On 1-10, 7 miles East of San Bernardino. Today it is hard to believe, but long before anybody had heard of Palm Springs, Redlands was a booming citrus farming town and the apple of the eye of many rich Easterners seeking a warm place to spend their winters. Their patronage resulted in the construction of dozens of gabled and turreted wooden houses, many of which still stand (mostly along Olive Street), in what is now a fast-growing suburban town.

Redlands holds several curious items. Behind the Moorish-style public library, the Lincoln Shrine Memorial is devoted entirely to Abraham Lincoln, with a collection of photos, letters and memorabilia mostly detailing his role in leading the Union side to victory in the Civil War. And while the extensive collections and displays of the San Bernardino County Museum ( http://www.sbcounty.gov/museum/ ), 2025 Orange Tree Lane, could easily consume an hour, a more atmospheric record of times past is provided by the two-room museum of the restored San Bernardino Asistencia, 26930 Barton Road, built in 1830 as a branch of Mission San Gabriel Archangel.

Detour – Cherry Valley

Off 1-10, 12 miles East of Redlands. Old World culture unexpectedly rears its head in the rural hamlet of Cherry Valley, where the Edward Dean Museum of Decorative Arts (http://www.edward-deanmuseum.org ), 9401 Oak Glen Road, carries a striking collection of European and Asian decorative art from the 17thC to the 19thC, and numerous pieces of handcrafted antique furniture.

Detour – San Bernardino

On l-10, 7 miles West of Redlands. Easily the least appealing settlement of the Inland Empire, San Bernardino was founded by a Mormon colony in the 1850s and has evolved into an unattractive combination of citrus-packing centre and smog-bound suburbia. Proximity to Crestline and the Rim of the World Drive is the only reason to pass through.