Florida Dolphin Tours - Wild About Florida

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.

Must be booked 24 hours in advance. For ages 12 and up. Maximum 4 people per party. As a keeper for a day you will help with everything from preparing diets, feeding our animals, as well as training and enrichment with our exotic animals. If you were ever interested in a career working with animals this is your chance to experience it!

The Paris Museum Pass will allow you free entry, without queuing and as many times as you like, to more than 60 museums (permanent collections) and monuments in Paris and the surrounding region. HIGHLIGHTS Visit Paris monuments and museums as much as you like Gain free entry Avoid queues and cash desk Avalailable in Paris and surrounding   You will be given a flyer gathering all you need to know about the featured museums and monuments The Paris Museum Pass includes entrance tickets in about 50 monuments and museums, among the followings :  In Paris: Orsay Museum / Notre Dame de Paris Towers / Conciergerie / Arc of Triumph / Panthéon / Quai Branly Museum / Rodin Museum / Pompidou center ... Paris surroundings: Vincennes Castle / Chantilly Castle / Saint Denis Cathedral / Rambouillet Castle / Versailles Palace and Trianons / Fontainebleau Castle   Included : 2 days pass available for 2 consecutive days from the first use   Information : Exchange your printed voucher at PARISCityVISION and get the pass, 2 rue des Pyramides 75001 Paris Metro : Pyramides, Palais Royal, Tuileries   Why not combine your visit to Paris with a nice Lunch or Dinner in Paris, check our selection Eat in Paris !   Entry to museums is free for children under 18 - You will not require to purchase a ticket.

Downtown Tour The three most visited sites in New York City are all located in the area referred to in local terms as “downtown”.  That world famous trio includes the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the site of the World Trade Center – “Ground Zero” where the city and the nation’s heart was broken on September 11, 2001. Your City Sights hop-on/hop-off double decker tour bus has stops offering convenient access to these must see locations and attractions Narrated by licensed New York City tour guides passengers will hear about the neighborhoods, sites and attractions made famous in song, story, film and television. Hop off and explore the legendary artists and writers’ quarter, Greenwich Village or have authentic Italian or Chinese cuisine in Little Italy or Chinatown or see the neighbourhood that was the first home to wave after wave of immigrants making this diverse city truly the World’s Capital.  View the most famous neighborhoods, attractions and places of interest: Times Square, Madison Square Garden, Macy's, Empire State Building, SoHo, Chinatown, Little Italy, Site of the World Trade Center, Wall Street, Financial District, Battery Park South Street Seaport, Lower East Side, United Nations, Rockefeller Center, Carnegie Hall, Broadway Theater District and much more. Brooklyn Tour Hop aboard a double-decker bus for Gray Line CitySightseeing NY’s Brooklyn Tour, a hop on/hop off journey through the city’s most populated borough. Many people who visit the city never set foot outside of Manhattan. But that would mean you’d miss some wonderful treasures so close by. And this newly expanded tour includes many wonders, allowing you to get off at any stop and grab a bite or see the sites in person. You’ll start in downtown Manhattan, crossing the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn, where you’ll see the first parkway for cars ever built in the U.S., the majesty of Grand Army Plaza, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and Brooklyn Museum (a Beaux-Arts building with a vast art and Egyptian antiquities collection), along with the graceful mansions, intriguing shops and restaurants and a wide array of cultures. Your licensed guide will also take you past the gloriously designed Prospect Park with its zoo and the Brooklyn Public Library. And of course, you’ll see the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge. Tours Now Offered in 11 Languages! Now, Gray Line CitySightseeing NY is giving you even more flexibility in enjoying their tours by offering multilingual audio tracks in 11 different languages on all of the popular hop on/hop off bus tours. You can experience the journey in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian and Hebrew. Hop on Hop off double-decker tickets valid for 24 hours from the time you arrive in NYC and exchange your confirmation voucher for a boarding ticket. 

Central park has been designed as a relieving oasis for a rapidly growing city in the 19th century and it has evolved into one of the most historic masterpieces of the United States. A fundamental part of the city, Central Park is a requisite that no New Yorker could give up. Its architecture fits into the urban environment so perfectly, that many people never believe it is completely man-made. You will be informed about many movie scene locations that you've only been able to see on screen. The walking tours are rated effortless and there are no tough hills. Some walking tour spots:     •    Wollman ice-skating rink from Love Story and Serendipity     •    Dakota Building where Mia Farrow lives in Rosemary’s Baby     •    Tavern on the Green, used as a location in Ghostbusters and Wall Street     •    Bethesda Fountain, as seen in Enchanted and Gossip Girl     •    The Bandshell where Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Kramer vs. Kramer were shot     •    The Boathouse Café used for When Harry Met Sally and Sex and the City     •    The Pond, which from in Home Alone II during the pigeon lady scene     •    The Dairy, as beautiful Victorian gothic building, which is featured in Independence Day     •    The Mall, also known as the literary walk is used for Vanilla Sky and Big Daddy     •    The Bow Bridge, this white bridge was featured in films such as Autumn in New York and Little Manhattan     •    The Conservatory where Stuart Little drove sail boats Central Park Sightseeing walking tour's last 2 hours. Let their entertaining and informative tours guides enlighten you about the anecdotes of distinguished Central Park. This is an experience you will remember for years.. These guided tours are held rain or shine, extreme weather conditions like heavy rain, strong winds of 35 mph or more, heavy snow, and temperatures 24 degrees and below or 96 degrees and above. Please remember to bring your cameras. You can't miss taking pictures of must-seen places in Central Park wonderland!

Ripley's Believe It or Not!: 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​ Wonderworks Orlando: Wonderworks features over 100 interactive exhibits for visitors of all ages to experience. Some of the exhibits include the death defying bed-of-nails, wonder coasters, a bubble lab, and indoor glow-in-the-dark ropes course, astronaut training gyros and more! WonderWorks Orlando began as a Top Secret research laboratory on a remote island in the Bermuda Triangle. As legend has it, the world’s greatest scientists – led by Professor Wonder – were given the task of creating a man-made tornado and harnessing the POWER of it. During this experiment, something went awry and the power of the tornado was unleashed throughout the laboratory. This created a swirling vortex that was strong enough to rip the laboratory from its foundation. It was carried thousands of miles away and landed upside-down on the top of a brick warehouse in Orlando, Florida. Remarkably, all of the experiments remained intact and functional. When you enter the building, everything will be upside-down, so in order to participate in the fun, you must be inverted. Step inside the inversion tunnel and be turned right side up to begin your journey. Once you are properly aligned for your adventure, family fun awaits with more than 100 hands on exhibits.