplings or sesame pancakes. The Little Sheep Hot Pot started in Canada, and now has three locations in California. It is well worth the drive and the experience!

June is traditionally Pride Month in most cities, with a few exceptions. Here are some dates to block off for a few local and major Pride events nationwide: Long Beach, May 17-18, www.longbeachpride.com; Los Angeles, June 7-8, www.lapride.org; New York, June 29, www.nycpride.org; San Francisco, June 28-29, www.sfpride.org; San Diego, July 19-20, www.sdpride.org; Palm Springs, Nov. 1-2, www.pspride.org.