A trip to Grain Surfboards in York, Maine, takes the travel souvenir far beyond T-shirts and snow globes. Students who attend the four-to-seven-day shaping seminars stay nearby and learn to use planes, chisels, and other woodworking tools to custom-craft their own surfboards. “We’re on a little farm ten minutes from the beach,” says Grain founder Mike LaVecchia. “By seven every morning, people are out trying demo boards.”
LaVecchia, 48, a former boat builder, recommends not shying away from the cooler months of the year—bigger, emptier waves during Maine’s nor’easter-battered autumn are savored by some surfers. “Around November, there aren’t that many people in the water,” he says. “There are a loyal group of maybe 50 who surf year-round.”
From $1,525, grainsurfboards.com