Albany Aqua Ducks Provide a Glimpse of the City’s Past and Potential for the Future

If you’re downtown long enough, particularly in and around the riverfront area, you’ll notice a strange, long vehicle with a cartoon duck on the side. Sometimes it’ll be dripping water off its sides, and as you wonder how it got wet on such a clear dry day, you’ll hear the sound of forty plus duck calls as the vehicles’ denizens enthusiastically greet you with a smile and a wave.

The Aquaduck fleet sets sail

They’re taking part in the Albany Aqua Ducks tour, which offers seasonal tours via the amphibious Aqua Duck vehicles and a trolley.

Two of my good friends, Maeve and the man they call Nooner, are tour guides for the Aqua Ducks. I’d always been intrigued by the tour but hesitant to take part. It seemed silly to me to take a tour of an area that I’ve lived in my entire life. Sure, I’m a Troy resident and not Albany, but I sort of likened the experience to being a lifelong resident of Brooklyn and going on a Big Apple double decker bus tour of Manhattan.

If you’re anything like I was, then you’re missing out on a fun and fascinating event.

I went on the tour on a lazy Sunday after months of encouragement from the aforementioned tour guides. Everything was perfect, from the weather to the company joining me on the sold-out tour, who were universally cheery and enthusiastic.

The tour started at 11:00am and had people from the furthest reaches of the globe, coming from the Netherlands, England, Japan, and Alabama. Most of the participants, however, were actually a mix of folks who grew up in the area and were here to visit family and tried and true locals.

My friend Maeve is a lifelong resident of Albany whose roots in the city stretch back several generations, which is displayed by her casual anecdotes and enthusiasm for the city’s architecture and history. She engaged the tourists with relatable stories and by encouraging light participation by blowing on a duck caller whenever she made a lame joke involving ducks or someone answered a question about the city’s history correctly.

In addition to the kid-friendly conversation and historical sites, Maeve shared anecdotes of her family’s involvement in the shape of the city’s landscape. Her great-great-grandmother, for instance, was involved with two major landmarks in Albany: both used to be cemeteries, you see, and they had to dig the poor woman up twice in order to beautify the city.

The tour revealed quite a bit of the city’s history that I hadn’t known. The lack of knowledge I’d had of the city’s history was surprising, but the greater revelation was just how far the city had come in the last twenty years.

Like Troy, Albany is a city struggling to maintain some semblance of relevance and rejuvenation, whose efforts are abundant through the tour’s highlights. Though the tour is obviously meant to enlighten about the city’s past, it is in actuality more about its present and future.

Splashdown

And, of course, there’s Splashdown: after a tour of the city, the amphibious vehicle fulfills its other half of the bargain and rolls to the boat launch as the tour guide leads the enthusiastic passengers in a countdown to their arrival in the Hudson River.

After circling back and getting a break in the tour, I had the opportunity to speak with the Aqua Duck’s driver, Captain Chris. Chris is a ten-year veteran of the Albany Fire Department, serving the city’s South End. He also has his Captain’s license from the United States Coast Guard, which is a requirement to operate the amphibious vehicle.

“I always liked the architecture of the city,” he told me. “And I was always into history. It was perfect for me.”

Chris clearly enjoys his job. I saw it when he offered to let the children help him “drive” the Aquaduck during our free time on the River. Through this small gesture, the tour provided a memorable experience that lit up the children and their parents. I stood near the front of the line taking notes as children ranging in ages from three to eight years old lined up, all enthusiastic and chattering.

One little girl, six years old with sandy brown hair and as precocious as they come, literally tugged on the bottom of my shirt to ask if she still had to wait her turn. I assured her that her turn would come soon enough. When it did, a smile came across her face that made my day. She, like me, had completely forgotten her initial ambivalence and was able to simply enjoy the moment.

Shortly after, as we were approaching the Dunn Memorial Bridge, Maeve directed our attention to a box wedged in the corner of a bridge support. The box contained a Peregrine Falcon and its hatchlings, which were recently featured in an article in the Times Union. While Maeve relayed the importance of the hatching, Captain Chris, who was watching the box intently, spoke up.

“Oh wow, you can actually hear the baby birds.”

He cut the motor to the Aqua Duck, bringing us to a free float. On a Sunday morning, with most businesses closed and traffic on the waterfront at a minimum, you could hear the excited chirping of the eyasses as the entire tour went quiet. After a minute, Captain Chris started the motor and brought us back to shore.

To learn more about the Albany Aqua Ducks, visit their website at AlbanyAquaDucks.com.