A strange house built only at night, with rumored mystic inspiration.

Housed in a memorial lighthouse, this museum relays the history of surfing, beginning with the antics of royal Hawaiian teenagers.

The graffiti-covered remnants of a former triangulation station are balanced precariously on this California peak.

A 1920s speakeasy that had rum runners racing up and down the shores of California.

An enormous artwork that colorfully celebrates over 150 years of US military achievements.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

A pair of mutilated bronze octopuses slump at the base of the monument honoring California's admission to the U.S.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

This shop and studio is dedicated to the art of the book, from letterpress to bookbinding.

A "gravitational anomaly" located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California.

Nestled in the heart of San Francisco’s bustling Financial District stands a unique homage to the Mayan and Beaux Arts.

San Francisco's oldest surviving monument and meeting place for 1906 survivors.

Alleyway plaque commemorating the death of a fictional character in The Maltese Falcon, not far from the author's home.

Created in 1972, the famous sculptor's intricately detailed monument to San Francisco is overflowing with city landmarks.

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim.

The lighthouse central to the 1980s horror classic "The Fog" is, in fact, located in one of the foggiest areas of the Pacific Coast.

This abandoned boat was left in place thanks to its rotting beauty.

The first U.S. town to secede from the Union, only to vote themselves right back in.

The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California."

The very center of Paris is surrounded by a bevy of strange good luck rituals.

This iconic Parisian bookstore doubles as the "Tumbleweed Hotel" for traveling writers.

According to tradition this is the oldest church in Venice, but its actual age is a mystery.

This Roman statue is missing a limb from when the Venetians stole it from Constantinople during the Crusades.

Two stone columns flank the grand Venice square, but there were supposed to be three.