Sugarplum Zoo and Chocolates

Today Queen Kathy invited us to tour the unique and super cute Sugarplum Zoo, which is filled with all sorts of adorable animals that have been rescued from many different situations, some sad, some even heartbreaking. But now all these animals are being lovingly cared for in a safe and beautiful setting in Temecula.

On our way, we stopped at the Broken Yolk in Temecula for brunch.

Seated L-R: Nancy, Joy, Carol N, Seema, Carol L, Debbie, Josie

Standing L-R: Kathy, Kathryn, Leslie

Brunch was delicious, and as always, we had a lot of fun chatting together while we ate! Once our tummies were full, we headed up the road a bit to Sugarplum Zoo.

Sugarplum Zoo

Lani, owner of the Zoo and lover of all creatures great and small, gave us a private tour around the property, introducing us to the animals by name, and telling us their back-stories and how they came to live at Sugarplum Zoo.

Lani

Pictures tell a story best, so here's a little sample of our tour around Sugarplum Zoo.

It was so much fun to meet Zeus the dromedary camel (who loves carrots), Aurora the zebra (who is very sweet but also very shy) and her friend the Zonkey, Ophelia the Asian water buffalo (who loves to be brushed), Venus the mini highlander cow (who came to the zoo very sick and still loves to be spoiled with an afternoon bottle), Pegasus the micro-mini horse (who thinks he's the big brother to all the other horses), Daisy the pig (who snores! quite loudly), and a couple cute donkeys whose names I can't remember.

After our tour of the zoo, we visited the little chocolate shop. Lani and her crew make the little pieces of chocolate that the fancy hotels leave on pillows for their guests to enjoy, and we were each given a few samples to taste. The combination of a chocolate shop and a zoo on the same property seems a bit unique, but this whole place is unique.

Inside the chocolate shop

The whole day was so much fun, being outside in the sunshine and fresh air, being together, and visiting with animals. It doesn't get much better than that! One last picture before we head home.

L-R: Kathryn, Leslie, Seema, Joy, Josie, Kathy, Nancy, Carol L, Debbie, Carol N

Thanks Queen Kathy for such a fun day. Another great memory made with FRIENDS.