I'm a dad.

I don't want a tie.

And, truthfully, once you've unwrapped one Popsicle stick picture frame, well, you've unwrapped them all.

Dads of a certain stage don't want more stuff. Unless, of course, your kids have stashed away enough lemonade stand profits to spring for an iPod Touch. Or a Porsche Cayman.

Instead, this Father's Day help dear old dad scratch an item or two off his bucket list. Because, apologies to Steely Dan, you can buy a thrill.

Wet and wild

The Middle Ocoee River is Mother Nature's roller coaster with raging, roaring rapids with names like Table Saw, Broken Nose and Double Trouble seemingly strung from end to end of this five-mile stretch of water. There isn't much flat water on this trip.

And it's not so dangerous that older kids can't come along for quality time with dad.

Nantahala Outdoor Center, 888-905-7238, www.noc.com. Cost: $42-$48, but the 5 p.m. trip June 22 is on sale for just $15.

Nothing petty about it

Sure, dad hauls you to school or baseball practice, but that isn't really driving. Blasting down the straightaway at Atlanta Motor Speedway at speeds certain to get you arrested elsewhere, that's driving.

A half-day class at the Richard Petty Driving Experience puts pops behind the wheel of a 600-horsepower, 358-cubic-inch V-8 NASCAR style racecar. After a bit of instruction, students roar around the 1.54-mile track eight times.

The only possible drawback is if you don't book one of the few remaining June classes scheduled for the local track, you'll have to wait until September to get behind the wheel.

Richard Petty Driving Experience, 800-237-3889, www.1800bepetty.com. Cost: $399-$449.

Look! Up in the sky!

Who doesn't want to fly like Superman? You can get a reasonable facsimile by booking a tandem hang glider flight at Lookout Mountain Flight Park in Rising Fawn in northwest Georgia. A powered ultra-light aircraft tows a hang glider with passenger and certified pilot up to about 2,000 feet. Once released, you soar and glide for 12-20 minutes before touching down. Your spirits, however, may never return to earth.

Lookout Mountain is a popular hang glider spot, so you'll likely be sharing the skies.

Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding, 800-688-5637, www.hanglide.com. Cost: $139.

A grape afternoon

Guys, tough guys, guys who ride bulls for a living, guys willing to block the plate, get sweaty palms when ordering wine at a restaurant. The lessons learned in a Grapes by the Bunch® tasting flight can instill the confidence to stare down the sommelier.

During the custom tastings offered at area The Grape wine bars you select three wines from among the 50 or so wines offered by the glass. Each pour is 2 ¼ ounces. There are six categories — from light bodied white wines to bold, robust reds — from which to choose. And there are plenty of options within each category. There are eight pinot noirs, for example. The Grape, four Atlanta locations, www.yourgrape.com. Cost: $12.

A fair shake

A day at the spa isn't just for Mother's Day. Fathers can benefit from a little pampering too. Think of it as detailing your body. The Grooming Lounge at the Terminus Building in Buckhead is a super duper barbershop where you can get a manicure while watching ESPN. Perhaps best known for a $50 shave involving steamed towels and hot lather, the Grooming Lounge also offers manicures and foot treatments. And while Dad has given himself a thousand shaves, a betting man says he has never given himself a manicure. So it's up to you. The Commander in Chief includes a business manicure and foot treatment.

The Grooming Lounge, 404-467-7766, www.groominglounge.com. Cost: $100.

On cue

Pool has always been an edgy game, seeped in cool. No one has made a movie about playing Wii, after all. It's a game that requires a mathematical mind and steady hand. Lessons help, too. A private lesson with Alice Rim, a touring pro with the Women's Professional Billiard Association, will turn dad into the hustler of any basement rec room. The package arranged through a company called Excitations includes a one-hour lesson and one-hour of playing time. Cool nickname not included.

Excitations, 877-839-2483, www.excitations.com.