Steinbeck and Doc Ricketts spent much time here. The writer studied at the Hopkins Marine Station while a student at Stanford. Top notch marine scientists and children mutually delight, virtually shoulder to shoulder here. These are the tide pools that inspired Ricketts and Steinbeck to create the epic Between Pacific Tides - a scientific work that is still preeminent in its field. P acific Grove is not just a great hometown, but has made itself home for one of Nature's most stirring nature stories.
Monarch butterflies arrive each fall, worn and weary from an incredible journey.
Then, after this trip of a thousand miles, which took 30 days, they cluster in trees, resting. Out by Pebble Beach, Asilomar and the Lighthouse, some homes seem to be built right into the sand dunes. This area was tramped over by almost every notable literary figure of the past century and a half. The natural state of this exquisite wildness has remained virtually intact. T his fact is in spite of eight golf course adjacent, a world renowned conference center and three major hotels practically within spitting distance.