Granger, National City, CA

Granger fills the southeastern edge of National City, between 16th Street and the Sweetwater River, with Interstate 805 on one side and the Bonita line on the other. It shares a name with Granger Avenue, and a regional mall sits at its southern tip. Residential streets make up the northern part. Like most of the city, the housing is largely single-family and mostly older than 1980, with some apartment complexes along the main roads. Lincoln Acres, an unincorporated county island, is carved out of the neighborhood and keeps its own small park and county library branch on Granger Avenue, both open to anyone nearby. The Sweetwater River shapes the outdoors here. The Sweetwater Bikeway follows the river for a little over two miles, starting from a green strip across from Plaza Bonita and ending at the bay by Pier 32 Marina, where it meets the Bayshore Bikeway. Upstream, Sweetwater Regional Park has longer hiking and horse trails. Closer to home, Sweetwater Heights is a small city park at Cagle and Stockman streets with a playground and a basketball court. Westfield Plaza Bonita is the daily anchor for shopping and much of the eating. The enclosed mall has a food court and the AMC Plaza Bonita 14 cinema, and it pulls shoppers from across the South Bay. For something local, 664 TJ Birrieria on Sweetwater Road serves Tijuana-style birria in a cup of red broth, with quesabirria tacos and corn tortillas dipped in consomme. The original shop of that small chain is up on Highland Avenue. Getting around means a car. State Route 54 runs along the river at the southern edge, I-805 is right there for trips north or toward the border, and Bonita and Chula Vista are close for anything the mall lacks. Mall traffic is the cost of having Plaza Bonita next door, and Sweetwater Road backs up on weekends. The blocks along I-805 and Route 54 also hear the freeways. In exchange, Granger households get a river trail, a cinema and a food court without ever leaving National City.