Some compare 2 1/2-square-mile Pacific Grove -- the locals call it "P.G." -- to Carmel as it was 20 years ago. Although tourists wind their way through here on oceanfront trails and dining excursions, the town remains quaint and peaceful -- amazing considering that Monterey is a stone's throw away (a quarter of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is actually in Pacific Grove). While neighboring Monterey is comparatively congested and cosmopolitan, Pacific Grove is a community sprinkled with historic homes, flowers, and the kind of tranquillity that inspires butterflies to flutter about and deer to meander fearlessly across the road in search of another garden to graze.