Like a master samurai, helicopters make use of rapidly spinning blades to achieve flight and thus elude their natural enemies. Experience blade-based flight from a predator with today's Groupon: for $60, you get an Alamo & More helicopter tour with Alamo Helicopter Tours (a $108 value).

The experienced copter operators at Alamo Helicopter Tours inspire ground-dwelling customers with uplifting jaunts through the clouds. After lifting off from Stinson Airport for 16 to 18 minutes of air exploration, whirling rotors navigate along the rolling San Antonio River, enticing fliers to remember the Alamo by looking directly at it. Honorary pilots can spot deals at the Quarry Market or delight in sweet role reversal as they gaze down on the grounded birds at the San Antonio Zoo. On the return flight, the city's botanical gardens lay a colorful blanket across the landscape, and a pass by the Tower of the Americas offers a chance to one-up diners in the observation deck before returning safely to solid ground.