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

Offering commanding views of the California coastline, this restaurant was a hub for the artists and bohemians of Big Sur.

It's not your typical library, memorial, or book store.

Centuries of crashing waves carved out this small hole in the rock, which lights up at certain parts of the year.

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

Celebrating the transformation of trash into objects of beauty.

Three plaques mark the spot where the "forgotten father of broadcasting" worked.

From the Difference Engine to the Cray-1, all under one roof.

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

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

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

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

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

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."

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

The oldest continuously operating church in California.

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.

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.

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

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

One of the most elaborate displays of Jellyfish is on display at the aquarium.

The oldest lighthouse on America's west coast no longer needs keepers, yet they maintain the site anyhow.

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