Lake Tahoe, CA

After San Diego I went back to LA to pick up a car. Then I headed out east to take in a couple of National Parks, Joshua Tree and Death Valley. In my last blog I described the fortuitous timing of the Miramar airshow as 'one of Lady Luck's occasional little smiles': well, at Death Valley, I found myself subject to one of Lady Luck's occasional little silent-but-deadlies. Half of the park was closed due to flooding from heavy rains. In the world's hottest place! Bah, etc. But it was still worth the visit. See photo below.

Now I'm at Lake Tahoe, which isn't a National Park, it's just a very pretty freshwater lake straddling Nevada and California at 6,225ft above sea level. In the summer it's full of annoying holidaymakers and in the winter it's full of annoying skiers. Right now it's pretty quiet, apart from annoying English backpackers like me.

It was a long drive to get here - I did nearly a thousand miles in my first two days with the car. But in this part of the world, a long drive is a positive pleasure. Deserts gliding by; forested hills in the middle distance; snowy peaks on the horizon. Cloud-sliced sunbeams bristling like searchlights between the mountains as evening falls. Two years ago I had all this in Texas, then last year it was Utah and Colorado, and now it's California. And once you get the hell out of the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, California is beautiful.

Oh, and did I tell you all about my rental car? I don't think I did tell you all about my rental car. All this talk of driving reminds me that I haven't mentioned my rental car yet. It's surprising that I haven't mentioned my rental car, because I'm very keen on my rental car. I think it's best to let everyone know about my rental car so that if anyone's interested in my rental car then they have the opportunity to find out more about my rental car. See below for pictures of my rental car.

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

South shore of Lake Tahoe

Has anyone ever, in the whole history of the world, drunk Newcastle Brown with food?

Death Valley National Park

Edd vs Food #26
Three-egg omelette with bacon, fresh garlic, swiss cheese and tomatoes.
Topped with alfalfa sprouts and fresh cream. Hash brown and flour tortilla on the side.
Fresh garlic is a bit unorthodox for breakfast...
...but the dish is called 'Ed's Best Omelette' and so I had to have it.
At the Driftwood Café, 1001 Heavenly Village Way, South Lake Tahoe, CA.

The rental car.
For the next 10 days, this is how we roll.
In your FACE, bucket list!

At Joshua Tree National Park: another picture of my rental car.

It's a Chevy Camaro Super Sport convertible. 6.2 litre V8, 400bhp.

It drinks a lot of gas, but that's how it washes down all the Ford Mustangs that it eats for breakfast.

Midlife crisis? What midlife crisis?