My Old Kentucky Home

These large black barns had long hinged vertical openings along the sides to allow air to pass through and cure the tobacco. Quilt patterns painted on their sides preserve the heritage of the region.

Sampson, Markos and Tarn love to share their experience. In Springfield, KY they had the opportunity to speak to a gym packed with students full of questions.

Stormy skies are beautiful to watch, and often lead us to seek out new friends and shelter. Our experience is enriched by the wonderful people who welcome us into their lives.

The interior of a 200 year old southern church. The congregation - close knit families, a community support system.

Spring "killer" lambs and their mother.

"We've crossed the Mississippi (River), the Tennessee River, the Ohio River..." actually Tarn went on to list three or four more rivers too - his grasp of our adventure is baffling.

There's always something to look at and wonder as we travel along the road.

The waitresses of the Corner Cafe, Westmoreland, KY, treated us to an amazing spread of Southern comfort food and hospitality!

Another of Sampson's many animal friends along the way, this time at the Nashville Zoo.

Hollers (hollows) and backbone ridges - Kentucky's built us into steel machines. The tiny rural roads guide us to warm and heartfelt people. The land of Daniel Boone and Abraham Lincoln - dulcimers and American Saddle Bred horses.

Tanya's Song of the South

Texas mesquite, cattle, Black's BBQ
Friends and cousins
The wind always blew.

Louisiana crawfish, the Cotton Gin
Dollar General, levies and bayous
Baptist/Pentecostal/Catholicism.

Mississippi Dogwood, Red Bud,
Cypress trees
The road, RVs and wild turkeys.

Alabama- Markos lost his second tooth
Learned of journeys and stones
A history unearthed.

Tennessee hills, biscuits
more barbecue,
Cousin Keri and Mike, a trip to the Nashville Zoo.

Kentucky is families that go way back
The quilt trail, two entry houses
and 'baccy (tobacco) barns of black.

We're still headed north - one more stop to make
then westward bound is the road we'll take.



Sampson's journal
April 22 Greenville, KY (guests of the city in the Canoe Trail cabins)
Today we woke up and I read my "Harry Potter" book and then I got dressed. Later Dad made eggs and salty ham for breakfast. After breakfast we did school and the Bobby came over and gave us our (business) cards that we ordered. (Bobby was the man that Dad had asked to make the cards.) Then we played in the rocks and water and then left. An hour later we got to Cambelleville and went to the CVS and had a granola bar for snack there. Then we went to a grocery store and Markos and Dad went in and Tarn and I and Mom read some. Later we got to a little country store and got some fresh hamburgers and onion rings for lunch. After lunch we played a little bit of pool at the country store. Later we biked to Springville and a guy invited us to stay in his little community center. It had a mural of Barak Obama and Moses on the side, it read, "The leaders may change, but the rules stay the same." (The Ten Commandments where written between the two leaders.) Later we took a walk around town and then did our journals. We had vegetable soup for dinner.

Markos journal
April 23 (Steve and Marianne's, Springfield, KY) Today we had french toast for breakfast and I helped Mom make french toast. After breakfast we did our math work, then we had a muffin outside. Then, we walked to the horse stable and we saw a horse pulling a buggy with a man in it. Today we saw some big horses that were called Saddlebred.
April 26 (Steve and Donna's, a family dinner, a dry cozy home and a ride into Cincinnati) Today we had jelly on bread and fruit for a little something to eat before breakfast. Then Donna made eggs and bacon for breakfast. After breakfast we played a little game of hang man and it was fun. Then we went outside in the garage and we put our stuff in the trunk (of the car.)

Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, Ain't No Place I'd Rather Be

As we entered Tennessee, waterways flowed over rocks and formed cool pools, quite a contrast to the sloughs further south in Mississippi.

Markos holds a meteorite, one of the hundreds of thousands of individual stones in Tom's Wall, a monument to women, honoring his great, great, great grandmother and her journey on the "Trail of Tears" and return to her former home. The Indian removal from areas east of the Mississippi River to the "Indian Nations" area west of the Mississippi occurred in the 1830's.

Birds, bees and butterflies, quite a few topics of conversation as you travel along by tandem bicycle.

The diverse hardwood forest of Mississippi and Tennessee.

Wisteria vines take over the skeleton of this giant roadside tree.

Beavers and turtles command the waterways here.

A Lunar Moth pays a visit to the Holdiness household, a cool sighting on a warm evening!

No worries, this one is dead. My first up close viewing of a Copperhead!

444 miles of beauty, wildlife and history. Wonderful people and an amazing National Park. The Natchez Trace Parkway gets a solid four stars for bike tour-ability!

Sampson's journal:
April 9 Tupelo Visitor Centre Bike Campground - Today we woke up and I read a chapter from Narnia and did my math in the tent. Later I got out and Dad was making coffee and muesli for breakfast. After breakfast we packed up and went on a hike to "Little Mountain" (Jeff Busby Campground) and it was a half a mile. At the top we looked around and read ...(the information boards). Then we hiked back down the hill and left. An hour later we met some bicycles and two were going south and one north. We had a break there. An hour later we got to a historic site and had lunch with Loren (the biker traveling north). After lunch we kept biking and saw a dead water moccasin on the road. It's head was smashed but not it's body. It was black with yellow spots. Later we had some oranges at a bridge. Next we got to Bynum Indian Mounds and walked around. Then we got to Witch Dance and camped there. Loren gave us a science lesson on (how) planes (fly).
April 7 Meriwether Lewis Campground - Today I woke up and read some of my book, "Wayside School is Falling Down". Later I got out of the tent and Dad was making egg sandwiches for breakfast. After breakfast we played at the park and then did math. Then we went to the Welcome Center and took a shower. Later we left and we met some bicyclists that were biking the opposite way. Later we stopped at a picnic spot and had a granola bar and built a rock bridge across the creek. After break we biked to a historic site. We had jam and cheese and we waded across the creek. An hour later we got to Meriwether Lewis campground. There was a big monument where Meriwether Lewis was buried.

Markos' journal
April 14 Garrison Creek Picnic Area - Today we had pancakes with butter for breakfast. After breakfast we said good-bye to Carol. Then we took a picture. After that we got on the bikes and we rode out of the campground and went back to the main road.
April 15 Yesterday when we were biking we saw a big black snake that was alive and the big black snake turned out to be a Water Moccasin. Yesterday too, Mom saw something moving on the side of the road. Then it ran across the road and it was a bobcat. We also saw a wild turkey with a blue head. We had a grasshopper stay on the bike the whole day.
April 16 Cousin Keri and Mike's - Today we had eggs and cantaloupe for breakfast. After breakfast we fed the birds and we put some corn on the ground for the turkeys to eat and we put some seeds on the little table for the squirrels and the deer to eat. Then we put some peanuts in a metal cage on the tree for the squirrels to open the top and eat the peanuts.

Traveling the Trace

Sampson, Markos and Tarn learn how the cotton seed is separated from the lint with a cotton gin, Frogmore Plantation, LA.

Sampson tries his hand at picking cotton.

A Cypress swamp. We hear there are lots of alligators, water moccasins and snapping turtles! I think we'll be staying on the pavement!

A wash basin in the family bedroom, Kent Plantation, Alexandria, LA, mid 1800's.

Sampson, Markos and Tarn stand dwarfed beneath a giant two hundred plus - year-old oak.

The McFerrin boys size up dinner - crawfish boiled with Cajun spices, corn on the cob and potatoes. Shipley's donuts for dessert.

The Natchez Trace is 444miles of National Park parkway connecting Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. It follows the path taken by Native Americans, Kaintuck boatmen returning home to Ohio after selling their wares in Natchez and New Orleans, and Civil War soldiers, both Union and Confederate. The parkway traverses cypress swamps, hardwood forests and meadow lands. We've hit the Trace at prime Spring flowering - the white dogwood and red bud trees stand out amongst the dark greens of pines and fresh new leaves of oak and sweet gums. Roadside flowers vary in color: yellow asters, purple vinca, little red "strawberry cone" flowers, we call them, and white English daisies. The pink and red woodland azaleas are just starting to pop out.

It's time to be heading in the northward direction we are now taking - days are getting warmer, 80's and 90's Fahrenheit, 85% humidity. It's pleasant on a bike with the breeze and in the shade of trees when we stop.


Markos' journal:
March 31 Alexandria, LA Today we had donuts for breakfast. After breakfast we got a picture with the people that invited us into their house for one night. Then we got on the bikes and rode to a Goodwill and bought a long sleeve and a hoody for me. We left behind my old long sleeve and hoody. Then we got on the road again.

April 4 Today we had grits with honey for breakfast. After breakfast we played Lego and we built lots of things and each set was in a different bag. We did lots of different sets and they had lots of people and some sets had horses and some sets had little boats. There was a bag of sharks.

Sampson's journal:

April 1 (camped behind a Baptist church) Today we woke up and I read a chapter of my Narnia book. Later Dad made grits for breakfast with pineapples and strawberries. Before breakfast we did math. After breakfast we packed up and a sheriff came by and said, "Hi". Then we left and an hour later we got to Jonesville. In Jonesville we went to Family Dollar and bought pipe cleaners (to decorate Easter Baskets) and toilet paper and coffee. The manager let us have lunch at a restaurant across the street for free. So we went there and I got some nachos for lunch. After lunch we biked to the Frogmore Plantation and learned about cotton and how it's made. The we went to Will's (parents') house. (Will is the local newspaper reporter who interviewed us that morning.) We went in their pool. They have two grandsons, Milt and Jace. Later we did journals and Dad made egg dish for dinner. Today is April 1st, (April) Fools Day.

April 2 Ferriday, LA Today I woke up and read a chapter from "The Last Battle", Narnia. Then we fed the baby calf milk. Next Dad made pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast we dug in the dirt and took down the tents, then we went and checked on the cows and said goodbye. Later we got to Ferriday and asked for water at a gas station but they didn't have any. Then we got some trail mix out for snack. Later we went across the Mississippi River and got to Natchez. In Natchez we went to the visitor center and got some maps of Mississippi. Next we went to"Fat Mama's" and got lunch. I got six tamales. After lunch we went to the Longwood House (an 1860 antebellum southern mansion) and went on a tour. Later we got to the Natchez Trace. The Natchez Trace was really beautiful. Then we went up and down to Natchez State Park and camped there. Dad made chili for dinner.

Tin Roofs and Bayous, Eastern Texas to Louisiana

Sampson turns #9, luckily the birthday jersey Rick has carried from Mexico still fits!

Neat and up kept, the architecture of the southern USA speaks of times past.



The boys making breakfast, a cozy day off in Carol's farm kitchen/barn apartment.

"...the bluebonnets will be out in a couple of weeks..." but for now, Indian Paint Brush and other roadside flowers aren't too bad!

Buttercup decided to visit our camp, "Gentle as a kitten", but a heavy breather when she's standing outside your tent in the middle of the night!

Carol's Pan-fried Garden Chard

Wash Chard, slice and toss while slightly wet into iron skillet. Cook over a hot flame with a bit of olive oil and oyster sauce. Delicious!

Markos' Journal
March 17 Robin and Eric's, Austin, TX Today we had bagels with butter for breakfast. After breakfast my brothers played outside and I sewed a little bag to put my marbles in. Dad went away to fix his tooth, then we had lunch. For lunch we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
March 21 Jody and Susan's, New Waverly, TX Today we had an omelet for breakfast. After breakfast we did our math work. When we were done doing our math work we made some fishing poles out of a stick and some fishing line and a hook and I put a little alive fish on my hook. Then we had to make two more for Tarn and Simon. When we were done making those two fishing poles we went down to the lake to fish. I did not catch any but my fish got a little nibbled.

Sampson's Journal
March 24 Browder's Marina Campground, Livingston Reservoir Today I woke up and I read a chapter from Narnia and then we did math and dad made blueberry pancakes for breakfast and they were really hard to flip. Later we packed up and went to the public library and read books and mom sent some e-mails and went on the computer. Dad read us some "Ranger Rick" magazines. Later we went to the super market and bought some fruit and vegetables and meat. Then we went to a restaurant called "The Hop" and we went there for lunch and got an "Everything" pizza and dad got a burger. After lunch we rode down a road for about ten miles and got to a turn off to a lake and we went there. Next we asked at a store for a pass to an RV park and we bought one. Then we went to the RV park and set up the big yellow tarp and took showers and built roads (in a sand pile) and did journals. Dad made fajitas for dinner.
March 25 Hilda and Donald's yard, Hortense Today I woke up and it was raining and I could hear thunder and see lightning flashing above the tent so I read a chapter of "Narnia". Later I got out of the tent and got packed up and went over to the shelter and dad made boiled eggs for breakfast that were hard to peel. After breakfast we packed up the kitchen bag and went. Later we got to Livingston and went to a book store and gave some books and got some books. Then we went birthday shopping for my birthday and mom got one thing. Next we went to another store and got some party plates and a banner and candles for my birthday and Markos and Tarn got a present. Later we went to get a BBQ slab of ribs. After lunch we kept biking and got into a forest and went up and down. Later we asked to camp at a person's house and she said she would ask her husband and he said yes. We had egg scramble for dinner

Blown by the Northerlies up Texas

Spring flowers are emerging along the roadside, early March, southern Texas.

Sunrise along a bay of the gulf coast, Bayside, Texas.

Tarn, the monkey, is typically found in trees. He found this disguise on Padre Island, Texas.

Markos demonstrates that not only are his legs strong, but his arms too.

A pile of day packs left behind by illegal immigrants traveling north from Mexico. They follow the oil pipeline that traverses Keith's land, Riviera, TX.

Weather/terrain report: southern Texas had an unusually cold, wet winter. Cotton and grain fields remain wet, farmers hope for winds and sun to dry fields by March 15, a government subsidy deadline for planting in this region. Winds blow strong everyday, fortunately mostly tail and side winds. Days in the sixties and seventies Fahrenheit. Mostly cloudy. Trees are just beginning to leaf out. High Mesquite brush lands ease into huge damp, flat but furrowed fields around Corpus Cristi. Agriculture trades off with ranch land of long horn Texas cattle and curious horses. We've reached the land of southern BBQ, smoked ribs, turkey, sausages and brisket. Barbecue sauce and bread. Sides of beans, coleslaw, corn muffins and berry cobbler.


Sampson's journal:
Feb. 27 (Riviera, TX) Today we woke up and mom made french toast for breakfast. While she was doing that I squashed some oranges into orange juice. Later we had breakfast. After breakfast we had a tour around Keith's land and learned what he was doing with it. Later we dug some holes and did morning work. We found one egg in the chicken coop. Keith had thirteen dogs and two of them are really fat because they eat a lot. Later we had soup for lunch with crackers, it was mostly vegetables and carrots. After lunch we had quiet time. I did my journal and drew some in my book for quiet time. After quiet time we made hamburgers for dinner. We are staying with a Warm Showers guy but he was asleep most of the day because he worked all night. Today dad fixed the tent poles. We might watch Santa Buddies tonight. It just came out and is brand new. There is a cold front coming in tomorrow so if it's really rainy tomorrow we will stay here at Keith's house.

Markos journal:
March 3 (Mustang Island State Park, near Corpus Cristi, Texas) Today we had banana bread and yogurt for breakfast. After breakfast mom and dad got on the bikes and rode and I walked. We went to a (camp)site that had a lot of bikes and we talked together. Then we got on the bikes at 10:06 a.m. Then we rode for an hour. Then we stopped on the side of the road to have a snack break at 11:06 a.m.
March 4 (camped out in an empty seaside lot next to Lori's house, Bayside, Texas) Today we had raisin bread and some cheese and fruit for breakfast. After breakfast I did my math work. After I did my math work we went out to a long dock that at the end here was some stairs down to a platform. We went fishing.
March 5 (Goliad, TX) Today we had cream of wheat for breakfast. After breakfast we rode and we saw the court house. Then we went to the store and Tarn and dad went in. Yesterday we rang the bell in the bell tower. (Mission Santo Espirito) After that we got on the bikes and rode.
March 6, 2010 (camped out in Joe's cattle field) Today we had oatmeal for breakfast. After breakfast dad found a dried up turtle shell upside down with nothing inside. Today we crossed a river called San Marcos River. When dad was riding on the bike the turtle shell fell off and cracked.
March 9 (Robin and Eric's house, Austin, TX) Today we had pancakes and strawberries for breakfast. After breakfast we went outside and played on the trampoline. When we were done we played on the swing for a while. Then I came to my room and did my math, then I wrote in my journal.


March 9 journal work for Tarn
Find the rhyming words from One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
short "e" sound
1. pets
2. Zeds
3. heads
long "a" sound
1. say
2. day
3. they
Good Morning Tarn! How many Zeds got a haircut? (1)
How many Zeds need a haircut? (48)

Traveling Tamaulipas, MX

How would you like to have your dad own a pastry shop? Graham and Katia treated our boys to royal treats as we passed by on a rainy day. "Pick anything you want, come on! What would you like?"

Just the beginning of the day, Victor took us for a circuit of the town and we ended up in front of a bunch of news cameras - a bit much for this family of five!

The yellow cathedral in Tampico.

Markos sips down a Manzana Escuus.

A old woman prepares lunch for us in her tiny, yet packed kitchen, Tampico.

Markos tries on a wooden mask at Sandra and Ernesto's in Tempoal, part of the festivities of the four day Day of the Dead celebration in this town.

A Brahma bull stares us down, one of many in pastures beneath the purple-hued coastal range.

Camped out in the pasture next to Rojilio's race horse stable, nine or ten of his neighbour children came to make sure our tents were erected properly.

What happened to the "p" in Sampson?

Just another day at school, thanks to the generosity of Ejido Carmen, we had a dry home in an empty unused school room.

We did our normal research when charting a route through unknown territory, talking to locals, referring to travel guides like Lonely Planet, and sending out inquiries to our travel friends by e-mail. What came back concerning the area of Mexico adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico was inconclusive. What we discovered was natural beauty, good roads, easy riding, warm and gracious families, plenty of medium size towns to meet our daily necessities, and unfortunately, a lot of foggy, misty and sometimes rain-drenching days.

We crossed the border from Reynosa, Tamaulipas to McAllen, Texas yesterday. We said good-bye to Mexico, a country our friend Lanier describes as "a carnival every day" and look forward with interest to Texas. Fortunately the panaderias (bakeries) and cautious, interested and protective drivers will continue north with us. Mexico's influence on this part of the United States is clear. One thing Sampson knows for sure, "it'll be nice to have toilets that have seats, and the back part attached, and a door that shuts and toilet paper" as we travel through the USA.

Markos writes:
Feb 13. Today we had cereal and yogurt for breakfast. After breakfast we watched a little cartoon, then we left the hotel and biked 30 kilometres to get out of town. Then we stopped at a gas station to have a break and we had a cheese bread and dad filled up the fuel (we use diesel to fuel our cook stove) and I went to the washroom. Then we got on the bikes and rode an hour more. Then we stopped on the side of the road to have lunch and a two layer cow truck came and dropped off all of them and it was really noisy.
Feb 17. Today we had pancakes with syrup for breakfast. After breakfast we took the table back to their house and threw our trash bag in the deep hole to burn. Then we went back and got on the road and rode for an hour. Then we had a snack break and had a banana.

Sampson writes:
Feb. 17 Happy #9 Birthday Mason! Today we woke up and had pancakes for breakfast. While we were having breakfast a dog peed on mom's pack and while we were doing that (cleaning it up) dad put the frying pan on the frisbee that was keeping the pancakes warm and the frying pan stuck on the plastic frisbee and broke the frisbee. After breakfast we said good-bye and went. An hour later we had bananas for snack. Later we got to a little town that we bought some snack bars at. An half an hour later we had a snack bar. Later we had lunch. After lunch we road 15 km to a town called Soto La Marina. We got some water there and we looked at the back of a couple hotels (for a place to camp) but we didn't find any. Then we kept riding on and we saw a place just down a road with a palapa and grill and grass. We looked around and said, "Let's camp here." So we camped there. We had chicken and beans and rice for dinner.
Feb. 18 Today we woke up and it was raining. I read a chapter in my book "The Silver Chair" Narnia. Later we had oatmeal and granola for breakfast. After breakfast we packed up and did school and went. An hour later we had a snack bar for snack. It was still raining. That hour we talked about wives' tales and about holidays. Later we had a snack bar and now the road was big and nice. It is still raining. A couple hours later we had lunch. We had peanut butter and jelly and apples for lunch. After lunch we kept riding and checked out a couple dirt roads. Later we had a chocolate for snack. Next we got to a little store where we got water and asked if we could camp at the school in town and they said sure. So we went to look, it had a giant shelter and a washroom and dry space. Later we set up tents and made a concoction for dinner. It rained all day but we went 70 km today.

Pachuga to Tampico, Mountains to the Sea

Markos and Tarn join the men fishing on Laguna Meztitlan.

Flowing water...finally, and green, "Mom, is this a forest? It smells like moss." Our days in the desert have been replaced by a very different ecosystem.

A view out the window of comedor "Pesca Ilde", "Si! Yes, I am Ilde and you may camp on that island there, if anyone asks, tell them Ilde said it is okay. Have the girls in the kitchen fill up your water bottles."

A tree emerges from a rock on the valley floor near Meztitlan.

Sampson dries out, the sunny morning after a stay in a 500 year old church.

Morning studies next to 200 year old murals.

Snack break in the rain - how is it that this crew is oblivious to the fact that it's rained all day?

A change in climate,
A change in scene.

Mountain roads, granny gears or tight on the brakes.
An occasional tractor. Valley floors patchworked with fields of green and turned red soil.
Cactus walls. Grinding climbs.

Dense dripping forests, waterfalls and twittering birds.

Fushia bouganvilla, scarlet poinsetta, ancient root buttressed trees.
Adobe towns, local seniors walk down the road, old women with cardigan sweaters, old men carrying a sack, a machete.
Burros munch tall grass, staked by a long lead.

Old churches, claining bells.
Murals, barrel vaults, stonework. Ancient yet continuous. Local inhabitants filter in and out of the sanctury. Still, these buildings remain part of daily life.

Why did we leave the beaches and the sunshine? Change is good, there are roads to explore.

My favourite local reaction to the journey so far: "Que valiente!"


Markos' journal
Feb. 1 (leaving Mexico City) Today we had cereal and yogurt for breakfast. After breakfast we got a ride in a minivan to a big bus station and we got on a bus for an hour and a half and we got to another big bus station. I got a Hawaiian empanada and mom and Sampson got a meat and potato one.

Feb. 3 Yesterday it was raining. The rain was falling from the foggy clouds. Yesterday I saw lots of mud because it was raining the whole day. Yesterday we biked up lots of switch backs and on the otherside we went down a long down hill.


Sampson's journal
Feb. 7 Today we woke up and dad made oatmeal with dates and cinnamon and sugar on top. After breakfast we packed up and we got out of the fence and got riding to Molango. I heard cows running around our tents this morning. An hour later we had a fruit bar for a snack. We saw water falls and jungle all morning long. After a snack there was a fork in the road and they both went to the same place but one was muddy. We went on the other road. Later we got to Molango and dad bought some tamales and empanadas from an old lady for lunch, they were really good. I had two. After lunch we went down and then back up through the jungle. In towns there were people dressed up in costumes and asking for money for a carnival. I gave them a peso. It was a long, long afternoon because we had lunch at eleven thirty. Later we got to a trail to a big leafy, sluggy wet flat spot where we camped. We had vegetable scramble for dinner.

Feb. 11 Today we woke up and I read a chapter and got dressed before Tarn and Markos were awake. Lanier and I set up the stove and lit it for coffee. Later dad made oatmeal with raisins and granola in it. After breakfast we did school and played at the park a little bit and then we packed up and went. Later we had a snack bar. At that break there was a little road border where you pay for road improvements but we didn't have to pay. Later we had lunch at a river. We had avocado on tostidas for lunch and a candy after. After lunch we rode to Tampico. In Tampico we found a hotel that had one room with three queen size beds and another with two. I slept with Lanier in the two bed room and the others slept in the other. We're going out tonight and we might get some churros.

Tarn is reading ONE FISH, TWO FISH, RED FISH, BLUE FISH
His journal reads: hook, cook, book, nook ...ink, pink, wink, drink, think, yink