vestiges of old california - View this location on map 'The 7.5 acres at Rancho Los Alamitos (Ranch of the Little Cottonwoods) are all that remain of a 28,500-acre cattle ranch that in 1833 was broken off from a 300,000-acre tract granted to a soldier in 1790 by the Spanish crown. It's now home to draft horses, sheep and goats. The property's centerpiece is an elegant 18-room ranch house atop a hill, surrounded by towering Moreton Bay fig trees and four acres of gardens. The adobe core of the house, built around 1800, is one of the oldest surviving dwellings in Southern California; wood-frame additions, including the long front porch, were added later. The ranch (enter through the residential guard gate at the intersection of Anaheim Road and Palo Verde Avenue; 562-431-3541) will reopen after the holidays on Jan. 12, and is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tours are given about every half hour. Admission is free.'' New York Times 6400 Bixby Hill Road, Long Beach, CA Historical, Active, Kids

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