Camping on an Alpaca Farm :
- Ahhhhhh.... So much fun…read morecamping with the alpacas. We camped on a small alpaca farm in Preston, MD near Maryland's Eastern Shore. Here's a discount link for $10 off of any stay using Hipcamp ( hipcamp.com/en-CA/i/sonnathomas ). The alpacas were soooo cute but I'll tell you about them in the next section. The campsite was pretty much a huge open field with lots of grass and space to spread out. I believe there was room for at least 4 campsites. Each site came with an open fire pit and table. There was also a porta potty on-site, nice swing-set, and an outdoor water hose near the farm if you needed non-drinking water. This site did not have a shower, trash can, drinking water, wifi, grill, shade, or electricity so plan accordingly. It was very clean and the host were amazing. When I arrived, I was so eager to put up my tent. Once we got the tent up, we used a portable power station to inflate our air mattresses and chairs. We set-up our shower tent and luggable loo toilet with ease. We arrived a little late on Day 1 so we only had enough time to set-up, cook dinner, shower, and have Funny Family Reading Night . We loved it! We set-up the projector and screen inside of the tent and used the portable generator to watch a movie on night 2. I forgot to mention that the farm does have some non-dangerous wildlife including some faulcons that never bothered us, mockingbirds, and butterflies . We cooked at home and used the open fire to heat up our meals in double wrapped aluminum foil (hotdogs, breakfast wraps, sandwich melts etc) . Of course we had s'mores at night . Also, be prepared for an absolutely gorgeous view of the moon while camping.
Alpaca Farm Tips :
* Pack a portable shower
* Make a hand washing station
* There's no reception on the farm and nearby streets unless you have Verizon. Bring a hotspot or simply stay unplugged while camping.
Because there was no service, I downloaded movies from Amazon prime app in advance. This allowed us to connect my phone to the projector so that we could watch the downloaded movies offline/without internet service. The sound on the projector was loud but you can also add speakers if necessary (some parts of the movie was very loud. We turned it down to avoid disturbing other campers)
* Connecting your iPhone to the projector requires a HDMI adapter which is about $50 at the apple store (May be able to find it cheaper online)
* Take your trash and recycling with you. Bring extra trash bags to double bags when it's time to transport your trash.
* There's no grill on-site so plan to cook on an open fire or bring your own grill. There is also fast food and restaurants about 15 min away from the campsite.
* There's no shade so bring sunscreen and/or pop-up tent. Also bring lots of bug spray for flies and mosquitoes.
* Bring a portable power station. Our power station charged my phone about 3 times, charge my Apple Watch twice, inflated/deflated our air mattresses, and powered the projector for movie night from Friday-Sun morning. We had about 20% power remaining after our final use (which is great for a small generator).
* It's hot during the day and cool at night. Bring a few fans for the day and extra blankets at night.
Alpaca Farm Tour ($5) :
- We booked a farm tour at our campsite that allowed us to pet and feed the alpacas. The owner, Phil, was so kind, passionate, and knowledgeable about his Alpacas. He takes good care of them. The alpacas basically get a hair cut once/year and their fur is used for fleece material. They are not slaughtered or harmed in anyway. Phil informed us that they don't bite, spit, or kick. They usually move away from unknown humans unless it's feeding time. One alpaca on the farm was extremely friendly (lucky charm). She allowed us to pet her over and over again. She loved attention and wanted more and more hugs/rubs . It was the sweetest experience. After the farm tour, we stopped by their small farm store. The front of their farm store housed a hair salon that was ran by Phil's wife who was also very kind. The second part of the store housed alpaca knickknacks, scarves, clothing etc. I bought THEE cutest handmade alpaca pen from the store. It was great! They also sell firewood on-site. I loved this campsite and the owners were so kind, courteous, and gentle.
