CONNECTICUT - Fairfield/Southwest

Stew Leonard's , with stores in Norwalk, Danbury, and Newington, is a dairy store and more. Offerings include wine, cheese, meats, produce, fish and a packed calendar of cooking events. Other attractions at Stew Leonard's are its milk processing plant, costumed characters, scheduled entertainment, petting zoo, and other fun for children. A favorite entertainment for younger visitors is the Farm Fresh Five, a band of state-of-the-art animatronics that that entertains the kids while adults shop. Phone: Norwalk, 203-847-7214; Danbury, 203-790-8030; Newington, 860-760-8100.

Fairfield Museum and History Center at 370 Beach Road in Fairfield is a place to explore the history of this community, through the lens of world wars to ordinary daily life. The museum offers exhibition galleries, a special collection library, a family education center, an 80-seat theater overlooking Fairfield’s Town Green, and a museum shop. A current exhibit, Landscape of Change, tells the story of Fairfield’s identity across 375 years, from the late period of Native American occupation to the mid-20th century. Other exhibits have looked at baseball in America, Fairfield during World War II, and the stories behind everyday language and objects. Open daily except for major holidays. Phone: 203-259-1598

The SportsCenter of Connecticut on River Road in Shelton doesn’t give a darn about the weather. This covered and weather-protected facility offers a golf practice range, 18-hole miniature golf course, baseball and softball batting cages, laser tag arena, bowling, and the world’s only double-decker ice arena. You like sports? Now, inclement weather doesn’t need to slow you down. Phone: 203-929-6500.

Stamford, just a hop and a jump from the New York border, is a beehive of antiques stores, and a place where antiques lovers could get lost and put a grave dent in the checkbook. Among the places that are named in the upper strata of Stamford antiques shops are the Accessory Store on Jefferson Street; Harbor View Center For Antiques on Jefferson Street; Mid Century Antiques on Pacific Street; Greenwich Living Antiques-Design on Canal Street; Hamptons Antique Galleries on Canal Street; Hiden Galleries on John Street; Connecticut Antiques Center on Canal Street; and John Street Antiques Center.

United House Wrecking in Stamford opened in 1954 as a demolition business, salvaging doors, mantles, stained glass, and other valuable structures. The store became a haven for unusual items and later expanded to include the entire contents of homes. Now, 50 years later, the business is Connecticut's largest source of antiques and home décor, with a huge collection of architectural salvage, furniture, antiques and reproductions. Also a new 6,500-square-foot Design Center.

With about 200 antiques dealers under one roof, the Stratford Antique Center on Honeyspot Road is a place where antiques buffs can become blissfully lost. The center is located off I-95 in Stratford and is locally known as the “big blue building.” It houses 16,500 square feet of antiques and collectibles. Whatever you are looking for in antiques or collectibles you can probably find it here. Browsers will enjoy the numerous dealer floor spaces and lighted display cases. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except holidays. Phone: 203-378-7754

Ambler Farm, at 257 Hurlbutt Street in Wilton is a 200-year-old farm now managed as a working farm, educational resource, and open space for the public. People are welcome to drop in any time to walk, visit the animals, stop by the farm stand, spread a picnic. Adults and kids can watch the sheep-shearing; learn to knit and do other traditional crafts; enjoy the maple syrup harvest; and much more. Annual special events include Ambler Farm Day, Valentine’s Tea, and the Summertime Barbecue. New events are in the works. Open every day of the year from dawn to dusk. Phone: 203-834-1143.

Making connections with sharks, seals, otters, jellies, sea turtles and other animals from Long Island Sound inspires and delights visitors to the Maritime Aquarium at 10 North Water Street in Norwalk. Year-round study cruises take visitors right into the sound to experience animals in their own environment. Changing exhibits, special events, two hands-on touch tanks and an IMAX theater with its six-story-tall screen ensure every aquarium visit is fun and educational, too. Hours: daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., (closing is 6 p.m. in July and August.) Phone: 203-852-0700.

Weir Farm National Historic Site on Nod Hill Road in Wilton is one of two national historic sites that preserves and displays a place for the visual arts. (The other is the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire.) From 1882 to 2005, Weir Farm was the home and workplace of three generations of painters, starting with J. Alden Weir. Visitors today can view the Weir home and studios, take guided walks of stone walls and painting trails, and enjoy the rotating art exhibits. The grounds are open year-round; hours at the Visitor Center vary seasonally. Phone: 203-761-9945

The Audubon Center at 613 Riversvile Road in Greenwich offers indoor and outdoor fun by people who are experts on nature and wildlife. The 295-acre sanctuary has miles of trails near a hardwood forest, fields, a lake, streams and ponds, stone walls, and homestead buildings. If the weather invites you indoors, the Kimberlin Nature Education Center building has many entrancing exhibits. Other offerings at the education center include the Kiernan Hall Nature Art Gallery with its wildlife viewing window and honey bee hive exhibit, and a Nature Gift Store. The center serves as the site for the Quaker Ridge Hawk Watch and is a prime location to view the fall migration of raptors. Phone: 203-869-5272

The Bijou Theatre , opened in 1909 at 275 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport amid public excitement over the new silent movies, went dark in 1996. But the lights came back up in September 2011 when the theater’s restoration – part of the Bijou Sqare development project – was completed. Now, more than 100 years later, the oldest building used as a movie house in the country is poised for a revival. The Bijou Theatre is a multi–functional venue hosting film, theatre, art, comedy, music, and cabaret. Phone: 203-332-3228.

Fairfield Theatre Company is a place to watch for an astounding variety of live stage entertainment. Since the company's Stage One location opened at 70 Sanford Street in Fairfield, Fairfield Theatre Company has presented over 200 performances of eight theatrical plays directly from their original Off Broadway runs. It's sister venue is the Klein Auditorium in Bridgeport. Among the performers slated to appear in 2011 are Al DiMeola, John Mayall, Assembly of Dust. Lucy Kaplansky, Marcia Ball, Will Porter, Chris Cornell, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Shemekia Copeland, and many more. The theater also hosts a periodic cabaret series. Phone: 203-259-1036.

Here is a project that can keep you busy year-round: explore the 15 world-class museums and historic sites that comprise the Connecticut Art Trail. The trail meanders among historic sites, bucolic farms, art studios and artists' houses to grand and modern art museums in vibrant downtowns. The trail includes a feature called Trail Getaways that presents recommended itineraries along with helpful suggestions for nearby places to visit and dine. In the Farifield region, the trail includes Bruce Museum in Greenwich, the Bush-Holley Historic Site in Cos Cob/Greenwich, the Weir Farm National Historic Site in Wilton/Ridgefield, and the Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk.

Contraptions are fun for people of all ages (case in point: the Rube Goldberg foundation for the the game Mousetrap). The traveling exhibit, Contraptions A to Z, at the Discovery Museum & Planetarium at 4450 Park Avenue in Bridgeport reveals the fascinating mechanisms with a playful approach. Twenty-six mechanical devices embody a different letter of the alphabet, Antique Apple Peelers, the Berserko Ball Bouncer, Cuckoo Cuckoo Clock, the Drum Machine, the Emu’s Egg Engulf the Egg Scale, the Frog Flinging Frypan Flips Flapjacks Faultlessly, Gear Gizmos, and the rest of the alphabet all the way to the Zebras Zooming Zanily in a Zooetrope! Lots of fun for young visitors and their grownup friends, too! This visiting exhibit is on display through March 4, 2012. Open daily except Mondays. Phone: 203-372-3521.