This year's out-of-town Eyeopener Tour took place in October, having skipped our traditional Memorial Day scheduling, but the 16 month wait was well worth it: four days, 21 participants, world-class visionary art, perfect weather, two nights in the French Quarter, a ton of bread pudding, a stuck door on a high curb, and the good people of the Great State of Louisiana.
Get on the bus, here we go:

Following a Friday morning bus ride across the border into Louisiana, our first stop was in Breaux Bridge for lunch at a legendary Cajun eatery, Mulate's Restaurant. The ceiling is decorated with years of business cards and the entrance vestibule is lined with the names of celebrity diners, from Bob Dylan to Robert Duvall to Mickey Mantle. Yep, the food was good 'n' fried. (The first of many outstanding on-the-mark restaurant choices by Eyeopener Tour committee member Pat Holleman.)

. In an age when so-called "star architects" are cranking out cheap-thrill gymnastics, Trahan Architects of Baton Rouge have created a work both timeless and sublime. St. Jean presents an almost inconspicuous exterior of smooth, gray concrete, but closer inspection reveals a pair of 14-foot high sculpted bronze entry doors, encrusted with object ranging from wedding rings to eyeglasses to a baby's footprints. (The doors are by artist Max DeMoss, who also created the church’s stunning interior statuary.) Upon entering the octagon-shaped interior, one is enveloped by a wash of natural light - an effect that recalls the work of architects Louis Kahn and Tadao Ando. In the three corner chapels, dramatic beams of sunlight accent the religious artwork.

St. Jean Vianney Catholic Church, Baton Rouge

Just a few blocks south of the state capitol building sits the newly opened Louisiana State Museum - Baton Rouge. Within the steel and glass modern exterior are hundreds of artifacts of Louisiana history and culture, including a 48-foot shrimp trawler, Louis Armstong's trumpet, decorated Mardi Gras lawnmowers from the Krewe of Yazoo, Napoleon's death mask, plus a 1930's painting depicting Huey Long's assassination, straight out of "CSI".

The Louisiana State Museum, Baton Rouge

Our last stop for the afternoon was a visit with an artist who creates not in marble or granite nor bronze or silver, but in the simple wooden toothpick. Michael Anthony Smith, a Louisiana native, began making sculptures using toothpicks as a teenager in high school. With subject matter ranging from birds and butterflies to briefcases and saxophones, Smith's art has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums, and he has shared his story and talent in school art workshops around the state. In 2005 Michael received his greatest honor as an inductee into the Guinness Book of World Records for his 320 lb, 15 foot, three-million-toothpick sculpture of an alligator named Tag.

Also welcoming our group was Ms. Sadie Roberts-Joseph, founder of the Museum of African-American History of Baton Rouge.

Michael A. Smith ("The Louisiana Toothpick Man")

Our evening accommodations in lively downtown Baton Rouge were in the newly restored Hilton Capitol Center Hotel, known in its heyday as The Heidelberg. Constructed in 1927, the hotel became famous during the administration of Gov. Huey Long. Rarely spending time in the Governor's Mansion, Long would hold court in Room 1021, scheduling 4:00 am meetings with political cronies, and using a secret tunnel to reach his mistress across the street in the King Hotel.
sunset over the Mississippi
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