It took years to decode its mysterious messages.

A decommissioned Naval base now rents itself out for people who want to blow stuff up.

The century-old bell and clock tower at UC Berkeley is the third-tallest in the world, and has fossils.

This 252 step staircase offers stunning views of San Jose.

Frank Lloyd Wright died a year before construction on his largest public project even began.

Concrete strongholds stand guard over the Golden Gate.

It is locally loved and ridiculed for literally looking like poop.

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

A giant chess set, minus the psychedelic drug trip.

This concrete ship has had four careers - World War I tanker, floating amusement park, fishing pier, and artificial reef.

A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.

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

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

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

One of the best absinthe distilleries in the United States.

An ominous concrete cube cuts a dystopian silhouette atop this California mountain.

Eat a tasty meal in the house where John Steinbeck was born.

An alley covered with 20 years of bubble gum.

One of the most elaborate displays of Jellyfish is on display at the aquarium.

Here, visitors can swing with the waves of the Pacific Ocean.

The only museum of sake in the United States is nestled in an unlikely California college town.

This abandoned boat was left in place thanks to its rotting beauty.

An amazing collection of fantastic reptiles, amphibians, spiders, and insects.

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