Shopping in Ocala

Since their showroom debuted in 1984, Furniture Country's staffers have armed homeowners with classic southern-style furnishings from brands including Omnia, Lane, and Ashley. Their fixtures embellish every corner of your abode, from dining-room sets for the kitchen to leather chairs for the home office. They also help shoppers put finishing touches on their interior decor with lamps, rugs, pillows, and throws, and they help clients get a good night's sleep by introducing them to Serta mattresses or sandmen for hire.

The staff at Cave Country Dive Shop is comprised of cave and technical divers who continually add to their combined decades of experience. They bring an abundance of credentials to the metaphorical table, including NACD cave diver certification and training from the U.S. Navy. This unity of experience and training manifests itself as teaching prowess as the team makes use of numerous springs and underwater caves for conducting all levels of PADI & DSAT scuba programs. Classes head out to open waters found at locales such as Santa Fe River or Ginnie Springs to explore crystal-clear springs and sinkholes with 80-100 feet of visibility and approximately 72-degree waters year round. The aquatic experts teach equipment functions and other essential scuba knowhow in one of two onsite classrooms, further prepping students for real diving conditions by being filled with water, oysters, and taffy.

In addition to instruction, Cave County delivers air from high-volume and high-pressure compressors that are routinely monitored and maintained. Equipment upgrades hang from the walls or virtual window displays online.

Tim Cameron knew he loved watersports when he realized he could walk on water—sort of. He actually water-skis barefoot, a sport that he picked up after an 8-year stint in the world of motocross. Since his initial affair with aquatic thrills, he's continued to quench his thirst for adrenaline through various other watersports—including kneeboarding—and turned his passion into a business with Triple X Surf and Skim in 2004.

Today, there are two Triple X Surf and Skim retail stores in the sunshine state, where patrons can visit to pick up boards and accessories or learn how to ride the waters. People of all ages and skill levels—from adrenaline-junkie kids to 75-year-old seniors who've never set food on a board—partake in surfing lessons that take place right outside of the Daytona Beach location. All lessons maintain a five-to-one student-teacher ratio, so participants can enjoy individualized attention from their instructors, some of whom surf competitively and habitually ditch Surfaholics Anonymous meetings.

Though it may be just you and your board gliding through a riptide or across hot pavement, a trip to FreeRide Surf & Skate Shop involves actual human interaction. Here, surfers and skaters take a break from board-based exploits to outfit themselves in shorts and bikinis accessorized by Ray-Ban or Oakley sunglasses and sandals from Reef and Vans. Surfboards, longboards, and skateboards—ready to conquer bustling streets, open shorelines, or particularly deep bathtubs—fill the store. If customers can’t find exactly what they are looking for, staffers will special order most items, working hard to match the price and cover shipping on most items.

For more than 30 years, the staff at the family-owned Leonard's Furniture has helped homeowners make their dwellings more livable by stocking a 14,000 sq. ft. showroom full of décor and furnishings from more than 150 vendors. The team makes the shopping process easier by delivering and assembling any in-stock items free of charge. Those items include furnishings for dining rooms, living rooms, and bedrooms from brands such as Ashley, Lane, FlexSteel, and Tempur-Pedic. The store's comprehensive stock includes home office staples including desks, chairs, and mirrors that come in varying sizes and opinions on Snow White. Shoppers can also find equipment to furnish home-entertainment rooms, such as theater seats that eject anyone who takes out their cell phone during a movie.

The staff of Dr. Snooze has transformed the process of selecting the perfect mattress into a science. A pressure-imaging pad is placed between a customer and their potential mattress, creating a map of pressure points on a computer screen and suggesting whether or not the mattress would be a comfortable fit. Patrons can use this technology to narrow down their options in a storeroom cushioned with models by Simmons, Laura Ashley, and King Koil. The inventory includes all sizes—including extra-large lengths for hibernating ogres—and plush infrastructures boast everything from innerspring to memory foam. A selection of bedding and furniture for adults and kids completes bedroom makeovers.

The entirely local staff members are committed to keeping their neighbors happy, so they will match any competitor's lower price within 30 days of purchase. Once buyers choose a mattress, white-glove delivery service ensures the pristine condition of items and includes haul away of old mattresses or an unwelcome Sandman if needed.