Things to Do in Ellicott City

The 90-minute narrated tour, led by expert guides who share insider info about the city and the Inner Harbor, shows off the city's prime sights. From the Annapolitan II, a luxury water van, you can spot Federal Hill, Fells Point, and the USS Constellation, and get a glimpse of Fort McHenry. While the open upper deck is ideal for making eye contact with attractions, a climate-controlled lower level, featuring a full-service bar with drinks and snacks available for purchase, provides some respite from potential awkward encounters with socially inept seabirds.

Pasadena Golf Center lets visitors create the satisfying thwack of a club hitting a golf ball in one of two locations. They can make out the sound on the 18-hole mini-golf course—where ears will also pick up the sound of trickling waterfalls and the gurgling of landscaped streams and ponds—or at the driving range. Golfers can manipulate a variety of clubs there since targets are set up at different lengths, and 20 of the range’s 34 hitting stations are covered to provide shade during warm months and heat during cold ones. In addition, a full setup of lights let them swing away into the evening or when Apollo's chariot of fire is in the shop. To assist in swing mechanics and proper alignment, the center organizes lessons led by Golf Academy of America–certified instructor, Brett Francisco.

Pasadena Golf Center is also equipped with a nine-station batting cage that challenges visitors with baseball pitches of varying speeds as well as slow- and fast-pitch softball. A 1,600-square-foot patio nearby can facilitate birthday parties or other special events.

Under the steady hand of Coast Guard-licensed captain Larry Vazzano, the Wharf Rat slices through the blue waters of Chesapeake Bay. The intimate vessel's sails harness the breeze, turning this way and that above the heads of passengers to find the best angle to the wind. Its decks bustle with activity of guests helping prepare sails or taking the helm as well as relaxed onlookers enjoying the unique view. Meanwhile, viewed from the cockpit dining table, the sun reaches its zenith and glitters off the peaks of waves, or dips slowly behind the forested shoreline, dyeing the whole world in orange, red, and purple.

Captain Larry loves this experience––the Atlantic Sailing Experience, as he calls it––so much that he's shared it with over 600 guests. In addition to his nautical know-how, he shows off his prowess at the grill for brunch and dinner, churning out tasty barbecue and vegetable sides from his own garden. Of course, he doesn't just sail and eat. He also charters his ship for exciting sailboat races and the occasional voyage to the end of the Earth.

Inside a practice space heated between 80 and 90 degrees, yogis Michele and Sean guide students of all ages and experience levels through the reinvigorating poses of Vinyasa power yoga. During up to two classes per day, the instructors help pupils master the style's breathing techniques and synchronized postures, which transition seamlessly into one another, much like a month of video-game playing leads to a Cheetos addiction. The heated room coaxes muscles into sinking into deeper stretches for increased flexibility and detoxifies bodies via sweat. A stock of free rental mats cushions guests throughout the session, and a free introductory course for new students allows novices to sample the Vinyasa style every Thursday night.

Director Ann Wiker leads a creative crew of teachers who curate exhibits, lead accessible art classes, and help local artists to market their work. In the Creative Messes classes, 2- to 4-year-olds, accompanied by parents, dabble in drawing stick figures, painting stick fruit bowls, and forming pottery, as teachers emphasize key shapes and colors. In beginning oil-painting courses ($95), mature beginners prep canvases, mix paints to create unearthly colors, and learn rules of composition as they experiment with brush techniques. Intermediate painters can continue to develop color mixology skills and use of light and shadow in intermediate oil courses or paint without an explicit subject in abstracting courses, using acrylics and oils to create stark images that represent either waves crashing on a beach or the inside of a baboon's heart. Consult the schedule to find other courses, including advanced-level painting ($95), introduction to digital photography ($90), and watercolor painting ($90).

Kim Yates's passion for the macabre spawned from a 1973 ride through the Haunted Mansion at Disney World, after which the child collected props and crafted monsters for her parents' front porch. Over the next several decades, Kim channeled her energy into drumming for a Baltimore metal band and building a sprawling Halloween attraction in her front yard and then watching it blossom into a full-scale haunted house in 1994. Despite various relocations, her indoor haunt has been growing ever since.

Featured in the Baltimore Sun, Kim’s Krypt sets Charm City teeth chattering with 25- to 30-minute adventures teeming with unexpected spooks and surprises in a show that adds new scenes annually. A terror-ridden tradition for more than 19 years, the indoor haunt invites brave patrons to test their nerve against killer clowns soliciting screams, zombies seeking fresh flesh, and blood-spattered apparitions recklessly searching for change for a $20 bill. Staffers fortify patrons for their harrowing journey with a range of concession fare as they converse at the covered waiting area after receiving their first shock of the night in the form of free parking. A force of uniformed and plainclothes police officers patrol the building to ensure visitors scare in safety.