Places westcoastspirit Wants to Go

Replica of an old Esso filling station, complete with Wayne gravity pump and outhouse.

This chicken coop pays homage to a classic architectural style made famous throughout the southern United States.

The highest point in South Carolina was once owned by an energy company that neglected it but now the state is taking it back.

This historic church houses the grave of a Scottish soldier who fought in the Battle of Waterloo.

The author's beautiful and historic home is also a fully functioning goat farm.

The oldest bridge in South Carolina may have been designed by the same man who created the Washington Monument.

According to local lore, this narrow passageway through two large rocks was accidentally created by the devil himself.

This Transylvania County city is home to a rare white squirrel population that is descended from an escaped carnival animal.

Who needs fancy modern water slides when this giant North Carolina rock works just as well?

This granite rock face is named for the magnificent reflection that occurs when the sun hits it just right.

This quiet park's strange sedimentary spires were named after Kodak's color film.

Colorful mineral deposits turn these mountains into an Impressionist fantasy.

A glimpse into the "Logging Capital of the World" at a time when there was far more forest and far less machinery.

A surreal landscape where fanged rocks rise from the ground and the ocean feels like a great mystery.

Shoreline strewn with the remains of ghostly fallen trees.

One man's eclectic collection of treasures found at sea.

This small museum gives visitors a chance to soak up the history of the "sponge capital of the world."

These expertly crafted, scientifically accurate glass sea creatures were once an international phenomenon.

Nine Gardens in one—with tea service.

Giant sand sculptures of famous people and places are on display near the Tottori sand dunes.

This art center is way beyond your average pumpkin-carving operation.

The Arctic Circle runs through this isolated spot north of Iceland.

Visitors flock to see this church tower's unintended feature: It happens to resemble a giant chicken from multiple points of view.

When Motown musicians came to Nashville in the 1960s they stayed at this historic record-pressing company because hotels wouldn't host them.