A monthly street "service" of handmade puppets and live original puppets, whose devotees profess has the power to change lives.

This historic California cemetery holds the bodies of veterans of both the Civil War and the Donner Party.

Crumbling pink walls and murder memorials preserve the pioneer history of Joshua Tree.

A watering hole where the options for seating include a bar, patio, or subterranean cave.

This quaint archive of the silent era preserves and pays homage to a seminal moment in film history.

Hollywood's oldest hotel is the site of the first Academy Awards, the birthplace of Marilyn Monroe's career, and the home of Montgomery Clift's ghost.

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

A free, public museum dedicated to the fascinating science of sight.

This print shop boasts one of the largest pinball arcades in San Francisco.

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

Three vintage horses survived a 1976 inferno and found a home on a sister carousel.

A three-story, three-dimensional hobo clown in a tutu welcomes CVS shoppers.

Before it was abandoned and left to rust alongside the road, this riverboat starred in a John Wayne movie.

Cambria's most unique B&B features creative surroundings and fantastic food.

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

This odd California folly seems like it was almost designed to accumulate urban legends.

This beautiful ridge-top trail is dotted by tiny homes apparently built by a group of itinerant fairies.

This sculpture garden in Death Valley makes you feel like you've slipped into some alternate reality.

This lesser known Hearst estate is a fairytale village built from the stolen bones of historic European buildings.

The Hopi-style structure was built by the man who discovered Desert Hot Springs' famous mineral water.

A B&B on a Victorian lighthouse station in San Francisco Bay.

One woman's Viking Castle on Lake Tahoe.

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

Room 32 of the Alta Cienega Motel has grown into a shrine to the Lizard King.