Russian history in San Francisco.

A garden oasis filled with flowers mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare.

Join the circus for a few lessons to learn clowning, acrobatics, and Chinese contortion.

A mysterious painting of the self-declared Emperor of the United States watches over a local hof-brau.

An abandoned 1920s-era stretch of cabins now overshadowed by the 66 Motel.

340 bicycles, 65 feet high.

A tribute to the life and work of the beloved "Peanuts" cartoonist.

This infamous prison has a store where you can buy goods crafted by incarcerated people.

Over 315,000 preserved amphibians and reptiles in jars.

One of the last remnants of the city's Chinese nightclub scene is now a dive bar selling killer mai tais.

Playable, historic pinball machines fill this Alameda museum.

The memorial to the victims of the Jonestown Massacre carries the names of 918 lost, including one name people wish wasn't there.

Deco Modern sculptures of the people of the Pacific, cast for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

Coastal dunes, site of buried Egyptian movie set and former utopian colony.

A popular winter vacation destination for migrating monarch butterflies.

Happy harbor seals frolic and snooze on this warm, sandy stretch of coast.

A sculpture of the famous photograph stands on San Diego's "Greatest Generation Walk."

One of the few remaining carousels built by master amusement park carver Charles I.D. Looff.

This little blue house pokes out over the campus of UC San Diego, seven stories high.

Handmade treasures from around the world.

Like a kitschy mirage in the Mojave, this eatery serves up classic 50s-style diner meals and a dinosaur sculpture garden.

Finally the worlds of UFO enthusiasts and beef jerky lovers have come together in this roadside shop.

No one’s quite sure why there's a metal megaphone bolted on two rocks in the middle of the Mojave Desert.