Ride The Ducks Expedition

Ride The Ducks Expedition

As I waited for the Captain of Ride The Ducks tour I observed my surroundings. I had started my morning in a place where there were buildings instead of mountains. In a city that was filled with people from different locations all around the world. Every moment I heard the screeching from the over population of cars, the pounding and vibrating coming from the street musicians, and the sounds of peoples’ feet stomping on the pavement as they rushed from one place to another. I could not wait to start my adventure on the duck boat.

Since I have lived in the Bay Area my whole life, I have been to San Francisco countless times. However, this day was unlike any other because I was going see San Francisco in a different way. I was going to ride a duck boat. This would allow me to not only get a tour of San Francisco by land but also by water. I could not wait for my journey to begin.

Finally, the Captain arrived and welcomed my group aboard his duck boat. I had never imagined a vehicle of this sort, it was a crossbreed between a boat and car. As I climbed up the stairs to enter the duck boat the Captain introduced himself and sarcastically gave safety guidelines. I could tell this was going to be a humorous adventure when he introduced himself as Captain “Jess Kidin”.

The duck boat chugged off for the day’s adventure booming music through the decades, played over the intercom as we visited different areas of San Francisco. The exciting day would consist of seeing famous locations such as Lombard Street, Pier 39, and Union Square to name a few. The moment I smelt salty, expiring fish, I knew we had reached Fisherman’s Warf. The market had salmon pink prawns and fish lined in rows for the day’s customers. The duck boat was like a travel machine because in one minute I saw the bay and fish market. In the next minute I saw little cafes, smelt the aroma of coffee and sweet baked pastries. Captain “Jess Kidin” announced we were in Little Italy as he pointed out the Italian flags on every light pole.

Every moment on the duck boat was thrilling. If there was not something spectacular to see, Captain “Jess Kidin” would pull out his Wacky Quacker which made realistic duck sounds. He would turn up the music to a classic song and start making duck sounds along with the music. A few times everyone on the duck boat chimed in with their complementary Wacky Quackers. The boat sounded like a goofy flock of ducks trying out for the next audition of “American Idol”.  The duck boat was sure to make an entrance to every location.

The glorious duck boat stuck out like a sore thumb in China Town. The buildings were scripted with large Chinese symbols. Elegant columns with wintergreen and gold bases topped with a fragile lantern lined the streets. A string of red lanterns hung above the street to help distinguish China Town. For one second I believed my little duck boat had really taken me to China. As the Captain drove towards the bay my heart raced with excitement.

The duck boat plunged into the foaming water of the bay. Rolling waves of water and mist came towards the boat as we cruised to our next destination. To my surprise, I saw a family of sea lions perched on a massive cargo ship that made our boat look minuscule. Captain “Jess Kidin” explained this family of sea lions was unusual because, “most sea lions are boys” in this bay. Cool, thick, grey fog encompassed our boat as it sailed to AT&T Park. The stadium towered over the bay. I could just envision Barry Bond’s home run ball escaping the stadium and splashing into McCovey Cove. The fog made the bay seem infinite.

Seeing San Francisco from the bay allowed me to see the city as a whole rather than as many famous attractions in the same area. From viewing the outside of San Francisco I was able to understand that China Town, The Golden Gate Bridge, Union Square, Lombard Street, AT&T Park and all the other historic locations give San Francisco its identity. The mountain tall buildings, foreign mimicking towns and the historic land marks are what make up not only my view from the bay but are what also make up San Francisco.

If You Go: Name: Ride The Ducks San Francisco                                               Phone Number: (800)452-4386 Website: www.sanfranciscoducks.com                           Cost: Adult tickets are $32 and child tickets are $23 Address: 450 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133

~ by Jessica Etchell on January 10, 2010.