Want to help someone experience something that is simultaneously simple, sophisticated, stunning and sublime?

Then get them a gift certificate for a high performance sailplane ride.

Of course, the weather has to be good, and not everyone likes flying, and yes, you'll probably have to take a loong ride out to a small airport.

But if everything lines up right, whomever the ride is for can soar literally just like an eagle for over an hour... catching terminals and being lifted up, gliding nearly silently around the sky to a little lower altitude, all the time with an awesome view, and then repeat for as long as the pilot can find areas of lift.

And here's the kicker: This weekend it turned out to be one of the BEST gifts we grown-up children ever got for... our Mom!

Holy Sainted Soaring Septuagenarians Batman! Gravity-free Grannies are Gliding above us!

Yes, early in the afternoon of July 4th, there was a grandmother who was celebrating her independence from the ground, swooping around, just a dot in the sky until she (and the pilot) came in for a perfect landing!

Highly recommended.