Once the largest winery in the world, this castle-like building now sits abandoned on the San Pablo/San Francisco Bay shore.

Eat a tasty meal in the house where John Steinbeck was born.

A historic fort commemorating the United States' naval history.

The beauty and the beast of hydraulic mining is on full display at this California Historic State Park.

The remnants of a failed socialist commune can still be found just off a California highway.

Where the polar bear watches over everything, and every drink is a double.

A stranded woman lived alone on this remote island for 18 years, inspiring the great children's novel "Island of the Blue Dolphins."

Experience the glam side of air travel without leaving the ground at this speakeasy.

The beloved dining spot stands at the cross-section of Hollywood and the Old West.

A pier that used to act as a busy ferry dock is now a decaying favorite of local fisherman and urban artists.

The former Naval shipyard is open for exploring - mostly.

A herd of 150 bison live on California's Santa Catalina Island and are at the heart of an ongoing debate between environmental protection and economic expansion.

These lush groves of fan palms rise up like oases out of southern California's Colorado Desert.

One of the largest helium balloons in the U.S. is a 112-foot ginormous orange.

A giant knight, sex education, date shakes, and Jesus coexist happily in this Coachella Valley desert oasis.

An ominous concrete cube cuts a dystopian silhouette atop this California mountain.

The first life claimed by this record-breaking peak wasn't lost to exposure or a fall but rather lightning.

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

An abandoned 1920s-era stretch of cabins now overshadowed by the 66 Motel.

An Italian restaurant became a rock-and-roll hangout and the lair of the "Hollywood vampires."

Each winter this underground cave forms a dazzling ice palace.

The set location for a 1987 cult classic draws international film buffs to the middle of the Mojave Desert.

Spend a day hanging out with domesticated Russian foxes.

Guns that have been defending San Francisco since 1904.