Don't let the summer doldrums get you down.There are plenty of fresh alternatives to busy your mind and body.
By SHARON KENNEDY WYNNE
Published June 15, 2006
[Times file photos]
Club V Beach facility in Clearwater
Quarry Golf Course in Brooksville
St. Pete Shuffleboard Courts
Vertical Ventures in Tampa
It's summertime, so we all get the urge to go do . . . something. Something different.
Theme parks? Been there. Movies? Seen 'em. Sitting on the beach? Yawn.
Let's think outside the sandbox and try something new.
Here's a look at some alternative forms of amusement around the Tampa Bay area. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it's a good place to start looking for something to do for curiosity's sake.
Play games
Play golf with a Frisbee
Disc golf is popular with the dudes who play hacky sack, but it's also a remarkably easy game for any skill level to play. Instead of chipping balls into a hole, you stand on a 12-foot-long concrete pad (the "tee") and toss toward an elevated metal basket some 100 feet away. Chains around the basket stop the disc and make a distinct clanging sound that is most satisfying after a good throw.
Serious players get special discs that are smaller and flatter than your backyard variety. You can find a list of courses at www.pdga.com. Of special note: Clearwater's two rugged shade-lovers courses at Cliff Stephens and Coachman parks and the Quarry Golf Course in Brooksville, built around an old rock quarry. The Quarry course wanders through an amazing landscape, including shots over a deep pit. It costs $5, (352) 544-5485, but most courses are at city parks and are free.
Play shuffleboard (really)
A hip twist on an old game attracts the MTV crowd to a game long associated with the Lawrence Welk crowd in downtown St. Petersburg. Nearly 100 people - including a strong contingent of young artists and scenesters - show up every Friday to play shuffleboard, listen to music and enjoy local art. Bands play the third Friday of every month, and kids and families are welcome. Even better, it's free. 7-11 p.m. at the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Courts, 559 Mirror Lake Drive N.
Play beach volleyball away from the beach
Alan Hafez, a former volleyball player in his native Egypt, opened an amazing 20-court beach volleyball facility miles from the beach this year - on U.S. 19 near Ulmerton Road in Pinellas County. Hafez made his money in business and real estate. Now he's pursuing his dream.
The Club V Beach facility, which Hafez says is the largest in the country, has sand finer than Clearwater Beach's, without the shells or saggy nets that make beachfront play tough. The sturdy aluminum poles and heavy-gauge nets can be adjusted for men's or women's height. It's got stadium lights for nighttime play. And there's plenty of free parking.
No wonder it already has hosted national tournaments.
You don't need to have a team. Show up any time after 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and pay $5 a night for a pickup game. Hafez collects the "orphan players" and creates teams.
Join a nine-week league for $60 and you get in free on the weekends to practice. (727) 540-0222.
Go on a high-tech savenger hunt
There's a treasure chest somewhere in Sawgrass Lake Park in St. Petersburg, and another on Picnic Island in the Port of Tampa. How you find it, well, that's the fun of it.
DaVinci Code fans should love geocaching. You log onto a Web site (www.geocaching.com), plug in your ZIP code, and up pops a couple dozen hidden treasures in parks and alleys all across your town. There are hundreds in the bay area.
All you are given is a couple of clues and the precise latitude and longitude coordinates.
Then you head out with a GPS unit, which now cost less than $100, and can get you within a few feet of the "treasure." In most cases, the cache is just a Rubbermaid container or an old ammo box filled with trinkets like key chains and Mardi Gras beads. The thrill is in the hunt.
(Bring some dollar store trinkets to replace the ones you take.)
Inside each cache will be a notebook and a pen so you can leave a note about when you found it and see the notes from the other treasure hunters who were there before. Put the log and your own offerings back in the box and return it to its hiding place. Some caches have been hidden for years.
Scale an incline
You can climb a straight-up rock wall, even in flat Central Florida. A number of gyms offer walls, but Vertical Ventures in Tampa is one of the largest around.
The indoor climbing gym offers a lot of packages to those just trying out the sport. Beginners can take an introductory class for $30 that includes all the gear and covers the basics. From there, you can pay a daily rate of $11 to $12.50 (not including gear rentals) to figure out how much you like clinging to a rock for dear life. Find them at 5402-E Pioneer Park Blvd., Suite E. (813) 884-7625.
Get zen on the water
Tai chi on the beach
This slow-moving ancient self-defense practice that looks like underwater ballet is more about balance and control than raising your heart rate.
Each Wednesday at 6 p.m., a beginner-level class takes place with a nice view on Indian Rocks Beach at 16th Avenue. Teacher Roger Millen asks for a $5 donation and there's no need to make reservations. Just show up in comfy clothes. (727) 595-8457.
Yoga on the beach
Tom Meagher, a hospital wellness adviser, conducts yoga classes on Indian Rocks Beach at 22nd Avenue at 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 8 a.m. Saturdays. The 75-minute session of "Tom's eclectic yoga" is usually playful and energetic, but made for all abilities.
No need for reservations; a $6 donation is requested. (727) 365-4901.
Kayoga, the marriage of kayak and yoga
The yoga teachers at Sculptured Bodies in Redington Shores lead kayak trips to an island, followed by a yoga session. It's for all skill levels and can be as relaxing as a morning stretch or a more intense boot camp-style workout.
They offer three or four trips a month either to an island 20 minutes off Redington Shores or the longer 30-minute paddle from Fort De Soto to Shell Island. You also can book trips for your own crew by appointment. Prices range from $35 to $65 per person. (727) 319-4990.
Kayaking for fitness
"Carolina" Mike Berthold takes paddlers out into Coffee Pot Bayou near downtown St. Petersburg for a workout. The classes meet at 6:30 p.m. Mondays (beginners) and Wednesdays (intermediate) at the Coffee Pot Bayou boat ramp, 31st Avenue N and First Street in St. Petersburg.
The cost is $30 if you rent a kayak, $10 if using your own. You have to reserve a spot 24 hours before. (727) 235-1959 or www.carolinamike.com.
Meditate to a beat
Every Sunday about an hour before sunset, people start arriving on Treasure Island toting bongos, finger cymbals, even coffee cans and water jugs, to beat out a rhythm and get some release before starting a new week.
It started out as a college student's community project, and five years later, it's still drawing dozens of strangers from as far as Sarasota and Plant City to join a meditative beat that rises and falls back into a heartbeat on the beach.
Find this circle at the county park just south of the Bilmar hotel on Treasure Island. Bring hand drums or any percussion instruments; modern drum sets played with sticks don't fit in very well. To find out about this and other Tampa Bay area drum circles, go to tidrums.tripod.com.
Try an arty outing
Art After Dark
The monthly Art After Dark with Starbucks takes place from 8 to 11 p.m. the third Friday of each month at the Tampa Museum of Art, 600 N Ashley Drive. The after-hours museum event offers music (see Page 33W for a story on this week's band), performances and entertainment, plus libations. It costs $10; members free.
The event is also a good time to check out Avant Garde, the young professional auxiliary group that supports the museum. It holds museum events, outings at local bars and nighttime hops through downtown Tampa. (813) 274-8130, www.tampamuseum.com or www.tampa-avantgarde.org.
Gallery walks
The idea of an evening stroll is not always appealing in the summer months, but if you dress lightly and step into the air-conditioned galleries that dot downtown St. Petersburg, you can soak up some visual pleasure on a Saturday during the monthly Downtown Arts Association gallery walk. Along the way, stop at one of a growing number of cafes downtown.
Galleries are open from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month with free admission, and some offer nibbles too. See www.stpetearts.com for a list, or just show up on Central Avenue and start prowling.
Also watch for arts walks in Gulfport, Bradenton and Sarasota.
Cool off
Go tubing on the Rainbow River
The quintessential summer ritual for many Floridians is to grab an inner tube and find inner peace floating the 5.8-mile Rainbow River, about two hours north of Tampa. This pristine river system discharges amazingly clear water in the fourth largest freshwater spring in Florida and the eighth largest in the world.
KP Hole Park in Dunnellon has restrooms, a snack bar, swimming beach and boat ramp. The park entrance fee is $3 per person. Canoes are $5 an hour. Tubes are $9 for the day. (352) 489-3055.
Play like a mermaid
Rent a kayak at Weeki Wachee Canoe and Kayak Rental, (352) 597-0360, where you get a two-person canoe or kayak for $38 to tour one of the last unspoiled water trails in the state. Take a half-day trip and still have time to spend the afternoon checking out the so-retro-they're-cool-again mermaids and the water park at Weeki Wachee Springs ($15.95-$21.95).
Take home a cooler full of scallops
Collect them yourself near Crystal River. Scalloping season is July 1 through September and described as hunting for live Easter eggs.
AquaMarine Images (toll-free 1-888-732-2692) takes a boatload of scallop hunters out at 7 a.m. and returns at 1:30 p.m. in time to start melting some butter. The $60-per-person rate includes the snorkel gear; reserve ahead of time.
Explore a cave
You'd be surprised by what you can find underground in places just a short drive from the city. But don't try this alone.
Venture out with a group of avid cavers to sample the sport first. Cavers organize local "grottos" - groups devoted to studying, mapping, preserving, and above all exploring, caves - under the auspices of the National Speleological Society (www.caves.org).
They are eager to welcome new members and amateurs interested in joining their next underground excursion. You can find the Tampa Bay Area Grotto at www.caves.org/grotto/tbag/ or call the chairman, Tom Farnell in Largo, at (727) 581-7462.
