Bay Ho, San Diego, CA

Bay Ho sits on the western rim of the Clairemont mesa in San Diego, and the thing people mention first is the view. The ground tilts toward Mission Bay, so a lot of streets look out over the water, while Morena Boulevard and Interstate 5 run along the foot of the slope. Bay Park, the older neighbor, lies directly south. Most houses come from Clairemont's postwar build-out in the two decades after 1950, when the developers bent streets around the canyon edges instead of laying a grid. Single-story ranch homes with real yards are the norm. Many have been opened up or added onto, and some have been replaced by larger two-story houses built to make the most of the view. Attached homes and apartments show up closer to the commercial edge. San Clemente Canyon forms the northern edge as part of Marian Bear Memorial Park, where roughly three miles of trail follow the creek and steeper paths climb back to the mesa. Alcott Park on Hidalgo Avenue gives the interior blocks a neighborhood park, and Mission Bay's shoreline paths are a quick drive down the hill. The strip along the base of the slope holds more than a first glance suggests. Latchkey Brewing pours rotating taps and special releases at 4170 Morena Boulevard, in the brewhouse Bitter Brothers used to run. On Avati Drive, beside Costco, Chef Jun serves sushi and Japanese comfort food, and Lazy Eye Coffee works a drive-thru and walk-up window for morning coffee and breakfast burritos made with Verve beans. The Fruit Stand on Morena sells local and organic produce. That Costco stands on the stretch of Morena where the very first Price Club opened in 1976, and it remains the big errand stop. Fuller grocery runs go up the hill to Clairemont Town Square in North Clairemont. Blue Line trains call at Balboa Avenue and Clairemont Drive along Morena Boulevard, and the junction of Interstate 5 and State Route 52 is right at the corner. Living up high comes with a climb. A walk down to the shops is easy, and the walk home is uphill the whole way. On clear evenings, plenty of living rooms in Bay Ho face straight out over the lights of Mission Bay and Pacific Beach.