Pulling into Krystal Acres farm on San Juan Island, one cannot help but feel relaxed. I was thankful for that as I set off to meet Kris and Albert Olson, who had kindly offered to guide me through the excitement and nerves of my first show weekend.

As I parked the van, the first thing I saw was a larger than life picture of blue-ribbon winning “Houdini” (currently bred to one of our girls) on the side of what had to have been the largest livestock trailer I had ever seen. The look on my face must have been priceless. There I was standing in dirty farm clothes parked within a pristine white storybook barn staring at a picture of a giant white alpaca.

“So what do you think of the circus wagon?” came a disembodied voice behind me, “It’s a little over the top huh? We came back from our trip and there it was larger than we expected. You must be Jennifer, I’m Kris; Albert and I are so glad you are here.”

At that moment I knew the weekend was off to a good start.

Janet and I were invited for lunch at the Olson’s home, after which Janet left to return to our Orcas farm. I went to check in at the nearby bed and breakfast and agreed to return for a family dinner that evening.

6:30 am Thursday morning and it was time to load the trailer. We got everyone and every animal in and off to Puyallup with Kris and Albert in their truck pulling the trailer with eleven animals followed by me in the rent a car.

Upon arriving in Puyallup, we were required to wait for veterinary clearance in order to enter the show grounds. The next two or so hours were spent with Kris and Albert introducing me to many people in the alpaca world of the northwestern United States. I have never met a more diverse set of people in all of my days. Rich, poor, young, old, mainstream and less mainstream -- you name it -- they have a love for the breed.

We finally had our health inspection and micro-chip check. It was time to set up our stalls, eat dinner and get some well needed rest for show day.