Places waywardwillard Wants to Go

A replica of the first public theater built in California.

Art Deco stylings conceal the true nature of this bridge.

Pillars made of 700 pieces of luggage climb to the ceiling of Sacramento Airport's baggage claim.

Where the first "expert riders, willing to risk death daily" for the Pony Express were recruited.

I Street Bridge is the heaviest swinging center bridge in the United States.

This 19th century train workshop is a treasure trove of railroad history.

Puzzling...this tree looks like an assemblage of dismembered monkey limbs.

This 15-story mural celebrates the 50th anniversary of the musician's iconic "At Folsom Prison" album.

The last of a gourmet supermarket chain, this store helped spark California's Food Revolution.

A mesmerizing disco ball-like sculpture along the Sacramento River Walk.

At this 1940s-era neighborhood favorite, you can still drink a cherry phosphate.

The capitol city's oldest existing cemetery.

A tiny survivor of the Donner Party disaster.

A working miniature city designed to teach kids about safety and presumably city planning.

An eccentric home stands out in an otherwise average neighborhood with mosaics, mini topiaries, and kinetic sculpture.

The California capital city once stood 10 feet lower than it does today.

Before it was abandoned and left to rust alongside the road, this riverboat starred in a John Wayne movie.

This sinkhole was created by a tragic industrial accident and continues to ravage the surrounding landscape.

“The Cajun Music Capital of the World” has kept things French in a Louisiana prairie town for over 75 years.

A museum within a former train depot tells the true story of a distinctly French-Louisiana musical genre.

Every year, a Louisiana town remembers a brief Civil War truce inspired by Masonic brotherhood.

A Rodeo for Prisoners.

This creepy, yet oddly beautiful cemetery is home to one of the founding fathers of Lake Charles.

A reimagined 19th-century Acadian village featuring authentic Cajun-style homes filled with artifacts specific to the period.