by Donna Swagerty Shreve
(Mary Lou Swagerty, Donna Shreve, Melanie Mauro, Ginny Troglia September 2025 at winery)
Our annual trip to Ashland started out with great promise. I was driving this year and I started my picking-up of the girls in Stockton. We all packed small suitcases to allow room in the trunk for our shopping items. We had an early start as I like to allow for a cushion in case anything happens.
Mary Lou was waiting for us at the Sacramento gas station when we arrived for our last pick up. The trunk was now full with four suitcases and axillary cases. Somehow we will figure out a way to find room for our shopping exploits. Getting out of the airport and on to I-5 is always a challenge and I was on an out-of-the-way path. Finally I was able to merge onto I-5 and head to Williams where we making our first stop at Grandzella’s for lunch.
As I merged onto the freeway I was sandwiched between several trucks. There was a truck to my left and one in front and behind me. I was the filling for a truck sandwich. Suddenly there is a loud noise and my left front tire indicator is showing the tire going from 35 pounds to 0. There was just enough shoulder left for me to pull off right before three lanes became two lanes. Opening the doors on the left became risking as traffic is rushing along side of us. I got out my cell phone and called AAA. I explained my situation and was told a driver would be there shortly. MY AAA apt then showed me where my driver was as he headed toward us.
Half an hour later Taylor drove up in a flat bed truck. I did have a spare tire which is only temporary so a new tire was in order. Taylor got the car onto his flat bed and drove us to the nearest American Tires Company as we have an account. It was 7.4 miles away but 9 miles along a river road to West Sacramento. Taylor apologized but the four of us elderly ladies would need to climb up several steep steps to get into his truck. Three sat in the back seat and I sat up front with Taylor. Taylor was not the first that day to try to soften the situation for the elders.
Once at American Tires I set up a new tire. The young kid (age 24) came out to the car and used some computer hand-held devise to examine each tire. The two rear tires had good ratings but the other front tire had low tread according to the machine. Would I like to have two new front tires? Sure. Just get us back on the road. I tried not to think about being sold some upgrades that maybe were not the best use of my money. One hour and a half and over $500 later we head back out on our trip a bit behind schedule. Fortunately we were able to grab some lunch while we waited.
The trip seemed different this time as we did not do our usual routine and our travel time was off. We are such creatures of habit. Potty breaks dictated small stops and we tried to find a McDonalds as they can be relied on to have clean bathrooms. With four older women in a car, no one had to suffer too long without a break.
We arrived to our destination and dinner was ready. I had called ahead to warn our host that we were off schedule. As we were going to rush through dinner, we all agreed that it would be best to miss our evening performance which just happened to run more than three hours. None of us were up to a long evening and three of us had seen the musical twice. The fourth woman was more than willing to miss the production. We could now enjoy our meal and spend a pleasant time chatting with our hosts who we have gotten to know over the three previous years. We finally crawled off to bed before that play would even be over.
Wednesday morning we were greeted with a huge breakfast to start us off on our day. Deb out does herself with special homemade goodies each year. Outside her kitchen area is a very busy bird feeder that kept us entertained. Once the patio floor is littered with seeds, the quails descend to do clean up. We headed out to improve the economy of Ashland. We have our favorite shops and usually discover new ones. That evening we went to the Bowmer Theatre to see “The importance of Being Earnest.” It was well done with excellent acting, costuming and sets.
Thursday after breakfast we headed out once more to shop. We lunched at the Greenleaf on the back deck by the creek. We had a matinee at the small theatre called “ Quixote Nuevo.” Again it was so well done and hit on all of the present issues on immigration. We now had some time to rest a bit before our dinner reservations at Hearsay where we revisit each year. We hosted Deb and Howdy as a thank you for their wonderful hospitality. a pleasant evening was had by all as the food and company was excellent.
Friday we headed to Jacksonville where there is great shopping and special interest to me. Jacksonville has family history with me and I enjoy revisiting the house where my grandfather’s family lived for a few years. Mary Lou has family history in this town also. Hopefully we both can explore more of those connections in the future. We stopped by the bakery connected to the McCully House and a drink at tables out front in a pleasant environment. We went to several shops and boosted Jacksonville’s economy.
For lunch we headed back to Ashland to go again to the Greenleaf for lunch. We had 2:30 reservation for a winery and we juggled our schedule to keep us on time. The winery was delightful where the scenery was beautiful and wine was enjoyed by all of us. We could have stayed much longer but we had dinner reservations and an evening play.
We headed back to our Ashland home and dressed for dinner and play. As we were dressed and gathering our tickets, Melanie noticed our tickets were for a matinee. We had been drinking wine without a care in the world instead of being in the theatre. Darn!!! The play was “Shane” and we were all looking forward to watching it. Instead we had a leisurely dinner and then went back to pack and relax.
Saturday morning Ashland hosts a crafts fair and we did not want to miss it. We somehow were able to fit all four of our luggage and shopping into the trunk. Off we went to the crafts fair to look for anymore temptations. Some of us were able to find some more items to bring home. Off we headed down I-5 to Redding where we were meeting Peter and Susan Pace for lunch. Melanie and I went to school with Pete and Mary Lou knew Peter and Susan from when she lived in Redding. Unfortunately our waitress was not the best and lunch took two hours. Finally we were on our way again.
Mary Lou was dropped off at the Sacramento airport appointed place where Brian was waiting. The airport is changing its routes in and out of the airport and I headed off in what I felt was the wrong direction. It was taking me to highway 99 and I wanted I-5. At that point the highway is both. I had to learn the hard was after going a few miles out of my way. Unfortunately I had people at home watching my progress.
We made it home a bit later than usual but safe and somewhat sound. I arrived at my home at 7:00 after leaving Ashland at 10:30. It certainly had been a long day but a fun trip nonetheless.
1356 words
9/18/2025
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