Things To Do in Morristown

The course at the private Wolf Laurel Country Club leads players on a secluded retreat into the Blue Ridge Mountains, with mature forests and alpine vistas dappling climbs to elevations of more than 5,000 feet. Designer W.B. Lewis planned the fairways so that no two run directly parallel to each other, allowing players to explore every angle of the sprawling resort that’s bounded to the north by the Appalachian Trail. With tee-to-green elevation changes of as much as 300 feet, golfers must make careful club selections to give themselves the best shot at the par of 74. The signature sixth hole, a par 3, couples a downhill tee shot that plummets more than 200 feet with a dramatic vista from the tee box, spelling doom for shots that fly long and golfers who recover slowly after tee-to-green barrel rolls.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 6,301 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 72.6 from the back tees
• Course slope of 144 from the back tees
• Four sets of tees per hole

A Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, the Tennessee Smokies charge into the 2011 post-season with a rollicking medley of power hitting and top-notch pitching. The Smokies sit perched atop the SOU North division with two weeks left to play, bolstering their No. 1 position with league-leading stats, including 123 home runs and 9,460 spat sunflower seeds. Fans can hunker down in the concrete confines of Smokies Park for an evening of playoff-caliber baseball, savoring four meaty hot dogs and refreshing soft drinks. While the Smokies' playoff opponent has not yet been determined, families or friends of four will be sure to enjoy a late-summer evening rooting their favorite sluggers or conversing with third-base coaches in their native language of ear tugs and macarena dance moves.

This international museum is the only facility of its kind, completely dedicated to the evolution of women's basketball and the talented athletes who helped the sport grow. Bounce buffs can learn the history of women's basketball through the museum's exhibits, including multimedia presentations, numerous basketball artifacts, original photographs, scrapbooks, and old uniforms. Guests inspired by the abundant wooden-court knowledge can try their hand on the facility’s basketball courts, featuring hoops of three different heights (representing the past, present, and future of the sport) and a vertical-leap challenge, allowing you to show off your superb ceiling-dusting skills. No trip to this historical vault is complete without investigating the world's largest basketball, 30-feet tall and weighing 10 tons, which sits atop the museum's northern hall and, during winter months, is used as the base of the world’s largest snowman. Children ages 5 and under receive free admission to the museum.

The noble squires at Sir Goony's Family Fun Center engineer amusement with a sprawling facility dedicated to outdoor recreation. Towering, inflatable slides draw guests' eyes upward at the splash zone, where voyagers shatter the sound barrier in a near-vertical plunge before braking softly in a pool of water mixed with the joyful tears of Isaac Newton's supporters. An enclave of absurd obstacles—including a professorial owl and an irate tree—await to disrupt putts at the Center's two 18-hole miniature-golf courses, which runs alongside scenic water features and other cheerful decor. At Sir Goony's 800-foot go-kart track, racers hug the tire-cushioned rails, weaving in and out of fellow drivers in single or tandem karts. Guests can soothe itchy trigger fingers and don their favorite pair of sequined protective goggles at the paintball course, which promotes fast-paced action with a relatively open field populated by inflatable obstacles that supply minimal cover.

The independently owned Reel Theatres Movies on the Parkway beckons movie-goers with a fleet of first-run films in a family-friendly setting. The cinematic domicile unspools a rotating roster of blockbusters, including coming attractions The Help, 30 Minutes or Less, and Conan the Barbarian. While awaiting a scheduled appointment with a movie, film-goers can visit the arcade (not included in this Groupon) to train for future real-life encounters with unrelenting Pac-Men. Dolby Surround or DTS Digital Sound envelop eager eardrums with the sounds of cinematic car crashes and sumptuous scores, while the wall-to-wall screens embrace larger-than-life storytelling and giant shadow puppets. An included large bag of freshly popped popcorn inspires buttery thumb-wrestling, while the theater's well-stocked concession stand proffers hot dogs, nachos, candy, and other noshable notions.

While the Hampton family owns and operates French Broad Ziplines, twin brothers Mitch and Michael Hampton have also had their personal share of ups and downs, both on the water and off. At age 10, they began exploring eastern Tennessee rivers with their grandfather, and they followed that passion for whitewater rafting into their business, which had been family-run for nearly 30 years. But then their dream was threatened. A fire swallowed the business, and the brothers lost everything. Slowly, though, with the help of family, friends, and staff, they rebuilt their company, learning patience and perseverance while finding comfort and strength in the support of their community.

Today, in addition to their traditional water-based excursions, the brothers also take to the trees on their recently constructed zipline course. Ripping through the clear mountain air, they've charted mid-air trails for zipline canopy tours that send guests soaring from tree to tree more swiftly than a caffeinated eagle. The course's eight ziplines stretch in distance from 420' to 1000', ensuring the guests have plenty of time to admire their sky-high view of the woods on adventures that also incorporate rappels, short hikes, and a rumbling jaunt on a hard-nosed utility vehicle.

Olympic Start's staff of experienced gymnastics instructors and childcare providers coach young tumblers in basic Olympic-standard gymnastics during the course of four one-hour courses. Using the USA Gymnastics team's curriculum, coaches train boys and girls in second grade or above in the arts of floor acrobatics, trampoline, bars, beams, and vaults in classes categorized by the student's experience level and understanding of Newton's laws of physics. Girls embark on entry-level exercises in gymnastics skills, theory, and basic body shapes in Bronze class, before building upon those same skills with strength and flexibility training in Silver class. In Titanium sessions, beginner-level boys dart through seven events such as pommel horse, parallel bars, and rings without the heckling they receive at home from Olympic-trained stuffed animals. Young athletes flip and frolic on colorful, child-size equipment above safe, padded floors in a modern gym, with class sizes capped at eight students to allow for thorough instruction.