Places Jessfrawg Wants to Go

No two pieces are exactly the same at Portland's hippo-themed hardware store.

Inspired by Thomas Stothard's painting of the "Journey to Canterbury," albeit with Canterbury natives.

In a rural Japanese town that has committed to sustainable practices, even the hotel is made from recycled materials.

This abandoned 19th century orphanage started as a boarding school for children of Civil War veterans.

Once known as the Illinois Asylum for the Incurable Insane.

A massive bur oak tree believed to be some 500 years old is the centerpiece of this quiet urban greenspace.

This rare female version of the Muffler Man has its clothes removed each summer to signal the start of pool season.

Tiny treasures, giant murals, and strange sculptures decorate the windows and doors of this abandoned building.

A collection of art crafted from various hardware tools.

These Depression-era WPA sculptures have made a couple of stops over the years.

A collection of 11 million buttons illustrates the human toll of the Holocaust.

During the Soviet era, the spire of this longstanding church was used as a radio transmission tower.

This garden is dedicated to a Portland cartoonist who specialized in dark humor.

The world's third-largest scale model of the planets.

Steel remnants of a bridge make up a unique sculpture along the banks of the Illinois River.

One of two identical monuments marking the sites of military training encampments in Peoria, Illinois.

The remnants of Peoria's proud baseball past stand slightly abandoned, but not forgotten.

A Depression-era sculpture by Charles Umlauf survives in a small suburban post office.

A series of colorful murals breathes new life into old grain silos in Spain.

Gigantic private toy museum featuring among finest collections of antique mechanical banks in existence.

A touching tribute to the "Wonky Donkey."

This 85-foot-long table is made from a single slice of an old-growth Douglas Fir.

Cut into a sheer cliff face, these stairs are the only way to reach a secluded Scottish harbor.

The oldest tofu shop in the United States is a firm favorite with locals.