A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.

A chain of bells connect the California Missions and honor the legend of the "King’s Highway."

An alley covered with 20 years of bubble gum.

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

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

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

An old whaling station now serves to give the public a look at the commercial whaling industry, no longer a part of Monterey's economy.

The first safe in this California town had to hold all the gold.

The oldest U.S. Government building in California, and it's State Historic Landmark #1.

This remarkably simple jail went over a century without an escape.

The oldest continuously operating church in California.

This municipal playground was co-created by the father of one of the most playful characters ever.

Once America’s most beautiful army base, this abandoned military fort on the coast of Monterey Bay has been left to the elements.

An abandoned boat that's been stranded mysteriously for decades.

It should come as no surprise that the world's largest artichoke lies in the town that calls itself the "Artichoke Center of the World."

More than 700 species live within this murky marvel of a swamp on California's coast.

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

Inky sludge oozes to the surface of this beach thanks to a rare natural tar seep.

The home of one of California's most important horticulturalists wilts amidst a lovely park.

360-degree virtual reality chamber physically immerses scientists into their data.

A popular winter vacation destination for migrating monarch butterflies.

This little gem of Spanish Colonial architecture has been abandoned since the 1950s.

This weird abode has inspired everything from the "House On Haunted Hil" to a robot hunter's pad.

Left untouched since a double murder-suicide in the 1960s, Los Feliz murder mansion remains a neighborhood mystery.