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

California's most comprehensive horticultural library.

A garden oasis filled with flowers mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare.

Home of modern dancer famously strangled by her own scarf.

This one-block alleyway is stuffed with street art that is colorful, cultural, and intensely political.

The rustic cabin-like decor of this Arts and Crafts-style church reflects the love of nature central to its little-known theology.

The largest whiskey stash on the West Coast survived the 1906 fires--but not without heroic effort.

San Franciscans leave gifts and messages for the magical beings that live behind the tiny, mysterious door installed on a tree in Golden Gate Park.

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

The randomness of this wall of lava lamps helps encrypt up to 10 percent of the internet.

In this century-old literary safehouse, print is alive and well.

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

An essential stop before plundering, BYO Cutlass.

A nondescript building that's been functioning as a speakeasy for nearly a century and a half.

The one-time watch house for incoming ships at the Golden Gate now stands abandoned and hidden in trees.

The oldest original lighthouse in Alaska that was born out of a tragic shipwreck.

The only house built with a turret, crenellations, and a moat in Palmer, Alaska.

The cultural center preserves the history of the Tlingit tribe, who have lived in this Alaska village for more than 10,000 years.

A sarcastic monument threatens to curse any "idiot" who dares remove it.

Permanent exhibit reminds visitors of the Exxon Valdez.

This remote fort on the Yukon River is a vestige of the wild Alaska gold rush.

The easternmost town in Alaska can only be accessed from Canada.

The northernmost international land border crossing in the United States.

Siberian husky that delivered a life-saving antitoxin.