Places m124 Wants to Go

Japanese gardens dedicated to the Japanese farmer that refused to throw in the trowel.

This shop also boasts some sweet memorabilia from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."

When you can't get to the Pacific, just go to Florida.

An oddity shop inspired by the history of the circus.

A former chicken restaurant that doubled as a speakeasy is now a quirky home full of wonderfully strange traditions.

A four story, football field-sized, nine-grotto creation made of shells, minerals, and rare stones.

An old town theater converted into a celebration of the hobo legacy.

Six tiny houses built for working class people form the largest intentional cluster of Wright homes anywhere.

This historic hotel on Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs National Park has a storied history of gangsters and baseball greats.

A mysterious castle built as a monument to lost love.

What started as a tailor shop to help swimmers live their mermaid dreams has grown into a full-scale aquarium, complete with live mermaid shows.

The hall of fame for circus performers.

A hidden paradise in one of Florida’s most unique rivers.

Welcome to old Florida, where a 1940s mermaid show is still enchanting visitors.

A wonderful world of rare fruits and flowering trees grows in a small botanical park in Bradenton.

An author's private collection of quirky travel-trinkets and oddities has become a rotating mini-museum in the window of a local bookstore.

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

A luxuriant botanical garden below sea level.

Brick walkways weave through more than 500 palms and cycads, representing 150 species from around the world.

The snowbirds here are circus sideshow performers.

The history of the traveling carnival is remembered by this sprawling collection of vintage wagons, games, and rides.

Step back into the glory days of Florida's nascent tourism industry at this Gilded Age palace.

An oddities shop that dabbles in the deathly and beautiful.

This kitsch eatery is chock-a-block with bric-a-brac.