Things to Do in Joliet

Unlike an outdoor field, The Perfect Swing's more than 60,000 sq. ft. facility isn't ever affected by bad weather or movie crews shooting yet another inspiring comeback story. The sound of cracking bats and thudding balls fills the training space rain or shine year-round. Baseball and softball players face off against seven automatic pitching machines, which hurl balls at speeds between 35–70 miles per hour, while pitchers work their arms in 17 practice tunnels.

The Perfect Swing also offers four indoor turf fields for year-round baseball, softball, and soccer. Shoppers who are looking to stock up on softball and baseball equipment can visit the on-site store.

Athletes aren't left to swing and throw blindly, though. The Perfect Swing boasts a staff of more than 25 baseball and softball instructors, including many current and former professional players. During private and group instruction, these experts help students hone fundamental skills in areas such as hitting, pitching, catching, fielding, and agility. Instructors also lead outdoor baseball camps during the summer months.

Keller's Farm was established only 21 years ago, but its roots run all the way back to the 19th century. Since emigrating from Bavaria in the mid-1800s, the Kellers have produced four generations of green-thumbed farmers, most of whom answered to the name Frank. It was during the reign of Franks I and II that the Kellers' first roadside produce stand opened, and the family's crop of grapes, raspberries, and potatoes helped their homestead survive the Great Depression. In the 1960s, brothers Frank III and Ray took over their father's farm and expanded the scope with corn, soybeans, oats, and hay grown on fields in Plainfield and Oswego. In 1991, Frank IV opened his first vegetable kiosk, and Keller's Farm was officially inaugurated.

These days, the three farmstands are open during the spring, summer, and fall, welcoming guests with fresh-picked seasonal offerings and annual harvest festivals. Depending on the location and the time of year, guests might find heirloom-tomato plants and flowers in finely wrought hanging baskets, ears of the family's specialty sweet corn, or homegrown pumpkins, gourds, and winter squashes. Their news page keeps shoppers up-to-date on the latest goings-on, with regular updates on flower sales, rain delays, and the farm’s ongoing battle with the mole men.

One fish peeks out inquisitively from behind a lichen-covered tank. Others swim through the windows and railings of a sunken ship, passing odd artifacts such as an electric guitar or a sign reading "Tricycle parking only." Surreal scenes like these aren’t accessible to most landlubbers, but they’re part of a worldwide subaquatic playground for Dive Right In’s students and staff of certified dive instructors and instructor trainers. An SDI, ERDi, and TDI five-star instructor training facility, the shop is helmed by teachers who coach their customers to achieve RTSC standards, and employ many of the same skills they use to train police, fire department, and lifeguard dive teams.

Among the caves and wrecks of local quarries and Lake Michigan, instructors prepare their trainees to dive down as far as 60 feet, the farthest depth at which they can guarantee there’ll be no sea monsters. They also lead courses in TDI technical diving, diver First-Aid, and specialty certifications such as adventure or rescue diver. Inside the dive shop, techs sell and repair masks, snorkels, wetsuits, and gear such as dive computers, regulators, and tanks.

Although Toula Smith found that running helped calm her anxiety, she still felt like something was missing. She didn't feel like she ever had complete control over her problem until she tried yoga. She fell head over feet for this discovery, eventually opening Breathe, The Art of Yoga. At this studio, she welcomes students of all ages and skill levels to experience the physical and mental benefits of yoga during 60-minute Vinyasa Flow and guided meditation classes. During yoga sessions, she keeps the temperature inside the studio at a cozy 85 degrees to help each student stretch their muscles to the fullest, detoxify, and melt any accidentally swallowed ice sculptures.

Legendary Excursions’ wheelmen demonstrate the tactics necessary for navigating unpaved environments and install adrenaline-hungry guests inside a 190-horsepower, 4-speed manual-transmission Baja 1000–style off-road racing car. During the Ride Along Adventure, patrons ride shotgun as a professional driver steers them through three laps on a tricky, 6.3-mile off-road course at race-like speeds, navigating tough terrain and catching air on jumps. Experts kick-start the Taste of Baja Adventure by honing fear-conquering clients' driving skills and dressing them in racing helmets and other appropriate gear. Once suited up, racers will be formally introduced to their trusty motor-steed, learning all about its controls, safety equipment, and ticklish spots before having their picture taken with it. Adventurers then spend three laps traversing the baja track's jumps, sweeping turns and rough terrain, letting the colossal BFGoodrich tires create swirling dust formations and spew out perfectly cooked mud pies.

Anyone can take on a new persona at Halloween, but very few people earn the right to keep theirs throughout the year. Rich Oltmann is one of those people. To game manufacturers and arcade owners around the world, he’s known simply as the "Guru of Games," a nickname earned through years of designing and manufacturing whiz-bang games of skill. While his creations grace game rooms across the world, many can be found only among hundreds of other ticket-spewing consoles in the Haunted Trails Amusement Park arcade.

In addition to Oltmann's games, Haunted Trails Amusement Park hosts entertainments including two 18-hole miniature-golf courses, three go-kart tracks, batting cages, and rides. In the Frightmare Haunted House, visitors tour a two-story maze populated by terrifying clowns, reapers, and creatures that scare teenagers by making them choose a college major. An onsite restaurant helps guests refuel after putt-putt challenges, and a party room hosts gatherings ranging from birthdays to holiday bashes.