In some places, parasailing can be risky business. You know those horrible spills you see on America’s Funniest Home Videos, where spring breakers careen into porta-potties on the beach just seconds after taking off? That most often happens south of the border, where restrictions are more lax. David Hearne, owner of Clear Lake Parasail, says that in the good ol’ USA, parasailing is a safer — and much drier — experience, since customers suit up, take off from and land on a custom-made winch boat. In Hearne’s setup, you float at heights reaching 300 feet for eight to ten minutes, taking in the lake and beach below. “You never touch the water,” he says. “It’s really an old misconception that parasailing still has people taking off from a dock or the beach.” Hearne says his boat captain won’t put up with “any bullshit or alcohol,” so forget the Jackass re-enactment. (Hearne has witnessed odd stuff, though, like a parasail wedding and a few marriage proposals.) Be warned, there are weight restrictions: You must weigh no less than 90 pounds and no more than 300. So if you’re an Olsen twin or an NFL lineman, well, ¿habla español? 10 a.m. to dusk on weekdays; 9 a.m. to dusk on weekends. 3000 NASA Parkway, next to the Nassau Bay Hilton. For information, call 281-333-2816. $45. — Greg Barr
Trigger Happy
If the double click of a 12-gauge shotgun doesn’t make you wet your pants, you’re either deaf or really into sniffing out furry forest animals and blastin’ ’em. If you get off on scoping wildlife, head to what’s being billed as the “granddaddy of all hunting shows”: the Texas Trophy Hunters Association Extravaganza 2005 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Learn to lure Bambi from the brush in the hunting clinics, or play with the stuffed animals in the taxidermy competition. And it wouldn’t be an extravaganza without the snake handlers and their pits full of diamondback rattlers. Bring your camouflage. 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, August 5; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, August 6; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, August 7. 1001 Avenida de las Americas. For tickets, call 800-800-3207 or visit www.ttha.com. $5 to $10. — Mosi Secret
This article appears in Aug 4-10, 2005.