Fun with Alpacas, or, Wash Your Hands

The family was together this weekend for some Gator football, food and a trip out to the coast around Ventura.

The Gators won. Check.

We ate at a fantastic Mexican place and were treated to a beautiful sunset. Check

Drove towards Ventura and stopped along the way to see an Alpaca farm. Check???? Whaaa?

For some reason our family including the new one, Sammy, all have a fascination with these animals, so it was a given that we would stop.

Alpaca's are raised for their very soft coats which is sheared once a year and made into various products including yarn, blankets, stuffed animals.

We had a very "laid back" tour guide who actually took us up the hills and into the Alpaca pasture.

Where we were surrounded immediately by curious and hungry Alpacas.

Fortunately our guide, Bernadette, provided us with food we could feed to them, ala horse style - palm out flat, do not bend fingers.

And don't look them in the eye!  Apparently they don't like that, but we didn't notice any odd behavior when we did look at their eyes.  

They're kind of hard to miss they are so big.

Supposedly they don't spit like Llamas and Camels

.  Let's clarify that, they don't spit on The Boston Lady.  They know better.  Everyone else got a little Alapaca spray.

Baby Alpaca!  Less than a week old.

They also like to eat Mulberry leaves right off the tree and when Mr. T held a branch down he became quite popular.

After about an hour with these pretty creatures we got back in the car and headed for Ventura Harbor.

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  We had a great lunch there overlooking the marina and then checked out the harbor areas part of the beach.  

Not as nice a further up the coast where we were the previous Sunday, but still exhilirating.

All in all a good weekend.  Make that a great weekend!