Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

Home to the "Circus" trees created by Axel Erlandson.

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

This controversial depiction of the "Founder of California" looks as though it was sculpted from mashed potatoes.

Once close to extinction, there is no shortage of elephant seals on the beaches of Año Nuevo State Park.

A burnt orange monolithic dome structure perched on a hillside near Interstate 280.

This concrete ship has had four careers - World War I tanker, floating amusement park, fishing pier, and artificial reef.

At this California chicken ranch, four bucks will get you 18 eggs and a chorus of dancing animatronic poultry.

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

This old-world mansion with lush gardens is a gem in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Guarded by the Angel of Grief, the Stanford family tomb attracts an odd mix of halloween revelry and somber contemplation.

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

This giant shopping mall still holds signs of its automotive past.

One of the largest Marian shrines on the West Coast stands rather unexpectedly in Silicon Valley.

An extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

The headquarters of a secretive order is also a beautifully-designed park.

It is locally loved and ridiculed for literally looking like poop.

A giant chess set, minus the psychedelic drug trip.

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

The largest permanent Monopoly board makes one of the longest games even bigger.