This "synagogue" is not what it seems to be.

NASA's leading space science lab started by a co-founder with deep ties to the occult.

One of the best absinthe distilleries in the United States.

Once the largest windmill outside of Holland, with enormous 114 foot sails.

This rock formation named for its unique shape is one of many that call the Alabama Hills home.

Home to secret Eastern Bloc spy equipment and the largest stretch of the original Berlin Wall outside of Germany.

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

Made famous by cable TV, this oddball collection of antiques and collectibles is a cut above the rest.

Antiques by the Bay.

This dormant volcanic crater has been converted from a roiling pit of magma to a pleasant hiking spot.

An vast warehouse of everyday treasures in Berkeley, CA.

Huge otherworldly domed rocks on the shore of a deadly lake.

There are lots of hands and feet stamped in the cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, but Mel left behind something extra.

The dramatic upward-curving roof is one of the most iconic examples of Googie architecture that still stands today.

The tragedy of the Japanese internment camps is remembered here by a stark "Soul Consoling Tower."

The most beautiful Taco Bell in the world even has surfboard parking.

Playable, historic pinball machines fill this Alameda museum.

From the sky, a kaleidoscope of color brightens the grey landscape of the San Francisco Bay.

Millions of years of oxidation make a drive down this winding Death Valley road surprisingly colorful.

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

Legendary prop shop filled with one man's collection of scientific curiosities.

The awe-inspiring ship from the golden era of cruising has an incomparable history and a reputation as one of the world’s most haunted places.

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.

The largest dune field in the Mojave offers a chance of hearing the 'singing sands.'