Prices for homes in Northern California are notoriously steep, with tech money contributing to a somewhat inflated real estate market. 

The team at Point2Homes helped us gather data on the most expensive homes for sale in 13 cities in and around Silicon Valley: Palo Alto, Atherton, Cupertino, Menlo Park, Woodside, Saratoga, Portola Valley, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Hillsborough, Morgan Hill, and San Jose.

Of those cities, two were especially dominant on our list. Woodside, the ritzy Peninsula town where Larry Ellison's Japanese estate and Steve Jobs' historic mansion can be found, is home to Silicon Valley's most expensive private property.

Atherton, which was recently named the most expensive zip code in the country, made the most appearances on the list, with eight of the top 18 most expensive homes overall. Several tech billionaires, including Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen and Google chairman Eric Schmidt, own homes here. 

This 7-acre home has an expansive main house and two separate cottages.

Address: 437 Whiskey Hill Road, Woodside

Price: $14.85 million

There's even enough space for "equestrian activities," according to the listing.

This French-inspired home has some pretty lavish grounds.

Address: 35 Ralston Road, Atherton

Price: $14.9 million

Highlights include a pool, putting green, wine cellar, and billiards lounge.

$14.95 million will buy you a mini version of Versailles.

Address: 91 Isabella Avenue, Atherton

Price: $14.95 million

This home has custom marble flooring, antique French mantelpieces, and a garage that can accommodate up to 14 cars. An elevator makes it easy to access all three floors. 

Reporters and public relations folks have a notoriously love-hate relationship.

Still, there are PR pros, especially in the tech industry, who go above and beyond to help journalists tell important stories. They always respond quickly, send accurate information (not just corporate "spin"), and pitch us great behind-the-scenes stories. Some of them are influential in their own right, not simply because of the companies they work for.

All of that deserves a shout out.

We came up with this list in a variety of ways. We put out a call for nominations and were pleasantly surprised at how many tech reporters from other publications (as well as analysts, and others) submitted names.

We also asked companies to nominate their PR pros, and recieved an outpouring of responses there. And of course, we relied on our first-hand experiences, too.

No. 50: Vered Avrahami, Wix

With all eyes watching, Israeli website-hosting company Wix went public in late 2013, and Vered Avrahami led the PR effort.

Her PR work spans the U.S., U.K., Brazil, Japan, France, Israel, and Russia. That's a lot of journalists and a lot of languages to pitch to. And it's earned her praise from her peers.

"It's one thing to drive international awareness to top-tier media from Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley, or the Silicon Roundabout, but doing so from the Silicon Wadi [Israel] presents its own unique challenges. Israel is widely known for its lackluster abilities in marketing and PR. However, Vered has managed to turn Wix into a visible, global market leader," says fellow Israeli PR professional Ethan Chernofsky of Headline Media.

LinkedIn: Vered Avrahami

No. 49: Matthew Krieger, GKPR

Matthew Krieger is the founder of the Israeli-based firm GKPR.

His clients include Microsoft Ventures, which includes Microsoft's network of Accelerator programs and a seed fund; big Israeli company Perion Network; video chat company Rounds; diabetes management app company Dario; keyboard app Ginger Software; and password management app Passible, among others.

As a former tech journalist for the The Jerusalem Post, he always goes "the extra mile" to help reporters with their stories, says Business Insider's Steven Tweedie.

Twitter handle: @mattkrieger1

No. 48: Deborah Roth, OpenX

Until February, Deb Roth was running PR at Fab, the once-hot e-commerce company that's been going through rounds of layoffs.

It's one thing to handle PR for good news like a new product. Quite another when the news is awful. She stayed on her toes and earned the respect of the tech press for one of the most "grueling and thankless jobs in tech PR of the past year (or more!). Having to field constant questions over bad news is so so hard," says Valleywag's Sam Biddle.

She just landed at online advertising company OpenX where she'll continue her PR career.

Prior to Fab, Roth worked for Pandora. She also worked for Barry Diller as head of communications for IAC/InterActiveCorp at the time when it owned Expedia, Ticketmaster, HSN, Match, Hotels.com, LendingTree, and about 30 more companies. 

On Tuesday Apple unveiled the iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch.

They also announced a new payment platform, Apple Pay.

It was quite a day for the sleepy suburb of Cupertino, Calif.

Despite the appearance of order, the whole day was basically organized chaos behind the scenes. It was exciting.

Check out what it was like.

I woke up before dawn to meet my colleague Steve Kovach and drive to Cupertino from San Francisco.

He got me coffee!

Before I knew it, we were on the highway. I wasn't awake yet. But it's a good thing we left early. We beat all the traffic outside the city.

One of the best parts about working at Google is that you get a bunch of amazing perks. Employees have access to limitless food, exercise classes, and free T-shirts galore. 

However, even if you're not actually a Google employee, you can still deck yourself out in Google gear through its online store.

We poked around a bit and found out that it sells some pretty crazy stuff. 

Make any juicy steak even better by putting an Android on it with this $50 stainless steel meat-branding iron.

You can buy this neon Chrome light for only $19.

A really expensive leather bag — with some subtle Google+ branding. This tote goes for $203.35.

A year and a half into Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's tenure, results about his bold attempt to revive Japan's moribund economy remain inconclusive. Last week, the FT literally asked whether Abenomics was failing. While Japan's labor market has strengthened, firms have mostly been creating lower-wage jobs, and economic growth has begun to tail off. 

It's thus almost inconceivable that a wave of Japanese conglomerates would be able to snap up American corporate assets as investments.  

But in the 1980s, it was a fact of life.

Starting with a relative trickle at the beginning of that decade, Japanese corporations went on an epic buying spree in America during the latter half of the decade after both countries agreed to revalue their currencies.

The trend became so widespread that the "Japanese takeover" theme began seeping into American culture.  

Via Google News, we now take you on a tour of this singular moment in the life of both countries.

It started out innocently enough, with a handful of Japanese automakers looking to buy out American parts-makers.

Then the trend got real, with a conglomerate purchasing a steel company wholly owned by Ford.

Before long, Japan's influence was being felt across the country — not just in America's cosmopolitan corners, as this article noted, but in places like Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi, whose museums were suddenly featuring Japanese exhibitions.

Amazon has signed a deal to move into a massive new 15-story headquarters in London.

The site, Principal Place, is in the trendy Shoreditch area of London where a lot of tech startups have made their home (including Business Insider U.K.).

The new tower will be completed in 2016 and house 5,000 employees.

We got some photos of the new joint from Brookfield, the building's developer, which is playing up the neighborhood's creative vibe.

Here's the view from above. Check out the tennis courts on the roof!

This is what you really want: A giant corner office with floor-to-ceiling windows.

In fact, any office near a window seems as if it will be super cool.

The summer box office may have had one of its worst years financially, with hits few and far between, but thankfully, the fall looks to be a bit more promising. 

In addition to some major tentpole releases, there are a slew of Oscar-hopefuls as well as some performance-heavy films including the return of the "girl on fire" Katniss Everdeen and "The Dark Knight" trilogy director Christopher Nolan.

We've sifted through dozens upon dozens of upcoming releases to bring you a definitive list of films you can't miss this fall.

"The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby"

Release Date: 
Sept. 12

Why to see it: The ambitious film chronicling both sides of a broken marriage debuted as two separate features (one told from the man's point of view, the other from the woman's) at the Toronto Film Festival last fall before The Weinstein Company picked it up and altered its structure. The film opening in September is the cut that debuted at Caanes, "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them," a streamlined, two-hour version of the three hours that make up the individual features.

The uncut individual films "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him" and "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her" open in limited release Oct. 10. Release strategy aside, the film has garnered its fair share of positive feedback and boasts an epic cast featuring Jessica Chastain, William Hurt, Bill Hader, Viola Davis, and James McAvoy. 

Watch the trailer.

"The Skeleton Twins"

Release Date: 
Sept. 12

Why to see it: SNL alums Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig star as siblings in this offbeat dramedy, and if early buzz is any indication, the film may wind up on quite a few "best of" lists by the end of the year. The film debuted at Sundance to rave reviews, many of which cited Hader's and Wiig's performances as its greatest asset.  

Watch the trailer.

"The Equalizer"

Release Date: 
Sept. 26

Why to see it: It's been over a year since Denzel Washington's most recent appearance on screen ("2 Guns"), which is a shame considering the man tends to elevate the material no matter how generic the idea may seem on paper; the man made a movie about a runaway train exciting. "The Equalizer" sounds like a perfect Denzel vehicle, ripe for butt-kicking and name-taking, as he must "come out of retirement" to rescue Chloe Grace Moretz from Russian gangsters. Another reason to tune in? Denzel reunites with "Training Day" director Antoine Fuqua for the first time since making the award-winning film.  

Watch the trailer.

Six years ago, the financial crisis crippled the American banking industry, and the devastating effects ripple across the world.

Businesses went down, and people lost their jobs.

But the memory of the key events of the financial crisis is slowly fading. Hearings, lawsuits, bailouts — it all gets muddled together.

Business Insider has outlined the major moments from 2007 to 2009.  

From the initial reports of subprime defaults to the collapse of Lehman Brothers to AIG's second bailout, here are the 27 scariest moments of the financial crisis.

Editor's Note: Former Business Insider reporter Steven Perlberg contributed to this feature.

FEB. 8, 2007: HSBC says its bad debt provisions exploded because of a slump in the U.S. housing market. Normal people begin to learn what subprime is.

Source: BBC

APRIL 2, 2007: New Century files for bankruptcy. It was the largest subprime lender in the United States.

Source: SEC Filing

JUNE 21, 2007: Merrill Lynch sells off assets in two Bear Stearns hedge funds as the funds hemorrhage billions of dollars on bad subprime bets.

Source: Reuters

Activist hedge fund Starboard Value wants Olive Garden to axe its unlimited salad and breadsticks.

On Friday morning, Starboard published a 294-slide presentation outlining its transformation plan for Darden Restaurants, the parent company that owns Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, among other restaurant brands.

Starboard currently owns about 8.8% of Darden.

As you'd expect from a presentation this long, Starboard outlines more than a few ways for Darden to maximize profit and turn around its business, and Olive Garden's unlimited salad and breadsticks is just one of the firm's targets.

Starboard sees an opportunity to save up to $5 million per year by rethinking Olive Garden's staple promotion, with Starboard writing that:

• Most customers don't eat all the breadsticks.
• The breadsticks deteriorate in quality after sitting just seven minutes on the table.
• Servers won't return to the table as often when they put out more breadsticks than are needed.

Some other gems from Starboard's presentation include the revelation that Darden uses non-standard to-go packaging at its restaurants and that takeout packaging at Olive Garden is dishwasher safe.

Less food waste, more profit.

Darden's food costs are among the highest in the industry.

And higher food costs haven't meant better food.

The most powerful people in business spend much of their limited free time on a quiet, contemplative pursuit — reading books. 

For example, the third-richest person in the world, Warren Buffett, says he spends 80% of his day tearing through the written word. 

We've pored over interviews with some of America's most influential execs — from Bill Gates to Jeff Bezos and Oprah Winfrey — to find out what they read.

Here are the favorites. 

Berkshire-Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett: "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham

When Buffett was 19 years old, he picked up a copy of legendary Wall Streeter Benjamin Graham's "Intelligent Investor." 

He remembers it as one of the luckiest moments of his life, because within the book was the framework he would use for making investments. 

"To invest successfully over a lifetime does not require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insights, or inside information,"Buffett said."What's needed is a sound intellectual framework for making decisions and the ability to keep emotions from corroding that framework. This book precisely and clearly prescribes the proper framework. You must provide the emotional discipline."

Buy it here >>

Former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates: "Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street" by John Brooks

On the recommendation of Buffett, Gates became obsessed with a book called "Business Adventures," a collection of New Yorker stories by John Brooks. The book reminds him that the foundations of successful businesses stay constant, Gates says, regardless of the decade. 

He writes: 

For one thing, there's an essential human factor in every business endeavor. It doesn't matter if you have a perfect product, production plan and marketing pitch; you'll still need the right people to lead and implement those plans.

Lots of publications — including BI — are getting into the book, too. Slate wrote that it's "catnip for billionaires."  

Buy it here >> 

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos: "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro

When Bezos was asked what the most influential book for him was, he didn't say a business book — he gushed about a novel: "The Remains of the Day," which deals with age, memory, war, love, and Britain. 

"Before reading it, I didn’t think a perfect novel was possible,"the Amazon CEO said. "I am entranced by that: the idea of the impossible achieved." 

With Amazon — an aggressive, but still profitless company— disrupting retail and publishing alike, it seems his business is doing much the same. 

Buy it here >>

There are a number of 3D food printers on the market, promising to print everything from pasta to Nutella. But most simply create shapes from pre-prepared ingredients. 

One company, however, has gone a different direction, designing 3D printer that turns sugar into gorgeous geometric confections in your own kitchen.

“They work a lot like making frosting,” Liz von Hasseln, co-inventor of 3D Systems' ChefJet, told Business Insider. “If you’ve ever made frosting and left the bowl overnight in the sink, you’ll know that it gets quite hard and that’s essentially what happens inside the ChefJet Printer.”

The project started when von Hasseln and her husband Kyle, who were graduate students at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, forgot that they were supposed to bake a birthday cake for a friend. Their tiny apartment didn’t have an oven, but they did have the 3D Systems printer they were using for their thesis project. 

After tweaking the existing technology to print layers of sugar, they printed their friend’s name as a cake topper and a business was born. The von Hasselns quickly realized the potential of their invention and established Sugar Lab, designing and printing 3D candies in flavors like mint, sour cherry, and vanilla.

Sugar Lab was purchased by 3D Systems last year, and now the von Hasselns are the company's Creative Directors of Food Products. Later this year, they will unveil their sleek ChefJet, which prints in black and white, and slightly larger ChefJet Pro, which can print in color, with prices ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.

The machines are roughly twice the size of a microwave and look like something one would see on a futuristic cooking show hosted by Spock. 

And the possibilities with sugar have gone far beyond the candies Sugar Lab originally printed. “We’ve done everything from drink sweeteners to complicated toppers for elaborate wedding cakes,"von Hasseln said. "We even did a cake stand for a wedding cake. When you 3D print the frosting, it becomes a structural component of the dessert other than just an embellishment.”

The end results are gorgeous, geometric creations — especially with the ChefJet Pro, which can make such exact color designs that the end product resemble expensive china. 

The technology is still limited to sugar, but the ChefJet and ChefJet Pro come with a sort of “digital cookbook” that’s organized by food types. If you’re working on a wedding cake, there’s a cake section. If you’d like to make sugar cubes or candy, there’s a section for that, too.

“We want to enable people to be able to create beautiful, customized things that they can print on the ChefJet without having to learn 3D dimensional digital modeling from scratch,” von Hasseln said. “We’re working hard to make sure they’re very user friendly and intuitive right off the bat.”

But don’t expect to run out and buy a ChefJet or ChefJet Pro anytime soon. In its current iteration, ChefJet is meant for the professional market, to be used alongside other industrial kitchen equipment by pastry chefs, molecular gastronomists, and mixologists. 

“We are looking at the ChefJet printer as a professional-grade machine,” von Hasseln said. “The ChefJet and ChefJet Pro are really the only printers on the market that are appropriate for that level. They’ll be the first kitchen-certified 3D printers, meaning they’ll be used in commercial, professional settings. No other 3D printers have done that.”

In other words, this is not the next microwave — yet. But as the science continues to evolve, von Hasseln does see additional practical uses for her invention.

“We think that sugar is a great place to start 3D printing food,” Liz said. “But beyond sweets, we see tons of potential for other edible substrates. We’re really excited to continue to experiment with starches, spices, or even proteins down the line. And even further down the road, we see potential for things like personalized nutrition and pharmaceuticals." 

“We’re at the very beginning of 3D printing,” she added. “This is a very exciting time.”

SEE ALSO: From Oreos To Nutella — The Latest 3D Printed Foods Are All 100% Edible

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's Life on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »

Starboard Value, a hedge fund that owns about 8.8% of the Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants, just published a massive 294-slide presentation outlining ways the company can make more money. 

Starboard's argument walks through an array of financial and restaurant-level suggestions that Starboard has for Darden. 

For example, Starboard notes that Olive Garden's takeout containers are dishwasher safe, which Starboard says requires Olive Garden to "over-engineer package and drive up costs significantly without necessarily driving any benefit associated with more foot traffic of increased pricing power on customers."

Olive Garden's signature unlimited salad and breadsticks offering has been executed inefficiently, and Starboard thinks the company could save up to $5 million by changing its procedures. 

Starboard also critiques Olive Garden's food preparation, writing: "According to Darden management, Darden decided to stop salting the water to get an extended warranty on their pots. Pasta is Olive Garden's core dish and must be prepared properly." 

Through its company-wide margin improvement proposal, Starboard believes Darden can earn up to $326 million in additional operating earnings. But financial benefits are just a sliver of the overhauls Starboard thinks can greatly help Darden's restaurants. 

In just a few days, the people of Scotland will vote on whether it will become independent from Britain.

Whatever the outcome, there's no denying that Scotland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. It's home to eerie castles, ancient ruins, and rolling green hills. Here are 23 photos that will make you want to book your next trip to Scotland.

Melrose Abbey is one of the oldest abbeys in Scotland. Today you can explore the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey, which was damaged in the 1500s.

Boats bob in a harbor on Fife's East Neuk (eastern corner).

The Isle of Skye, the largest island in the Inner Hebrides, has gorgeous rolling hills and mountains.

From sea to sea, America is jam-packed with amazing foods.

We rounded up the best food from every state, taking your comments into account and making some changes to last year's list.

Some are homegrown inventions, like Indiana's Hoosier Pie. Others, like fried crab claws in Alabama, take advantage of local ingredients. 

Did we get your state right? Let us know in the comments.

ALABAMA: Dig into a basket of fried blue crab claws, fresh from the Gulf.

ALASKA: Try fresh-caught wild salmon straight from the rivers of Alaska. It's great on the grill.

ARIZONA: Chow down on a crispy chimichanga, a deep-fried tortilla filled with meat, cheese, and other ingredients, in Tuscon.

With the release of Apple's sleek new Apple Watch this week, people in both fashion and tech have been looking at wearables with renewed interest. 

The problem with wearable tech in the past has been that many of the devices are bulky and ugly, like a smartphone strapped to your wrist. 

But Apple isn't the only company making smart accessories that people will actually want to wear — major designers like Tory Burch, Rebecca Minkoff, and Opening Ceremony are partnering with tech companies to create beautiful accessories with high-tech capabilities. 

The tech in these accessories is so subtle that even the most stylish women will want to have them on their wrists.

Ringly is a cocktail ring that discreetly notifies the wearer when she gets a call or text.

Ringly connects to your smartphone through Bluetooth and either vibrates or lights up when you get a notification. You can even customize how you receive the notification by changing up the vibration and light patterns. 

"We were going for something that was simple, classic, something that a lot of women could get behind," Ringly cofounder Christina Mercando said to Business Insider when the product launched in June. "It's so small and discreet that people wouldn't know the technology is there."

The ring is made of 18K-matte gold and comes with four different gem stones: black onyx, pink sapphire, rainbow moonstone, and emerald. There's even a limited edition "Dive Bar" ring, made out of tourmalated quartz in a rhodium plated setting.

The MEMI vibrates lightly when you get a call, text, or calendar notification.

This rhodium-plated bracelet syncs up with your iPhone so you can stay up-to-date even when your phone is stashed away in your bag. 

The MEMI is fashionable and relatively light, weighing less than two ounces and available in either gold or silver. 

It will eventually retail for $200 but can be pre-ordered for $150 now. The bracelets are expected to ship in the spring of 2015.

Intel partnered with Opening Ceremony to create this smart bracelet.

Dubbed MICA  — which stands for My Intelligent Connected Accessory — the bracelet uses a 3G radio to display notifications on a 1.6-inch curved touchscreen, which faces the inside of your wrist. Precious stones and snakeskin were incorporated into the design.

"When wearables basically take off, when they become available for the larger masses, they have to be accessories that you like to have on you," Ayse Ildeniz, vice president of Intel's New Devices Group, told Business Insider's Lisa Eadicicco.

The bracelet premiered during Opening Ceremony's New York Fashion Week show, and it will be sold exclusively at Barneys New York later this fall.

In recent years, Qatar Airways has risen to become one of the best airlines in the world.

However, the carrier's one glaring weakness over the years has been the antiquated and over-crowded Doha International Airport. In fact, the overcrowding affected the airline's on-time performance so much that it kept the airline from the top spot on Business Insider's list of the world's best airlines. 

But that's all in the past!

Doha International has been shuttered. In its place is the gleaming new Hamad International Airport (HIA). It's biggest tenant and benefactor is none other than Qatar Airways.

The new airport, constructed on 5,400 acres of land, will feature two world-class terminals buildings along with two of the longest runways in Asia, with each more than 14,000 feet long. 

HIA took a decade to complete, at a cost of $16 billion.

A large portion of the facility was built on reclaimed land.

The new airport is located just 2.5 miles away from the old Doha International.

We're back at all-time highs. 

Despite a jobs report on Friday that disappointed, the S&P 500 closed at a fresh all-time high of 2,007.

In his investment strategy update for September, John Stoltzfus, chief market strategist at Oppenheimer, sees a chance for stocks to run higher still.

"In the near term we expect that investors could just as easily bid stocks somewhat higher as they seek a catalyst for some profit taking. So long as tensions in the Middle East, Ukraine, and elsewhere around the globe remain on the front burner, a certain unquantifiable degree of uncertainty is likely to remain an overhang to market performance," Stoltzfus writes.

Overall, Stoltzfus still reiterates his call for the S&P 500 to finish the year at 2,014, with volatility likely persisting, "as both the bond and stock markets practice price discovery in anticipation of adjustments that could lie ahead in Fed policy and interest rates as the world turns and the economic expansion moves forward."

Thanks to Oppenheimer & Co. for giving us permission to run the presentation.

The U.S. economy is still operating below potential.

Without wage growth, inflation will most likely remain low.

Rates ran too far, too fast at the end of 2013.

"Destiny," the next game from "Halo" creators Bungie, hit stores Tuesday and it's poised to be one of the year's biggest games.

What has gamers interested?

For one thing, the massive multiplayer online shooter lets you play on the moon along with fictional future versions of the Earth and other planets.

While the moon may be a prime spot for exploration now, it doesn't look all that appealing 700 years into the future.

Gorgeous and serene on the surface, Bungie has turned the moon into a hostile destination filled with caverns and underground fortresses full of aliens on the prowl.

We’ve seen gorgeous concept art for gameplay on the moon in “Destiny.”

However, the images don't compare to seeing the real thing in the game.

Every destination in "Destiny" has a huge map to check out. The moon is no exception.

Twenty-somethings have a tendency to think that they need their lives figured out by 30, which can cause panic if their 30th birthday rolls around and their greatest aspirations seem far out of reach.

But there are plenty of success stories that prove otherwise — from celebrity chef Julia Child, who wrote her first cookbook at 50, to writer Harry Bernstein, who authored countless rejected books before getting his first hit at 96.

Scroll down to get some inspiration from those whose careers show it's never too late.

Stan Lee created his first hit comic title, "The Fantastic Four," just shy of his 39th birthday. In the next few years, he created the legendary Marvel Universe, whose characters like Spider-Man and the X-Men became American cultural icons.

Gary Heavin was 40 when he opened the first Curves fitness center in 1992, which ended up becoming one of the fastest-growing franchises of the '90s.

Vera Wang was a figure skater and journalist before entering the fashion industry at age 40. Today she's one of the world's premier women's designers.

Pinterest launched Place Pins almost a year ago to help users discover new places and track their travels.

Since then, users have created 4 million Place Boards and uploaded over 1 billion Place pins into the system.

Thanks to that data, Pinterest was able to put together a list of the top 20 most popular places in the US that everyone should try to visit. 

20. Hipster-mecca Portland, Oregon, has a gorgeous skyline over the Willamette River. It’s also known as the City of Roses.

Source: Pinterest

19. Mount Rainier National Park in Washington is gorgeous not only because of its namesake peak, but for the valleys, waterfalls, meadows, forests, and even glaciers, that surround it.

Source: Pinterest

18. Miami, Florida, is just as known for its party scene as for its luxurious beaches.

Source: Pinterest