Tour #3 Museum 3-in-1 Trip Tuesday, 12 June. The Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, originally Cincinnati Union Terminal, is a passenger railroad station in the Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. After the decline of railroad travel, most of the building was converted to other uses, and how houses museums, theaters, and a library. Cincinnati Museum Center is world renowned for operating the Cincinnati History Museum, the Museum of Natural History and Science, the Robert D. Lindner Family Omnimax Theater, the Cincinnati Historical Society Library, the Duke Energy Children's Museum and the Cincinnati Railroad Club. The Center caters to all ages from 2 to 102. The Children's Museum is a "hands-on" working area that children from about age 12 on down will find exciting, educational and fun. There are plenty of sitting areas for moms and dads to watch their little ones enjoy and play. The Museum of Natural History and Science takes visitors from the caves of the tri-state region to the Ice Age thousands of years ago, all while promoting the preservation of the environment. Check out Nature's Trading Post which teaches children about responsible collecting and preservation of the environment. Clues Frozen in Time will take you back 19,000 years into the Ice Age of the Ohio Valley; and the Cavern: A World Without Light offers a simulated limestone cave modeled on caves found in the tri-state region of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky and covers two levels and 500 feet of darkened passageways. A real "must see". The Cincinnati History Museum opened in 1990 and is one of the largest and most significant urban history museums in the country. Displayed are materials and related aspects of the history of the late 1850s, where you can step aboard a 94-foot side-wheel steamboat. The museum also has a large home-front exhibit on World War II and an actual 1940s streetcar. Visitors can also see a model of the city of Cincinnati from 1900s to 1940s with working trains and inclines, as well as interactive computer stations. Also included in your ticket price is Omnimax Theater at 11 or 12 O'clock and entry to the periodic exhibition, schedule in 2012 as "The Days of Pompeii." Bus departs Airport Marriott at 0930 AM for the Museums tour. Bus will load at the museum parking lot at 4:00 PM for return to the Airport Marriott. Cost: $55 per person.

 Tour #4 Rising Star Casino - Wednesday, 13 June. (Information? See Tour #1 above) Bus departs Airport Marriott at (time) for the Rising Star Casino. Bus will load at the Rising Star Casino parking lot at (time) for return to the Airport Marriott. (Minimum participants - ????) Cost: $25.00 per person. Cancelled

 Tour #5 Peace Bell, Lunch Cruise & Newport Aquarium - WEDNESDAY JUNE. 13 The Newport, Kentucky   World Peace Bell is one of more than twenty Peace Bells worldwide. It weighs 33,285 kg (73,381 lb) and is 3.7 m (12 feet) wide. From 2000 until 2006, it was the largest swinging bell in the World. It was dedicated on December 31, 1999, and was first swung as the year 2000 opened. The plan in 1997 was to cast the bell near Newport in an on-site foundry. The bell would have hung in a 1,400-foot (430 m) Millennium Monument tower, to open on New Year's Eve 1999, with a large carillon having this bell as the largest. At first the bell was called "The Millennium Bell". Later the plans were reduced to a smaller tower for the bell, with a museum. The Verdin Company managed the project on the U.S. side on behalf of the Millennium Monument Company. The bell itself was cast in the premises of a ship propeller foundry at Nantes France, under the strict supervision of staff from French Bellfounders Fonderie Paccard of Annecy. The Mastermind behind this bell is veteran bellfounder Pierre Paccard who realized this mammoth feat together with his sons Philippe and Cyril Paccard under the close collaboration of their Master Founder Miguel Lopez. The finished bell was eventually sent by ship to New Orleans. The bell was carried up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers on a barge in summer 1999. Stops were made along the rivers for special celebrations, before its arrival at Newport, Kentucky. The arrival coincided with Tall Stacks Festival 1999, held along the Cincinnati-Covington-Newport section of the Ohio River. This event was named the nation's Top Tourism Event by the American Bus Association (ABA) in 1999. The bell was swung for ringing on January 1, 2000 at midnight; struck 12 times and was heard for distances of about 25 miles (40 km). The bell is swung on special occasions as well as daily at five minutes before noon. The time difference in the daily ring is to avoid interference with the nearby courthouse bells, which ring exactly at noon. The striker, which chimes the bell on the hour, is of cast iron and was produced at Cast-Fab_Technologies,_Inc. Cincinnati, Ohio. A special iron was used to prevent the striker from damaging the bell when it strikes the outside rim of the bell (see right side of photo). The striker allows the bell to be chimed without swinging it. Bus departs Airport Marriott at 10:00 AM for the Peace Bell. After the ringing of the Peace Bell, the bus will transport all to the river landing for the lunch cruise (WEBSITE) followed by transport to the Newport Aquarium. The Newport Aquarium (WEBSITE) showcases thousands of animals from around the world in a million gallons of water: You'll be amazed at all there is to see and do, including fun and interactive activities, like touching a shark or meeting a penguin. Bus will load at the Newport on the Levee parking lot at 4:45 PM for return to the Airport Marriott. Cost: $80 per adult & $60.00 per child 12 and under. Deduct $15.00 per person if you decide not to visit the Newport Aquarium.

 Tour #6 Shopping on your own. Thursday June 14. - Crestview Hills Town Center in Northern Kentucky is anchored by Dillard's department store and Bed, Bath & Beyond, as well as 65 other prime retailers and fine restaurants. This ground-up redeveloped shopping and dining destination represents Jeffrey R. Anderson's third Lifestyle Center in Greater Cincinnati. We're currently working on having a wine-tasting during the day at Elk Creek Winery's retail store in the mall. Bus departs Airport Marriott at 10:00AM. Bus will load at the Mall parking lot at 3:30 PM for return to the Airport Marriott. Cost: $25.00 per person. Cancelled

 Tour #7 Underground RR (WEBSITE) & Cincinnati Zoo/Botanical Garden (WEBSITE). - Thursday June 14. It was here on the banks of the Ohio River, where the Freedom Center now sits, that many enslaved African Americans took their first steps on freedom's shore. For this reason, escaping slaves often referred to the Ohio as "the River Jordan." This area along the Ohio was a hotbed of abolition and safe houses for those seeking freedom. But it also served as a narrow divide between the free state of Ohio and the slave state of Kentucky. The exhibitions and programs of the Freedom Center celebrate freedom's heroes, those brave men and women who came together to create a secret network through which the enslaved could escape to freedom. From their example of courage, cooperation and perseverance, we relate this uniquely American history to contemporary issues, inspiring everyone to take steps for freedom today. ZOO & GARDENS. This second oldest zoo in the U.S., considered one of the best in the country, is most renowned for its endangered species and birthing programs, particularly for gorillas and white tigers, and has a wonderful collection of felines and a delightful manatees exhibit. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is one of the finest horticultural display gardens in the country. The plant collections are a unique blend of gardens and exhibits that demonstrate the diversity of plants and their relationship to humans and animals. Over 3,000 kinds of plants provide informative and educational resources for all plant enthusiasts. Exploring the Garden each season provides a new and changing look in the landscape. Bright vivid spring flowers, including 80,000 tulips and thousands of flowering trees and shrubs transition to a lush and vibrant summer landscape. Autumn is adorned with brilliant colors giving way to winter's brightly colored fruits and berries and a clear view of the impressive architecture of regal trees throughout the Garden. Bus departs Airport Marriott at 9:00 AM for Cincinnati and the Underground RR, then to the Cincinnati Zoo. Bus will load at the Cincinnati Zoo Bus parking lot at 3:00 PM for return to the Airport Marriott. Cost: $55.00 per person.