Ben Franklin famously invented electricity using a kite, before inventing kite boarding using the same kite and the skateboard that was always glued to his feet. Show off shore-skimming skills with today's Groupon: for $100, you get a two-hour beginner beach kite-boarding lesson from Wind Over Water Kiteboarding in Burlingame (a $200 value).

Wind Over Water Kiteboarding founder Jeff Kafka tamed both wave and wind as a professional kite boarder and big-wave surfer before starting his own kite-boarding instruction school. During a two-hour beach lesson, beginners soak up kiting basics—including equipment setup, safety systems, wind theory, kite mechanics, and more—from a trained instructor while staying on dry land. Customers also perfect self-rescue, a vital skill for kite-board crashes or pickup lines gone awry. With no more than three people and one ocean in each lesson, there is plenty of individual instruction from Jeff's handpicked instructors, who get wind-whisperers in shape for the next level of instruction by the end of the two hours.