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Your helicopter flight experience begins with a greeting and check-in from our friendly operations staff, followed by a thorough safety briefing in the comfort of our modern and spacious guest lounge. After the safety briefing, we will head out to the helicopter and use your own camera for some photos in front of your helicopter before boarding. Cameras and video recorders can be taken with you on the helicopter for more fantastic memories of your flight over picturesque Sydney Harbour and beyond. Upon take-off enjoy full panoramic views of the Sydney skyline, Pacific Ocean and the historic port of Botany Bay. Within minutes of departure your experienced and skilled pilot will have you above the glistening waters of Maroubra Beach and tracking north along the coast at 500 feet. You will contour fly the picturesque coastline of the Eastern Suburbs beaches including Coogee, Clovelly and also the world famous Bondi Beach, the aquamarine waters sparkling against the Sydney sun. Admire the spectacular houses of Dover Heights and Vaucluse perched on the chiselled sandstone cliffs as you continue northbound to Manly Beach and Sydney’s northern suburbs. See the city lights sparkling as your pilot takes advantage of the last light to give you a magical helicopter experience. Your experienced pilot will guide your aircraft over magnificent waters of Sydney Harbour giving you a view of icons such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Taronga Zoo, Watsons Bay, Rose Bay and Manly Beach. Looking towards the horizon you can see the rest of Sydney stretching out towards the Sydney Olympic site and further afield to the foothills of the world renowned Blue Mountains. The sun sitting low on the horizon makes for breathtaking colours and magical pictures as the city illuminates and the day turns into night. As you start your return journey to the heliport you will fly past some of Sydney’s great sporting arenas including the Sydney Football Stadium and the Sydney Cricket Ground, as well as Randwick Racecourse. Throughout the flight your pilot will be providing you with informative commentary via Bose voice activated headsets, you will also be able to talk with the pilot and your other passengers whilst on the helicopter.
At 1,353 feet and 110 stories above the streets of downtown Chicago, The Ledge at the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower) Skydeck will transform any visitor's--or local's for that matter--experience with the Windy City. In January 2009, Willis Tower owners began a major renovation of the beloved Skydeck, which originally opened in 1974, and served as a premier tourist attraction throughout the skyscraper's tenure as the Sears Tower. When ownership changed hands, the fresh blood added a fresh look--and adrenaline rush--to the 103rd floor in the form of retractable glass balconies extending about 4 feet over Wacker Drive and the Chicago River below. Still the 8th tallest building in the world, and the absolute tallest in the Western Hemisphere, Willis Tower's Skydeck draws 1.5 million people a year who are eager to ascend the 110-story, 1,454 foot (443 meter) building for awesome panoramic views of the city and surrounding countryside. Your journey to the top of the Willis Tower starts with a walk through an airport-style metal detector, followed by a slow elevator ride down to the waiting area where visitors queue for tickets. A sign will tell you how long you'll have to wait to get up high; this is a good time to confirm the visibility. Even days that seem sunny can have upper-level haze that limits the view. On good days, however, you can see for 40 to 50 miles (64 to 80 kilometers), as far as the states of Indiana, Michigan. Iowa, and Wisconsin. While you wait, you can watch a film about Willis Tower factoids. Then you'll wait a little longer before the ear-popping, 70 second elevator ride up to the 103rd floor deck. From here, the entire city stretches below, and you can see exactly how Chicago is laid out. Willis Tower, Skydeck, and The Ledge Fast Facts The hundreds of forehead prints visitors left behind each week on Skydeck windows served as this inspiration for The Ledge. The Ledge boxes can each bear about 4-1/2 metric tons of weight, and adventurers who trust that statistic enough to prove it can often be found jumping and bounding around the entirely translucent enclosures as Chicago's heavy traffic and infrastructure bustle below. The Ledge’s glass panels weight 1,500 pounds apiece, and each box is comprised of three layers of half-inch thick glass laminated into one seamless unit. In addition to serving 1.3 million tourists per year in its 4.5+ million square feet of space, Willis Tower is home to more than 100 companies, including prominent law, insurance, transportation, and financial services. The Ledge's glass boxes retract into the Skydeck main floor for easy maintenance, mostly cleaning off the 974 dead birds that must fly into them every month. The Moonwalk is the most popular dance performed on The Ledge, followed closely by the Running Man. Riverdance clocks in at a distant third. Bringing people who are afraid of heights to The Ledge is not recommended, unless you are mean-spirited or really don't like them. In which case, you should probably just take them here. Willis Tower was known as Sears Tower for decades, until the 30th anniversary of Diff'rent Strokes, at which point it was rightfully renamed.
Tour Stops Bus Route: 1. Central Station 2. Amrath Hotel 3. Windmill/East 4. Artis Royal Zoo 5. Gassan Diamonds 6. Jewish Historical Quarter 7. Royal Theatre Carré 8. Heineken Experience 9. Museum Square/Rijksmuseum 10. Vondelpark 11. Westermarkt Boat - Blue Line: 1. Saint Nicholas Church 2. National Maritime Museum 3. City Hall 4. Golden Bend/Herengracht Boat - Green Line: 1. Central Station West 2. Passanger Terminal 3. Gassan Diamonds 4. Hermitage Museum 5. Albert Cuyp Market 6. Rijksmuseum/Leidseplein Passengers can hop-on and hop-off at any of the tour stops along the three routes. If you’d prefer, stay on the tour for a full loop: Bus Tour – 60 – 75 minutes Boat Tour – 60 – 120 minutes Additional Information: Vouchers must be printed to be exchanged for a City Sightseeing bus ticket in location The audio commentary is available in the following languages: English, Spanish, German, Italian, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Catalan, Dutch, Arabic, Hebrew, Swedish Buses are wheelchair accessible
"What's Included in this Adventure" Complimentary round trip (shuttle) transportation from any Las Vegas Hotel Walk the Hoover Dam Bridge for a 15 minute photo opportunity Learn the facts of Lake Mead National Park and Colorado River 3 hour guided Dune Buggy Tour through Lake Mead National Park to the Colorado River Opportunity to swim in the Colorado River Lunch: World Famous Burger, Fries, and Soda (Vegetarian Option Available) Come join us for this Spectacular Adventure!! Comfort and Safety on Dune Buggy Tours: All drivers must be 16 years old. All children under the age of 16 years old may participate in this adventure and ride as a passenger. Single seater and double seater buggies are available. There is a limit of 1 passenger per driver. If the tour guide determines that the child is unable to ride by themselves then the child must ride as a passenger with a parent, legal guardian, or tour guide. The scenic motorized tour is very physical and requires tasks including 300 feet of trail hiking/climbing to reach the Colorado River in order to swim. This is a scenic tour with a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour. All riders are required to follow a tour guide down the trail and follow all rules and regulations. Closed toed shoes are required. Customers wearing flip flops, high heels, or sandals will be unable to ride. All safety equipment is provided (helmet, goggles, gloves). Backpacks are allowed to be brought on the tour with any personal items. Swim suits are encouraged and must be worn underneath clothes. Customers are advised to eat a big breakfast due to the long trail ride as you will not get to eat for a few hours.
Each whale watching excursion is slightly unique. We follow the whales' migration path to bring you up close for the best sighting spots, which change every day. In the beginning of the season, the southbound whales swim closer to the coast, so the maximum distance is about 3-5 miles. Toward the end of the season, when the northbound whales swim further out, we can cruise up to 9-12 miles off the coast. WHAT TO BRING We suggest dressing in layers. The temperature and winds can be unpredictable even if it's sunny out. warm clothing- dress in layers binoculars camera sunscreen sunglasses hat medication - If you may be prone to seasickness, plan ahead. Medication only works when taken BEFORE boarding the vessel. Wristbands for motion sickness also can be effective. Either can be purchased at any drug store.
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.
