Spacious Rooms Overlooking St. Johns River

The St. Johns River-which neatly slices Jacksonville, Florida, down the middle-is one of the only rivers in America that flows north. Along its banks, the Jacksonville Landing has been attracting residents and visitors for more than 20 years with swanky shops, creative eateries, live-music clubs, and more than 300 special outdoor events held every year. The Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk occupies a prime spot directly across the river from the Landing and in the heart of the city's trendy San Marco entertainment district.

Each standard room in the hotel features contemporary and warm decor, with marigold-yellow walls and golden-hued linens. In the morning, you can head downstairs for a complimentary cooked-to-order breakfast in the Wyndham's St. John's Cafe, then snooze peacefully in the sun while suspended in a hammock next to the outdoor pool.

Jacksonville, Florida: Sprawling City with Public Parks and Open Squares

Located in northern Florida 25 miles from the Georgia state line, Jacksonville has the distinction of being the largest city, area-wise, in the United States. This doesn't translate to vast expanses of pavement and canyons of skyscrapers, however. More than 80,000 acres of parkland lie within the city limits, surrounding visitors with lush landscaping and squirrel networking opportunities. A particularly nice park is Tree Hill Nature Center. Located five minutes from downtown, this green space is crisscrossed with 50 acres of trails leading through shady forests.

The neighborhood where the Wyndham is located, San Marco, is one of Jacksonville's oldest. Noted for its 1920s-era Mediterranean Revival homes-featuring balconies, terra-cotta tile roofs, and elaborate carvings-the area rewards sightseers with interesting architecture around every turn. As the sun goes down, head over to the San Marco Square, an open piazza surrounded by upscale restaurants and an old-fashioned movie theater.

Read the Fine Print for important info on travel dates and other restrictions.

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Call them laugh lines if you want, but those creases around your mouth and eyes aren't giving you any reason to chuckle at what they're doing to your appearance. Silence their mocking with today's deal from Skin Solutions & Laser Center on Old Howell Road: For $36 (regularly $75), score a microdermabrasion; or, add a glycolic acid peel to that service and pay $42 (regularly $90). By stimulating collagen and exfoliating away the top layer of aging skin, this noninvasive treatment -- performed by a licensed esthetician -- can help to expose the brighter, more toned, younger-looking layers underneath. Coupled with a facial peel, the effects of this process may be heightened -- giving you a reason to smile yet again.

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Bayside B & B with Jacuzzi at End of Private Dock

Along Florida's panhandle is a shoreline that is often called the Forgotten Coast. The beaches here have escaped any heavy development; instead, you'll get a glimpse of what old Florida was like, with soaring pines, saw palmettos, and snow-white dunes.

At the heart of the Forgotten Coast, the St. Joseph Peninsula stretches into the Gulf of Mexico. Cape San Blas Inn is situated on this narrow finger of land, which separates St. Joseph Bay from the open gulf. The inn stands just 200 yards from the beach on the opposite coast.

In the back of the inn, you can peer out to the water from bay windows and screened-in porches. A wooden boardwalk leads toward the water, where you'll find a dock extending into the bay. You can borrow one of the inn's complimentary canoes here, or paddle to the end of the pier, where there's a hot tub situated right on the waterfront.

Inside, no two guest rooms are exactly alike, but all include Sleep Number beds and prints of tropical beaches hanging on the walls. The Turtle Shell suite is the largest room, with a tile-framed fireplace beside french doors that lead onto a private patio.

In the morning, the inn lays out a spread of Starbucks-brand coffee with dishes such as quiche or french toast. Feel free to eat in the large, airy dining room, or carry your plate out to the veranda to watch starfish try to form constellations.

Port St. Joe, Florida: Beachfront Parks and Coastal Towns

St. Joseph Peninsula State Park is one of the prettiest local beaches. It overlooks both the bay and the shores of the gulf around the secluded eastern tip of the peninsula. All over the beachfront dunes you'll see sand pine scrub, and migrating falcons visit the 1,900-acre wilderness reserve every fall. The Cape San Blas connects the peninsula with the mainland. It features a lighthouse that has been rebuilt no fewer than four times.

Head inland to the town of Port St. Joe, which has seafood restaurants and charter cruises, or travel farther east to Apalachicola, a city named for a Native American tribe and often translated as "land of the friendly people." The city is lined with 19th-century architecture, including the Orman House and Raney House. Both of these Greek Revivalist-style mansions were built by cotton magnates. If it's getting hot outside, head to the John Gorrie Museum-the former home of the man who pioneered air conditioning.

Read the Fine Print for important info on travel dates and other restrictions.

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Fusing international cuisines creates provocative new dishes, whereas fusing international languages still just sounds like Latin. Savor flavors without borders with this Groupon.

Choose from Four Options

$7 for $15 worth of eclectic international cuisine for lunch

$35 for dinner for two (up to a $72.85 total value)

One appetizer (up to a $14.95 value) Two entrees (up to a $28.95 value each)

$56 for dinner for four (up to a $130.75 total value)

One appetizer (up to a $14.95 value) Four entrees (up to a $28.95 value each)

$79 for dinner for six (up to a $203.60 total value)

Two appetizers (up to a $14.95 value each) Six entrees (up to a $28.95 value each)

The lunch menu includes the Ares sandwich with slow-roasted chicken, jalapeños, and house-made onion mayonnaise ($8.95) as well as a flambeed salmon fillet with brandy and peppercorn sauce ($9.95). See the dinner menu.

Zarza Eclectic Cuisine

At Zarza Eclectic Cuisine, co-owner Jose Landa commits to "giving people an experience … Something that can't be found anywhere else in Spartanburg," as he told GoUpstate.com in 2011. Under his supervision, nimble chefs do just that, melding culinary influences from South America, western Europe, and the Mediterranean into menus of pan-regional fusion cuisine. In addition to baking saffron-scented pans of paella, they also grill Argentinean chorizo and slow-cook legs of lamb in blackberry wine and herbs. An in-house Argentinean butcher personally fillets fish and carves steaks from grass-fed, Angus-certified beef.

Bordered by an exposed brick wall, the 120-seat dining room occasionally hosts live music performances, which can entertain diners as they try to differentiate their salad fork from their tuning fork.

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Like television, paintball reached a new level of popularity when scientists invented color in the 1950s. Show off the color wheel with this Groupon.

$22 for an All-Day Paintball Package ($44 Value) All-day admission Rental equipment including paintball marker, mask, air tank, and loader Unlimited air 500 paintballs

PBC Paintball Park

Silence fills the forest as a masked paintball player creeps over logs and leaves, unable to find the opposing team he knows is there. Suddenly, a shower of colored paint spews from behind a nearby tree, and the battle begins. Such moments unfold daily at PBC Paintball Park's facilities. Their staff, all of whom are paintball players themselves, have designed both wooded and concept fields at Greensboro, Charlotte, and Greenville. At Greensboro, wooded landscapes transform into a battlefield with bunkers, creeks, and large forts. Felled trees and dense foliage give players ample cover amid the undeveloped woods of Greenville's fields, while tournaments unfold across PBC Charlotte's level terrain. Additionally, PBC Paintball Parks are affiliated with Paintball Central, which runs three stores in North Carolina where players can stock up on enough paintball gear to ready themselves for the inevitable cartoon-character rebellion.

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For centuries, horseshoes have been associated with good fortune, which is why homeowners hang them over doorways and brides lob them at groups of their single friends. Get hitched with this Groupon.

Choose from Four Options $25 for a 30-minute child's beginning-riding lesson (a $50 value) $47 for a 30-minute child's beginning-riding lesson for two (a $100 value) $29 for a 45-minute adult's beginning-riding lesson (a $60 value) $69 for three 30-minute child's beginning-riding lessons (a $150 value)

Cherokee Hill Farm

Nestled in the scenic foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Cherokee Hill Farm's 100 acres have hosted the equestrian pursuits of owners Mike and Linda Schatzberg for more than 25 years. When the horses aren't resting in one of the stable's 22 stalls, they graze on green grass and croquet mallets in one of the grounds' pastures or tote riders into the 380-acre landscape of the Foothills Equestrian Nature Center. Horse owners board their steeds at the farm, where staff members lovingly care for and train them. The Schatzbergs' passion for shar-peis led them to create an onsite kennel where pups can play while their owners ride. Beginning riders benefit from the blue ribbon expertise of instructor Mike, who specializes in hunt-seat riding.

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Despite their destructive cinematic depictions, most lasers are helpful, often found assisting slideshow presentations and playing DVDs for people who aren't entertained by just staring at the shiny part. Let a laser do some good with this Groupon.

Choose from Three Options $99 for two spider-vein-removal treatments (a $320 value) $179 for four spider-vein-removal treatments (a $640 value) $279 for six spider-vein-removal treatments (a $960 value)

Southside Medical Center

In 2004, board-certified doctor Thaer A. Joudeh realized his vision of a medical practice run by physicians who consider patient care, not corporate interests, their main priority. Alongside Dr. Frederick Veit and a considerate staff, he oversees the Southside Medical Center's health and cosmetic services. The team's individual specialties coalesce to form a support network for entire families. They treat ailments from headaches to allergies to conditions requiring minor surgery and strive to regard their guests as they would their own relatives. Their hair-, wrinkle-, and spider-vein-removal treatments enlist the help of a gentle Candela laser, which treats all skin types with its cryogen cooling system to minimize discomfort and maximize games of connect-the-goosebumps.

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