Suggestions from the audience?

I have an independent nature. I'd rather figure things out myself than ask anyone else for answers. Thanks to the Internet, though, I can search around and get other people's answers without me needing to actually ask them. None of that awkward interpersonal stuff. No risk of me looking stupid or needy or less that super competent.

Argh! I am man! I can do it all! By myself!

Living like that has its drawbacks, the main one being that I can miss out on some good things because I didn't poke around in the right places or because (oh no) my intellect isn't as powerful as my ego believes it is.

So... here I am, in the northwest corner of California, hoping to make stops all down the coast. I've done a lot of research, but I suspect there's a lot more to know—things that Google can't or won't tell me.

So... I'm going to get off my loner guy high horse and ask my readers:

Where are some good/interesting/beautiful places to camp or just visit in California, more or less in the area west of I-5 and north of San Francisco?

I humbly await your answers.