Bay City, TX Outdoor Activities

If your Monday morning already has you waiting for the weekend, today's Groupon will make the anticipation taste better with a drizzle of hot sauce and hope. Today's Groupon makes your weekend plans sizzle with two tickets to the upcoming weekend of hot live music and hotter hot sauce at the ninth annual Houston Hot Sauce Festival. For just $5, you and a friend get a full day (Saturday, September 19, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., or Sunday, September 20, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.) of music, tastings, and shopping. Tickets are normally $5 each, so today's two-for-one deal gives you enough extra dough to buy your favorite salsa, wing sauce, peppers, and spices to bring home for private scorching consumption or to share with fellow tasters of the flame.

With the sound of fast-approaching engines roaring in your ear, you jam your foot down even harder on the gas pedal and narrow your eyes at the upcoming left-hand turn, determined not to let up even for an instant. If you do, there’s a good chance that your new view will consist of your competition gloating triumphantly while they zip past you on the track. You may only be driving a GT-5 Sodikart, and not a tricked-out racecar, but you absolutely refuse to let any of the other adult or—gulp—junior drivers beat you.

Track 21 lets speed-demons careen around one of three indoor go-kart tracks at speeds of up to 40 mph as they try to edge past other karts, competing with fellow birthday partiers or coworkers to reach the finish line before it decides to become a finish wall. In case competition gets too fierce, the karts are surrounded by heavy nylon bumpers and rubber blocks designed to absorb impact from all sides.

Friendly rivalries continue on foot inside Area 21, a two-story laser-tag battleground beset with fog, obstacles, and space-age scenery. Sharpshooters zap each other's targets in pursuit of a grander mission, such as capturing the opposing base or stealing the enemy's supply of light, before matches end and scores are tallied on a stats sheet. Glowing decor also illuminates a jungle-themed nine-hole mini-golf course, where gorilla and lion statues bask in the black lights. Track 21’s arcade demands timing and button-smashing dexterity from gamers, and a track-side casino sets up rounds of blackjack, poker, and craps.

Today's Groupon gets you half-priced tickets to catch the Texas A&M Aggies as they face off against the New Mexico Lobos at the Houston Holiday Shoot-Out. For $10, you'll watch the hoop action from first-come, first-served seats in the $20 section at the Toyota Center on Saturday, December 12, at 5 p.m. (doors open at 4 p.m.). Pick up your tickets at the Toyota Center box office on game day.

A fleet of segways ferries tour takers to scenic outposts in downtown Houston and along the historic bayou during four tours, seven days per week. Guides lead groups of up to eight riders in snapping sunset pictures during the Twilight Bayou tour and spout off historic anecdotes during the Houston History tour. In addition to tours of the city and scenery, friendly guides can travel with a brigade of segways to a client's home or office to teach friends, families, and coworkers how to navigate the two-wheeled steeds more effectively than a renowned segway whisperer.

Once you enter the Tropical Storm, everything goes dark. You blindly whip around inside the watery tunnel before being unexpectedly plunged into a pool of water—and you probably want to do it again. The Tropical Storm is one of eight water slides at Splashway Waterpark, a seasonal outdoor playground that boasts water-fueled attractions for toddlers, older kids, and adults. Sometimes the rides relax, as when visitors drift down the lazy river on waterproof water beds, but sometimes they raise pulses instead, as on the nearly straight drop of Pirate's Plunge.

From May to September visitors can enjoy the park's attractions, which were designed to entertain families with kids of any age. When energy wanes, an onsite café piles plates with all-American fare such as burgers and hot dogs. The truly exhausted can turn in for the night at the park's RV and tent camp.

Situated northwest of Houston, the Houston National Golf Club and Strategic National Grass Reserve pocks itself with 27 holes, playable, like Voltron, in three possible combinations. Designed by legendary hole artists Von Hagge, Smelek, Baril, and McConaughey, the rolling green is punctuated by varied hazards and distractions like ponds, sand traps, and virtual gazelles. Both beginners and professionals can find something to challenge their walking and bad-shot-excuse-making skills. Houston National's GPS-equipped carts automatically keep the game's score and track your position in case you get lost amidst the unending flatness.