Tanya Y.
Yelp
The only reason to go to San Eli is to buy some cheese and pet some goats. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot else you can do in SE (visiting the Historic Art District is my second favorite thing to do in SE) so you know...when in Rome.
I love that all of the animals are well fed (beyond the farm feeding the animals, dried corn is available in the store to feed most of the animals). The animals have access to water and a shaded area, but I just wish LD would do more to make the area aesthetically pleasing. I love petting all of the animals, but they're all so dusty (no, not dirty...dusty). But I always seem to fold under the adorable stare of the donkeys and end up petting all of the animals.
The animals at LD do change out, but there's always a ton of different animals which makes the drive that much more worth it. The animals that don't change out are the camel, buffalo, chickens, bunnies, ostriches, goats, peacocks, and some deer-like animals. The donkeys change out, but they always have a few around. I'm unsure if the donkeys are young or just ridiculously small in stature. Either way, they're all eat-your-heart-out adorable. And the bigger pens change between horses and cows...so kind of luck of the draw what you'll run into over there.
The lake...er...umm...pond. I've heard a lot of people call it a lake, but c'mon guys...it's a pond. It's dirty as hell, but it's just another thing I love about LD. You can rent out these pedal boats and do a couple of circles around the LD pond...awesome. Or you can fish (not sure what kind of fish are in the pond...my moneys on catfish). Or you can just take pictures of the ducks and swans. I usually end up doing the latter.
The store is pretty cool before and I always save it for the end of the trip so I can leave with a bunch of dairy products. Of course they sell the infamous Azadero cheese, but you can also buy eggs, butter, milk...basically anything you'd expect from a dairy farm. I never leave without cheese and butter, minimum.
Sure it could use improvements, but it's a great stop when in San Eli.