Spent the day at the Sacramento Zoo in William Land Park — exotic animals, garlic fries, and laughs with nephews.

Since I was a child, I have been visiting this zoo. I’ve visited many times, so the place is filled with many memories.

When you first enter the zoo, you’re given a coin to place in one of three drop-bins to “vote” for conservation for different animals. I dropped my coin in the bin for lions after entering.

At 14-acres, the main attraction is the giraffes.

At the back and in a large paddock facility the giraffes are presented loud and proud. There’s also a viewing deck where you can get right on level with the giraffes as they eat their fill of greens.

One of the monkeys in their enclosures was going off the rails with yelling! I think he was asking for bananas.

The zoo is currently under major construction as they upgrade and improve some of the enclosures, so some of the animals like snow leopards, tigers, and more aren’t currently viewable. Can’t wait to see the new updates! I looked for quite some time but also wasn’t able to find the red pandas in their enclosure.

Food, animals, and more at the Sacramento Zoo.

One of my favorite parts of visiting the zoo is paying the restaurant a visit and ordering chicken fingers and garlic fries. Delicious!

Before leaving, we made a stop at the Kenneth Johnson Reptile House — a favorite at the Sacramento Zoo! Snakes, turtles, and more. Nearby, you can also get an up-close look at the flock of resident flamingoes.

I love this zoo, and I love the animals in it. Many of the animals you get to view intimately and pretty close, which is what makes the experience at this zoo memorable.

We’ll be back.