A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

Along a California highway is a kind of Jurassic Park made of metal.

This opulent hotel has been visited by Spider-Man, Charlie's Angels, and the Ghostbusters.

This dark, quiet forest on the outskirts of San Diego is dense with rumor and lore.

A giant donut stands as a popular symbol of Los Angeles iconography.

The site of a classic series of Laurel and Hardy pratfalls.

The stones that traveled from Spain to eventually become a holy place for San Francisco's nature worshippers.

Life in this isolated, hilltop lighthouse was lonely, but it sure was lovely.

Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.

This turn of the century masterpiece has a mysterious goaty interloper.

A couple turned their front yard into an artistic masterpiece.

Rodin's famous depiction of Dante's 'Inferno', amidst a sculpture garden of many of his other works.

This private residence was the template for one of the most beloved television homes of all time.

This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.

The now-abandoned tunnels were built for the transcontinental railroad on the route where the first wagon train entered California.

Lucha Libre (Mexican Wrestling) themed taco shop.

San Francisco's urban bison herd has persisted in the face of extinction, development, and disease.

An extraordinarily ornate museum in San Diego holds wondrous anthropological treasures.

A modern day curiosity cabinet.

San Diego's most historic and haunted home.

This massive redwood tree has a hole in the base big enough to drive through.

An inconspicuous footbridge beloved by San Diego locals.

Big gun installations, built over a massive cemetery, now abandoned & hidden in trees.

This Big Sur waterfall drops 80 feet directly into the Pacific Ocean, and inspired the hillside house up top.