Undercover Tourist: Boston Duck Tour

So I've done it, the one thing in Boston I always said I wouldn't do: a Duck Tour. After two years of forbidding my parents to take one, some serious eye-rolling, and seething bitter hatred, I finally swallowed my pride and welcomed the Duck into my life.

It was Mykah's idea to take the tour. This weekend two more of her friends from Super Smart Kid Math Camp for Winners came up to visit Boston. She really wanted to show them around town the quickest way possible, and what better way to do that than to strap yourself into a five-ton piece of iron and float down the Charles River? So due to my new living-life-to-the-fullest , or whatever, attitude I bought a ticket to the most touristy thing to do in all of New England.

And you know what, it wasn't half bad.

For those who don't know what a Duck Boat Tour is, let me tell you. It's a tour company that fills old WWII land and sea vehicles with tourists and squeezes  through the narrow streets of Boston, giving history facts along the way while also having a complete disregard for traffic safety. Seriously, I'm probably going to die by getting run over by one of these contraptions. My last dying breath will be accompanied by midwestern families quacking at my limp body. Because they make the riders quack. Really. I'm not kidding.

Anyway, as Mykah informed me at the start of our trip, all of the tour guides (or conducktors...) have a schtick that they play off during the 80 minute romp over Boston. Our guide was apparently an alligator hunter from the bayou. Don't ask me why. However, for a middle aged man who carried around a stuffed gator he knew a lot about Boston.

In fact, he knows a LOT about Boston. Throughout the tour I kept thinking to myself, "hmm, I didn't know that.", or "wow, really?". For as much as a resisted going on this tour, I certainly learned a lot about the place I've been living in for the last two years. And even though he did take us through places I frequent almost every day, he still ventured into parts of the city that I've never even seen. The further along the trip we got the more I began to really like this tour. It's totally a solid tour, even if they are slightly ridiculous.

What I really wish is that I had gone on a Duck Tour earlier. Not even just a Duck Tour, but a tour of Boston in general. I should have taken one prior to moving into the city, but I was way too cool for that, wasn't I? Even though I still think this is a city best viewed on foot, it would have been nice to get a taste of what the city has to offer before stumbling through it blindfolded. It probably would have taken me less time to figure my way around and would have made me more comfortable to explore farther around the city. Alas, I learned my lesson a bit too late.

What's also cool about this particular tour is that, due to the vehicles' land and water capabilities, you get to scoot around the charles river for about 20 minutes. It isn't overly informative, but you do get a pretty view of the Back Bay from your window. Plus, volunteers get to go up and steer the Duck Boat. A little girl almost crashed us into the bridge, if you were wondering.

It's a fun hour and a half, and certainly something worth checking out. Now, that being said, if there hadn't been people fresh to Boston in town I probably would never have taken this tour, but I'm glad I did. It's nice to be reminded just how beautiful and history-rich the city of Boston is. It's my home and I'm glad that I've started taking advantage of that. If a Duck Tour can surprise me, I wonder what else this city has up her sleeve.