We had such a great weekend. Beside the weather being wonderful, we were really fortunate to have three of our grandkids here. Which was extra special since it was also National Alpaca Farm Days. While we like to attend local events, going to an alpaca farm is definitely best experienced with small children in tow. We had done this once before when the two of the kids (both girls) were very young and they didn’t remember much about the experience. Now the girls are five and six and have a little brother who is two–perfect ages to check out these adorable creatures. What’s really great about this age is they don’t argue about our destination–we just strap them in their car seats and away we go!
There are several alpaca farms in central Florida with four of them in Citrus County–Alpaca Magic USA, Classic Alpacas, Funny Farm Alpacas, and Suri HIlls Alpacas. We went to Alpaca Magic USA because it’s the closest alpaca farm to us. (Distance is always important with small loud children trapped in the back seat!) It is also one of the largest alpaca farms in Florida–the place on Grover Cleveland Blvd with the sign “Our Alpacas are Outstanding in their Field”. We always thought that was clever.
There are alpacas all over the place and most of them are friendly–especially when the picnic table you are sitting at is covered with hay. There were a lot of children at the open house and the alpacas were a bit frightened of them but our grandchildren were just as frightened of the animals, so we just sat at the table and let the alpacas come to us–and they did.
While alpacas are the main feature, the farm has more to offer. After feeding the adorable creatures, the kids passed up the complimentary open house hot dogs and headed for the farm store. The store is stocked with many items made with the alpacas’ fleece and the kids were happy to discover finger puppets within Grandma’s price range.
After shopping, we went to the Magic Garden which has a nice selection of healthy plants for purchase. There was also a fairy garden which the girls loved.
When we were back home, they picked out a spot in our yard to put their very own fairy garden. (So now grandpa has to make some fairy houses and grandma needs to find some cheap fairies at the thrift stores!) The girls also decided that their horse tire swing was now an alpaca and named it Ginger Snap. Yeah, I think they had a good time!
Our hosts were friendly and eager to answer all questions. The alpacas are charming and I’d like to take one home but that probably wouldn’t go well with the neighbors. So I’ll just return to an alpaca farm. Alpaca Magic USA is open 7 days a week from 10 am to 4 pm. A fun Citrus County destination for both adults and children.
