For a full list of upcoming tours visit the Upcoming Eyeopener Tours page

On our very first Eyeopener tour in September 1986, we visited John and Mary Milkovisch at the Beer Can House. We met Frank Mann, an unforgettable octogenarian who had flown the Spruce Goose with his friend Howard Hughes, and we saw the astonishing 1/5 scale working model of a Santa Fe steam rail car, built in six months to gain entrance to a steam enthusiasts' society. We saw Priscilla II relative to the world famous , life-saving swimming pig at her home, just blocks off Main Street at Pigdom. When the tour ended at Judge Roy Hofheinz's Celestial Suites at the Astro Village Hotel with a little reception in the mini-Astrodome, it was clear that something wonderful was underway.

 

Eyeopeners, we called the tour, "places that made you stop, look and look again." At our committee meetings, we tried to outdo each other in bringing the most interesting food, the best story, a great new sighting. 

• Our world expanded to take in great artists creating large scale environments - the Fan Man, Flower Man and Sylvester Williams.
• Cultural landmarks - C. Davis Barbecue, El Nedo, the Continental Zydeco Ballroom.
• Places of Worship - Hindu temples in Pearland, Baptist churches in Downtown Houston, and everything in between.
• We trooped to artists' studios, scoped out the city's murals, public art, gardens, collections, international food markets and architecture.
• We didn't stay put in Houston either - venturing all around Texas then Atlanta, New Orleans, Baltimore, Chicago, Phoenix and Las Pozas, Mexico.

Along the way we compiled thousands of images, artist interviews, books and articles. Taken more than 10,000 people on in-depth tours. Made a lot of friends.

 

Each tour is filled with fascinating glimpses of behind the scenes places you thought you knew.