Things To Do In Bedford

High above a lush vineyard, the morning sky brims with creatures of flight: an eagle, a large bumblebee, a pigeon that forgot how to land. These were just some of the sights Airbus Balloon Rides' owner Andy Richardson imagined would greet his future down-gazing passengers. He first fell in love with the roar of a hot air balloon's flame just before entering the second grade, and that passion has driven his dreams ever since. Ten years after buying his first balloon at age 14, Andy now commands a fleet of rainbow-colored balloons that come in standard and specialty shapes. These colorful vessels set the elevated stage for individual flights and tethered rides helmed by Andy and his talented team. Flights lift off at sunrise, in the afternoon, and at sunset, when the low sun paints an orange-red glow over water, fields, and reindeer still stuck on rooftops.

Back on land, Airbus Balloon Rides also educates visitors on hot air balloon creation inside their balloon factory, which welcomes tours. At the end of each tour, the guides lead guests in a champagne or mimosa toast with accompanying hors d'oeuvres, celebrating their skyfaring adventures together.

Paradise Rental Boats carefully curates fleets of Yamaha, Bayliner, and Sun Tracker boats, so that sun-kissed riders can jet across the sparkling waters of Indiana’s Lake Monroe and Georgia’s Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona at their leisure. The company's vessels range from party barges and yachts—which hold groups of up to 26—to the smaller, two-person WaveRunner, whose highly responsive steering suits drivers trying to chase down and catch their fish dinner. Onboard radios and CD players let mariners groove to their favorite tunes, and the company also rents optional accessories for water sports, such as wakeboards, water skis, and artificial bait for licensed fishermen.

Cardinal Fitness provides a throng of workout amenities in a fully equipped epicenter of exercise. Bolster blood-pumping organs with sophisticated cardio equipment while buttressing biceps and shaping solar plexuses on top-notch strength-training equipment. Although Austrian bodybuilders have pumped the world's iron supply to dangerously low levels, Cardinal still provides enough of the strength-fortifying mineral for a wide array of free weights. Your fitness assessment and personal training session will give you a jump-start at the gym and enhance subsequent workouts by providing you with information on the best exercises for your body, as well as individualized advice for achieving fitness goals.

Panache Dance is a local, independent dance studio, offering the services of highly trained professional instructors, who are ready to meet any of your dancing needs.

Named one of the 50 Reasons to Love Bloomington by Bloom magazine and one of the nation's top 25 science centers by Parents magazine, WonderLab Museum of Science, Health & Technology invites visitors of all ages to discover how exhilarating science can be. Between a two-story interior and an outdoor WonderGarden, the museum flaunts more than 50 hands-on science activities. A range of exhibits bring youngsters face-to-face with scientific principles in such attractions as the two-story Grapevine Climber climbing maze, the Bubble-Airium’s cloudball machine, and Water Works' ball launcher. Over in the Fitzgerald Hall of Natural Science, live amphibians and insects crawl around settings that mimic their natural habitats. For children aged 6 and younger, the George & Evelyn Brabson Discovery Garden grants youthful scientific inquiry through live animal displays, the Magnet Wall, and a tree house. The museum also hosts regular special events.

Ryan Ketchum was overweight. When he decided to change his lifestyle, however, he held nothing back. In less than a year’s time, he lost 110 pounds and became the athlete he’d always dreamed of being. His dedication impressed lifelong athlete and All-American track and field competitor Wil Fleming, and together they founded Force Fitness & Performance to help others experience similar success.

Now, joined by six other expert trainers, the founders help everyday citizens shed pounds with personal training and boot camps. They also help competitive athletes improve their performance through functional motion training, which cuts unnecessary movements such as lifting the knees too high when running or clicking one’s heels when taking jump shots.