alpacas of sunshine farm

We had a great visit with Don Hines, one of the owners of Alpacas of Sunshine Farms in New Milford, Pennsylvania. I dropped Don an email late on the night before our visit and he called me the next morning to confirm our arrival time and to make sure he'd be there to show us around. My wife and daughter and I found the place with no problems thanks to our GPS -- it might be a bit challenging without one -- and had a wonderful time meeting and petting several alpacas. The animals' hair was relatively short since they'd been shorn in May, but Don gave us a chance to pet a new baby alpaca and feel how soft her longer hair was. It helped that we read the Wikipedia article on alpacas before arriving, but Don was a wealth of knowledge about alpaca habits and behavior. He's a great guide and very friendly. The alpacas are a bit standoffish at first but then come close to check you out. They like being petted, but usually not on their heads or camel-like necks. There's also a store where you can feel a basket full of alpaca hair (that doesn't feel like sheep's wool because it doesn't have any lanolin) and check out lots of alpaca-based products. Visiting Sunshine Farm and seeing alpacas up close was one of the highlights of our vacation. Highly recommended! P.S. -- I wouldn't recommend this for people with mobility issues since there's some walking over steep, uneven ground to get to the alpacas' barn.