A Wet Sunday in Boston

Frank, Dan, Carrie and I started Sunday with a 9:30 am Boston Duck Tour. The Boston Duck Tours have a fleet of amphibious vehicles that not only take you on a tour of the sites of Boston along the city streets, but also plunge into the Charles River and give you a view of the skyline and scenery along the river banks. This is the fleet, each with its own Captain and unique color scheme. We rode in Fenway Fanny shown in the third row, last column of the following picture.

Our Fenway Fanny Captain was well informed, very entertaining, and displayed
a pride in the City of Boston that was so evident it could not have been anything but genuine.

These amphibious vehicles have a history that goes back to World War II. I felt we were transported on a tour of Boston history while riding IN a piece of history.

These refurbished vehicles transport visitors on a tour of Boston history
 while riding IN a piece of history.

Sunday was a misty, rainy day which, I think, only added to the ambience of the tour. We had seats in the last row with a panoramic view of the riverbanks and the boat interior. There were clear plastic windows that could be rolled down and zipped closed in inclement weather but we did not really need to close ours until the very end of the tour so we had great views, not dotted with raindroplets on the windshield. We really enjoyed the experience. Captain Mack's narration was not only an information-packed, lively talk on historical monuments/sites, colleges, and hospitals of Boston, but his banter was also germane to current events and up-to-date sports statistics. Our captain told us the requirements and process to earn the job of Duck Boat Tour Guide/Captain. Each candidate must not only be certified as a boat captain but must have large vehicle driving training and experience and must love, absolutely love, to talk, for 2.5+ hours per tour. 

The captain of our Duck was very entertaining, well read, and skillful.
His great pride in the city of Boston and his fierce loyalty to his Boston sports teams was very evident.

Once we had ventured into the Charles River, the Captain asked if anyone wanted to drive the Duck. I raised my hand and I was called up front to pilot with the captain by my side.  I wanted to find out how the boat steered. Was it like a car where you turn the way you want to go or like some boats where you orient the tiller the opposite direction of where you want to go? I conducted my experiment weaving back and forth across the Charles. The caption teased me that I would have made a great submarine pilot because my path was a great serpentine pattern.

I was the first brave soul that raised my hand to drive.
Other followed but I have to boast a bit that mine was the longest time.

Captain Mac answered several questions on the basic facts of the Duck. One rear drive axis of wheels continues to rotate even though the boat is under propeller power. The brakes are special so that when the vehicle leaves the water the brakes are not so wet as to be ineffective. I maneuvered Fenway Fanny toward this stonework and aimed her to pass under the middle of one of those arches of the Longfellow bridge.

Our Fenway Fanny took us under one of the arches of the Longfellow Bridge,
also familiarly called the Salt and Pepper Bridge.

Here we all are after the tour posed alongside the now land vehicle Fenway Fanny.

Captain Mack, Frank, Dan in back with me and Carrie in front.
Note the DUKW is not a boat on a trailer but is supported on wheels of its own.

After a lovely brunch, we then continued our journey via the mass transit system and walking to our next wet activity of the day, the New England Bay Aquarium. Along the way we walked past the site of the Boston Massacre.

Yup. That is Frank's foot and my foot to prove we were there.

It was a drizzling hard on our way. The aquarium was not as crowded as we would have expected for a rainy Sunday. I remember visiting it on several times on dates with Frank during our days at MIT. The huge round focal point tank in the center was a very big deal when the aquarium was built in 1969. As I recall, the thick glass required to withstand the water pressure of the great height of water was a great technological advancement of the time. Our closer to home Monterey Bay Acquarium did not open until 1984 and by then the glass technology was pretty much industry standard.

The penguin exhibit at the New England Bay Aquarium was very extensive with several species of penguins and not all were of the cold weather variety.  It was fascinating to watch the staff feed each bird and note which bird had been fed, logging in just how much each had eaten. I was curious to see how some birds had to actually be coaxed to eat.  Carrie pointed out that some acted like finicky cats!

These Rockhopper penguins were particular persnickety about what they ate and
how they accepted a fish from a feeder.

Aquariums today seem to have an ecological theme that focuses on the environment and extends beyond just a look at the sea life. The idea of "living blue" has joined the ranks of "living green". The New England Bay Aquarium did not seem to practice what they preach however. We had a group photo taken at the beginning of our visit. When it came time to pick up the photo, the aquarium staff printed the pictures first to show us and see if we liked them prior to purchase. The pictures were on a computer screen but "due to privacy laws in Massachusetts" they could not rotate the monitor to show us. If we had said no to the pictures they would have trashed (alright, recycled) them. How much effort would it have taken to install a privacy curtain in the area or a directional privacy screen on the monitor? I pointed this out but I am sure I was viewed as a grumpy old lady. The first and foremost way to reduce waste is to not generate it in the first place rather than creating and recycling. Aargh! The stupidity of it all! Imagine the waste from all those folks who do not purchase the photos. I bought the photos (the gullibility of that act is another topic that will remain undiscussed) and did my ecological duty.

At first I thought it was a sea otter's arm or that Dan had a hairy arm wrapped around Carrie.
At second look I realized it was the fur on the hood of her jacket.

Frank and I could not help comparing the New England Bay Aquarium with our larger aquarium in Monterey, so close to our home. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has more interactive animal exhibits and huge kelp forest central feature. I guess others have also made that comparison. Here is a link to a site comparing the two aquariums. The west coast aquarium has guided tours and the history of John Steinbeck and his laboratories and the mystery of the peak/fall of the local sardine industry along Cannery Row but it also costs half again as much.

After the New England Aquarium we went back to our home base at 83 Appleton Street and rested a bit.  Frank and Dan watched some Sunday football. Later that evening we walked the 0.2 miles to the Metropolis Cafe on Tremont Street. The location of the lodgings Carrie picked was really great. It was close to the "T" stops and walking distance to good restaurants.

Our lodging "A" at 83 Appleton Street was just a few blocks walk from the restaurants on Tremont Street.
We had dinner at Stephi's, Metropolitan Cafe "B" ,and cappuccino from the Aquitaine.

We had a great meal here. There was one small detail. Carrie had a yen for a nice, warm cappuccino after dinner while the rest of us had dessert. The restaurant's cappuccino machine was broken. Frank and Dan walked to the Aquitane, a  sister restaurant located diagonally across the street, and ordered one to-go. The restaurant had no to-go containers and dispensed it in a soup container. Hearing the story behind the request, the Aquitane also did not charge for it. I enjoyed my Creme Brulée, Frank his Butterscotch Pie, and Dan his Chocolate Pudding Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream, while Carrie relished curling her hands around her warm Cappuccino and sipping away.

We liked the Metropolis so much we had dinner again there Tuesday night after Dan and Carrie's departure.
It was not in any way related to the Metropolis of Superman or Monsters, Inc.

After dinner, with full tummies, we strolled back to 83 Appleton. We talked a bit, read some, and had no difficulty drifting off to sleep.