About Bella Saratoga Bella Saratoga is a restaurant in Saratoga California. Converted from a private residence long before its current incarnation. It was the former site of the restaurant Bella Mia (which is now located in downtown San Jose), and before that it was the location of the Saratoga News. There were reports of ghostly activity in the building as far back as its use a news office. Ghost Stories The ghost of a woman

Sarah Winchester was the wife of William Wirt Winchester (3rd president of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. They married in 1862 and a few years later had a baby daughter that they named Anne Pardee. Unfortunately their daughter died only a few days later. They never had another child. Sarah’s tragedy did not end there. Her husband died young in 1881 and inherited a vast fortune and shares of the Winchester company. She sought the

About Knott’s Berry Farm Starting in the 1920s Walter Knott and his family sold berries from a small stand on California State Highway 39. He was the first person to successfully cultivate the Boysenberry developed by Rudolf Boysen. Starting in 1934 Knott’s wife, Cordelia, began serving fried chicken dinners and boysenberry pie for dessert. Their location alongside a major north-south thoroughfare became a popular rest stop. In a few short years the restaurant became so

About the Queen Mary The keel was laid for the RMS Queen Mary in 1930 at Clyde, Scotland, but was not completed until 1936. She made her maiden voyage on May 27 of that same year. She served three years as a passenger liner carrying passengers across the Atlantic until war broke out in 1939. When the United States entered the war, she was converted to a troop ship. Painted grey to make her more

About Olivas Adobe Don Raymundo Olivas was granted 4,670 acres by the Mexican governor of California in 1847. Don Raymundo Olivas named his ranch Rancho San Miguel and built a house on the property for his large family. This house was later expanded to be two stories, and is the structure seen today. Don Raymundo raised cattle on the land and profited greatly from the gold rush. Don Raymundo died in 1879 and his land

About Landmark No. 78 The building that now houses the restaurant Landmark No. 78 was built between 1912 and 1914 by Carlo Hahn on land given to him by his brother-in-law, Giovanni Ferro. Ferro lived next door in the Schiappapietra Mansion. The Hahn house was built to compliment the mansion, and was therefore built in the same architectural style as its more impressive neighbor despite that style, Italianate, being 30 years out of date. The

About Mission San Buenaventura Mission San Buenaventura was founded on Easter Sunday in 1782 by Father Junipero Serra; the last mission founded by the famous monk. The current chapel was built between 1793 and 1809 after the previous church was destroyed by a fire. In 1893 the interior of the church was remodeled and updated to a more contemporary style, and the original artwork and murals were painted over. It was restored to a more

About Cemetery Memorial Park In 1862 citizens of Ventura recognizing the need for a cemetery create the town’s first city cemetery. The largest portion of the cemetery is reserved for Catholics with three small sections for protestants; Jews; and Chinese, Indians, and other races. In 1944 the cemetery becomes full, but within five years there are already plans to develop the land. A hedge is built around the perimeter to hide the cemetery, which is

About the Victorian Rose One of the most unique inns you are likely to come across, the Victorian Rose Bed & Breakfast is a converted church. Built in 1888, the church features a 96 foot tall steeple and stained glass windows. The building housed two different congregations consecutively (the first moved to a different building) and briefly operated as a wedding chapel and antique store before being converted over a span of two years into

About Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Magic Mountain is an amusement park in southern California just a little north of Los Angeles. It opened in 1971 and has had numerous significant contributions to the science of rollercoasters. Among the parks accomplishments are opening the worlds first looping rollercoaster, the Revolution, in 1976, the first roller coaster to break 100 MPH, Superman: the escape, and the first “4th Dimensional Coaster,” X. The Park has changed