Boca Raton Florida

BradicusMaximus

So my girlfriend and I are going to Boca Rotan, FL for a Rise Against/Bad Relgion concerct in April. We plan on staying there a couple extra days and I was just curious if anyone knew some other things to do while were down there aside from going to the beach. Assuming we won't be swimming in oil anyway.

Rinzler

I haven't lived there in years, so I dunno if it's still there, but there's a minigolf/kart racing/arcade place right next to the giant Muvico on Glades Road.

BradicusMaximus

That sounds like it could be fun. It might be wishful thinking but I was also wondering if there was some sort of marine zoo there.

Rinzler

Hmm, don't remember anything like that in Boca, but you could always drive down to the Seaquarium in Miami. It's maybe 50 miles from Boca. I assume the concert's at Mizner?

Also apparently it's not Muvico anymore, it's Cinemark. Either way, it's just right next to I-95. Boca's not really got a whole lot of stuff to do in general, though. I mean, there's a giant-ass mall, some pretty nice restaurants and the beach, but it's probably worth spending the days down in Fort Lauderdale or Miami.

Owenashi

I do believe Boca Raton is the home for the Museum of Cartoon Art if you enjoy such things. I can't say much else about the area as I've barely been there. If you want to get some serious shopping done, there's always Sawgrass Mills. 2 million square feet of shops and a Burger King in both food courts.

BradicusMaximus

Yeah, we were thinking about spending most of our time in florida somewhere else its just that the concert falls on a saturday so it kinda makes plans a bit more difficult.

Rinzler

I grew up there, and I liked it, but to be honest we just spent most of our time driving around/shooting the shit.

You could also check out http://www.gumbolimbo.org/ The Gumbo Limbo nature center. I haven't actually been there, though.

Steev

Yeah, I live in Boca and have been here for over 25 years. I have to admit I laughed at your question because initially I couldn't really think of stuff to do here.

The go-kart place by the Cinemark theaters is a Boomers. I haven't been inside there since...1994? It's definitely still open, I still hear the go-karts when I see a movie nearby.

Gumbo Limbo Nature Center might be worth visiting, although again, I haven't been there for about as long as it's been since I went to Boomers. I remember going on field trips there in school.

Aside from that, you're probably better off going to nearby areas for other things to do, like Delray Beach and West Palm Beach in the north and Ft. Lauderdale and Miami in the south. The Morikami Museum (Delray Beach) is supposed to be nice. If you're into butterflies, there's Butterfly World. If you're into night life, I heard Clematis Street in West Palm Beach is good for that sort of thing.

(I see while I was typing this Gumbo Limbo came up prior to my post)

Steev

Also, I just remembered my fiancee briefly got into bird watching and went with a group to the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray. She said it was great, but advises going early in the morning before sunrise if you want to see all the birds as they wake up.

Improvolone

Do not go to the Miami Seaquarium unless you like depressing marine animal zoos where animals aren't put in tanks big enough to fit them.

BradicusMaximus

Ok, so since Boca seems fairly boring we might stop in tampa for busch gardens even though it sorta seems out of the way.

Improvolone

I think its a similar drive to Orlando, at least time wise.

edit: Look, you're on the ocean. There is a whole bunch of cool ocean shit to do. Water ski, jet ski, scuba, wind surf, parasail, deep sea fishing, even skydiving.

edit: I know exactly what you should do. Check out the Miccosukee Indian Village; see a gator show, take a fan boat ride through the Everglades, do some real weird Florida shit. Florida is really fucking weird and just driving down highway 41 you'll see some neat stuff.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14154
http://www.skunkape.info/

more edits: Not on Hwy 41 but South Florida also has
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_Castle

Last edit?: Maybe grab this book as a primer
http://www.amazon.com/Weird-Florida-Charlie-Carlson/dp/0760759456

Improvolone

Real Florida is hillbilly country. Boca is Long Island but warmer on average. Get out of the city and into the sticks.

BradicusMaximus

I've been among enough hillbilly country in West Virginia to last me a lifetime, trust me. lol

VanityPants

The arcade place that was talked about earlier is a Boomers (http://www.boomersparks.com/), and it's definitely still open and also pretty fun!

There's also the Morikami Museum if you're interested: http://www.morikami.org/

Also, the Palm Beach Zoo is relatively nearby: http://www.palmbeachzoo.org/

If you like water parks, The Rapids Waterpark is pretty awesome and close to Boca. Much more fun than the beach!