I took a tour of Rancho Los Alamitos today. It's interesting, and parts of it are very beautiful. It's also kind of weird. It's been there since Mexico owned California, but at some point a gated community grew up around it. So, to get to it you have to drive through a ritzy neighborhood, and then all of a sudden -- bam, you're on a historic ranch that's open to the public.

They won't let you take photos in the house which is sort of a drag, but I did take a whole bunch of photos of the gardens and surrounding property. The gardens are nice with all of these tucked away, hidden little corners. There wasn't very much blooming though. I'll bet it's a lot nicer in the spring or summer.