Words by Johanna Harlow
It’s a dark and stormy night in Pacific Grove. I’m sitting in my car as rain beats down on the windshield, my finger ready on my umbrella’s push button, my other hand on the door handle. Ready… and… GO! Flinging myself from the car and releasing my umbrella in one fluid motion, I make a mad dash for Seasons by-the-Sea, an art gallery around the corner. As I reach the safety of the awning and duck indoors, I’m enveloped in warmth and light. Paintings, small bites, wine and a smiling gallerist are here to greet me.
On this trip to the Monterey coast, I’d anticipated water from the sea, not the sky, along with a multitude of monarchs. Thousands of them migrate to the region every year, inspiring the nickname “Butterfly Town.” When I found that my trip coincided with the town’s popular First Friday event, I was eager to check out its art and music scene. As I spend the next hour ducking in and out of snug, brightly lit galleries, I find that rather than putting a damper on things, the wild weather adds to an atmospheric evening, making this series of hideouts exceptionally cozy. The rain drumming on windows and skylights makes me feel like I’ve gotten away with something.
Though not open late for First Fridays, Trotter Galleries is an inviting space featuring an extensive collection of pieces by early California artists. / Photo: Courtesy of Terry Trotter
After visits to Pacific Grove Art Center, Studio 171, The Yellow Mustard Seed and Artisanna Gallery, I find my way to Wild Fish. It’s a low-lit restaurant where the menu includes the name of the sea captain and the stretch of coast where each special was caught. Though there’s usually a jazz quartet performing outside on Fridays and Saturdays, tonight Ella Fitzgerald serenades me from the speakers. As I dine on an inventive ceviche pairing white fish with tangerines, creamy avocado and spice that lingers on my lips, I chat with the sweet couple who own the place. They tell me how they came here from England on a whim, and of the B&B and record shop they owned back in the U.K. Tonight, they steer me toward a main course of sablefish and a bouillabaisse with piping hot broth to stave off the chill.
My one regret is that I don’t get to see the rockin’ proprietor at Phill’s Barber Shop down the street. In better weather, Phill would be riffing on his electric guitar amid the barber chairs and salon mirrors.
Photo: Courtesy of Matt Weir - Kirkland Collection
When I’m ready to call it a night, my hotel is only a two-minute drive from downtown. Seven Gables Inn, a sprawling Victorian painted a cheery yellow, greets me like a ray of sunshine. My room has a chandelier with a shower of crystals above big bay windows. In the morning light, I find a stunning view of Lovers Point outside. Brewing a cup of coffee, I station myself right beside it and watch the colorful dots of people moving across the cliffs and beach, while surfers bob in the bay. Every so often, a sleek seal skims along the surf.
But it’s time to go exploring. During a sunny patch in the day, I pop across the street to the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail, following it to the Harbor Seal Observation Area right beside the Monterey Bay Aquarium. On previous trips, I’ve hung out with the aquarium’s aquatic cast of 35,000-plus sea creatures, but today I’m content to watch these blubbery beauties as they galumph across the sand.
Ahi carpaccio from Wild Fish restaurant. / Photo: Courtesy of Wild Fish
Retracing my steps along the trail, I lunch at the California Seltzer Company beside Lovers Point, enjoying seaside views and a pizza topped with pesto, peppery arugula, fluffy dollops of burrata and generous chunks of tangy marinated artichokes from nearby Castroville (a town so closely associated with the crop that it boasts a 20-foot artichoke sculpture).
Dinner finds me at Mezzaluna Pasteria, an upscale Italian restaurant with red brick and candle-style chandeliers. Right from my first bite of focaccia with olive tapenade, I know it’s going to be hard to pace myself. Everything from the refreshing elderflower spritz to the plethora of pasta options to the intensely flavorful duck pate with house-made crostini is a delight. Somehow, I find room for a scoop of hazelnut gelato at the end of the night.
On my final day, I drop by the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History to learn more about the native plants and animals as well as the local history of the Monterey Peninsula. Its newest hands-on exhibit, Wonder, is designed to look like a forest. But tucked among the realistically twisting trees, exposed roots and ferns are shells, a mounted insect collection and specimens under bell jars as well as whimsical Wonderland-esque details like bird cages, skeleton keys, looking glasses and gilded picture frames.
The taxidermy collection at the Bird Gallery is another highlight and I peek in at wide-eyed owls, jewel-hued hummingbirds and stately herons. After getting my fill of puffins and peregrine falcons, it’s time to visit the winged wanderers that drew me to Pacific Grove in the first place.
The Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, off Lighthouse Avenue, seems a fitting finale for my trip. As I enter the grove, the wind whooshes through the cypress and eucalyptus trees, and thousands of wings quiver from the swaying branches. Though they look fragile, these resilient little butterflies have flitted across 2,000 miles on paper-thin wings to get here. From late October to early February, they’ll find safe harbor in this grove before making the long trek north. It’s time I do the same. So taking one last look at these wayfarers in orange and black, I head for home.
winged wonders – pacificgrove.org
FALL FORECAST Prefer a rain-free trip? Visitors during the early fall are more likely to avoid Pacific Grove’s rainy season, which is typically at its wettest from December through March.