Things to Do in Atlantic Beach

With help from a staff of paddleboarders, surfers, environmental scientists, and a dog named Dillon, Kayak Amelia founders Jody and Ray Hetchka combine their love for outdoor sports with environmental conservation. Ray, a certified naturalist and self-described tree hugger, peppers guided kayak, bicycle, and paddleboard eco tours with facts on flora, fauna, and all the best smells circulating throughout the island's delicate ecosystem. In addition to guided tours, Kayak Amelia teaches paddleboard and kayak lessons, and leads fishing trips and overnight kayak excursions. Guests can sign up for tours, or rent equipment for the day, at Kayak Amelia's storefront, Y.B. Green's General Store, which carries eco-friendly gifts such as beeswax candles, carved bone necklaces, and clay-dyed clothing.

A 39-foot ninjasaur snarls in the corner of Big Air, bearing white fangs and a coiled, sloping tail that broadens to a two-lane slide. This inflatable monster shares a habitat with castles, volcanoes, and princess towers, as well as bouncy football fields and sports arenas. Together, these inflatables occupy a 12,000-square-foot arena that adjoins to a 1,700-square-foot "parent's space." As sock-footed kids frolic amidst the bounce houses and slides, parents enjoy grownup distractions such as free WiFi, pool tables, and novelty-sized checkbooks. Big Air welcomes guests for open play, field trips, and parties.

Traveling to homes across Illinois, California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin with an array of hand-selected bottles in tow, the knowledgable consultants of PRP Wine International save their customers the time they would spend searching stores and the jail time that could result from trespassing on private vineyards. The staffers of this private wine company spend almost every day of the year unearthing the best bottles across the United States, Europe, Australia, South America, and South Africa, and then present their selections to eager palates at homes, private clubs, and hotel suites during private tastings and special events. As the wine spills forth into glasses, the consultants impart background information on the wines, share pairing ideas, and encourage guests to ask any questions they might be embarrassed to ask at restaurants, such as, “How do you pronounce pinot noir?” or “Where is the giant laser that transforms the grapes into wine?” As the evening progresses, conversations will also cover grape varieties and facts about specific growing regions.

Staring at a blank piece of paper can be intimidating, but browsing the blank, premade pottery at Doing Dishes draws hibernating creativity from its den, enticing the brain with shape, size, and bisque meat. Pieces range between $7 and $60, and all merry potters are assessed a modest studio fee of $6, which covers everything required to design and fire a project, including time. Grab a blank plate and paint a meal upon it, stencil a cup with springtime flowers, or decorate a picture frame worthy of being hung inside itself.

Kristin Hendrix teaches students to create functional and decorative ceramics during Morning Glory Fire Arts' classes, field trips, and other hand-crafting adventures. All materials are included in the two-hour clay classes ($24/child, $30/adult) where students can sculpt a bowl, vase, or replacement sock before returning a week later to glaze the fired piece. Clay players can also put together a pottery-to-go kit ($7+ depending on selected item) packed with a custom set of brushes, glazes, and other materials to create and fire ceramics at their own pace. Hendrix will tote glazes, tools, and clay or bisque to a location of the customer’s choice for a reverse field trip ($5/person for groups of 12 or more), sparing supervisors the trouble of collecting notarized permission slips.

Even though Perry Farrell coined the phrase “Alternative Nation,” invented the Lollapalooza concert series, and played midwife to the genre of modern rock in the 1990s, his musical powers are even more attuned in 2012. Jane’s Addiction, composed of frontman Farrell, guitar wizard Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins, and Chris Chaney on bass, could be Florida retirees betting on games of shuffleboard and coasting off the success of seminal albums such as Nothing’s Shocking and Ritual De Lo Habitual. Instead, the band lets its freak flag fly with its latest album, The Great Escape Artist and its subsequent Theatre of the Escapists tour.