Colorado House and Wells Fargo Museum, San Diego

Adjacent to San Diego's first courthouse is the Wells Fargo & Company History Museum, housed in a reconstructed 1850s hotel building, and featuring a reconstructed 19th-century telegraph office and stage stop. It's a small place, but loaded with interesting artifacts, including one of the original WF stagecoaches – an iconic reminder of the early days of California the bank has been an integral part of.

Seeing how banking was done and how money was moved long time ago in the West is always very interesting; many don't realize how heavily armed the stagecoaches were or that they had so many problems with people trying to steal the shipping cargos. The carriages – that used to cram up to 18 people inside – are nicely preserved and give the feel of the craftsmanship demanded to build not only a stable but also good-looking vehicle that could withstand the rough roads.

For kids, there are some interactive displays such as a telegram machine where they can tap out a real-time message using Morse code.