"the sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, of Madras and Bombay and Calcutta, drink at my well . . . The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges."

This candy-colored storybook village originated as a 19th-century Methodist campground.

The oldest platform carousel built in the United States continues to delight children in Martha’s Vineyard.

Two thousand artifacts from around the world collected by one woman who loved to travel.

The oldest lighthouse on America's west coast no longer needs keepers, yet they maintain the site anyhow.

Every year, over 25,000 monarchs overwinter in Pacific Grove.

Hopeless romantics will swoon over the sweet story behind this bright and colorful home.

Steinbeck's old stomping grounds, immortalized in Cannery Row.

Fake rail crossings mark the site of an influential doctor's demise.

Two rocks in a perpetual kiss and one of "the most romantic spot in America."

Haunting and beautiful trees, doomed to die.

A winding path built in secret on the edge of the continent.

At the base of the Golden Gate Bridge, a small sign basically begs for a high-five.

A modest reminder of treacherous waters at the Golden Gate.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

The giant pair of sexy legs sticking out the window of this costume store have become its main draw.

The remains of a 12th-century chapter house in Golden Gate Park.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

The remains of a ruined mansion memorialize the 1906 earthquake.

A 300-ship graveyard, with a few still visible at low tide.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

A shop full of natural curiosities, carnivorous plants, and costumed taxidermied mice.

Olfactory delights in San Francisco's Botanical Gardens.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.