Ride the Ducks of Seattle

The captains of the Seattle Ducks tour seem to delight in picking out a single bystander at a stop light, calling attention to them, and holding them, essentially, as the momentary single representative of the city to tourists.

Most of us wave and smile.

If we don't, please don't take it personally. We know the Ducks Tour is a lot of fun. In fact, many of us have (secretly) taken it just to check it out, or hosted out of town friends and family who've dragged us along for the ride.

There are few organized above ground tours that offer as  comprehensive or lighthearted look at our city. It's also a fairly complete wind-up of the core sights, circling through Pioneer Square and downtown before driving straight into Lake Union. The prop-comic captains in wacky hats shaped like flamingos are actually quite knowledgeable about the city and manage to sustain a high-energy show for the entire duration.

No, it's not that the tour isn't fun—and family-friendly--or a good buy (90 minutes by land and water for less than $30/adult, including a duck bill "quacker" whistle). It's not that we don't think the Duck vehicle itself isn't really, really cool—based on WWII DUKW amphibious landing crafts, the Duck itself is unlike any other tour bus around.

It's the constant boisterousness of the tour that gets to us after awhile. During the prime summer season, the Ducks run multiple tours hourly, and for those of us that live and work near the tour route, we can only wave and smile so often. We have a love/hate relationship with the honking and the "Stayin' Alive" soundtrack that mark the passing of each sunny day.

Take the tour. Have a great time. Check out the spectacular skyline views from the water.

And forgive us if our waves seem less than enthusiastic. We're glad you're here and having a good time. Pinky swear.
 

- by Caren Gussoff Sumption, Seattle Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Caren Gussoff Sumption

Caren Gussoff Sumption is a freelance writer and editor from Seattle, WA. She's written for USA Today, the Seattle Times/NW Source, MSN and AOL, and her fiction has been published worldwide. She received her MFA in writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.