“One If By Land, Two If By Sea”

Haven’t we all, at one time or another, wished we could fly? It starts with a childhood fantasy. Looking up to the heavens, seeing the flocks of birds effortlessly floating, swooping, diving and coasting, the thought begins. We might have even put out our arms and taken off running with the wild hope we could perhaps actually take off. Then after Batman was born to navigate the Batmobile with its myriad of effective transformations to take on the impossible, the fantasy grew. Who hasn’t sat in traffic and wishfully looked to the dashboard for the “wings out, thrusters on” button to permit instant levitation out of that annoyance? And who hasn’t driven along a waterway on a hot day and entertained the dream of simply pulling off the road and into the water, with a car turned water vessel on command? Perhaps it is that I grew up in the era of “transformers” that these thoughts take hold. Remember them? They were tame, seemingly normal plastic toys that transformed into strange, aggressive looking creatures if the holder of the toy successfully manipulated its parts to reveal them. Ok, so where am I going with this? To Boston!

Yes, to Boston, where the ultimate, real life, adult transformer lives and reigns in touring land. It is a World War ll style amphibious landing vehicle. What does that mean? It means fantasy land is here! The tour trolleys and double decker tour buses are a must do to get an overview of the sites in any city. But in cities with waterways, one must then take a boat tour of the city to see its beauty from the water. In Boston, though, the appropriately named “Boston Duck Tour”, does it all. Found at the Prudential Center, anyone may board the Duck tour and take in Boston by land and by sea. In the city, the Duck takes in the golden-domed State House, Bunker Hill, Boston Common, Copley Square, The Big Dig and Government Center. It journeys to fashionable Newbury Street, Quincy Market and TD Bank North Garden. After appreciating the on-land sights, this real life transformer takes a dive into the Charles River for a breathtaking view of this historic and charming city. Ok, it was the drive right into the water that was the most breathtaking, but the view is wonderful! Boston is a great city to visit. But more importantly, it is there one can find a fantasy come true. That just is too good to pass up!