We can’t all be space tourists and ride a rocket to orbit the earth, but there are other adventures closer to home that are guaranteed to give you a thrill and pull you way out of your comfort zone.
Most are family-friendly and suitable for children (but read restrictions on the websites).
Try Indoor Skydiving
iFly Indoor Skydiving
8209 Town Center Drive, White Marsh, MD (many other US locations)
www.iflyworld.com
Experience the thrill of skydiving without jumping out of an airplane at several thousand feet. After orientation, you’ll don a flight suit, go into the tunnel, gently lean into the wind and …… FLY! At the introductory flight, an instructor stays with you while you take several flights, returning you safely to earth.
After you’ve mastered the basics, you can advance to moving around in the wind tunnel – doing turns, going forward and back, sliding side to side, and up and down. Then you can ratchet it up and fly with friends, playing flying games that test your new skills.
Suitable for all ages – a great idea for a kid’s birthday party.
Go Ape on a Treetop Adventure
Go Ape, Rock Creek Regional Park
6129 Needwood Lake Drive, Derwood, MD
www.goape.com
Conquer your fear of heights! There’s a lot to do at this park, but we picked the Treetop Adventure to safely get outside our comfort zone. The adventure starts with safety instruction before you climb stairs or a rope ladder to get up into the trees. Then you follow a course over the treetops, across wobbly bridges, around aerial obstacles, and, if you dare, you can conquer the unique free drop Tarzan swings. The adventure ends with a zipline ride back to the forest floor.
Children welcome, and they have birthday party packages for all ages.
Fly Through the Air at Trapeze School
TSNY Trapeze School
520 Tingey Street SE, (near the Navy Yard) Washington, DC 20003
washingtondc.trapezeschool.com
Gives us butterflies to even say it but, by the end of your first session you will do a flying catch with the instructor!! They say that regardless of fitness level or athletic background, they will teach you to safely experience the exhilaration of flying through the air, and that students are amazed by how much they accomplish in one session.
Students can advance to the Intensive Flying Workshop, a 2 to 3-month weekly experience to learn new skills – layouts, taking off unassisted from the platform, returning to the catcher – and eventually learn a choreographed aerial act.
Children over 6 years old, groups and party inquiries welcome
Try Rock Wall Climbing or Bouldering
Earth Treks
Hampden Location | 1700 West 41st Street, Hampden
Timonium Location| 1930 Greenspring Drive, Timonium
el-cap.com
Get started in climbing with an Introductory Class in Rope Climbing (Timonium Location) or Bouldering (Hampden Location) at Earth Treks. The instructor will teach you knots and rope handling with gear they provide. Then in a small class, 4:1 ratio, you’ll start climbing, and spend the rest of the day climbing and practicing your new skills. You can move on to more advanced classes, learning how to position yourself and use your body more efficiently, and learn bouldering – a style of climbing that does not use ropes. Then you’ll be ready to visit the gym on your own and enjoy your new hobby.
Take a Belly Dancing Class
Your home or a friends house!
www.ninaamaya.com
Want to have a memorable and DIFFERENT Girl’s Night Out that will have you laughing for a long time? Nina Amaya is a belly dance teacher and performer. She will bring music and scarves to a gathering, and demonstrate belly dancing. Then the fun begins as you and guests take a one-hour belly dance lesson, learning circles, undulations, drops and shimmies. You can add extras to the package – cymbals, silk veils and swords.
Take a helicopter tour of Charm City
Charm City Helicopter
Pier 7 Heliport, Baltimore City Inner Harbor
flycharmcity.com
See Baltimore in a whole new, fascinating way, flying in custom-designed helicopters with floor to ceiling windows for the best views. The Destination Baltimore tour takes you over the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, all the sports venues, and begins and ends with spectacular views of the city skyline and Fort McHenry. The Charm City Tour ventures further and takes in the marine terminals, Johns Hopkins Hospital, north to Mount Vernon, and over to Patterson Park and Locust Point.
Year-round tours, suitable for any age.
Totally Relax your Body and Senses in a Float Tank
Red Lotus Float Spa
1350 Dorsey Road, Suite G, Hanover, MD
www.redlotusfloat.com
Totally relax your body and brain! Floating in a tank of 94⁰, super-saturated salt water (which relieves all the pressure of gravity), with no environmental stimulation (in other words, total darkness with no sound), is said to relieve stress and anxiety, reduce pain, and to boost creativity and focus. At Red Lotus Float Spa, you have control of the experience and in a private room, you can enter or leave the tank at any time, and turn lights on.
Floating is believed to have benefits for treating Lyme disease, PTSD, sleep disorders, and other conditions, and decreases some of the discomforts of pregnancy. Check with your physician to get an opinion on whether float therapy could help you.
Get in on the Pickleball Craze
Coppermine Racquet & Fitness Club
1726 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, MD
betsy@betsycasting.com
In a few years, Pickleball has gone from “Pickleball, what’s that?” to a fast-growing and popular pastime. It combines tennis, badminton and ping pong skills with a paddle and plastic ball. It’s played on a small court and less strenuous than tennis, making it appropriate for players of all ages and skill levels.
If you want to join some women from Women’s Daily Post who are learning to play the game, Lynne Coburn at the Coppermine Racquet & Fitness Club in Pikesville is teaching an introductory Pickleball class and a Skills & Drills class on Monday mornings. For more information on joining the classes and playing with the group, email betsy@betsycasting.com
