Sports & Recreation

Walk into this charming tea shop and owner Maureen Ruggeri will take care of you. Opened on the full moon in September 2012, Eat the Tea focuses on tea's mystical healing powers. Ruggeri studied teas and their uses across cultures and throughout history and considers hers to be elixirs. She has blends labeled "brain," "skin," and "stomach," for the body parts they aim to heal. The shop earned its name because Ruggeri believes that eating leftover tea leaves and fruit chunks —anything from rose petals to orange peels and calendula — is awesome for one's health. Ruggeri purchases her ingredients from as far away as Japan and Taiwan. Her store is bright and accented with a string of fairy lights and a big storefront window. The walls are lime green, with crooked paintings and colorful tapestries. Ideal after a thunderstorm, when you can shake the droplets off and cozy up on the couch for the rest of day. If rose petals and orange peels don't wholly satiate your appetite, Ruggeri has vegan sandwiches and meals for you too.

Now, this stunt will require preparation and a friend or two to document it. First, search the internet and purchase a chicken suit. Once your order arrives, tell your friends to meet you at Anglin's Fishing Pier. Put on your chicken suit and let your adrenaline slowly boil over. Go to the pier and run down it like a goddamned chicken boss. Jump.

What it lacks in amenities, Fort Lauderdale's Esplanade Park makes up for with three assets: location, location, location. You have to thank long-gone city planners who were visionary enough to set aside green space in the center of downtown, steps from Las Olas Boulevard and facing the New River. The grassy lawn is good for picnicking and makes a great waterfront perch for watching yachts parade by. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Museum of Discovery and Science, and an IMAX theater are all within walking distance, and the park is a popular spot for events and concerts, including regular jazz brunches and the annual New Times Beerfest. Once you've sufficiently chilled out, follow the brick path into the Arts and Entertainment district for a quick bite or a cold beer.

Readers' choice: Hugh Taylor Birch State Park

Military Trail Nature Area features 20 acres of open greenery perfect for an afternoon run, a meditation session, or a much-needed break from reality. The trail highlights old Florida history, as it was built to act as an access road for soldiers in the mid-1830s, during the second Seminole War. It's also known for having one of the rarest plant communities in Broward, with scrubby flatwoods, pine and oak trees, and even a few bald cypresses. With barely any palm trees, you might even feel like you've stepped out of Florida for a hot minute.

The beach is fun. The beach is great. But getting to the beach can be a major pain in the ass. You have to lug around chairs and coolers, along with your bottle of sunscreen. And wallet. And keys. And radio. Then when you get to the beach, you have to step onto the searing-hot sand as you navigate oily bodies to try to find a spot. Then you need a towel to lie on and an umbrella, unless you're one of those people who likes to slowly broil to death. Then you have to get back up to go buy food on the Broadwalk when you're hungry or when nature calls. It's a goddamned chore. But it doesn't have to be — because Hollywood North Beach Park is right there to alleviate the pain-in-the-ass production that is a day at the beach. It has a bevy of benches with grills, so you can just bring your own food to cook. It's also shaded by trees, so no umbrella is required. There's also a restroom. The park even has the Turtle Cafe, if you should get a hankering for a hot dog. Best of all, it's literally steps from the beach. The park also extends across A1A, where you can watch the boats, fish, have a picnic, or just people-watch. You can either park at the meters or inside the park itself for $8 on weekdays ($10 on weekends). If you arrive after 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, the price drops to $6. We knew you'd love a deal.

Readers' choice: Fort Lauderdale Beach

Flashes of neon blue, orange, and yellow dart in and out of your foggy peripheral vision. A school of grunts appears on your left, and it's getting awfully close. Wait, is that a sea turtle? No, just a coral. Darn. You settle for chasing after the little pufferfish that just swam by and pretending you're an extra on the set of Finding Nemo. The past few weeks have had you itching for some Vitamin Sea, and the Twin Ledges moorings never fail you. Located an easy two miles north of the Port Everglades inlet, these 16 mooring buoys are teeming with marine life, and the visibility is typically good. Blue and yellow angelfish, parrotfish, lobster, and yes, the occasional sea turtle have no qualms with letting you drop by for a visit every once in a while. Don't forget to grab your GoPro and get to snapping. #snorkelselfie

Readers' choice: Red Reef Park

This boat ramp on the Riverwalk is ideal for putting in a kayak for a jaunt along the Tarpon River and an afternoon picnic. Paddle past Esplanade Park, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, and miles of scenic shoreline. Nearly 200 years ago, Seminole Indians here attacked the home of William Cooley, one of Fort Lauderdale's first settlers. According to historians, Cooley wasn't at home, but his wife and children were slaughtered. Many consider this the beginning of the Second Seminole War and what led to the construction of the three forts that gave Fort Lauderdale its name. Some people claim that the park is haunted; there are rumors of women and children screaming late at night. But we've only ever witnessed a clan of friendly ducks quacking.

Can't say we'd blame a kid for taking a self-appointed mental-health day to dodge the rays of Common Core pulsing through Florida classrooms. Any beach will do for swimming or playing volleyball, but Hollywood, with its bustling Broadwalk strip, has the added thrill of being busy enough that you may have to dodge a grownup who knows you. If a truant officer asks what you're up to, though, you can easily unleash a foreign accent and pretend you are visiting from Australia or Kazakhstan — a passable excuse on the tourist-laden beach. Then continue merrily on to ogle Speedo-wearing visitors, who will surely photobomb all your selfies. Just make sure Mom and Dad aren't checking Instagram tonight.

Yes, "tootling" is a thing. A thing preferably done with 12 ice-cold cans of whatever your captain is drinking. Who doesn't like a good tootle down Dania Cutoff Canal, through Pond Apple Slough, and back out to the Intracoastal Waterway? Here, you'll find manatees mingling with schools of mullet, record-setting tarpon devouring blue crabs, Great Blue Herons, ibises, and prehistoric-looking iguanas (that may or may not taste like chicken) shitting all over Hell's Half Acre. Rumor has it a roofer saw a bull shark swimming up a canal in Riverland not long ago. While that may be fiction, the alligators lurking in the mangroves are not (RIP, Mr. Cuddles). Since we all know "boat" stands for "break out another thou$and," the best way to get on the water is to find a friend with a boat. If you haven't found your captain yet, there's always the Jungle Queen.

This vintage motor lodge, painted in an array of tropical pastels, was lovingly redesigned and restored some ten years ago under the cool, sharp eye of legendary fashionista Barbara Hulanicki, whose U.K. clothing store was an icon of London's Swinging Sixties and whose nickname — Biba — was appropriated for the hotel. The rooms are smallish, but the ambiance is expansive: a playful pastiche of retro modern fixtures and furnishings inside, a good-sized pool, and lounging areas in a Caribbean-style setting outside. Set at the edge of West Palm Beach's South Dixie arts and antiques district, it's a short stroll from the Norton Museum, and some of the area's most innovative chefs ply their trade nearby. With rooms starting around $75 (sans taxes and fees), it's affordable too.

Readers' choice: The Breakers Palm Beach

Let's be real: Out-of-towners come to South Florida to hit the beach. Everything else (except maybe the drinking) is secondary. So are you really going to take Aunt Sally or Uncle Gene or Beefsteak, your old college roommate, on a gondola ride through Fort Lauderdale? They want the sun, and there's no better place to soak up some rays than Hollywood's Dog Beach. Why? It's in the name, people. It's both a dog park and a beach. It's a beach and dog park. What's not to get? You're welcome.

Your senses heighten as warmth from the sun caresses your body, you breathe in the salty air, and think, "Man, this Publix sub tastes amazing." It's quieter here than at the other beaches, so you're thankfully not interrupted by a crying toddler or the blaring of Daddy Yankee. Looking 50 feet away at the closest stranger's towel, you devise a plan to take a quick catnap and absorb a little bit of vitamin D before climbing the rocks and exploring for little crabs. The sound of the waves breaking against the rocks is steady and soothing. Even if your nap goes longer than planned, it's "Whatever, dude," because at least now and here, life is good.

Ah, people-watching: It's the best free entertainment available. Anyone committed to this hobby must head to Sawgrass Mills Mall to take in the crowd in all its splendor. Each wing of this vast marketplace has a distinct personality, yet they all come together in both of the enormous food courts. People are literally dropped off by the busload every few hours at the "Blue Dolphin" and "Yellow Toucan" entrances wearing the same brightly colored jerseys and backpacks, ready to spend every last dollar. Head to "The Oasis" section to eyeball the emerging species of modern tweens, dressed head to toe in Hot Topic gear, sulking until their moms come to pick them up. Eyeball the Gap to watch middle-aged women delight over nabbing the last pair of jeans on the front table. Another solid option is to grab some Ben & Jerry's and post up at a bench to watch the kiosk people get shot down over and over again when they ask if they can straighten shoppers' hair or give them facemasks. Victories and defeats — they're all on display in this microcosm of the human condition.

It's kind of tough to find a spot to watch the sun sink during the twilight hours, what with us living on the East Coast instead of the West. But you don't necessarily need to live in Naples or Tampa to appreciate a gorgeous sunset — you just need to be on a beach chair with a cool drink in hand. Fort Lauderdale Beach is primo territory for that. Sure, you won't see the orange ball actually drop below the horizon — but you can catch the blue sky slowly turn a gorgeous lavender as specks of stars begin to appear, all while feeling the sand between your toes.

In South Florida, a backyard pool is every child's dream. But pools are expensive, and the upkeep can be tedious.. Driftwood Community Pool, which opened in 2004, is as welcoming as a home pool with the convenience of your neighbor's. (Somebody else can check the danged chlorine.) There are swimming summer camps, swimming lessons, and meets here. In the summer, children kick on noodles and play Marco Polo. Australian pines and palm trees provide some shade in one pocket of the water. Unlike other community pools, Driftwood has a beach entry, a slope that slowly descends from zero to four feet, making it handicap-accessible too. In the winter months, it stays heated at 83 to 86 degrees.

Readers' choice: The W Fort Lauderdale Hotel

The lure of the road can be daunting. You want to get away, but packing your car and planning a route becomes a disheartening chore that ruins the mystique of adventure. Solution: Pick a place close enough that you don't have to spend your mortgage on gassing up yet far enough that you feel like you've left town. Port St. Lucie fills the bill, with everything you love about living in Florida, like pretty scenery and nice restaurants, yet worlds away from the rushed South Florida vibe. Savannas State Park offers a pretty backdrop to get your canoeing, kayaking, and hiking on, and the Heathcote Botanical Gardens will make you feel like you got lost in an Amazonian-like oasis. Port St. Lucie also boasts golf courses and tennis centers and hosts the New York Mets during spring training. And of course, there are the beaches, beautifully devoid of silicone and thongs.

Here's our advice the next time you want to take your sweetheart on a nice little weekend getaway: Keep it simple. And by "keep it simple," we mean, go to the frickin' Keys, man. And when we say "frickin' Keys," we mean Islamorada. In our humble opinion, it's the best key of all. Key Largo is too close, while Key West is drowning in tourists and way too far. But Islamorada is right smack in the middle, where Florida stops being all Florida-y and begins morphing into an otherworldly paradise. Most folks just drive right through Islamorada without understanding that they're passing some sweet spots like Anne's Beach or the Islamorada Beer Co. brewery. Islamorada has places to wind-surf and kayak, gorgeous scuba and snorkeling spots, serene wildlife nature tours, and a couple of pretty state parks. Oh, and there's also a dope-ass lighthouse in the middle of the ocean! None of the other keys can claim to have a dope-ass lighthouse in the ocean. In other words, Islamorada has everything people look for in a keys experience without the crowds, cheesiness, or price gouging.

Ask any real Floridian about alligators and you'll hear an epic story about how an alligator showed up one day to swim in the backyard pool while Grandpa was grilling barbecue chicken. Or that time when a family of gators stole someone's lunch at Lake Alice. Alligator stories are one of the many things that set the old-timers apart from the recent transplants. For those who don't have a legit story yet, it's time to head to Everglades Holiday Park and get to business. At this quiet nature preserve, you can encounter those gnarly beasts by airboat or simply by walking around. You'll have plenty of photo ops and finally get that perfect Facebook cover photo you've been seeking all your life. Just don't get too close. (Gah!)

Being a soccer fan is like being part of a club that no one quite understands, particularly in America. Non-soccer fans don't understand the gorgeous nuances of the beautiful game. They don't get why you can't use your hands. They think it's just guys running around for 90 minutes. They don't get ties. ("They're un-American!") They don't get points-based rankings. ("That's just weird!") They don't get what a table is. ("Isn't that for eating and putting stuff on?") And they certainly don't get why you love it so damned much. What you need is a community — a group of like-hearted diehards who love fútbol just as much as you, and totally understand why you wake up at 7 on a Saturday morning to watch the English Premier League. You can find such a community at Fox & Hounds, a British American pub (that's right, "pub"). This joint is so entrenched in soccer, it will open just for those early-morning games, regardless of time. Then it'll stuff your fútbol-supporting face with fish and chips, steak and kidneys, and even Scotch eggs. And, of course, beer. Lots and lots of beer. It even has a dartboard where you and your mates can play during halftime. Fox & Hounds caters to other sports lovers, to be sure — it has plenty of TVs in the place. But its first love will always be for the beautiful game and its year-round matches, international and otherwise. And the atmosphere here is perfect to watch those matches with your brothers and sisters in soccer.

Everyone is welcome at Slackers, but Wisconsinites feel truly at home in this dimly lit bar located in a shopping center on Marina Mile. Owner Jon Slack never intended his bar to become Broward's Little Milwaukee. But Slack, a Wisconsin native, played the Packers football game every Sunday and decorated the interior with Packers memorabilia, like a framed newspaper from the 2010 Super Bowl, an Aaron Rodgers jersey, and a banner that says, "Packers Country." There's no bad seat in the house to catch a sports game. The walls are covered with more than 30 flat-screen TVs. You don't need a Wisconsin connection to appreciate the goodies on the menu, like bratwursts topped with sauerkraut or cheese curds that are filled with white cheddar cheese from the Badger State. There's even a beer on tap called Slacker's Wisconsin Amber that's brewed in Middleton. But the drink of choice is the Hell Mary, a bloody mary served with skewers of greasy toppings like bacon, a boiled egg, cheddar cheese cubes, pickle, celery, olives, pepperoncini, cherry tomatoes, and a pearl onion.

Jaromir Jagr is 44 years old. For a hockey player, he might as well have fought in the Civil War. He was old ten years ago. But the famously mulleted Czech just happens to be one of the greatest hockey players to lace up in any era of pro hockey. He's won two Stanley Cups and scored more points than any active player in the game. He played alongside Mario Lemieux in the 1990s, creating one of the most formidable offensive duos in sports history. He's played for eight NHL teams and two Russian teams in pro hockey and could probably take on a few NBA teams and the Gryffindor Quidditch team too. But what he's doing now, in his 40s, seems to be the most improbable accomplishment of his career: He has turned the Florida Panthers — which previously functioned as the NHL's halfway house for players considering retirement — into a legitimate championship contender. Jagr himself is having the sort of season that defies all logic or science: He led the team in scoring and looks positively happy doing so. He hasn't even lost any hair. (Though the Panthers have been knocked out of the playoffs this year.)

Readers' choice: Jaromír Jágr

Christian Yelich is the best Miami Marlins player you’ve never heard of, largely because he’s not flashy (and he doesn’t do PEDs — we hope). Casual observers will tell you that what makes a great baseball player is someone who can hit long dingers and get a crapload of RBIs. And that may be true to some degree. But what really makes a great ballplayer is a guy who knows how to take pitches, is patient, can wear out the opposing pitcher, draws walks, and hits it anywhere in the field where it’s safe. And Yelich is arguably one of the best in the majors at all of these things. Baseball is a game of stats, and the stat gurus will tell you that the most valuable hitters on your team are the guys who can get on base, no matter how they do it. Yelich is a wizard at fouling off bad pitches and a warlock at drawing walks. This season alone, he was leading all of baseball in on-base percentage and driving pitchers batty with his uncanny ability to know their strike zones and hit safely. Best of all, he now has Barry Bonds — perhaps the most cerebral hitter of all time — as his hitting coach. Yelich may not be the sexiest player on the Marlins, but he’s the most effective. Someone’s gotta get on base when Giancarlo takes those monster swings.

Readers' choice: Giancarlo Stanton

There's only one team that would use a top-ten pick on a guy who didn't become a quarterback until college: the Miami Dolphins. That being said, the aqua-and-orange are also the same organization that selected a player with the ability to make that same wide-receiver-turned-signal-caller look much more competent. When Jarvis Landry was chosen in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, the expectations for the LSU product were substantial — but not many anticipated him to turn into the stud he's become. In only his second year, Landry made the Pro Bowl after a season in which he caught 110 passes for 1,157 yards. His touchdown total stood at a paltry four, but that was mainly because the Dolphins offense was a pathetic, shambling corpse that ranked 27th in points and 26th overall in yards. His QB, Ryan Tannehill, threw for just over 4,200 yards. Mathematically speaking, all by his lonesome, Landry was responsible for one-fourth of his quarterback's passes. Operating out of the slot and pulling double-duty on special teams as the Dolphins' number-one guy to return kickoffs and returns, Landry, who shared co-MVP honors last season with safety Reshad Jones, is a gutsy and invaluable player. His numbers over the past two years have been second to only one man, his former teammate at LSU, some dude named Odell Beckham Jr.

Readers' choice: Jarvis Landry

The big stories this season for the Miami Heat focused on many of the newer names adorning the roster sheets. Star center Hassan Whiteside is finally getting out of his own way to become a legit all-around player. The late-February signing of veteran All-Star swingman Joe Johnson has paid massive dividends. And the emergence of rookies Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow in the absence of Chris Bosh is a testament to the management of one the league's most consistent franchises. However, it was the return to form by the Heat's greatest all-time player that quietly became the warm center that this team huddled beside for comfort and reassurance. For the first time in more than four years, 34-year-old Dwyane Wade was healthy enough to play the majority of an entire season. Through a combo of cleverness and patience, Wade and the Heat staff managed his various rehabs, his minutes, and his approach to the game to ensure he was on the floor when they needed him most. Flash isn't as quick as he used to be, but this past season, he not only provided the leadership he always has but he also delivered the sort of signature performances we haven't seen since his prime, when he carried the weight of Miami's championship hopes on his battered legs. It was a banner year that saw both his knees and the future of the team in better shape than expected.

Readers' choice: Dwyane Wade

South Florida is full of people with gobs of disposable income. Hang outside any steakhouse, and you'll see them in action: tanned, leathery men rolling around in convertible Bentleys, clouds of Davidoff Cool Water and cigar smoke following in their wake as they bounce from one champagne-soaked party to another. Though the wealthiest Floridians often act like they can get whatever they want — including their own tax laws or zoning ordinances — occasionally, things do get in their way. But Fort Lauderdale's Millionaire's Concierge exists to make sure that rarely happens. Need a Lamborghini or 60-foot yacht for the day? Easy. Got a zillion bucks and want to be unnecessarily placed in a film? No problem. Want to spend a leisurely Saturday inside a fighter jet? They've got entire party packages for that. As the founder, Doug Turner, claims on his website, "Your only limitation is your imagination!" Ditto the size of your wallet.