Whether you want to thank Dad for putting up with your crap or teach your own son to enjoy life’s finer side, the best gift is a shared experience.
by Nicole Cusick and Charles Coxe
1. Cruise The Blue Ridge
Why It’s Cool: Mast Farm Inn, in Valle Crucis, North Carolina, pairs a day of driving new and replica Porsches — Boxster, Spyder, Speedster, or Cayman — with a stay in an 1880s farmhouse or a blacksmith’s cabin. The inn is vintage itself: The rooms have neither TVs nor telephones. There is, however, a collection of 250 pre-1961 films on DVD. Or take a canoe out for a morning on nearby New River.
What To Bring: Hiking boots: Grandfather Mountain offers 11 trails, 16 ecosystems, and 70 rare or endangered species ($15 for the day; grandfather.com).
What To Eat: Mast Farm’s Simplicity restaurant uses its own organic vegetables. Try the champagne chicken with asparagus and thyme.
Getting There: Located in the Watauga River Basin, the inn (listed on the National Historic Register) is a two-hour drive from the Charlotte airport.
Full Cost/Contact: one night (plus car): $500 mastfarminn.com
2. Create The Perfect Putter
Why It’s Cool: The relationship men have with their putter is like a romance with an evil woman, according to craftsman David Edel. “It can start good, but once you commit, you live through hell.” The remedy: Visit Edel in his new Austin, Texas, shop, where he’ll work through millions of construction combinations to hand-build a putter to fit your stroke. Golf diagnosis is included.
What To Bring: Your son. Edel also crafts putters for children, complete with a lifetime guarantee for shaft lengthening as your child grows up.
What To Eat: Spring for the boneless prime rib at Smitty’s (smittysmarket.com), and bring the Wet-Naps: The joint doles out knives, but not forks.
Getting There: Fly into Austin and stay in rooms on the greens of Barton Creek Resort’s Fazio Foothills Course ($200; bartoncreek.com).
Full Cost/Contact: two nights (plus putter): $1,400 edelgolf.com
3. Sail The Coast of Maine
Why It’s Cool: “Each morning you come up on deck, have a coffee, and guess what the weather’s going to be,” says Captain John Foss of the rigorous itinerary on his historic schooner, the American Eagle. “Then we decide where to go.” Depending on the day, that could mean looking for whales, visiting remote islands, or simply letting the wind whip the 1930 National Historic Landmark schooner along the waters of Maine’s Penobscot Bay.
What To Bring: Besides the basics (rubber-soled shoes, sweater, rain gear), Foss recommends a copy of Islands in Time, by Philip Conkling. “It’s an excellent overview of the Maine coast.”
What To Eat: Except when Foss throws a lobster bake on a beach, all meals (think halibut and fresh bread) are made right onboard.
Getting There: Fly into Portland, Maine, then drive two hours to Rockland. The schooner’s in the North End Shipyard, just off Main Street.
Full Cost/Contact: six nights: $885 schooneramericaneagle.com
4. Fish Remote Montana
Why It’s Cool: If fishing is a sacred ritual between fathers and sons (it is), Montana’s remote Smith River, filled with mantel-worthy trout, is Mecca. But the best way to gain entry is by locking down a coveted Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks float permit (fewer than 16 percent of applicants won a pass last year). A better bet: Go with Mike Geary, the affable guide and owner of Lewis and Clark Expeditions. He’ll lead you to the hefty browns and rainbows.
What To Bring: The outfitter provides everything (permits, rafts, tents, cots, and reels), so all you’ll need is a good read. Our pick: The River Why, a touchstone for fly-fishing devotees.
What To Eat: Lewis and Clark Expeditions takes care of savory necessities (but BYO whiskey), including dinners of seared tuna.
Getting There: Transfers to and from the Helena, Montana, airport and camping equipment are included in the fee.
Full Cost/Contact: five nights: $3,600 lewisandclarkexpeditions.net
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