Boston: I Love That Dirty Water

Boston: Love that dirty water

 

Our Weekend Road Trip this week takes us to one of my former backyards, Boston. One of the best ways to show you this wonderful old city is to pahk our cah and catch a ride on one of the many duck boats. These crafts are able to maneuver on land and sea which makes the tour quite interesting.

The Duck Tour starts at the Science Museum and winds through downtown, passing places such as, Boston Commons, Copley Square and Newbury Street, Boston’s answer to Rodeo Drive.

The ride is a journey through U.S. history. Boston is an old city that’s mixed with plenty of new ideas, such as the Big Dig Project, a massive highway tunnel beneath the entire city.

With a full view of the largest cable suspension bridge directly in front of you, the duck boat driver takes a right turn and drives directly into the Charles River for the last segment of the tour, a thirty minute glimpse of Boston’s waterfront.

So, leave all your troubles and woes in the yahd. In fact, fuhgedaboudit. Have a little fun. See you Monday.

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Boston is a mix of old and new

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Duck Boat

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View of Boston and Cambridge skylines from the Duck Boat. The lights from Fenway park were at our back when this shot was taken. This was a time when the Red Sox were midway through the playoffs and you could smell World Series in the air. At least that’s what the natives were saying. What I smelled was that “dirty water” the Standells crooned about in their song about Boston and its once very polluted river. A large clean up effort paid off and the river is fine, now.

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Boston skyline.

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Oh, here’s the skipper of the duck boat, Captain “Duck” Tape

 

5 replies
  1. Connie di Marco
    Connie di Marco says:

    I was born and grew up in Boston, and believe me, it’s not just Southie where a heavy accent is heard. It was often possible to tell what part of the city or suburbs someone came from just by the accent alone. When I first moved to the west coast, I was asked to say “Pahk the cah in Hahvad yahd” a million times. I had to work very hard to get rid of any trace of the regional accent, but I finally managed it!

  2. Lynn
    Lynn says:

    I love the Duck Tours — the combination of humor and education is great. The first time I ever heard of the Great Molasses Flood which I then heard again in Dennis Lehane’s “The Given Day”.

    I have chaperoned two 5th grade field trips and enjoyed each time. Boston is a great place to visit, but I don’t think I need to live there!

  3. Lee Lofland
    Lee Lofland says:

    I agree, Jordon. We lived there for a few years and never adopted the accent. However, there was plenty of it to go around, especially in the police departments and our realtor. But among my writer friends there (MWA and SinC), and Denene’s fellow scientists, there was no Boston accent.

  4. Jordan
    Jordan says:

    I must clarify, if anyone talks with a thick Boston accent, they’re probably from South Boston. Not everyone in the city has that accent. Nor does anyone gain it upon moving here and being here for a few years. At least, not that I’m aware of. lol.

    Since you’re a reader, did you check out the library? They have a very nice Art and Architecture tour of the original building. The “new” building isn’t anything exciting, but the old one is quite nice.

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