A little bit about us...

We are a husband and wife team running a small alpaca farm in Stafford, Virginia.  While wondering what to do after 30 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, Perry started researching the next phase of life.  Lisa’s long standing dream of running a bed and breakfast led Perry to think we needed something to attract visitors.  Perry is very much an outdoors type, loves to hunt, fish and hike and his dream location is somewhere in the mountains, preferably in Alaska. Lisa on the other hand is a valley dweller, not caring for the hills and mountain roads. Our first attempt at trying to locate retirement property was in  Ashville, NC. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't find a piece of property flat enough for Lisa. Instead of the mountains we decided to try the foothills. We eventually bought 12 acres in Taylorsville, NC. Close enough to the mountains for Perry, but flat enough for Lisa.

The original plan was to start the herd in Stafford and after our two children moved out of the house we would move to Taylorsville.  Our daughter Sarah enters Germanna Community College this fall. After several years as a volunteer, our son Aaron has recently started his professional Fire Fighter career at the Quantico Marine Corp base.  For the time being, both of the kids still live at home. The new plan is to wait until our daughter completes college and re-evaluate our plans to relocate. The Stafford homestead is coming along very nicely and the herd is growing. Who knows, we may stay.

After doing much internet research on what that attraction to the B&B might be, Perry “stumbled” upon Alpacas.  Since he has always had a love of animals and there is a profit potential, it seemed to be a perfect fit. There was a lot of research conducted in the 2 years before our first alpaca, Polly Anna was purchased. We visited over 12 farms including a farm in Italy. We saw a wide range of farm set-ups, taking plenty of notes and asking a multitude of questions. We also took part in herd health and shearing events with two local farms to learn more about the care and management needed for alpacas. Additionally, we attended  alpaca shows and auctions, sitting in on the free seminars and classes. One of the great benefits in attending the shows was "talking alpacas" with breeders who were willing and eager to share their knowledge with a newcomer.

Lisa and I were both impressed with the solid business structure of AOBA (Alpaca Owner and Breeder Association). A key resource to our research was the ALPACAS Magazine published by AOBA. As we learned more about the alpaca industry,  saw the profit potential in breeding and selling Alpacas and their fiber. A key factor in focusing on alpacas is their small stature and gentle demeanor, the alpacas being small enough not to intimidate Lisa. We decided to start our herd in the Fall of 2006.  

 After a few years in the Alpaca business, Lisa has come to realize that for now, her B&B is for 4 legged, furry and cute animals.