“Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else.”

― Fred Rogers

Holidays can deplete reserves in humans. To replenish and renew, take your dog, walk, hike, drive a backroad. Get outdoors and spend some time together. Or be solitary and get some space to think.

Happy New Year. Places to go, things to see and do include:

Holiday Exhibition: Mr. Gilbert's Railroad – a holiday tradition built in New Haven. Regular hours: Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Classic New Haven-made American Flyer trains for all to operate plus wooden trains kits to buy and build (ages 5 and up). The Whitney Workshop, 915 Whitney Ave., Hamden. Closed New Year's Day. The trains run on the weekends through Jan. 20, 2018. Admission is free; donations welcome. Train kits and other projects to build and take home $5 to $12 (fun and memorable). For information, www.eliwhitney.org. Walk the trail on site; a good outing.

CT River Museum’s Holiday Train Show ongoing to Feb. 18. Artist Steve Cryan has worked his magic with more trains, new scenery, and lots of surprises to be found in the fully operational 26-foot model train layout. Visitors are challenged with the I Spy scavenger hunts for objects hidden within the settings, while the very young can get hands-on at the expanded American Flyer and Lionel train layout designed for toddler-size viewing. For more information see www.ctrivermuseum.org.

Winterfest Hartford is open – free ice skating, free skate rentals at Bushnell Park (near the pump house); weather permitting. For more information and many other events visit Hartford.com.

The Mark Twain store, just inside the Twain House & Museum visitor center, Hartford – great for gift ideas, books, cards – and browsing during a (sometimes) hectic season. Plenty of free parking for the museum center; look for the signs on Farmington Avenue. Inside the store, a small printed sign at center: “Don't forget to get your books stamped at the register…”

Seen recently in the shop “Twain at Sea: The Maritime Writings of Samuel Langhorne Clemens” edited by Eric Paul Roorda. To celebrate a rich aspect of Twain’s life and literary achievements, consider a visit to Mark Twain House & Museum exhibition, Tails of Twain: How Animals Shaped the Man & His Work, second-floor gallery in the museum center complex on display until Jan. 21, 2019.

“Mark Twain’s affection for all creatures, whether they had paws or claws, wings or whiskers, was one that he shared with his family – and with his readers. His beloved cats, family dog, horses, donkeys, and a calf won the affections of his three daughters at their Hartford home. As a boy in Missouri, he reveled in knowing the creatures of the woods and prairies – and in old age, he felt a deep kinship with the animals large and small that he encountered in his travels.”

Fee to view just this exhibit (does not include a tour of the house), $6. Note that admission to the Mark Twain House is by guided tour only. Visitors can purchase tickets in advance, or choose to combine tours of the Twain and nearby Harriet Beecher Stowe House for a discount. Tip: Call ahead to see if school tours are scheduled; weekday mornings are a good time to visit. Holiday closing; here is a link for more information and other guidelines.

Familiar places seen with new eyes can prove fruitful. Seen on a recent detour through Middlefield, Connecticut – high on a hill a monolith with a skyline profile similar to Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia. Imagination is a funny thing; content to capture the sight and not investigate, knowing it was likely piled high soil enrichment for the fields where berry crops will be grown. Glad the choice was made to get “lost” and wander.

For those seeking more ideas – including sleigh rides drawn by horses, visit the official site for Connecticut tourism, www.ctvisit.com.