I lived in No. Calif. For years.
You can take Hwy 49 through gold country and see the old gold mill in Coloma, and head up to Pilot's The Sacramento Zoo is wonderful and there is a great museum in Sacramento as well. San Francisco is a wonderful city to just drive around in--the hills, the cable cars, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Ghway 1 runs the length of California and is very scenic and twisty and you can see the giant redwood trees.
And don't forget Yosemite National Park. So much to see--makes me homesick.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.