After a long drive and a nights sleeping in the car, I arrived at my relatives Pat & Dave's house in Auburn, California.

I received such a warm welcome and as they are both great wine connoisseurs it didn't take long till I was sampling some of California's finest wines.

They are situated on a beautiful golf course, and their place is to die for. I have my own suite (now known as Nathan's room) and I really am 'living the life of luxury!' So!? I deserve it I spent last night sleeping in the car!!

Today we went out on a day trip to Lake Tahoe. On the way we called in at the Ritz hotel for a morning cocktail, and it's every bit as glamorous as it sounds.

After a tour of the place, we continued on our journey to Lake Tahoe where we had lunch. It was a picturesque 22 square mile lake with a mountainous background. The mountains still have the remains of the winter snow, which is amazing when it's 80degrees F.

We had lunch overlooking a man made beach which was packed with locals lapping up the sunshine or partaking in various water sports. The area is a ski resort in the winter and it was great to see the place well used in summer too.

After lunch we ventured back to Auburn via various scenic spots including rivers packed with rafters and tubers making the most of the great outdoors.

Next up was the part I'd wish to forget about the day. Dave had pre recorded the Forest v West Ham game therefore I watched it as if it was live not knowing the score. While it was great to watch my team play again, it's evident I'm not missing much as we were thrashed 4-1 at home.

For the evening meal we had an appetizer of tiger prawns, accompanied by some fine wine. We later made use of their outdoor pizza oven and cooked up our own pizzas. This was great fun and very tasty at the same time!

As the night drew to a close I jumped in for my customary evening Jacuzzi where I relaxed and reflected on what was another memorable day on this fantastic trip.