Liyah's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Sonoma, California

Location of the Microsoft Windows XP Default Wallpaper

The unedited photograph called "Bliss" has graced the screens of over a billion computers.
Vallejo, California

Mare Island

The former Naval shipyard is open for exploring - mostly.
Belvedere Tiburon, California

Lava House

An abandoned, unfinished mansion on grounds strewn with lava rocks.
Richmond, California

Winehaven

Once the largest winery in the world, this castle-like building now sits abandoned on the San Pablo/San Francisco Bay shore.
Richmond, California

Point Molate

Abandoned landscape once home to "the world's largest winery."
Oakland, California

16th Street Train Station

A crumbling Beaux Arts monument to the Bay Area's age of rail.
Berkeley, California

Old Berkeley Pier

A pier that used to act as a busy ferry dock is now a decaying favorite of local fisherman and urban artists.
Richmond, California

Nike Missile Radar Site

An abandoned Cold War missile radar site.
Berkeley, California

Berkeley Tool Lending Library

Check out a shovel along with your Shakespeare.
Berkeley, California

Tail of the Yak

Handmade treasures from around the world.
Walnut Creek, California

The Eye of Diablo

This mountaintop beacon is only lit three times a year but shines like some kind of all-seeing eye.
San Francisco, California

Magowan's Infinite Mirror Maze

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.
San Francisco, California

Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum

Its buzzing collection honors vibrator history.
Monterey, California

Point Sur Lightstation

Life in this isolated, hilltop lighthouse was lonely, but it sure was lovely.
Big Sur, California

Nepenthe

Offering commanding views of the California coastline, this restaurant was a hub for the artists and bohemians of Big Sur.
Big Sur, California

The Henry Miller Memorial Library

It's not your typical library, memorial, or book store.
Big Sur, California

McWay Falls and Waterfall House Ruins

This Big Sur waterfall drops 80 feet directly into the Pacific Ocean, and inspired the hillside house up top.
Santa Maria, California

Betteravia Sugar Plant

Factory that once supported an entire company town of 350.
Carpinteria, California

Wardholme Torrey Pine

At 130 years old and 126 feet tall, it is the largest known example of the rare Torrey pine tree.
Ventura, California

Ventura Oil Refinery

Rusty industrial city full of oxidized distillation towers.
Los Angeles, California

Riverside Roundabout

An L.A. traffic island where the faces of locals have been carved into massive granite eggs.
Los Angeles, California

Cactus Store

The neighborhood shop is a sort of tiny cactus museum full of exotic specimens you can take home.
Los Angeles, California

Thompson Home

Nancy Thompson's Home from "A Nightmare on Elm Street."
Los Angeles, California

Urban Light

Scores of vintage street lamps shine along L.A.’s Miracle Mile.