I was in no hurry to leave Big Bear Lake. This felt like a slow day; it was a Sunday. I walked down to a nearby bakery for some breakfast and sat on the terrace eating this. I set off mid-morning aiming to stay in the mountains as long as possible before dropping back to desert heat. So I followed what is called The Rim of the World Drive. And it is easy to see why they call it this. The views South across Southern California were jaw-dropping. I could see eastwards towards Palm Springs, westwards towards LA and directly south across the Temecula region towards San Diego. We were at 7000ft, so the views were big. And we'd often criss-cross the ridge and the views to the north couldn't be any more different. Just wide open desert, almost bereft of human occupation except for Edwards Air Force Base in the distance.

When we got to the end of the mountains, I didn't want to drop to the south as that would bring me straight into the sprawl of LA. So I headed to the north and back into classic desert. You could be a million miles from LA here.

I tracked a gentle arc around the north of LA keeping my distance from the chaos that I know exists there. I skimmed the valleys where all the fruit growing takes place and saw miles of orange groves. Then I picked up a valley that heads across to the Pacific emerging at Ventura, some 60 miles up the coast from LA. I'd been to Ventura before and liked it as it is an honest, friendly seaside town, i.e. not Malibu! But, as I expected, the famous June gloom was present and the temperature dropped as I approached the coast. This wasn't a problem as I'd booked a place in the hills knowing that the coast weather is always iffy. I was headed for Ojai, pronounced “O Hi”. This is a popular wine town and was very smart, very pedestrianised, and full of nice bars and restaurants. I did a bit of shopping, bought the wife something a bit special, and had a nice slow drink.

I was booked into a motel with a pool, so was able to make the most of this before heading into town for the evening. My last-night luxury was some sushi paired with some excellent local wine.

The people round here were obviously the type who'd had enough of LA itself, but there was no snobbiness, just very nice people who were obviously proud of their little town.

Lots of sleep needed tonight. Tomorrow is going to be long and tiring.