Places erinbrown Wants to Go

Crumbling remnant of Rio's colonial past tucked behind Corcovado mountain in the neighborhood of Cosme Velho.

Beautiful public park off the beaten path and away from tourists.

The bones of this aquatic dinosaur turned to opal over the centuries and the beast's remains were almost sold as jewelry.

This letter written by Queen Elizabeth II in 1986 won't be opened until 2085.

The largest self-built castle in the U.S., six decades in the making.

In a 345-million-year-old cave that's 200 feet underground, dinner awaits.

The world's largest rose bush has literally outgrown the pioneer museum it was planted behind.

Collection of vintage trailers double as hotel rooms.

A giant mascot, a car bomb, and the mafia mingle in the history of a defunct restaurant chain.

Come for the pizza, stay for a performance on the world's largest theater pipe organ.

A self-built castle made by a mysterious man.

A colorful, century-old cemetery of the Yaqui Indian Tribe hidden amid the suburban sprawl of Tempe, Arizona.

Read a book next to a Midtown waterfall.

Amid the bustle and noise of the Financial District hides a secluded garden oasis above the city streets.

One of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the city, it is now overgrown with an urban forest.

The island of Lanai in Hawai'i is a paradise for cats and cat lovers.

The remnants of two World's Fairs are here, complete with a 12-story globe, a mini-Manhattan, and a UFO-shaped pavilion.

At the crypt of St. Mary of Eulogies and the Dead you are left alone to ponder mortality among piles of skulls.

Home of Jake the Alligator Man, the mummified remains of a cigar smoking, cross-dressing celebrity of the Northwestern coast.

This graveyard is the eternal home of many brave pioneers who settled the Great Northwest.

A delightfully quirky blend of oddities spread throughout an old 1920s bank.

A Roman-style column in Oregon hides a spiral staircase inside.

The lush coastal city of Astoria is riddled with forgotten secret sidewalks.

Renaissance villa and gardens complete with a tormented colossus.