July 24 – 29, 2016

Essex Junction, VermontThe country side of Vermont.  We rode on the red road heading north in Vermont.View of the Adirondack Mountains in the distance.Lots of solar panels on the farm.This big guy pulled in and parked 3 spots down from us.They had a lot of people helping everyone park.  It was very well organized and everyone was so friendly and excited about the rally.By Friday afternoon, there were a lot of people here.  More coming in on Saturday and Sunday. This is the area with hook ups.  The boondockers had their own section and so did the Escapers.  Our next door neighbors (Regis and Cindy) are from Floral City, FL, right down the road from Bushnell, FL.  They just sold their bicycle shop in Floral City.We also met Phil and Judy from Arizona.  They are full timers and have a dog statue on a lease.  We love this idea.  The dog even has a water bowl.They also have a small mailbox, so if they are not home, you can leave them a note.

Saturday July 23, 2016Registration begins. We got a bag of goodies and the program for the week.  They also gave us a pocket guide with all the events and classes.  This was very handy.Look at the cute table decorations. That is Regis and Cindy on the other side of the table.Then a big rain storm came through, so we stayed in the main hall.It lasted about an hour.Then we got this.It was a beautiful way to end the day.

Sunday July 24, 2016Opening ceremony.  There are about 700 rigs and over 1,400 people here.The woman to the right of the podium is Kay Peterson. She and her husband, Joe, started the Escapees RV Club.  To the right of her is Bob and Molly, the Escapade Directors for the last 5 years.This is Travis Carr, the new President of Escapees.  His mother Cathie Carr (behind the podium) turned over the gavel to Travis at this ceremony.  On the far left is Melanie, Travis’ wife and now Vice-President.Kay told some really good stories about her travels with Joe.  She was hilarious.Big crowd.They had some good entertainment. This was Jimmy Travis, singer and comedian.  He was very funny.

Monday, July 25, 2016

They had 3 sessions in the mornings, starting at 8:30 and 2 sessions in the afternoon.  Each session had 4-5 classes to pick from.  They had classes like, Investing Strategies for RVers, RV to Alaska, Maximizing Mobile Connectivity, Estate Planning, Tire Safety, Fire & Life Safety, Driving Your RV Safely, Disc Brake Conversions, Understanding RV Electrical System and much more.“Geeks on Tour” did 6 different classes.  I went to 4 of them.  They were awesome.  I learned so much from them about wifi and mobile connectivity and Google Photos.  They were great.  “Technomadia” was here too, but they were here as Attendees, not presenters.

Then at 4:00 everyday, Paul Evert’s RV Country, threw a free happy hour with snacks.  It was a different theme everyday. Margarita Mondays was a hit.  Paul Evert’s RV Country is from California.  They brought at least 20 motorhomes to this Escapade, and we heard they sold 10. From left to right, Colleen (Frank is still working at the RV), Carl and Cheryl, Bunny (don’t know where Eric is), me and Cliff.They had a lot of vendors and they were there all day for 5 days.  We bought too much.

Thursday, July 28, 2016On Thursday they had a dog parade and Closing ceremony.And a farewell party.  This is Phil and Judy, the couple we met on the first day we were here.  They are full timers from Arizona. They almost have us convinced to try boondocking.Colleen and Frank, Escapers, Frank still has a full time job, but works from the RV.Carl and Cheryl from Connecticut.Byron and Nancy. He sang “Laura” to me.from left: Judy, Phil, Cindy, Regis, Carl, Frank, Cheryl, Colleen, Cliff, me and some woman that wanted to photo bomb our picture. We don’t know her.on the far right is Bunny and Eric. They are also Escapers.Bunny, Colleen, me, Cheryl and Judy.Another beautiful sunset on the last night.Byron wanted to teach us how to make the perfect martini.  He and Nancy invited us to their motorhome for a demo.Their cat came out to see what all the ruckus was about.He is a Perfecto with the martinis.Carl and Frank.  It was Carl that got us this invitation to learn how to make martinis. Thanks Carl and Byron.Frank and Judy.Cheryl, Bunny and Colleen.

It was a great week.  Table 7, you should have been here.  You would have loved it.  Maybe another year.

We learned a lot, met some great people and are ready for a rest.  Off to Maine.