Sacramento

I just had my first vacation in over a year. Just two nights, at a place that could easily be a day trip. Old town Sacramento. But I was so ridiculously excited for it. I was desperate to get away for a couple days. Plus I'd planned something special (and expensive). Though it's a very small trip compared to Disney World or Europe, I found myself wanting to write about it like I did for those trips. 

We arrived in Sacramento early and walked down to the river. To my astonishment, there was a sea lion there! Hanging out across the river on a dock. 

The zoo had a pair of sea lions, so I thought I knew a lot about them. But I never knew they could swim this far into fresh water. And apparently they just stay here! There's a few of them that hang out, and they even go further upstream sometimes.

We stayed at the Delta King. It's an old river boat that's been fixed up as a hotel. And it's right in old town, where all the historic stuff and cool shops are. It's a charming place to stay.

A photo I took from the ferris wheel. It's shows the whole boat, except for the big building in the way >:/ 

So many of the cool shops in the Bay Area are gone now. Everything is so ridiculously expensive that the good stores can't afford it anymore. But there are some cool shops here. Like this one with a ton of Disney and anime stuff (although very little from Coco TT^TT ). And a costume shop three stories high. And a beautiful African shop and Peruvian shop. I think there was a Mexican shop too, but it was closed. 

I went for a big walk the first day. First I tried to find China Town, which I'd spotted on the map. I found the location, but it looked like just a couple restaurants and businesses. I may have been looking in the wrong place though. 

Then I walked over to the state capitol. The museum was closed, and the parking was all closed during the pandemic, so I had to walk. It wasn't a super long walk, but I guess the heat and the concrete made me a lot more tired than I usually am walking that far. The gardens were beautiful though. There are tons of beautiful trees from around the world. The rose garden was in full bloom and smelled amazing. I wish I could have had my mask off the whole time, instead of for quick sniffs.

There was also a little cactus garden with some beautiful plants. And a ton of people were sleeping on the grass or benches. Maybe it's a popular place to come for rest breaks. But there were a heartbreaking number of people living on the streets. The freaking state capitol can't even help these people? . There's a shopping mall at the pedestrian exit to old town, so I got a drink from Pressed Juicery (where I sometimes go with my friend). It's remarkable how rarely I just sit alone, drink a drink, people watch, and relax. 

There was a little fair-type ferris wheel right near the hotel, so we rode that in the evening to enjoy the sunset. I hung out in the hotel room for most of the evening, writing my much neglected fanfiction (it's a bad idea to update fanfiction chapters once every couple months. No one will be able to follow it well @_@ ). 

The next morning, I went to the Sacramento Zoo for the first time. I'd heard that it was small, but it's a nice zoo. They actually want to move to a bigger location. That would be amazing! But getting it all set up will be a nightmare. I booked a behind the scenes tour. Since I do behind the scenes tours at my zoo, I like to check out those at other zoos. This tour focused on okapis, which we don't have.

It was expensive (the most expensive thing I bought since the pandemic started). But it goes to a good cause. And it's also potentially the only place where you get to snuggle with okapis! Okay, not actually snuggle. But pet them a lot! They love neck scratches. They'll lean into them like a cat does. They also like their ossicones (those thing that look like horns) rubbed. They're very soft. The natural oils in their fur will blacken the tips of your fingers if you scratch them. 

Okapis are an endangered species, and the only living relative of the giraffe. They have big long tongues just like their relatives (I saw a video of a keeper trying to clean the floor of an okapi stall, and the okapi is standing over him, just slurping all over his hair, much to the keeper's annoyance). 

There were two male okapis - Forest and Mo (Molimo). The reason this is the only place you can pet okapis is because these two enjoy it it. Okapis are notorously shy, to the point where almost nothing is known about them in the wild. They live in the deep forests of the Congo, where their stripes give them excellent camouflage. They move ten feet into the bushes, and disappear. 

The Sacramento Zoo actually built the okapi barn so that they can take apart and move the entire thing. Planning ahead for the eventual move of the zoo! 

And the okapis are such picky eaters. They had a chart with all the usual browse they give to hoofstock. And the okapis don't like most of it. Even stuff that's usually popular, like acacia! 

The person who gave me my tour actually knows the guy I work with! And the okapi keeper knows someone else I work with. A lot of people who work at AZA facilities know each other, but this is my first time seeing it first-hand. 

 

After my tour, we walked around the rest of the zoo. They had these amazing birds called hawk-headed parrots. The parrots had beautiful bright crests, and lovely purple bellies. I'd never heard of them before, but now I love them! 

There were jaguars, and a baby giraffe!

This is a baby monkey called a "wolf's guenon." 

 I need to go back, because a couple things were closed during the pandemic. 

On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at that mall again, got some tea, and sat and relaxed. It was nice to have such a fun mini-vacation before summer crowds hit at my work.