Olfactory delights in San Francisco's Botanical Gardens.

Barely visible foundations remain where Stow Lake’s “observatory” once welcomed visitors.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

Forgotten and then destroyed by fire, this was once one of the largest saltwater swimming pools in the world.

Elephant seals and sea lions have turned the abandoned buildings on this island into their endangered love shack.

A New England-style lighthouse along California's beautiful Highway 1 gets a re-do.

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

A strange house built only at night, with rumored mystic inspiration.

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

A remote crossroads honoring a fallen talent.

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

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

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

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

Haunting and beautiful trees, doomed to die.

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

A tree grown from astronaut seeds which were exposed to cosmic rays.

The stately birthplace of California's statehood.

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

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

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

Two rocks in a perpetual kiss and one of "the most romantic spot in America."

Every year, over 25,000 monarchs overwinter in Pacific Grove.

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.