Things to Do in Palm Coast

Each summer, beer-toting mini-golf enthusiasts congregate for Putt N' Crawl, a golf-themed beachside bar crawl. Clad in golfing garments, teams compete on home-built mini-golf putting greens, and dodge windmills and fiberglass stegosauruses on their way to a dozen different bars. In addition to quality time with golfing buddies, the event promises prizes for exceptional teams and plenty of specials on frosty pints.

A 39-foot ninjasaur snarls in the corner of Big Air, bearing white fangs and a coiled, sloping tail that broadens to a two-lane slide. This inflatable monster shares a habitat with castles, volcanoes, and princess towers, as well as bouncy football fields and sports arenas. Together, these inflatables occupy a 12,000-square-foot arena that adjoins to a 1,700-square-foot "parent's space." As sock-footed kids frolic amidst the bounce houses and slides, parents enjoy grownup distractions such as free WiFi, pool tables, and novelty-sized checkbooks. Big Air welcomes guests for open play, field trips, and parties.

Wooded areas filled with abandoned automobiles, empty houses, and overturned barrels might evoke the set of a gritty war movie, except for one detail: they’re all covered in colorful splotches. These are some of the sights on the six unique fields at GTF Paintball, which host colorful mock battles on their expansive outdoor property. Whether participants stage urban combat on The Houses, or take to The Village to engage in fast-paced rounds, they can lose themselves in settings that simulate both real-life battle and pranks played by expressionist painters. No matter what the scenario, GTF places an emphasis on safety by chronographing markers and requiring goggles in all playing areas.

The Amelia Island Museum of History is the fortuitous result of circumstance. In 1975, a committee from the Duncan Lamont Clinch Historical Society gathered to found a history museum for Fernandina Beach and Amelia Island. Meanwhile, local collector William Decker was studiously acquiring historical documents and artifacts from the area—a lot whose pieces numbered in the thousands. When Decker died, the collection passed on to his son, a noted altruist, and just like that the Amelia Island Museum had its bones.

Today, the museum's exhibits examine local culture of the Timucua Native American tribe, Spanish and French explorers, pirates, and Victorian-era residents. Curators have assembled the Women of the Port photography display to highlight women working in the local maritime industry.

Museum guides are not restricted to the grounds, and often helm tours of the island's haunted locales, historic Centre Street, and Fernandina Beach's north end—with a focus on history from the mid-18th to 19th centuries.

Ocala Bingo

To give local players a place to gather and hone their card-marking skills, the founders of Ocala Bingo started hosting Bingo nights two years ago. The convivial gatherings happen four times a week and cater to multiple bingo styles, from the classic version to speed book—where squares are identified by number only—to early-bird sessions, whose jackpot is a punctual worm. Patrons can play on paper cards, or add a technological twist to an old-school hobby by playing on digital handsets.

To make its matchups a regular occurrence, Ocala Bingo enjoys sponsorship from six charities: Unity Place Housing, Inc., Boys & Girls Club of Marion County, Childhood Development Services, Inc. of Florida, Marine Corps League Detachment of Marion County, The Marion County Homeless Council, and Ocala Model Railroaders' Historic Preservation Society, Inc.