Mom's turn: Back in the BIKE-saddle, again!

I found an awesome bike ride put on by B.R.A.S.S. to raise awareness for street safety and also increase art appreciation for the pieces all around Baton Rouge. It was the Velo des Arts that start/finished at the new state capitol.

“Starting at the state capitol we’ll head out through the downtown area on a 12 mile odyssey to view the public art scattered across our city’s landscape. Re-gathering at the Civic Center Complex we’ll head to Westdale Middle School to experience the much-debated and currently threatened student created sculpture. We’ll stop along the way to see other works of art including those in the B'nai Israel synagogue. On the return trip we’ll stop at Circa 1857 before returning to the capitol. At the capitol we will learn a bit about the art and architecture of the building before adjourning for the after party at Lafayette Park. We will receive our own personal commemorative t-shirt and enjoy food, drink, and the last Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge ‘Sunday in the Park’ with Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Carla Cook.”

My family was a bit reluctant at first because when we woke up the temperatures were a very nippy 41 degrees! And to a good ol’ Southerner – that’s FREEZING! They thought I had lost my mind!! However as the ride went along and they warmed up the smiles came out.

We saw several interesting things and learned quite a bit; that's nice since we actually live here! Our first stop was close to the starting point and we saw a motion sculpture that represented a flock of birds; Teeny and I were distracted with the awesome embroidered biking shirt and even cooler helmet, though. Then we moved on to the downtown buildings that incorporated intricate tile work with the native Louisiana iris and the state flower, the magnolia. See – there are some more smiles!! Next stop was close to the Centroplex

I love photostich...how cool is that - a panoramic shot!

with the infamous “paper clip dock” that is rumored to be up for destruction and a memorial to Martin Luther King. Then we went on to a synagogue. The first piece we saw was an intricate work celebrating the freedom of both Jews from the Holocaust and African-Americans. I also learned the difference between a holiday menorah (having 9 branches) and a traditional menorah (having only 7 branches) along with the fact that they allow no human art reference within the synagogue itself. We saw the torah, covered in some beautiful hand painted silk cloths, and kept in a cupboard, of sorts, with tiles on the front depicting the Jewish holidays that are celebrated. My favorite piece actually came at the end of our tour from the place I would have least likely expected, since I dislike the work as a whole. It was hidden inside the West Dale sculpture and it personified my family from one extreme to the other so perfectly that I couldn’t help but fall in love with it! I still do not like the sculpture and have the unlucky fortune to live in it’s vicinity; I do, however, have a much better appreciation for it and what it represents now.

Of course most rides are all about the shirt - and here is our super cool trophy that we got for this one!