Originally Posted by Efrem

Actually, SNA doesn't feature a steep climb except in the very unusual situation (less than 1 percent of the time) that the wind is from the east. The wind almost always follows the prevailing pattern of coming in off the Pacific. Arriving aircraft have a steep descent - in Balboa Park it can look as though their wheels are right over your head - but departures are into the wind and therefore nearly all over the water.

(Today's bit of trivia: SAN is the busiest single-runway airport in the world.)