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On Monday we finally got around to doing the one Boston tourist thing that everyone has told us we should do: a DUKW tour (pronounced "duck" -- quack quack). This company has a fleet of several dozen World War II amphibious vehicles (DUKWs) that they have refitted as trolley-like sight-seeing vehicles. And each vehicle has a quirky conduktor/driver who tells you all about the places you see along the way.
And there are a lot of places to see along the way. It's an hour and a half with nonstop information the whole time. There are architecture lessons, Revolutionary War lessons, city founding lessons, urban planning lessons, and lots of jokes and puns. By the end we were exhausted just from listening to so much.
But perhaps the specialest part was where Horace got to drive the vehicle while in the river. See? There he is next to our conduktor happily shuttling us all down the Charles. Oh. Who is Horace? Well, it seems my father has been rechristened by our guide (I'm sure it's legally binding). Or maybe he's just been too embarassed all these years to correct us thinking his name is Forrest. In any case, he was a super duper pilot -- much more accomplished than the four year old who took his turn first. How many people can say they've driven a truck from 1949 through a river?
It was as fun as promised, and we sure learned there a lot of things in the city to go back and do!
