Hobe Sound, FL Outdoor Activities

The balmy April air seems warmer as sonic webs of reggae and island music weave their way throughout the Martin County Fairgrounds. Backed by a laid-back symphony of live steel drums and vocals, visitors to the third-annual fete wend through merchant stalls and scope out displays of marine-themed art and new and used fishing or boating equipment, including rods, kayaks, and lures flavored like medium-rare worms. A public boat auction draws bids on new and used watercrafts, while an antique boat show recalls seafaring days of yesteryear. A host of sage boating and fishing gurus helm workshops and seminars throughout the festival, waterlogging attendees’ neurons with nautical topics. To prevent growling stomachs from interrupting precious boat-gazing time, festival chefs whip up toothsome seafood to remind eaters of their love for the sea and quests to eat every inch of it.

Safari Mini Golf & Games curates friendly competition with more than two acres of tropical parkland that encompasses a 36-hole miniature golf course and four batting cages. Vibrant palms, streams, and waterfalls line the miniature golf course, creating a safari-like habitat for life-size statues of elephants, monkeys, and other exotic creatures along the way. The piercing timbre of sharp line-drives resonates from four batting cages, where cyborg pitchers contemplate charging the plate as they paint the strike zone with high-arcing softballs and baseballs hurled at speeds between 35 and 60 mph. Competitive appetites can find relief in the arcade, where guests seek out goals on the foosball pitch, square off in the digital realm of video games, or display their dominion over sugar by vanquishing scoops of Blue Bell ice cream.

Palm Beach Segway Tours' experienced and witty guides lead motorized conga lines through Palm Beach and the historic downtown of West Palm Beach. Wind cascades over helmeted noggins as mansions, yachts, and museums scroll by, set against a tropical backdrop of beaches and sea creatures. Intrepid tourists may also rent 49 c.c. retro gas scooters, the same vessels that Italian explorers piloted when they discovered America in 1958.

For a decade, LunaFest has raised awareness about breast cancer and connected women across the U.S. by screening short films made by, for, and about women. Each year, the nine selected films range in genre from comedy to drama and explore themes such as body image, childbirth, and gender identity. The profits from each LunaFest screening benefit the Breast Cancer Fund and other local nonprofits nationwide. To date, the festival has featured more than 92 filmmakers and raised nearly $1.2 million dollars for charity.

Once attendees master segway skills during a 20- to 30-minute orientation session, the expert guides at The Electric Experience whisk them away on a one- or two-hour trek through Delray Beach. Tours whizz down serene paths and quiet neighborhood streets in between stops at public beaches and the Sandoway House, where guests can take turns feeding a shark. As guides expound on Delray Beach's history, tours amble into Veterans Park, swing by manatees luxuriating in their natural habitats, and weave their way among the marina district's striking architecture. Afterward, The Electric Experience can equip visitors with sun-shielding gear for the beach, electric bikes for unguided rides, or folding bicycles that patrons can refold into origami swans to ride on ocean expeditions.

Shannon "The Cannon" Hudson is an International Kickboxing Federation world champion, a fifth-degree black belt in japanese shotokan karate, and a survivor of more than 70 bouts in the ring—yet, one of his most influential titles is "father." With two kids clinging around his waist like a squirmy fanny pack, Shannon started brainstorming a way to channel his boxing and kickboxing training into a quick, effective workout that even those who are busy or out of shape could tackle. The result was 9Round, a 30-minute routine of aerobic, anaerobic, and resistance moves divided into a circuit of nine stations. The ever-changing series of workouts maximizes morale and results and minimizes boredom.

His trainers launch the workouts every three minutes, motivating exercisers through each station—which might include jumping rope or pummeling speed bags. Online nutritional counseling supplements the workouts, teaching patrons how to construct and eat healthful meals instead of falling back on old habits, such as snacking on cheese sculptures.