I am not sure what this says about me as a parent, but I have never been away from my children for more than a few days at a time. Sure -- they have gone to camp one at a time for various periods -- but that was them going away, not me!

My flight to the show left O’Hare early Saturday to Seattle. No problems. Got my car and hit the road to the ferry and farm. Everything looked different than it did last time I was here. This time I was going home and not just visiting. I stopped to visit another farm to investigate breeding possibilities on the way up. It was an eye opening experience and the owner was generous with her time.

I caught the ferry and called Janet to let her know I was on my way. The ferry ride seemed to take forever and fly by all at the same time. I drove to our home with a keen eye toward trying to become familiar with every twist and turn of the road. It was dark.

Spring Days, Teaching Ways

I woke up to a cloudy, cold day. There was much to be learned by me and the alpacas, Manhattan and Brooklyn, before our weekend excursion to Puyallup and Alpacapalooza 2008! We got everyone fed, Janet and I, the chickens and the alpacas, and then set to work.

Janet was my patient guide about how much to feed, when and how. She shared her unique insights into the personalities of each animal, and they all have personalities. We worked with the show girls -- me included -- on haltering, walking, showing teeth etc…

The weather was relentless the first couple of days -- snow one moment, rain and sun the next. Welcome to spring in the islands; I have never drunk so much hot tea! In between all of this I visited schools, hardware stores and banks getting ready for the big move.

Plan to Succeed

For three days Janet and I puzzled about how to load the girls into the van for transport to San Juan Island and Krystal Acres, the farm of Kris and Albert Olson. The van has no ramp and the girls were not going to just jump in of their own free will.

Up until a couple of days prior they weren’t going to go in and out of the barn without a fight. Alpacas, being prey animals, don’t take well to change or the unusual.

We devised a plan where we would back the van up to the wall behind the house to create a ramp of sorts, cover the rough areas, and lead the girls in, forcefully if necessary. We needed to catch the ferry early Wednesday morning. Thursday night we got everything all set with the van and double checked the ferry schedule. Fail to plan, plan to fail. We had a plan.

And They're Off!

For all my worries, the girls went in fairly easily and it was my turn to drive with them to the ferry with Ms. Janet driving the rental car.

All alone in the van, my feelings reminded me a little of taking my children home from the hospital for the first time: it’s a strange feeling and you just can’t believe they just let you take them! The whole way to the ferry I drove like a little old lady and spoke to the girls in the back -- who were honestly a little upset about the whole thing.

We landed on San Juan without a hitch and Janet prepared to hand me off to the Olson’s, who were to kindly shepherd me though my first Alpacapalooza.

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“Peace, Love and Livestock”… “Snow, Rain and Sun”
Alpacapalooza 2008!