Summer time and the (city) living's easy...

It has been incredibly hot a good part of July and we've been taking full advantage of walking everywhere and consuming icy beverages on the regular. There are so many things going on around Boston during the summer, it's hard to keep up. 

Two Saturdays ago, we headed down to WGBH headquarters - the local public television station that brought Julia Child to the world - for a local craft beer festival featuring food trucks from around the region. 

I always feel like I'm in the know when it comes to local beer, but I happily discovered a whole menagerie of nearby breweries I hadn't experienced before. My favorite discovery was Newburyport Brewing Company. A brand new brewer in one of my favorite little north shore cities, their Belgian White was extremely tasty with a crisp finish perfect for a hot summer night.

This past weekend, we had several visitors staying in our itty-bitty apartment that had taken on a resemblance to the surface of the sun in atmosphere. I love the heat but 110 degree heat index is a little much and we headed toward the water in search of cooler entertainment on the river.

The duck tours are a Boston original; the 'ducks' are amphibious WWII era vehicles that were used to get men and supplies from ships to the beach. Now a colorful fleet roams Boston as the only guided tour that covers both land and sea (well, river). 

That, my friends, is a duck.

After a quick spin around downtown, you splash down into the Charles River to take a look at the skyline and let the kiddies drive. The informational part of the tour is pretty typical if you are familiar with Boston, but the chance to 'drive' up the Charles is first class.

Supposedly, you can now swim in that. Not so sure.