Xplor Adventure Park - 1 Day Ticket

Shearwater is a classic Newport-style schooner yacht, only recently recognized as a national landmark in 2009.  The vessel was built by Rice Brother Corporation in East Boothbay, Maine, back in a time when yachting was a rare combination of elegance and adventure; Rice Bros. were well known for building luxury pleasure yachts and produced some 4,000 hulls over a period of 64 years. The keel was laid down on January 4, 1929 and a news clip from the Boothbay Register reflects alongside a photograph "Tyler Hodgon at the old Tide Mill is getting out timbers for the schooner to be built at Rice’s. Vessel to be built of native white oak." Traditionally built from hand-hewn native white oak, she was the last boat to be constructed at that yard - likely due to the ensuing Great Depression brought on by the Stock Market Crash that occurred later that autumn.  East Boothbay was a small coastal town with shipbuilding being its only industry. About 40 workmen were employed for the construction of SHEARWATER. Her designer Theodore Donald Wells was born in Hudson Falls, N Y on October 22, 1875. He was a naval architect and marine engineer, a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and also the Institute of Naval Architects London. His education included post-graduate work at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. He began his career as a member of the firm Herreshoff and Wells, N. Y. City in 1902. Working with Herreshoff no doubt had an influence on his designs, which bear similarities to many of the famous Herreshoff designed yachts of that time. From 1903 to 1907 he worked for Wintringham and Wells and then began practicing his profession under his own name. Mr. Wells joined the Navy Department in March 1917 and became Superintending Constructor of the Baltimore District U. S. N. Notable yachts designed and constructed under his supervision are "Viking" a 272 foot steel motor yacht built for George F. Baker in 1929 by Newport News and "Karina" a three masted schooner built for Robert E. Tod in 1932 by Staten Island Shipbuilding. Mr. Tod was a well-known offshore yachtsman as was his former yacht ‘Thistle", which competed in the Emperors Cup ocean race. SHEARWATER was launched on May 4, 1929 and photographs in the Boothbay Register reflect her graceful and elegant lines. Her first Captain, Leon Esterbrook of Edgarton, MA, arrived to take charge of the fitting out. Her owner Charles E Dunlap was a member of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, Oyster Bay, NY and this became SHEARWATER’s first homeport after her completion in late September 1929. It was there in Oyster Bay that she first started to thrill those who sailed in luxury aboard her and those who were privileged to crew her on race day. Since her launching and documentation in Lloyd’s Register of American Yachts in 1929, she has had a colorful history and has been carefully maintained and restored to standards that few contemporary vessels are able to match and is truly a piece of American Maritime History. On November 7, 1942 SHEARWATER was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration and became a member of The United States Coast Guard’s Coastal Picket Patrol during World War Two. She was painted gray and bore the numbers CG67004. Based at Little Creek, Virginia she patrolled the waters east of the Chesapeake Bay entrance and south towards Cape Hatteras. Her skipper during that period reflected on how they used their free time while out on submarine patrol to race against other yachts and in his own words "sailed in tandem with the schooner Lord Jim, racing in and out of port, up and down the east coast and winning." She was designed and built as a gaff rigged schooner but during this period was changed to a Marconi rig. She carries over 2,550 square feet while under full sail. A true veteran world cruiser, she first transited the Panama Canal in July 1946 and in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s completed a two and a half-year global circumnavigation. In December 1971 Mrs. John B. Thayer of Rosemont, wife of a former trustee and treasurer, donated SHEARWATER to the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute of Environmental Medicine. She was used by the university as a laboratory for research on physiological responses to the stresses of living and working underwater. Captained by James Shearson, she was fitted with compressors, generators, monitoring instruments and a small decompression chamber. She has participated in many Ancient Mariner and Classic yacht races in U S waters as well as racing in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand while on her circumnavigation in the early 1980’s. It is rumored she was once dismasted in the famous Newport to Bermuda race. She was last raced by the current owners in San Diego in May 1995 in the American Schooner Cup and finished second overall. She entered the yacht charter industry in 1966 whilst on the West Coast sailing to the Channel Islands and was again used to generate income to keep her shipshape while owned by the University of Pennsylvania. During the chartering industry’s infancy in the Caribbean, SHEARWATER was known as the " Queen of the Fleet". Today she continues this tradition offering the most unique sailing experience and has passed rigid Coast Guard inspections and can carry up to 49 passengers. We welcome you to join us for an excellent opportunity to experience the ambiance of a vintage sailing vessel while delighting in the splendors of The Manhattan sky-line, the Statue of Liberty or the beauty of the oceans beyond.

The 2 hour excursion is a great way to see how you enjoy the sea and visa versa. When the whales and dolphins are close to the boat you can get excellent views through the glass bottom, or window in the catamaran but if they are a distance away you will get a good view of them from the deck. Whale watching is like fishing and it can't always be promised that you will see them but you have a better chance to see them in these waters than anywhere else in Europe. Through the glass bottom you will see plenty of fish and if the whales appear beneath the boat you will really see them up close and personal! As you sail on the crystal clear water you will be treated to spectacular  views of the coastline and of the beautiful island. A perfect way to enjoy a family day out with sun on your face and a soft gentle and welcoming breeze blowing through your hair! Bon Voyage! Including on-board service: - Specialized guides on board. - Panoramic windows with submarine vision. - Live submarine TV. Don't forget to bring with you bathing suit, cap, sun creme and suitable shoes!

Services: Parking: €5 per car per day Food: You are allowed to bring your own food into Terra Natura. There are picnic areas available especially for this purpose. Entrance to the site with shopping trolleys or any kind of industrial food container is prohibited.     Rentals: Baby buggies: Baby buggies single (€8) and lockers (€6). For any rental a €1 deposit is required which can be redeemed once the rented item is returned. Wheelchairs: Are available to hire for free (while supplies last) with a €10 deposit.

Take your camera or smartphone and join our walking tours and motor coach tours to remember Madrid in a different way! Madrid shows the multiple contrasts inherited through the History. Elegant squares such as Plaza de Oriente, Plaza de España, Parque del Oeste, Príncipe Pío, el Puente del Rey, la Ermita de la Virgen del Puerto, ending at Segovia’s Bridge - Puente de Segovia, one of the best viewpoints of the Royal Palace and the Cathedral of Almudena. We will continue to Puerta de Toledo, Plaza de la Villa, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Las Cortes, Plaza de Neptuno, Atocha, Paseo del Prado, Puerta de Alcalá, Alcalá street, the Retiro’s Park and Las Ventas Bullring, plenty of cheers and colors in the afternoons of bullfight. We will return to the city center through Plaza de Colón. And we will continue towards the new Madrid, with its modern buildings, gardens, the great avenue Paseo de la Castellana, until Plaza de Castilla (Europe’s Gate) and we’ll go down towards Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Plaza de Cibeles, Gran Via and Plaza del Callao, to end at Plaza de Isabel II (in front of Royal Opera House). We will make convenient stops for walking and taking pictures at Plaza Mayor, Templo de Debod and Las Ventas Bullring, if the weather permits and always accompanied by our guide. Free drink by courtesy of our partnership Hard Rock Cafe. The building that today houses the national museum del Prado was designed by architect Juan de Villanueva in 1785. It was constructed to house the Natural History Cabinet, by orders of King Charles III. However, the building's final purpose - as the new Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures - was the decision of the monarch's grandson, King Ferdinand VII, encouraged by his wife Queen Maria Isabel de Braganza. The national museum del Prado, opened to the public for the first time in November 1819. The Museum's first catalogue, published in 1819, included 311 paintings, although at that time its collection comprised just over 1,510 pictures from the various Reales Sitios (Royal Residences). The exceptionally important royal collection, which represents the foundation of the Museum's collection as we know it today, started to increase significantly in the 16th century during the time of Charles V and continued to thrive under the succeeding Habsburg and Bourbon Monarchs. It is down to them than nowadays we can contemplate in the Museum as greatest masterpieces as The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch, The Nobleman with his hand on his Chest by El Greco, Las​ Meninas by Velázquez and The Family of Carlos IV by Goya. The visit will take place in chronological order, starting with the exhibit hall where the masterpieces of J. Bosch (El Bosco) (1450-1516): The Table of the 7 Deadly Sins, The Hay Wain, The temptations of San Antonio, The Stone of Madness and The Garden of Delights, to continue with the rooms devoted to the Greco (1540-1614): The gentleman's hand on his chest, The Trinity, Christ embraced the cross and The Annunciation. Velázquez (1599-1660): The Worship, Drunkards, Equestrian Portraits, the Forge of Vulcan, The Christ, The spinners, Spears and Las Meninas, ending with Goya (1746-1828): The family of Carlos IV Pictures, The Shootings of May 2, Pestles and Black Paintings.               

The newly renovated Orlando Odditorium showcases hundreds of unbelievable exhibits including dozens of amazing new exhibits including: - An actual human shrunken head - A Peel Trident car (the smallest production car in the world) - A portrait of singer Beyonce made entirely from candy - A “Wall-E” robot replica made from car parts - A 25-foot high mural of Jimi Hendrix made from more than 8,500 playing cards - A very rare fossil of a T-Rex foot and lower leg - Multiple miniatures that visitors can view through a magnifying glass - A stuffed Alligator Gar that measures more than 8 feet long - A balloon-powered chair that flew over the Rocky Mountains - A dog sculpture made entirely of clothes pins - New optical illusions, word puzzles and brain teasers - Several new wax figures that visitors can take photos with - A new shooting gallery for visitors to take aim and fire at different odd targets​

Take advantage of prime photo opportunities with unobstructed views in every direction aboard Blue & Gold Fleet’s 60-minute Bay Cruise Adventure! Sail past the famous PIER 39 sea lions and along San Francisco’s historic waterfront, revealing the city’s fascinating skyline. This comfortable San Francisco Bay Cruise tour has both indoor and outdoor seating with full narration describing major landmarks as you sail by them. You haven’t experienced San Francisco until you’ve taken a Bay Cruise. A free multi-language audio tour is now available in nine languages: English, Spanish, Mandarin, Italian, French, Japanese, Korean, German and Taiwanese. Please bring your Wi-Fi enabled device to access the tour.