Family Day at the Swan Boats

     This morning I went with my cousin and her three year old daughter to the swan boats. Three buses of eager preschoolers and their families went, and I was lucky enough to go, also. It was a wonderful way to spend a morning.

     

   
     The swan boats are one of Boston's greatest treasures. On the gentle, short ride around the lagoon you are followed by ducks seeking food and two swans who summer there. We also enjoyed the Make Way for Ducklings Sculpture with Mrs. Mallard and her little ones: Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack.

   
     It seems remarkable that the swan boats which first graced the lush landscape of the Public Garden in 1877 have been operated by just one family ever since, the Paget family. If you wish, you can read more about the history of the swan boats by visiting Swanboats of Boston.
     Today's visit to the Public Garden brought back happy memories from my childhood. After church on Sunday mornings, my dad and the neighbor next door would fill his station wagon with kids, and we would go to the swan boats, the Franklin Park Zoo, or some other fun place. That's the wonderful thing about the swan boats; they have been delighting generations of children and will continue to do so, hopefully, forever.