In honor of Father’s Day, Hilton Head Monthly highlights a few local fathers who share unforgettable times with their children.
After putting in a hard day at work, most fathers struggle to not only find quality time but the energy their children need. A few local dads have come up with some creative ways to maximize that bonding time.
And it doesn’t involve staying at home.
Whether it’s off-roading in the Arizona desert, trailing the winding paths of the Grand Canyon in inclement weather, swimming with dolphins in Cabo San Lucas or telling ghost stories around a campfire, these dad-only adventures have created memories that last a lifetime.
Off The Beaten Path
PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER Mark Staff is one devoted dad who enjoys taking his two sons on — shall we say — memorable getaways.
“We always look for things out of the ordinary,” said Staff, who recently returned from the Southwest with sons Dakota, 14, and Parker, 12. “We want to go places where there are no people, not typical tourist destinations. We like extreme adventure.”
During their weeklong sojourn, the Staffs camped, cooked and talked over the cheerful blaze of a fire. They listened to the yips and howls of coyotes and discovered mountain lion tracks in the surrounding desert.
After hiking the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park — where they climbed to the top of a mountain despite pouring rain and sheer drop-offs all along the trail — they headed to Bryce and Antelope canyons to explore subterranean “slot” canyons, famous for their pinkand orange-striated rock.
Other adventures have included sliding down snow-covered slopes on their jackets and off-road racing in sand buggies, which allowed the boys to try their hand at driving through rivers.
Last year, Staff took Dakota and Parker to a small, uninhabited island called Culebrita, off the coast of Puerto Rico, where they traversed the perimeter of the island on foot, scrambled over rocks and explored an abandoned Spanishbuilt lighthouse.
“I do a lot of things, but every week I try to spend time with my kids,” said Staff, whose two daughters are still too young to join their brothers on such rigorous outings. “It’s good bonding time and it gives them a chance to get out there in the world and do things they wouldn’t normally be able to do.”
Swimming With The Dolphins
THERE IS NOTHING 9-YEAR-OLD MEGAN FERGUSON loves more than hanging out with her dad, Hilton Head Island realtor Jim Ferguson, especially when it involves going down to Mexico. Ferguson has property in Cabo San Lucas, where he retreats several times a year to enjoy the vibrant culture and beautiful 80-degree weather.
When Jim and Megan are out in Cabo, he can’t help but notice that whenever they sit down to dinner, a crowd gathers around their table to sing.
In addition to beautiful beaches, Cabo offers world-class resorts, golf, sport fishing, eco-tours and whale watching, scuba diving, surfing, sea kayaking and parasailing. Last summer, Jim took his daughter to an aquarium, where besides seeing a variety of fish and sea creatures, Megan swam with the dolphins at The Cabo Dolphin Center.
“My daughter and I are very close,” said Ferguson, who has joint custody of Megan. “We do a lot of things together — going out to dinner, going shopping, going to the beach or the pool — and she talks about these things all the time.
I think as she grows older, she’ll remember them and we’ll be able to communicate and have that special father/daughter relationship.”
A Campfire Of Memories
BOB ENGLER, OWNER OF Budget Blinds in Bluffton, and Fred Weniger, a plastic surgeon, found excitement much closer to home when they took their kids on an overnight camping trip to Hampton Lake, a Reed Development community in greater Bluffton known for its diverse amenities.
The fathers-kids group ventured to Hampton Lake’s Outpost Campsite, which is located on an island in the middle of the community’s famous lake. The area is perfectly poised for storytelling and cowboy cooking with a dock, picnic tables and rustic stone cook pit surrounded by benches. After a short boat ride to the Outpost, visitors are invited to pitch their tents under the stars and to listen to the mysterious noises that fill a Southern night.
During their most recent laidback excursion to Hampton Lake, Engler, Weniger and their young children, aged 3 to 5, felt the excitement mount as sleeping bags were rolled out and a campfire was kindled to roast their marshmallows. While the youngsters sipped their juice boxes and the dads enjoyed a couple of beers, the kids were convinced they heard a bear. For the record, it was a raccoon rummaging through their potato chip bag.
“I guess as a dad, you spend so much time working, you don’t want to end up feeling like you’re missing all the fun stuff” said Engler, who frequently takes his family to enjoy Hampton Lake’s swimming pool, spa, fitness center, golf course and, not to mention, lake for boating and fishing. “We just wanted to do something different with them, and they’re dying to do it again.”
