With Easter right around the corner and grandkids en route, we’re always looking for entertaining activities beyond the beach. We are ardent seashore fans, but you can only hang out there so long without becoming restless and sunburned. Even if you aren’t expecting visitors soon, there are some fun things you may want to do before you head north yourself.
Here are 10 suggestions.
— Mary Thurwachter
1. Surround yourself with butterflies and hummingbirds at Butterfly World. Thousands of butterflies fly around you as you walk through the tropical rain forest or outdoor gardens at Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, the first and largest butterfly house in the country. We love it when we discover a butterfly landing on our shoulders. Kodak moments are many, so bring your camera.
Besides 10,000-plus butterflies, Butterfly World has hummingbirds, a bug zoo, an English rose garden and a café. Admission is $24.95 for adults, $19.95 for kids ages 3-11, and free for those 2 and under.
Butterfly World is in Tradewinds Park, 3600 W. Sample Road, Coconut Creek. Call 954-977-4400. Check out the Web site, www.butterflyworld.com. It’s beautiful!
2. See what’s new at the Palm Beach Zoo. We make a trip to the zoo an annual happening with our grandkids. This year, we’re especially anxious to see a pair of koalas whom zookeepers hope will mate.
There’s so much to see and do at this 23-acre attraction. There are more than 1,400 animals including Malayan tigers, Jamaican fruit bats, river otters and monkeys; and a colorful carousel, an interactive water fountain, a kid-friendly restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, and bird shows. An adult must accompany kids under 12 and pets need to stay at home.
The zoo is at 1301 Summit Blvd., West Palm Beach. Admission is $16.95 for adults, $14.95 for seniors, $11.95 for kids 3-12 and free for ankle biters (under 3). Call 547-9453. www.palmbeachzoo.org.
3. Check out Lantana’s nature preserve. Looking for a short nature hike? Check out the Lantana Nature Preserve just west of the Carlisle retirement community and across the street from Plaza del Mar in Manalapan. The preserve is a re-creation of Florida’s coastal environment intended to serve as a living classroom for ecological education.
Watch for details. A small hole in the ground may be the burrow of a land crab, while a smaller hole and adjacent pile of sand balls indicate a recent visit from the sand crabs.
When you’ve made your way along the trails, walk across the street to the Ice Cream Club for a treat. Smoking, coolers, food and pets are prohibited — but grandchildren are definitely welcome!
Admission to the Preserve at 400 E. Ocean Ave., Lantana, is free.
4. Take a hike at Gumbo Limbo. This environmental complex with the a name that sounds like a Cajun dish or a party dance actually takes its moniker from its dominant tree. Sometimes called the tourist tree because the bark resembles peeling sunburn, the gumbo limbo is just one reason to hang out here. A sturdy boardwalk provides easy to navigate hiking and the 40-foot tower gives visitors with a great view over a canopy of trees. Kids will enjoy the aquariums, insect tanks and butterfly garden.
In spring or early summer, staffers lead nighttime turtle walks and if you go on one, you can see nesting females come ashore to lay their eggs. Admission is free, although there is a charge for turtle walks and donations are encouraged.
Gumbo Limbo is at 1801 N. Ocean Blvd., Boca Raton. Call 338-1473. Online at www.gumbolimbo.org.
5. Take a sightseeing cruise on the Intracoastal Waterway. The 105-foot Lady Atlantic departs each day at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. from Veterans Park in Delray Beach. The two-hour narrated rides generally head south to Boca and back and take cruisers past mansions, including homes owned by Jerry Seinfeld’s mom, Wayne Huizenga’s daughter, and baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski.
You can learn about the area’s history and maybe see some big fish swimming along side the boat, too. Sandwiches and other snacks, as well as a cash bar, are available. Because the boat is covered and has air-conditioning, you don’t have to worry about rain.
Tickets are $22 for adults and $19 for seniors and kids. Call 243-0686. See www.delraybeachcruises.com.
6. Burn off some energy at the batting cages. There are several places to do this, but we like Boomers, a 10-acre entertainment complex in Boca Raton. Grab a bat and whack away. Pitching machines can replicate speeds up to 70 miles per hour. You can get 20 pitches for $2.
If baseball’s not your thing, you can always ride the bumper boats ($8) or play mini-golf ($9). There aren’t any windmills or corny clowns, but there are splashing falls, caves and bridges. Boomers also offers Lazer Tag, Go-Karts, a rock-climbing wall and a snack bar.
Boomers is at 3100 Airport Road in Boca Raton, just east of I-95 and south of the airport and movies. Call 347-1888. www.boomersparks.com.
7. Pick a bucket of strawberries. This good old-fashioned field trip has yummy benefits. Stroll around a strawberry patch, pick some, buy some, bring them home and eat them. At The Girls Strawberry U-pick, you don’t even have to bend or kneel if you don’t want to. The fruit is grown in hydroponic containers and the paths are easy to negotiate. Besides the strawberries, there are swans, fishponds, exotic birds, goats and a miniature donkey. Yee haw!
Before you leave, do some shopping in the gourmet country store. Picking season runs through April.
The store and garden is at 14466 S. Military Trail, Delray Beach. Call 496-0188.
8. Find out what Atlantic reef fish, nurse sharks and Florida spiny lobster eat for breakfast. At the Sandoway House Nature Center guided tours and coral reef shark feedings are held every Tuesday through Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. But you can go anytime to see displays of sea creatures, exotic birds, turtles and shells. Learn about local history in the Old Florida Room and get a magnified look on sea life in the microscope lab.
The center is at 142 S. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach. Admission is $4. Call 274-7263. www.sandowayhouse.org.
9. Stroll through a Japanese garden. Spend some time strolling around the 16-acre Roji-en Japanese Gardens at the Morikami. Roji-en is really six gardens set along a mile-long path that begins behind the museum. You walk through wooden doors and past gardens of bamboo, stone and water. This outing may suit you better than the kids, but a brisk walk may wear them out a bit, at least, and the museum itself is sure to interest everyone. Regular admission is $12 plus tax for adults, $7 for kids 6-18, $11 for seniors 65 and older.
The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is in suburban Delray Beach at 4000 Morikami Park Road, just off Jog Road. Call 495-0233. See www.morikami.org.
Bike around Palm Beach. Oil baron Henry Flagler built the Lake Trail so his hotel guests would have a place for strolling. It’s still a fine place for walking, skating or pushing a baby buggy, but it’s also a really nice place to ride bikes. Park your car near Publix (265 Sunset Ave.) and walk a block west to the Intracoastal. You can start pedaling the 5-mile trail there (or 8½, if you add on two shorter trails). Expect to see Flagler’s first house, the 1886 Sea Gull Cottage, Whitehall (the Flagler Museum), gorgeous mansions and lush gardens.
Don’t have bikes or inline skates? You can rent them at Palm Beach Bicycle Trail Shop, 233 Sunrise Ave. Palm Beach. Call 659-4583.
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