Description: John and I have taken several Segway tours and love doing them. I had actually thought about taking the tour when I went a few months ago before this but was afraid the weather would be to cold. I knew April would be perfect.
We arrived at the CVB on Montford Ave. and were wondering if the rains would get us. We check in with Wes and are told we will be the only ones on the tour. We tell him we have done this several times before. We both hop up on our segways and go up and down the sidewalk a couple of times and show we know what were doing and how to maintain our balance. After a few minutes Wes believes us and we all 3 take off for downtown.
The CVB is located on Montford Ave. in the historic Montford district. There are more than 600 historic buildings in this area dating from the 1890-1920’s. One by one, you pass by lovely and quaint historic homes. Many of these homes are now B&B’s. We then make our way to the downtown area. We make our way past the haunted Basilica that we have stood in front of on several ghost tours as well as the haunted retirement center and Grove Arcade. We stop in front of the auditorium as John and Wes talk and I zip around taking photos. People are stopping and asking about the tour and taking photographs making you feel like you have your own paparazzi. We make our way down the cobblestone street that goes by the Early Girl and when we round the corner, we are surprised to see the Flat Iron gone. Apparently someone backed into it! We make our way to where several galleries and theaters and when the rains come, we take shelter and enjoy talking, When the rains let up, we go past The Thomas Wolf House.
Since it was just us and Wes and we knew what we were doing, when we left Wes told us if we had the extra time we could go further out in the Montford historical district. Montford Ave. started out as a middle class residential village. Eventually doctors, lawyers, and businessmen moved into the area. James E. Rumbough would be the only mayor of the village, which would be incorporated into the city limits of Asheville in 1893. Today the once again prominent distract is dotted with Neoclassical, Queen Anne, Arts and Crafts, Greek Rival styles, just to name a few. Many of the houses were built by the Biltmore’s chief architect, Richard Sharp Smith. The area was added to the National Registry in 1977 and was designated a historic district in 1981.
After enjoying our ride through the neighborhood and getting some great pictures, we make our way back to the visitor’s center. Then we parted ways with Wes and hoped back in the truck ready to sit down for a while and get off our feet.
Websites www.movingsidewalktours.com
www.montford.org
What would be your recommendation? To give this fun way to tour a city a try
For a great way to see downtown Asheville, give Wes a call and enjoy Segwaying around town.
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