I have a special connection with King City. It's weird, and I can't really explain it, but I love this little city even though it annoys me even though it doesn't even though it really and truly does. The 101 runs right through town, but if you know like I do, you can get from one freeway offramp/onramp to another within town by traveling the back roads, which are sometimes main streets.
And then there are the darling little subdivisions a little bit of a ways away--but not too far!--from the freeway and most of the businesses. Most of these were built in the 1980s, and even though some of them look dated even for the time period, there's this voice in my head that's cheerleading the people for whom these little neighborhoods are their little slice of the American Dream--and I hate the American Dream! OK, I don't know whether I actually hate the American Dream, but I do hate the way it doesn't work now, but that's for a different screed.
Within one of these first subdivisions (as you head north from the freeway) is San Antonio Park. It has playing fields, a playground, a basketball court, a skate park(!), and some lovely trees and green areas. The neighborhood that surrounds it is tiny, so I guess people from all over King City come to use it, because I've seen its ample parking lot packed before.
My main use for it is as a place to catch a twenty-minute car nap if I'm feeling tired on my drive up or down the 101. I take all the normal precautions because sleeping in public, even in a car, always has its risks, but I cannot say that I have ever felt truly unsafe or even worried in King City, and that's saying a lot, because I've spent a lot of time in this place and am generally worried about everything, especially before I understand it.
As I said, it's very close to the freeway, so even if you're not picking up food in King City, it's a nice, quiet, green, shaded place to eat your bag lunch or dinner on your 101 trip. Check it out! read more