BY JAMES RAIA
www.ByJamesRaia.com

Fifteen miles across the California border, Ashland, Oregon, is positioned snugly in the Rogue Valley. It's a long-time favorite vacation locale for patrons of the city's ever-expanding and world-renowned Shakespeare Festival.

Oregon's southern border welcoming city is also where Pat and Tom Howard and many others have rested while en route to other Oregon or Washington locations.

The Howards, who lived in Minnesota during their early trips through Ashland, stopped often in the idyllic city while traveling to visit their son, then a college student in Portland.

But like other impressed visitors, the Howards decided Ashland was an ideal location to begin another chapter of their lives. They left family, friends and occupations after 30 years in Minnesota and bought the Oak Hill Bed & Breakfast.

Now in its seventh season under the Howard's ownership, Oak Hill is among more than 40 B&Bs listed in Ashland's chamber of commerce web site. But Oak Hill is the first accommodation location of note entering the city from the state from California. And its location couldn't be more ideal.

Situated along Siskiyous Blvd., the city's main artery into town, Oak Hill provides guests with the convenience of close city life. But there's also a feeling of being in a country getaway location, despite the B&B's main street location.

My wife and I arrived around 7 p.m. after more than a five-hour drive from Sacramento. Pat opened the front door, greeted us warmly and advised us quickly about the "rules of the house" while also professionally offering dinner suggestions to another couple.

The Howards live on the property, but in a separate location from the main house. A house computer (with WiFi access) and a telephone for emergency use are located on the oak desk in the spacious entrance sitting room.

Guests have dozens of periodicals at their disposal in the sitting room. There's a communal guest refrigerator and an honor system for available port and sherry wines. Complimentary fresh-squeezed lemonade, water, soda and homemade cookies offer another nice touch that further adds to Oak Hill's at-home feeling.

We stayed in the Rose Room, and after a brief tour from Pat, we cleaned up and decided to walk into downtown Ashland for dinner. There are two options: a straight-ahead sidewalk trek on Siskiyous Blvd. or a few block downhill deviation to Ashland's vast recreation trail. Either route is ideal on a warm summer's night.

The recreation trail also provides a perfect location for guests interested in cycling or running.

On our first morning at the B&B, I left at approximately 7:30 a.m. for a run along the trail. Tom was in the garden on the side of the house, watering plants while deciding if guests were going to eat breakfast indoors or in the courtyard. He asked me to make the decision. And so on a beautiful, cool Ashland morning, beginning at 8:30, breakfast was served in the side courtyard.

"Pat is the cook and I'm the dishwasher," Tom jovially told the group at breakfast.

The breakfast menu, posted the night before in a chalkboard at the entrance to the kitchen, showcases Pat's talents - fresh egg dishes, biscuits, fresh fruit creations and homemade preserves.

Pat is also a soap maker, so each of the inn's six rooms feature her products. They're also for sale in the front sitting room.

Pat's brother is also a wood sculptor, and his unique animal creations -- a wild boar to wide winged birds -- are also on display throughout the inn. They're also for sale via special order.

Our accommodations in the Rose Room were satisfactory. The second story room at the end of a short hallway featured a queen-sized, poster-framed bed, complementary furniture and gas fireplace. Each room has an individually controlled heating system, so the fireplaces are strictly for ambiance.

We left our room's window slightly open at night, which provided the nice sound of the fountain in the backyard of the property.

Pat and Tom Howard could not have been more hospitable, and their establishment serves as a fine first impression in a city that has plenty of lasting impressions.

(For additional information, visit the Oak Hill Bed and Breakfast web site, http://www.oakhillbb.com or contact the Howards via telephone, (888) 482-1554 or e-mail:

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