Yesterday, I made a little trip off the wine trails to visit The Monarch Butterfly Grove, Pismo Beach CA. It was absolutely something I plan on doing often in winter! I have read about the migration of the Monarch butterflies, where colonies of up to twenty thousand spend the winter from October until February. The butterflies cluster on the limbs of the Eucalyptus trees in Pismo State Beach park, a beautiful and tiny area to see such a concentration of wings. On first look, you see hardly any Monarchs, except for a few lilting gently in the breeze. As your eyes adjust, the fluttering clumps of leaves seem to shift before your eyes, an illusion of wings. It’s truly a breathtaking experience. Last year, the count swelled to twenty five thousand in February. Yesterday’s officially posted count came in at around fifteen thousand, which was utterly incredible to witness. A not to be missed, FREE stop, right off of HWY 1 on the coast…bring your own beverages!