The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

Abortion, prohibition, religion, war, and fear all play a part in the history of this idiosyncratic Pacifica castle.

A rough granite monument marks the spot where Europeans first caught sight of the San Francisco Bay.

The graffiti-covered remnants of a former triangulation station are balanced precariously on this California peak.

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

Three plaques mark the spot where the "forgotten father of broadcasting" worked.

A plaque outside the San Jose airport commemorates the insect's arrival to the West Coast.

San Francisco Bay's ghost town.

A statue commemorate Tommie Smith and John Carlos's brave protest at the 1968 Olympics, a watershed moment for civil rights.

The rest of him lived another 61 years and was buried elsewhere.

The largest permanent Monopoly board makes one of the longest games even bigger.

A shape-shifting buy-sell-trade bookstore, born to Beatnik Era spirit.

Travelers exchange letters with woodland creatures at this mini post office.

A playground built by the kids that is a child's wonderland, and a helicopter parent's nightmare.

A storybook European village in Berkeley.

A gap in the concrete has been transformed into a miniature playground for the mind.

A unique piece of graffiti offers a little slice of local history and mystery.

A restored 1920s cascade stairway provides one of the best views of Oakland's Lake Merritt.

Neoclassical Revival mansion and set of horror cult classic Phantasm.

Olfactory delights in San Francisco's Botanical Gardens.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

A museum befitting the city responsible for supplying the majority of the world's LSD.

A tiny theater hidden in an alley plays a constant stream of short silent films for anyone willing to peer through the peephole.

The only theatre in the world constructed specifically for sound movement.