Find fun, games and lots of action at Adventure HQ and the Backyard in Palm Shores

Sometimes, the best place to hang out is the backyard.

Invite a few friends over, serve some snacks, enjoy cold beverages and maybe toss a few beanbags at the old cornhole board.

That's the atmosphere Terry O'Grady is going for at The Backyard, a massive space overlooking the Indian River off U.S. 1 in Palm Shores, just south of the Pineda Causeway. 

Inside the former recreational vehicle sales center, you'll find lanes for shuffleboard, cornhole and bocce ball. There are pool tables, too, and dartboards. 

A deck outfitted with chairs, couches and tables surrounds the gaming area, so guests can watch the action while enjoying a beer or glass of wine, as well as pizza, sandwiches and other snacks.

And, unlike your own backyard, this one is air-conditioned.

But wait. There's more.

Doorways in a hallway adjacent to the gaming lanes open into the interactive mystery of 321 Escape Room, which features three escape rooms for adults, plus one designed for the 5- to 10-year-old crowd.

And that's just what you'll find in the front half of the building.

Wander a little farther back, and you'll discover a cafe and Adventure HQ, with a climbing wall, a ninja warrior course, Space Coast Crossfit gym and — if those aren't enough of a challenge — bouldering, a harness-free climbing system.

The building and Adventure HQ side of the operation are owned by Lois and Frankie Pauley.

Terry O'Grady runs the Backyard, 321 Escape Room and the cafe with his wife, Tammy, and son, Tyler. 

After years of working in the transportation business in Tampa, Terry moved his family to Satellite Beach planning to semi-retire, he said.

He was looking for a place to store large transportation equipment, and toured the Palm Shores facility, which at the time housed a gym, the rock-climbing and Ninja facilities, as well as the cafe. 

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While it was plenty spacious, it wasn't zoned for what Terry needed. But he envisioned another use for the space.

Tyler had been talking about opening an escape room. The O'Gradys started there, then took over operation of the cafe, and opened the Backyard.

The escape rooms opened Nov. 30. If you're not familiar with the concept, a group of two to 10 people is locked in a room and given an hour to sort through clues to find a way out. The rooms are themed and staged like a theater set.

A 321 Escape Room employee gives a short briefing and instructions, then the group enters their chosen challenge — The Heist (a Wild West saloon), Hijacked at Sea and a Brevard-appropriate Escape in Space — and the door is locked. The employee watches the action on monitors in a control room.

The fun comes in working with your team to find a way out.

While children are welcome to participate with the adults, a fourth room, Quest for the Sword, is designed for those 5 to 10 years old, no adults allowed. A costumed actor offers guidance while other grown-ups watch through two-way glass.

Cost for the escape rooms starts at $15 to $28 per person, depending on the day and time of your adventure.

In the Backyard, guests can rent a lane for cornhole, shuffleboard or bocce. The space is open 4 to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Cost for a lane is $15 an hour Monday through Thursday and $20 an hour Friday and Saturday. 

Cornehole and bocce leagues started in March and will continue for eight weeks on Monday nights. If there's enough interest, O'Grady said he'd like to add a shuffleboard league, too.

As you approach the Adventure HQ side of the building, you hear the fun before seeing it.

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Youngsters trying their luck at the ninja course whoop and shriek as they slip from ropes and balance obstacles and plop onto airbags below. You've seen "American Ninja Warrior" on TV? It's like that without the water.

The climbing walls are bright and colorful and crawling with happy children.

At Adventure HQ, a one-hour session in the Adventure Zone, which includes the Ninja Warrior course and the Crazy Climb harnessed wall-climbing apparatus, is $15. 

A bouldering day pass is $18, $16 for children up to 12. 

Adventure HQ memberships and punch cards also are available.

While the facility is open to people who want to come in to enjoy an active afternoon or night out, it's also gaining a reputation as a corporate team-building spot.

The Melbourne Regional Chamber of East Central Florida recently hosted a lunch there. 

"We can customize experiences," Tammy O'Grady said.

There's a meeting space. Groups can rent all or part of the building, including the Adventure HQ areas.

"Under one roof, we have a multi-facet entertainment facility, where you can do rock-climbing, ninja warrior course," Terry said. "You can do backyard games without any weather or any problems. ... We also have 321 Escape. It makes for great team-building, great corporate team functions, great corporate parties as well.

"Come in and check us out."

If you go

The Backyard and Adventure HQ is at 5270 N. U.S. 1, Palm Shores.

Info:

• Adventure HQ: 321-775-9825, adventurehqfl.com (Guests must sign a waiver before using facilities. Screens are available on site, but save time by printing the form available on the website and filling it out ahead of time.)
• The Backyard: 321-426-7480, backyardgamesandeatery.com
• 321 Escape Room: 321-241-4575, 321escape.com

Email Leonard at sleonard@floridatoday.com

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