I Spy a DUCK...

Duck's Eye View

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day in San Francisco. There was sunshine and blue skies above our city by the Bay, which made it a perfect day to…“Ride the Ducks.” Thirteen “locals” embarked on a fun, quirky and educational journey through San Francisco…the city we all thought we knew so well.

As we boarded the amphibious vehicle in the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf, Captain Crabby (who was not so crabby at all) kindly welcomed us aboard while Cory popped some champagne for our VIP guests. The vehicle was much bigger than I expected, which gave all of us a great “duck’s eye view” from high above the streets of San Francisco. No duck ride would be complete without the famous wacky quackers…kazoo-like duck-bills that attracted a great deal of attention during the tour. After a tasty lunch from The Hard Rock Café, we rode through the iconic and historical Fisherman’s Wharf enjoying the sights and sounds of one the liveliest areas in San Francisco. 

Captain Crabby told us that during the gold rush days the wharf was home to many Italian immigrants who made their living at sea. Having found no gold, they decided to bring a taste of the homeland to San Francisco, combining the bounty of the sea with some good old-fashioned Italian cooking. Today, many of the famous restaurants on the wharf are owned and operated by the descendents of the Italian fishing fleet of the past.

Next icon, Ghirardelli Square, where according to Captain Crabby, one can taste free samples of the world famous Ghirardelli chocolate in each of the three stores located in the square. In 1893, Domingo Ghirardelli purchased the entire city block in order to make it into the headquarters of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. In the 1960’s The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was bought by the Golden Grain Macaroni Company, which moved the headquarters off-site to San Leandro. Later, San Franciscan William Roth and his mother bought the land in 1962 to prevent the square from being turned into apartments. The Roth’s converted the square and its historic brick structures to the delicious retail space that we know today.

After a quick jaunt through Chinatown we cruised North Beach, San Francisco’s “Little Italy.” Originally, the city's northeast shoreline extended only to Taylor and Francisco streets. The area known today as North Beach actually was a beach, until it was filled in with soil years ago. Today, North Beach is filled with a colorful history and great Italian food. “That’s Amore!” filled the air (from the duck) as we passed by Washington Square Park and St. Peter and Paul Church (where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio took their famous wedding photo).

We then journeyed through the Financial District, past the pyramid-esque Transamerica building and throngs of businessmen breaking for lunch. We all took this opportunity to lighten the hearts of this buttoned up crowd, quacking obnoxiously as we made our way to Union Square.

Built and dedicated by San Francisco's first American mayor John Geary in 1850, Union Square was named for the pro-Union rallies that happened there before and during the United States Civil War. 1903 marks the dedication of a 97-foot-tall monument to Admiral George Dewey after his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish American War.

(Side note: According to some of the ladies on board our duck, the most beautiful thing about Union Square is the enormous Macy’s that takes over an entire city block. Unfortunately there was no time to go explore the world-class shopping in Union Square --- we’d be back later! --- Instead, we made our way through SOMA (South of Market Area), past AT&T Park, and prepared for our big splash into the bay.

The anticipation mounted as we descended down the ramp and made a huge SPLASH into the bay. Captain Crabby was sure to put on the Star Wars theme song as we made our way down the ramp, which was incredibly appropriate because George Lucas is in fact a San Francisco native and got a lot of inspiration for his characters while sitting on the “dock of the bay.”

We peacefully cruised around the bay while listening to Otis Redding and enjoying the last of our boxed lunches. Captain Crabby let a few lucky guests take the wheel of the amphibious vehicle as we headed toward the Giant’s AT&T ballpark and McCovey Cove. On game days, fans take to the water of McCovey Cove in boats and kayaks, in hopes of collecting a home run ball. When a homerun makes it to the cove, it’s called a “Splash Hit.” As of July 2, 2008, Giants players have hit 47 “Splash Hits” into the bay since the park’s opening (35 of those were by Barry Bonds).

After our trip to McCovey Cove, it was time to head back to dry land. We were all amazed at how much we learned about our hometown and how much fun we had splashing and quacking around the beautiful city.