Magic Carpet Glide Segway tour of Tampa

The two RV Gypsies toured beautiful Tampa Bay while riding on a Segway with Magic Carpet Glide. Geoff and JP led the two RV Gypsies as they glided through some of Tampa's most popular destinations, mostly the Tampa Riverwalk, which is a beautiful area and full of historic signs, busts and more. The two RV Gypsies highly recommend Magic Carpet Glides' Segway tour.


Below: Gasparilla Pirate Festival is an annual celebration held in the city of Tampa, Florida. Held each year in late January or early February and hosted by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and the City of Tampa, it celebrates the apocryphal legend of Jose Gaspar (Gasparilla), a mythical Spanish pirate captain who supposedly operated in Southwest Florida. As of the 100th edition of the Gasparilla Festival in 2015 (it was cancelled during World Wars), the parade was the 3rd largest in the United States and had an economic impact of $23 million on Tampa's economy. On the day of the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates, members of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla (YMKG), accompanied by a flotilla of hundreds of smaller boats, sail across Tampa Bay to downtown Tampa on the Jose Gasparilla, a 165' long "pirate" ship which was specially built for this purpose in 1954. Once the ship lands, the pirate captain demands that the mayor hand over the key to the city in a playful ceremony which has had different outcomes in different years. Whether or not the mayor actually "surrenders", the pirates hold their "victory parade" through the streets of Tampa. During the parade, members of The Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and dozens of other Krewes throw beads, coins, and other souvenir trinkets to the throngs along the parade route. In the past, members of YMKG would also fire .38 six-shooters loaded with blanks into the air and toss the empty shells into the crowd. This tradition was restricted in 1992 and ended entirely several years later. However, trained members of YMKG still fire loud mini-cannons mounted atop several parade floats. The main parade is broadcast every year on WFLA-TV, and has been since 1955; station WTVT-TV also covered the parade from 1955 to 1980.

About the sign shown below: Throughout the first half of the 20th century, aviation enthusiasts struggled to win widespread recognition for Tampa Bay as the birthplace of the world’s multi-billion-dollar commercial airline industry. It all began on New Year’s Day 1914, when Tony Jannus, “a gentleman adventurer” and record-breaking aviator, boarded a Benoist airboat at the St. Petersburg Pier and flew to Tampa and back. His passenger was former Mayor Abe Pheil, who bid $400 to secure a seat on the historic flight. The day marked the launch of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, an event witnessed by 3,000 onlookers who gathered to watch from the St. Petersburg waterfront. Across the bay in Tampa, another 3, 500 waited to greet the dashing pilot and his plane.


Below: The Rivergate Tower, also known as the Sykes Building and commonly referred to as the Beer Can building, is a 454foot tall skyscraper in Tampa, Florida. With 31 floors, it is the sixth tallest building in Tampa. The building was constructed from 1986 to 1988. It cost $150 million. Architect Harry Wolf's design for The Rivergate Tower was given the 1993 National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects. The building is faced in French and Texas limestone, making it one of the tallest limestone structures in the world. The distinctive cylindrical shape was meant to symbolize a lighthouse and represent optimism. Alternate names for the building include its address (400 N Ashley St.) and "the beer can."

Below: The two RV Gypsies with Geoff Karlavage, founder of Magic Carpet Glide.

About the sign shown below: Throughout the first half of the 20th century, aviation enthusiasts struggled to win widespread recognition for Tampa Bay as the birthplace of the world’s multi-billion-dollar commercial airline industry. It all began on New Year’s Day 1914, when Tony Jannus, “a gentleman adventurer” and record-breaking aviator, boarded a Benoist airboat at the St. Petersburg Pier and flew to Tampa and back. His passenger was former Mayor Abe Pheil, who bid $400 to secure a seat on the historic flight. The day marked the launch of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, an event witnessed by 3,000 onlookers who gathered to watch from the St. Petersburg waterfront. Across the bay in Tampa, another 3, 500 waited to greet the dashing pilot and his plane.

Below: The Henry Bradley Plant Memorial Fountain, with the "beer can building" in the background. Henry Bradley Plant was the founder of the Plant System of railroads and steamboats which became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Plant City, located near Tampa, was named after him.


Below: The University of Tampa was established by Frederic Spaulding in 1931 as Tampa Junior College, and was founded to serve as an institution of higher education for Florida's west coast. In 1933 UT moved to its current location, the then-defunct Tampa Bay Hotel.

JP, the tour guide of Magic Carpet Glide treated the two RV Gypsies to a tour of the first floor of this unique building. Although the two RV Gypsies did not take a lot of photos inside the building, they found the tour very interesting and they were in awe of the architectural beauty of the building, inside and out.


Below: A clever way to park the Segways while the two RV Gypsies paused for some photos. Karen Duquette gave the Segways some love and an air hug so they would not roll away.

Below: The two RV Gypsies with "the beer can building" in the background.



Below: There is some dispute as to the origin and meaning of the name "Tampa". It is believed to mean "sticks of fire" in the language of the Calusa, a Native American tribe that once lived south of the area. The Sticks of Fire sculpture and waterfall was undergoing the final touches of repair when the two RV Gypsies were here, so the waterfall was not working. It is designed in seven parts to be symbolic of the ideal of perfection toward which everyone may aspire in one's own personal way, and to serve as a meeting place on the green in the historic center of Tampa for the past, the present, and the future. This sculpture commemorates the spirit of Tampa and is dedicated in honor of the seven trustee families who in 1980 anonymously gave 2.5 million dollars as a confidence gift to help Tampa's own independent institution of higher learning be a more nearly perfect university. The sculpture was created by O.V. Shaffer of Clinton, Wisconsin, under the auspices of the University of Tampa in cooperation with the City of Tampa, and made possible by the generosity of the General Telephone Company of Florida.

Below: A John Fitzgerald Kennedy monument - and Karen Duquette with the Segway tour guide.

Before and after the Segway tour, the two RV Gypsies walked around the downtown Tampa area a bit on their own. They liked the miniature trolley displays that were everywhere, and photographed a few of them.




And of course, there was a real trolley car driving by.




At first, the giant bowling ball was plain, but the two RV Gypsies watched a man paint it.

There were some interesting stores on Channelside. And the two RV Gypsies really love the character of Lucy in the doorway of one of the stores.

Below: Another miniature trolley car. The two RV Gypsies ate at the Mexican Restaurant and enjoyed the food and great service.

The food was very good, and reasonably priced.

Tampa is a city in and the county seat of Hillsborough County, Florida. It is located on the west coast of Florida on Tampa Bay, near the Gulf of Mexico, and is part of the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Area.

Alternate names for the building include its address (400 N Ashley St.) and "the beer can."

Below: The two RV Gypsies with Geoff Karlavage, founder of Magic Carpet Glide.

Below: The Henry Bradley Plant Memorial Fountain, with the "beer can building" in the background. Henry Bradley Plant was the founder of the Plant System of railroads and steamboats which became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Plant City, located near Tampa, was named after him.

Below: The University of Tampa was established by Frederic Spaulding in 1931 as Tampa Junior College, and was founded to serve as an institution of higher education for Florida's west coast. In 1933 UT moved to its current location, the then-defunct Tampa Bay Hotel.

Below: A clever way to park the Segways while the two RV Gypsies paused for some photos. Karen Duquette gave the Segways some love and an air hug so they would not roll away.

Below: The two RV Gypsies with "the beer can building" in the background.

Below: A John Fitzgerald Kennedy monument - and Karen Duquette with the Segway tour guide.

Before and after the Segway tour, the two RV Gypsies walked around the downtown Tampa area a bit on their own. They liked the miniature trolley displays that were everywhere, and photographed a few of them.

And of course, there was a real trolley car driving by.

At first, the giant bowling ball was plain, but the two RV Gypsies watched a man paint it.

There were some interesting stores on Channelside. And the two RV Gypsies really love the character of Lucy in the doorway of one of the stores.

Below: Another miniature trolley car. The two RV Gypsies ate at the Mexican Restaurant and enjoyed the food and great service.

The food was very good, and reasonably priced.

While in Tampa, the two RV Gypsies parked their RV at Bay Bayou RV Park. Information on that RV Park can be reached here, and there is a link that will return you to the Florida menu.

OR

you can return to the Florida menu for navigation.