Once in a while, we get the urge to travel outside of our little valley. It’s a good thing for us, then, that Sacramento is only a couple of hours away, and San Francisco a couple of hours beyond.
In July of 2010, we left early one weekend morning and went to Sacramento for breakfast. Dear Wife (DW) had read about a popular breakfast spot near Broadway and Land Park Drive, called the Tower Café. We headed there, found a spot to park in the rear, and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast. The decor is a cross between a classic supper club and the Rain Forest Café, and, being in California, their menu offers somewhat healthier gourmet takes on standard breakfast fare. My French Toast was made of thick, diagonal slices from a baguette, and I have a hunch the bacon was oven-fried. DW’s ham & eggs featured ham that was less salty than your typical diner’s, included a side of fresh fruit, and came with freshly made salsa.
One of the reasons we chose the Tower Café, in addition to the good reviews, was that it is quite close to William Land Park and the Sacramento Zoo. I’m sure most of my readers have been to zoos before, so I will skip the description of walking around and simply show you some photos of the animals.
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| Flamingos near the entrance |
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| One of a few kinds of antelope there |
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A red river hog with one of her 3 pigs.
The other 2 are beyond her. |
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| They have several zebras. This one posed for us. |
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| This ostrich posed, as well. |
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| The giraffes were keeping cool. |
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| A rare one-legged owl! |
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| I don't think she can actually see us… |
We did not know this beforehand, but the tiger in residence had recently had a cub, which we were fortunate enough to see running around and playing. Our camera is horrible for low-light or shadow, but here are two photos of the cub.
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| The blur on lower right is the cub. |
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| The cub in a rare still moment |
We were also just in time to witness hand-feeding time for the giraffes.
It was getting warm, and we’d seen most of the animals twice, so we made our way out. On the way, we passed the hyena enclosure, where one was enjoying the warm sun.
There are also birds and monkeys, but I don’t like them as much. If you want to see them, you’ll have to make the trip! Also, behind the giraffe barn is the hospital and nursery. In front of it is a wall of tiles with engraved sketches by
Ann Ranlett, a wonderful
artist living in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Commission a pet portrait from her sometime; you won’t regret it.
