Things to Do in San Antonio

Golf, long ridiculed as the easiest of sports, is so childishly simple that many casual players go home feeling angry and frustrated at how quickly one can master the game. Luckily, these golfers can still savor the thrilling velocity and parabolic motion of a well-struck ball, especially with today's Groupon. For $12, you get three large buckets of driving range golf balls (a $30 value) at Northeast Golf Center.

Judo is one of the grappling arts, which means that it has no strikes and uses no weapons, unlike karate or tae kwon do. Judo was developed in 1882 by Jigoro Kano as a comprehensive method of physical education, and it continues to provide exercise, entertainment, and self-defense knowledge today. For fun or competition, Universal Judo provides instruction and enjoyment to practitioners of all skill levels and ages. Call ahead to schedule your first visit.

Before rushing into full-fledged competition, players at Oak Hills Lanes hone their craft with pay-as-you-go practice shots. By detecting which pins need to topple, pinsetters enable patrons to score tricky spares as they rehearse for real games or when they must knock down a neighbor's tacky lawn ornaments. Once they've warmed their throwing arms, they face off against comrades during open hours. In addition to bites such as pizza and burgers, the snack bar's cooks sling tacos, enchiladas, and even pancakes. Such noshes fuel bowlers of all ages and skill levels at various fall leagues, but soda and ice cream serve as the main power source during all-inclusive parties.

Since 1984, Car-vel Skateland South has fitted feet with inline skates for enthralling laps around its indoor rink. Inexperienced wheelers can improve their balance and gliding skills during private lessons, and fitness classes fortify cores on and off skates with lunges, squats, and endurance routines. Car-vel Skateland South extends its regular hours during school vacations so that students can escape their studies and perform partnered dance routines with their wheeled backpacks.

Opened in the early 1970s, Car-Vel Skate Center is named after its founders, Carl and Velma Forsyth, who have coached artistic roller-skating at regional, national, and worldwide levels for nearly half a century. Koprecia, the couple’s youngest daughter, now carries on the family legacy, operating Car-Vel and coaching the center’s inline-speed-skating team in national competitions. In addition to daily public roller-skating sessions, the rink hosts high-energy roller-derby bouts and parties soundtracked by record-spinning DJs. Hot and cold eats from the snack bar fuel marathon skate sessions, and video games and a pool table give legs a temporary reprieve.

Beneath Minitown's sky-blue ceilings, children bustle and play in a miniature village with all the trappings of a real city. Locales such as a fire station, a cinema, and a candy shop host droves of kids writing Frasier fan-fiction during each day's open-play sessions. Outside the mini city, kids play in a backyard area with a real train and a piñata station. Minitown frequently hosts birthday parties as well, setting troupes of kids running rampant through the town under the careful supervision of parents and staff.