La Presa, La Presa, CA

La Presa is the southern part of what most people still call Spring Valley, an unincorporated stretch of rolling hills in San Diego County's East County. The census split it off in 2000 and named it for Sweetwater Dam, which is what la presa means, yet the mail still says Spring Valley and the older name has never really let go. Homes are mainly single-story ranch houses from the postwar decades, with later two-story tracts, condos and townhomes filling in between. The ground rolls rather than climbs, and on slopes facing the reservoir some houses pick up water, mountain or city views. Lots run from standard suburban size up to about a quarter acre. Much of the area's public life sits here, under the bigger community's name. The Spring Valley Library is on Kempton Street, Spring Valley County Park is on Jamacha Boulevard, and Sweetwater Lane County Park holds the fields where Spring Valley Little League plays. Eating out leans Mexican. La Sinaloense, on Apple Street, is a sit-down restaurant and bar devoted to the seafood-forward cooking of coastal Sinaloa. For a simple coffee, there are Starbucks locations on Sweetwater Road and Jamacha Boulevard. Errands mostly happen on Sweetwater Road, where Albertsons and Smart & Final anchor shopping centers a few blocks apart, while Jamacha Boulevard adds produce stands and small markets. State Route 125 is the quick link north to La Mesa or south toward Chula Vista, and State Route 94 heads downtown. The car is the default. The commercial roads are the weak spot. Sweetwater Road and Jamacha Boulevard are wide, busy and built around parking lots, so even a short trip to the store tends to start with the car keys, and there is no walkable main street to anchor the area. La Presa has had its own census name for a quarter century, but its library card, its Little League and its return address all still read Spring Valley.