The BIG Jar and Friends- 2026

Forcast said -8
Dinner after Tailsman Winery
Outstanding Wine- Napa
At Tammy's House
5 Gallon, Gallon, Half Gallon, Quart and Midget Pint Sizes
Actual Temp was -17 at 3 AM
Glen Ellen Star-Awesome!
Signorello- With Sam
Extremely Rare Jars
Only Known 5 Gallon in Clear
Outward Bound now -8
Spicy Califlower Dish
Ikeda's & Merkel's- In Old Sac
The BIG Jar- 5 Gallons
Arrival in Sanoma- Kenwood
Driving from Sanoma to Napa
Jar Seat Canceled
Packed And Headed Home
Dinner at Palooza
1st Stop- Silver Oak
Our Flight Canceled
Jared Straped in for Takeoff

           THE BIG TRIP TO CALIFORNIA & THE BIG JAR……………………

It took nearly 1 1/2 years for this to all come together but the wait was well worth it. As you may know things do not always go as planned. This trip was not without suprises. Our outbound flight was scheduled to leave at 6am and arrive in California around 3 pm. Although we did get out after de-icing, the temperature was brutally cold at -17 when I went outside to start the truck at 3:30am. At takeoff the temperature had improved to-8, Excellent! We were both so cold when boarding that we huddled together and kept our winter coats on throughout the flight. Upon landing in Sacremento we gathered our bags and headed to the rental car company. Getting our car we headed to the Somnoma Valley for a few days to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. We called Kenwood Resort & Spa our home base while we visited a few of our favorite wineries and found a few new ones. Palooza was the first evenings choice/recommendation and it didn’t disappoint. The second night we were lucky to get into the White Star which is a Famous Michelin Rated Restaurant. The food and Chef were truly Amazing.  Now that we were rested it was time to head to Sacramento, meet with Jerry and his lovely wife Eileen. They were very gracious and allowed us to spend the night with them after dinner and packing up the BIG Jar. Jerry and I spent several hours in his lovely Jar Room where we talked about History, Jars and he allowed me to photograph several rare jars for my online book. Little did they/we know our next day flight was to be cancelled and we would be staying two additional nights until we could secure travel back to Michigan. It was probably the best thing that could have happened as Tina and I were able to see Old Sac City, Visit the Railway Museum (Incredible) and go visit Tammy Johnson the following day. Family, Fun, Laughter and Great Jars was the theme of this week. We could not have been more blessed to stay with them and finally seeing Tammy’s Collection was wonderful. I came away with a few more prized jars to include in the book and add to the long-term collection. I am honored now be the caretaker of the BIG 5 Gallon Mason’s CFJ Improved Jar, THE BEST Quart Jar in Light Cornflower Blue with matching lid and the Milo Harris Patent Jar in Quart Size. Milo Harris received a Patent on August 16, 1881 for this wild clamp closure canning jar. See Patent Drawing and the Jar under the Patent Closures Section of this website. By the way, Tina, Jerry and Eileen had a blast naming “Jared” passenger #3 known to me as the BIG Jar. Another Fantastic Fruit Jar Adventure is now in the Book.