Gulfport, FL Indoor Activities

Since their near-simultaneous invention in the 1930s, yoga and Pilates have been locked in the smiling ferocity of mortal frenemy combat, each vying for wellness superiority. Today’s Groupon lets you choose sides: for $25, you get two yoga or Pilates classes (or one of each, normally $20 a piece) along with an eyebrow shaping at Palm Wellness Center (normally $15), a combined $55 value. Receive a full bushel of physical uplift with toning exercises and slick facial aesthetics that scream 2010.

A bastion of family-friendly arts and entertainment since its curtain first rose in 1983, Ruth Eckerd Hall demonstrates its commitment to the community through concerts, movie screenings, and all-ages education at the Marcia P. Hoffman Performing Arts Institute. Graduates of the school go on to star in musical and theater productions on the stage, overlooking 2,180 sloping seats arranged continental style for great sightlines and impeccable acoustics.

With the 2011 season looming large, FC Tampa Bay will attempt to pass, tackle, and score its way to NASL glory at the club's new home at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg. Currently headed up by English coach and retired professional footballer Ricky Hill, the FC Tampa Bay team are chest-trapping, banana-kicking, and head-butting their way back into the world of black-and-white-spotted balls. Watch them take on the Puerto Rico Islanders, who are hungry to work their way up the 2011 standings, or root on the roster as the team guns for the fleet-footed Atlanta Silverbacks, slippery Carolina Railhawks, or northerly FC Edmonton. General-admission seats allow frenetic fans to observe the fantastic flairs of NASL soccer savants as they attempt to sneak the European pigskin between an opponent’s legs and through the goal zone. The $20 gift voucher can be put toward merchandise such as a jersey, a scarf, or an oversized foam yellow card.

Shortly after beginning her journey in the Pilates industry at the age of 18, Vanessa Pinkham moved to South Africa, where she mastered and taught the form's focused stretches, bends, and core-firming maneuvers. Though she witnessed the exercises' transformational results, she also noticed that students quickly grew bored performing the usual repetitive mat routines and wonted séances to summon the spirit of Joseph Pilates. To address this problem, she opened up her own studio in Tampa where she crafts signature classes that battle the monotony of traditional Pilates workouts. With modifications for injury rehabilitation and different fitness levels, she welcomes clients of all backgrounds to pursue toned tummies and leaner physiques.

Children press their faces against the glass of a trio of two-story cylindrical tanks to catch a glimpse of fish, crabs, and other sea life from faraway oceans. Native tidal-zone fish swim inside the first tank; in the second, fish from Africa mingle with those from South America; and in the third, tropical fish from throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans create a colorful tapestry. At the waterfront Pier Aquarium, these three tanks stand among 14 aquariums, an interactive exhibit with ocean sounds broadcast by hydrophone from underneath the pier, and wall murals that showcase aquatic life from each of the world’s oceans. Visitors explore fish and plant life using lighted microscopes, magnified viewing boxes, and plastic replicas of sea stars and horseshoe crabs—and they can touch and hold biofacts such as shells and spines.

Educational staffers divulge facts and embarrassing secrets about creatures living in four main tanks on the second floor. They show visitors how to handle crabs, sea urchins, and flounder at the Tampa Bay touch tank, and point out exotic clownfish, anemones, lionfish, and eels in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Coral, and Pacific Ocean tanks. They also help visitors identify spineless animals in the Invertebrates aquarium or enlist their help in feeding and caring for sharks and lobsters, just as car mechanics enlist the help of customers when feeding air fresheners to their cars.

Visitors further explore facts about marine life in the museum shop, where staffers display shelves of aquatic toys, puzzles, games, books, and apparel. They can also stroll down the pier, where a Water Walk display offers information about local Tampa Bay waters, and down to the beach, where researchers and marine scientists show visitors how to study aquatic denizens in a hands-on outdoor marine lab.

Just minutes from downtown's bustling shops and overlooking the glassy waters of Tampa Bay, The Mahaffey's picturesque building hosts some of Florida's most entertaining art and performance offerings. Originally built in 1965, the renovated building's floor-to-ceiling glass façade pierces the night with softly glowing light, cordially inviting patrons inside and awakening desires in moths that can never be fulfilled. The box-style seating of the theater ensures clear sightlines for all patrons, and its excellent acoustics make the venue suitable for both thunderous rock bands and delicate chamber ensembles.