The air force base preserves its scars from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

A massive ultra-modern church presents a science-fiction view of Catholicism's inclusive future.

An abandoned convention space that has been left to the homeless and the radical.

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.

Thousands of crosses and markers for soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan blanket a California hillside.

A complicated contraption for telling time by the moon.

The Cambridge pub where Francis Crick announced that he and James Watson had discovered the DNA double-helix.

A local dialect born in the late 19th century is only spoken in this isolated California valley.

A poignant memorial to a young boy whose death spurred a dramatic increase in organ donations in Italy—dubbed the "Nicholas Effect."

An optical illusion found amid a logged redwood forest.

Housed in a memorial lighthouse, this museum relays the history of surfing, beginning with the antics of royal Hawaiian teenagers.

Back in the day everyone who was anyone played this historic western theater.

A lighthouse built to save lives that took quite a few with its treacherous location.

Shakespeare has been brought to life in this open air theater for the better part of a century.

A forensic lab dedicated to fighting crimes against wildlife.

The second building of its name to occupy this location might be the finest flatiron building in San Francisco.

A huge work of Burning Man-inspired outsider art on the grounds of a California winery.

Home to the largest urban bat colony in North America, estimated at 1.5 million bats.

A glimpse into the lives of the the Miwok and Paiute people in Yosemite National Park.

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

Eons old volcanic activity created one of the most stunning rock formations in the United States.

A treasure trove of astronomical, mathematical, and scientific instruments at Cambridge University.

Curiously, this large sporting goods store features 14 wax representations of American presidents.

Floating man-made island and upscale restaurant.