Casanova Oak Knoll, Monterey, CA

Casanova Oak Knoll handles Monterey's everyday errands, built around the Fremont Street corridor on the city's northern side. Houses and low-rise buildings fill the side streets, and it feels like a place set up for daily routines rather than for visitors. The housing mix includes detached single-family homes, duplexes and condos, with plenty of Mediterranean-style stucco. Sizes vary a good deal, from compact units to houses on larger lots, so one block can look quite different from the next. The Casanova Oak Knoll Park Center at Ramona and Euclid Avenues is the neighborhood's own green space, a 1.3-acre park with a lawn, a half basketball court, play equipment and a barbecue area. It also hosts bird walks, wellness classes and visits from the library bookmobile. Laguna Grande Park in Seaside is just over the line to the northeast, with trails, restrooms and firepits, and the trails of Fort Ord National Monument are a drive east for longer outings. For breakfast, Monterey Donuts on Fremont Street is the local standby, known for buttermilk bars and a maple bacon bar. Black Bear Diner handles the sit-down breakfast side. Lula's Chocolates at 2 Harris Court makes boxed chocolates, and Tarpy's Roadhouse, over the line in Del Rey Oaks on the Monterey-Salinas Highway, serves ribs, steak, seafood and game in a country setting. A Safeway sits right next door in Del Rey Oaks, along with a Starbucks and a handful of pizza and sandwich counters, so most errands fit in one trip without much backtracking or detours. The airport is nearby, and Highway 68 and Fremont Street make driving simple. Fremont is a busy road, and traffic and plane noise from the airport are part of what you hear. On bookmobile days in Casanova Oak Knoll, the park center doubles as a small lending library.