A Week at the 2014 Escapade in Goshen, IN

Goshen, IN                         (Click on pics to enlarge)

On Saturday May 10th we moved a short drive from Elkart Campground to the Elkhart County Fairgrounds in Goshen, IN for the 54th Escapade of the Escapees RV Club.

We were efficiently parked by the parking crew in the infield of the horse track.  Pretty nice as we have full hookups with 50-amp electric.  A lot of folks came in early as the actual rally didn't begin until Monday.

Unfortunately, the first couple of days were our best "weather wise" as it was pretty darned cold and rained throughout most of the week.  This was a common view out the front of our windshield.  The grounds where we were parked got so wet and muddy that the fairground management allowed us to stay an additional day without charge to facilitate drying out of the grass and dirt area.

We attend Escapades for several reasons.  Probably the foremost is the chance to meet up with old friends and make new ones.  Kris and Bill Osborne (who pen the blog SeeingTheUSA) are fellow fulltimers from Virginia.  We had corresponded via emails and our blogs, but never met face-to-face until this rally.  We attended several seminars together while at the rally. Guys it was really nice to meet you in person!

Here was our first contact with the rally on Sunday at the registration tables.  Here you are able to pick up your name badges, programs, and get a chance to sign up for any volunteer jobs you might like to do during the rally.

This is our 4th Escapade, but we had never been a volunteer before.  We thought we've give it a go and get a chance to join with the fun and meet new folks.  Here was our first "gig".  Cooking up and serving free popcorn.  Believe me, when the words "free" and "food" are together, it makes for a busy, but very fun time.  We worked with new friends Happy and Ron Treml. I believe they are thinking about the fulltime lifestyle at this point.

The opening ceremony took place on Monday.  A pretty good turn out, as always, on the first day of the rally.  At the end of the rally the final rig count given was approximately 543.  A bit less than some years, but still a bunch of folks.

After the opening ceremony, an ice cream social was sponsored by one of the major vendors.  Here's Karen getting ready for the onslaught of hungry RVers.

Door prize drawings were held nightly, usually before the evening entertainment.  As expected, this part of the rally is well attended.

(L to R) Mary and Roger Baird, Laura and Paul Hutchison,
and Riley in the center

Getting back to my previous comments about meeting up with "old" friends, we were very fortunate to have Paul and Laura Hutchison (and their dog Riley), and Roger and Mary Baird parked on either side of us. (Roger writes the blog The Wandering Bairds).  We have known them since our days of owning Arctic Fox rigs together.  We first met the Hutchinsons this past September when both of us were camping at the same campground in Klamath, CA.  We got to know them  (and their dog Riley) much better when we both wintered over at Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort in Casa Grande, AZ.  Paul and Laura have an annual RV site there.  The good news is that we twisted Roger and Mary's arms and all three of us will be wintering over this coming season at Palm Creek.  Can't wait!

The Escapade always has a wealth of educational seminars.  Every topic from water filters and tire monitors to fulltime topics and how to make the best use of technology can be found at an Escapade. You can choose to do as many, or as few, as you'd like.  We especially like to keep abreast of the latest technology, so we attended several classes presented by Jim and Chris Guld (Geeks on Tour). We very much enjoy their style of teaching and ALWAYS come away with new ideas and information.

We had a great time at this year's Escapade and hopefully we'll be able to get out of the mud tomorrow.  We're heading back to Elkhart Campground for a few days prior to beginning our "serious" summer touring for this year.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!