Things to Do in Joliet

Against the backdrop of Bouncin Bonkers’s brightly painted walls, sock-clad children spring, bounce, and slide across inflatable structures in two arenas, letting out joyous shrieks and giggles under the watchful eyes of parents. Air-filled palm trees sway over obstacle courses, and rubber floors protect against errant tumbles or kid-seeking coconuts. Inside two private party rooms, guests of honor hold court from an inflatable throne as friends flock along benches, enjoying soda and snacks from a variety of party packages.

As a former athlete and current player of golf, soccer, and softball, Dynamic Sports Fitness & Chiropractic’s Adam Macek, Doctor of Chiropractic, is no stranger to the toll that sports take on the body. He decided to become a chiropractor, using techniques such as spine adjustment and functional rehabilitation, to battle that toll's effects and to help his patients get back to doing the activities that they love, instead of sitting on the sidelines, morosely eating dandelions.

Dr. Macek is certified in a number of ameliorative arts that reduce pain and muscle tension, including acupuncture and Kinesio Taping, as well as in golf fitness instruction, with which he uses slow-motion video and computer software to diagnose swing-related problems, such as overusing the upper body on the downswing and not getting enough arch support from bunny slippers. He utilizes four private treatment rooms, a rehabilitation room, and an x-ray suite to introduce bodies to electric-stimulation, ultrasound, and cryotherapy treatments.

Family Fun Zone packs a spectrum of entertainment catering to ages 14 and under into one hub complete with roller-skating rink, laser-tag arena, and an arcade. Multicolored lights sweep over the roller rink where birthday-party guests practice figure 8s or 44s, fueled by pizza and soda. Visitors transition from gliding to ducking beneath laser rays, and watchful parents can enjoy free WiFi from the comfort of the snack bar. Guardians also dole out tokens for the arcade, where glowing machines spit out tickets to a soundtrack of buzzing TVs and family-friendly music.

Chicago Premier Boat Rental & Leasing's team helps their customers experience the joys of water sports without having to purchase their own vessel. With hourly rentals and leasing options, the team of boating enthusiasts hands groups the controls of 21-foot Regal 2100 LSRs, which boast 250-horsepower gas engines, open bows, and satellite radios tuned to the area's best carp DJs.

As the vessels speed along the Des Plaines River, water-sport equipment such as skis and tubes lets trailing passengers skim across the water's surface. Captains can navigate past the McKinley Woods County Forest Preserve or venture toward Lake Michigan. Additionally, Chicago Premier Boat Rental & Leasing's fleet of Cessna planes can help a new pilot sail through the sky with the ease of the fish who invented the jetpack.

Born in India—the same land where yoga originated centuries ago—Poonam Gupta has felt a profound attachment to the ancient discipline since childhood, when her father led her through the first steps of what would become a lifelong journey. Those early sessions with her father led Poonam to spend countless hours meditating, meeting with teachers, and perusing spiritual texts. In the course of her studies, she discovered that the physical practice of yoga was only part of the equation; the process of studying and furthering her knowledge of the art proved equally self-empowering.

Poonam thought back to this breakthrough when it came time to found her own studio, naming it Yoga Gyan Jyoti, which translates to “light of yogic knowledge.” Today, her daily yoga classes help practitioners to improve their flexibility, build their strength, and overcome weight issues. The center complements its yoga classes with training in ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine that focuses on correcting imbalances that result from years of poor nutrition or one-handed pushups.

A hailstorm of paint projectiles rains down upon CPX Sports' more than one dozen fields, each of which poses different challenges and requires specialized tactics. The crown jewel of the park is the Town of Bedlam, a massive maze of small-town 1950s buildings that jut out between streets dotted by paint-splattered cars and streetlights. There, snipers poke their heads out of the central city hall's tower as the opposing team hides out or checks for abandoned shampoo samples inside the post office. The Jungle of Doom drops teams into a heavily wooded field to vie for control of a central temple, and chromatic combatants weave between desiccated cars in the Wastelands, attempting to collect the most gas cans. A full pro shop outfits players with markers, protective gear, and Sesame Street coloring books for target practice.