User:Micamcc

Pacific Grove, California is a small and peaceful beach town on the tip of the Monterey Peninsula. Often coined as "America's last home town," this small town has year long cool temperatures and cold water. In 1885, a lighthouse was built in Pacific Grove to help guide the ships. After the lighthouse, small roads began to be built and, slowly, the town started populating. Shortly thereafter, a methodist retreat was created and it became a religious hub. In 1939 Pacific Grove gained recognition as the first town to fine citizens for disrupting butterflies. It may not be the typical warm California vacation spot but it holds history and sentiment for a lot of people. Day trips to Point Lobos, Big Sur, Cannery Row, Santa Cruz, and even San Francisco are done often by locals. Pacific Grove holds years of history and tradition that are still followed to this day.

Each year, at the beginning of the school year, children spend hours preparing for the Butterfly Parade. There are two main elementary schools, Robert Down and Forest Grove. The two schools rival each other in almost every single subject but, when it comes time for the parade, all the kids work together to put on a good show. The Butterfly Parade is not just a symbol of the town, but a right of passage as well. Each grade represents a different part of the town and kids are often able to wear costumes made by older siblings and even parents from when they participated in the parade as well. Some grades are Native Americans, some are Jelly Fish, others are clowns but the star of the show is always the Butterfly. Kindergarteners open the parade dressed in orange and black and get to parade down the street wearing homemade butterfly wings. The wings usually take several hours to make and many people, like myself, still have theirs in their garages tucked away.

By outsiders, Pacific Grove is often called "Butterfly Town, U.S.A." Each October butterflies swarm to Pacific Grove in hopes of finding a decent temperature, as butterflies cannot withstand extreme temperatures of hot or cold. They gather on trees each year by the thousands. Pacific Grove developed a butterfly sanctuary to keep the butterflies safe each year. This development is protected and cared for by local volunteers. Pacific Grove takes the treatment of butterflies seriously and, to this day, if one caught mistreating a butterfly, one must pay a hefty fine of $1,000.

In 2014 it was estimated that 24,123 butterflies in this small town. This means that in October, there are often more butterflies than people! This small town holds many sentimental traditions and people who treasure the past. You can see just by walking down the street old victorian homes with placards with the name and date of the original owners.