Things to Do in Connecticut

Since 2002, Rock House's system of musical instruction—which comprises DVDs, books, and Web-based lesson support—has helped aspiring rock stars to master strumming guitars, plucking basses, and tickling keyboards to a variety of different genres. Several renowned blues, rock, and metal artists have participated in the Rock House program, including members of Megadeth, The Gary Hoey Band, and Parliament-Funkadelic. In addition to their training materials, Rock House also certifies instructors at local music centers so they can conduct one-on-one private lessons tailored to enhancing students' strengths and neutralizing their weaknesses, such as the inability to destroy a guitar on the first smash.

Captain Paul G. Forsberg first served as a mate on his father, Carl Forsberg’s, boat fleet, where he worked until 1951. At the age of 12, he bought his first 24-foot boat, which he used to practice cruising the waters of Montauk. Today, he owns and serves as the head captain on his father’s Viking Fleet, working alongside a team of captains that includes his son and two grandsons. They ship passengers around the waters of Massachusetts and New York aboard a fleet of four private and commercial fishing boats, a high-speed ferry, and a cruise and whale-watching ship—many of which Captain Paul designed himself.

Captains may showcase local skylines, point out passing whale pods, or drag-race the Flying Dutchman aboard the Viking Starship, a 140-foot cruise ship with a climate-controlled cabin and seating on two outdoor decks. The custom-designed high-speed ferry Viking Superstar transports passengers, their bicycles, and surfboards across the water to Block Island, New London, and Martha's Vineyard. Anglers occupy ships including the Viking Star, Gulfstar, wooden Stariper, and sail-assisted Freedom on day and nighttime fishing trips, taking advantage of onboard gear and sleeping quarters where the crew stays up and talks about which boats are the prettiest.

The certified technicians at Advanced Automotive lead double lives. Before performing extended repairs or maintenance on cars, they act as chauffeurs to the vehicles’ owners. The techs shuttle customers wherever they’d like to go—within reason, of course—including The Shoppes at Farmington Valley or a mani-pedi appointment at a local salon. This accommodating spirit, along with a commitment to fair and honest service, has kept the shop in business for more than 15 years.

In the office, Big Ron Dombrowski—Ron 2—runs the show, and his son and namesake—Ron 3—serves as the shop's foreman. With diverse skills that run the full gamut of foreign and domestic autos, team members tackle services such as repairing loose breaks, worn belts, or an uneven suspension, and they certify their hard work with a 24-month, 24,000-mile warranty on all parts and labor. Customers without errands to run can opt to wait in the onsite lounge, sipping complimentary coffee and using the free WiFi to buy a windshield-wiper metronome for their arrhythmic auto.

As the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, the Rock Cats clubhouse is baseball's equivalent of an arboretum, blossoming in the summer with big-league-ready talent while nurturing future pros, a laundry list of baseball all-stars that has previously included Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, David Ortiz, and Torii Hunter. Following the frenetic lead of Rocky, a full roster of mascots entices eyes with various forms of family-friendly entertainment throughout each game. An extra dose of off-the-field entertainment can also be savored inside the ballpark's Fun Zone, where fans test their skills by smacking baseballs in a homerun derby, throwing fastballs with speed pitch, or swinging an oversize hot dog to prepare for the day when professional baseball decides all bats must be meat-based.

Founded in 1903, New Britain Museum of American Art was designated the first museum in the country to be dedicated exclusively to American artwork. Upon its founding, wealthy industrialist John Butler Talcott endowed the museum with a hefty sum of gold bonds and bottled phoenix tears with which to purchase modern oil paintings. The collection blossomed to include other artistic media over time, and it now consists of more than 10,000 works spanning more than three centuries of American creative endeavor. The museum's permanent collections showcase works by noted American artists ranging from Norman Rockwell to John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt to Georgia O'Keeffe. Along with rotating exhibitions and borrowed collections, the museum showcases work by emerging artists.

Inflated structures, slides, and games fill the climate-controlled environs of the numerous BounceU locations that speckle the nation. At each site, staff members closely monitor all activities as little ones traverse obstacle courses or pull on oversized inflatable boxing gloves. The crew also invites parents to join in on the fun, letting them bounce alongside their kids or make sweeping edicts from atop a bouncy-castle throne.

In addition to open sessions, the indoor-play haven sets the stage for Pre-K and Play Classes, where instructors lead games and activities. Special events include Create and Bounce, which lets kids bounce and paint the day away so their parents can do grownup things, such as eat marshmallows with a knife and fork.