Things to Do in Venice

Not since the last '80s-night happy hour has there been such a good chance to express your inner self under conditions of mild intoxication. With this Groupon, $20 gets you in to a BYOB painting class at Painting with a Twist, where you can paint, tipple, and converse in an artfully social atmosphere.

Bored with the staid security of corporate life, Eloyne and Bradley Erickson founded Grand Central Stained Glass & Graphics in 2006, dedicating themselves to bringing their love of fine art to the community. Focusing on decorative glass, the shop sells beautiful pieces and commissioned work, intensively collaborating with customers to create unique, colorful doors, decorative windows, or whimsical alien-observation tanks. Its regular classes teach pupils how to fuse and color glass in small workshop settings, and jewelry-making sessions teach aspiring artisans how to use wire to craft custom adornments. The shop’s giclée printing services reproduce photos and art with an Epson Stylus Pro 9800 printer, which obsessively corrects color until clients are satisfied with each piece's final balance.

On many mornings in 1930, surrounded by the chirping of birds, Pulitzer Prize-winning Dutch author Edward Bok could be found in his studio at the base of a 205-foot art-deco, neo-Gothic tower. Today, visitors to Bok Tower Gardens, a National Historic Landmark, can take in the sights and wander the more than 50 acres of meandering gardens sculpted by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.

Visitors roam through shaded clearings and child-friendly gardens filled with vine-covered arbors and butterfly- and bird-watching areas, such as the Window By The Pond observatory. Paths wind past cold-resistant and semi-tropical ferns, palms, and pines, and vibrant explosions of azaleas, camellias, and magnolias that caretakers lovingly re-paint each morning. Among the trees stands Pinewood Estate, a Mediterranean-style mansion that welcomes seasonal tour groups into its rooms. In the gift shop, visitors peruse mementos such as historical books and decorative, nature-themed jewelry. The gardens sprawl through the Pine Ridge Nature Preserve, where a 3/4-mile path lets visitors glimpse rare plants and endangered animals such as the indigo snake and gopher tortoise. Gardens staff protect these grounds from fire damage, preserve plantings by collecting seeds, and reintroduce native species by organizing singles’ mixers.

Though skydiving is often billed as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, for the staff at Jump Florida Skydiving, it's a job. As they climb above the scenic landscape of Lake Country in a Cessna 205 aircraft, they stay calm as excitement radiates off customers—as young as 18 and as old as 79—about to make their first leap. At the ideal altitude, the plane levels off, and jumpers get into position. The sky is amazingly clear around the plane, which takes off from a private airport, so there are no commercial jets or flocks of migrating geese obstructing the airspace. Tandem or solo divers step to the edge, take a deep breath, and experience the thrill of accelerating at 9.81 meters per second per second.

While participants revel in their adrenaline-fueled thrills, the staff keeps them safe by adhering to the strict standards of the United States Parachute Association. These protocols enforce rigorous regulations, safety guidelines, and eminently cool member handshakes. On the ground, the team prioritizes hospitality, offering guest rooms, a restaurant, spectator fields, and a nerve-diffusing bar.

Judie Dazzio believes that everyone can be an artist. And at Dazzio Art Experience—a comprehensive art school—she helps everyone from children to adults and novices to professionals harness their creativity. Though she's a painter herself—having won awards for her work with watercolors and acrylics—she caters to range of artistic interests, offering classes in acrylics and watercolors but also branching out into sculpture, illustration, and Photoshop. For the experienced artist, she and her instructors provide developmental classes to help them produce portfolio pieces and host group critique sessions.

Beyond teaching her students the techniques to create, she also displays their works in a gallery attached to her school. Here, rows upon rows of painted canvases, sculptures, and handcrafted jewelry showcase their newly acquired talents.

Encompassing three landing areas and nestled amid 250 acres of open terrain, Florida Skydiving Center forms a stage where advanced skydivers compete in national competitions and beginners gain their wings under the guidance of United States Parachute Association–certified instructors. The experienced teachers can take newbies on tandem jumps at up to 14,000 feet above the Earth's garlicky bread crust. For dedicated pupils, the instructors lead accelerated free-fall training, which imparts the skills needed to take solo dives. As divers plunge from the metallic belly of a DHC-6 Twin Otter or Cessna, air-bound photographers sometimes capture adrenaline-packed moments and photo ops with passing Supermans.

Florida Skydiving Center's owners maintain a facility where teams strategize and solo divers can pair up for jumps. A carpeted packing area lets skydivers cleanly prep parachutes, and an onsite store rents and sells the necessary gear to soar among the ghosts of pterodactyls. Outside, RV hookups and free tent camping welcome overnight visitors.