A restored 1920s cascade stairway provides one of the best views of Oakland's Lake Merritt.

The world's first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory continues to report on the stars.

Oakland's beautiful monumental cemetery.

Two mammoth statues inspired by equally tall tales lure tourists to this roadside attraction.

The sea once considered an ecological wasteland is now called "crown jewel of avian biodiversity" by scientists.

This giant head is all that remains of a once proud statue that survived an earthquake but not a fall off of a wagon.

Collective dedicated to restoring steam engines.

This stretch of beach along California's central coast is a busy highway for the largest seal in the northern hemisphere.

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

It should come as no surprise that the world's largest artichoke lies in the town that calls itself the "Artichoke Center of the World."

A pier that used to act as a busy ferry dock is now a decaying favorite of local fisherman and urban artists.

Guns that have been defending San Francisco since 1904.

The first AIDS memorial chapel in San Francisco and one of only a few in the U.S.

These four islands right offshore have waterfalls, colorful lights, fancy buildings, and a secret purpose.

The former Naval shipyard is open for exploring - mostly.

Elephant seals and sea lions have turned the abandoned buildings on this island into their endangered love shack.

A crumbling Beaux Arts monument to the Bay Area's age of rail.

The blinking light atop the iconic landmark has been sending secret messages for decades.

A Roman-inspired temple once controlled half of San Francisco's waters.

Junkbots and mud babies are the masterpieces in this fantastically sci-fi art museum.

The taxidermied remains of the "last wild grizzly bear in California" and of the symbol of the state of California.

This enormous World War II relic is one of the largest wooden structures in the world.

Thousands of migrating monarchs overwinter clustered amongst the eucalyptus trees.

From the Difference Engine to the Cray-1, all under one roof.