Pacific Grove

Book excerpt: Pacific Grove, in the pine forests on the westernmost tip of Monterey Bay, is a magnet for wildlife, tourists, and scientists. Site of the first operational lighthouse in California and the first marine laboratory on the Pacific Coast, its beaches attracted camp meetings in the 19th century. Rows of tent housing that lined the original streets grew into charming neighborhoods of seaside cottages, lit annually by the Feast of Lanterns since 1905. Botanical and biological splendor attracted scientists like Edward Flanders Ricketts, made famous by his friend and one-time Pacific Grove resident John Steinbeck. Each year hundreds of groups use its famous conference center, Asilomar, and each fall tens of thousands of Monarch butterflies make a 2,500-mile journey to hang from the pines in great clusters of wafting wings.