Hello again. Our last chapter
concluded on Friday, March 15th, when we arrived back at
the Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson, Arizona. We left here two
weeks ago after a great rally with one of our FMCA Chapter rallies.
Now we are back for the big Escapee's Escapade rally. The Escapee's
RV Club is one of the largest RV owner's organizations in the
country. Since they have always allowed trailers, fifth wheels and
other non-motorized RVs, they are a much more eclectic crowd than the
members of FMCA which until recently was only open to motor homes.
We have been to three other Escapades, which is the club's big annual
rally, including one in 2017 which was here in the same place.
Saturday, March 16th, was a
free day. We arrived a couple days early and since the rally doesn't
start until tomorrow we could do some running around. We went out
after lunch and Jackie got a haircut. We then did a little
geocaching, getting three new finds and one DNF. After caching we
went back to the fairgrounds and relaxed until 5:00 happy hour with
the Bullock's, who are parked right next to us. After cocktails we
did some burgers on the BBQ, along with some coleslaw. After the
Bullock's left we watched some TV and went to bed. I finally seem to
be on the mend, getting a good night's sleep last night for the first
time in a week. I hope the trend continues. The photo is one of the stranger RVs on the fairgrounds for the Escapade. A real "do it yourself" project.
Sunday, March 17th, Happy
St. Patrick's Day. It finally warmed up a bit and the wind quit,
yea! Today was the official start of the Escapade. About 10:00 or
so we went down to the events area to check out the various
activities and the vendors. Peggy and Jackie also wanted to see what
craft sessions were being offered. After about 90 minutes we had
pretty much gone through everything, so the four of us 
back to the fairgrounds. At 3:30 we went down to the entertainment hall for the opening ceremonies. All of the executives of Escapees talked and they recognized the various individuals responsible for this year's Escapade, as well as the volunteers that were present. Surprisingly, a very large majority of those in attendance were first timers, that is, coming to their first Escapade, and most of those were also fairly new members of the club. After the opening ceremonies we went back to the coach. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:00 and then at 6:30 we had a great Irish meal of corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes. I had been cooking the corned beef all day in the crock pot. We had a wonderful meal and then after the Bullock's left we watched TV and went to bed.
Monday, March 18th, I went
to an 11:30 seminar put on by Winnebago Corp. They are one of the
sponsors of the Escapade and the presentation they did was an
interactive session where they were looking for ideas in terms of
design and construction of RVs in the future. They had a number of
executives from manufacturing and design departments and it was a
very interesting seminar. After I got back to the coach Jackie and
Peggy went to a craft session where they made some greeting cards and
got some other design ideas. I had lunch and then did some office
work while they were gone. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00,
then did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner for the four of us.
After the Bullock's went home we watched TV until bedtime.
Tuesday, March 19th, there
were no seminars today that I had any interest in attending, so about
10:30 Vernon and I left to go to lunch and then visit the Pima Air
and Space Museum. We had a nice breakfast/lunch at the nearby
JerryBobs restaurant, then drove to the museum. This museum, founded
in 1976, is one of the largest non-governmental, privately funded air
museums in the world. There are over 300 aircraft on display in the
80 acre facility. While most are military, there are a large number
of civilian aircraft on display as well. Two thirds of the aircraft
are outdoors, mostly in non-restored condition, with the rest on
display in four different hangers. Most of the indoor planes are at
least partially restored. The museum has a close relationship with
the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and it's “boneyard” of out of
service military aircraft, so many of the aircraft at the museum were
obtained through “loan” from the base. It has been at least 25
years since I visited this place and it was great to see all the
planes.
While Vernon and I were at the museum,
Jackie and Peggy also went out to lunch, going to a place near
downtown to have lunch with an old friend of Peggy's. We were all
back at the campground by about 2:30. At 4:30 Jackie and I went down
to the events area for a meeting and social put on by the Escapee
Elks BOF. BOF stands for “birds of a feather” and is one of the
types of groups in Escapees, based around common interests. Since we
are Elks, we joined the BOF quite some time ago. After the business
meeting they had a social, but we didn't stay for that as we had not
brought anything to eat or drink. We went back to the campground and
had cocktails with the Bullock's. After cocktails we went back and
relaxed in the coach for the rest of the evening.
Wednesday, March 20th, the
Vernal Equinox and First Day of Spring! Winter is over! I got up
and out early so I could attend an 8:30 seminar on Full Timing in
your RV. I wanted to listen to how the Escapee's presented the topic
since this is one that I am involved with in the FMCA organization.
There presentation was similar, although put on by a single presenter
rather than a panel. They also put much greater emphasis on cost of
living comparisons. After the seminar I went back to the coach, and
then about 11:30 Jackie and I went back to the events area for
another seminar, this one on geocaching. Some caching friends of
ours were putting it on, and there were a number of other cachers we
know in attendance. After the seminar we went out for lunch at the
nice Italian place down the road that we had gone to two weeks ago
when we were here. Again the food was great and we ate way too much.
We did find it odd that a guy we presume to the owner of the place
was seated behind the bar in the same place he was two weeks ago.
Not only that, at the height of the lunch rush he lays his head down
on a pillow on the bar and takes a nap, right out in front of all the
customers. He reminded me of some of the owners highlighted on
Gordon Ramsey's TV show where he confronts owners who have lost
interest in their business.
After lunch we went back to the
fairgrounds and at 3:00 I went to a seminar on Veteran's benefits.
After that seminar I went back to the coach and Jackie I went back to
the events building for a social with the Geocaching BOF, which is
the other BOF we belong to. A lot of our caching friends were there
and we had a good time and some light snacks. After the social we
went back to the coach and relaxed for a while, having cocktails with
the Bullock's outside. Then about 7:00 we went to the main meeting
hall for the evening entertainment. The first half hour was giving
away door prizes and announcements. At 7:30 they started the
entertainment, which tonight was “Escapees Got Talent” a talent
show put on by attendees to the rally. There were a dozen or so
acts, mostly singing and playing guitar, but there were a couple of
dancers and one really funny skit created around an old joke. Three
guys, including one friend of ours, acted out the joke. The joke is
about a Scottish guy in a kilt who gets drunk and passes out on a
park bench. Two young ladies walk by, notice him asleep and wonder
if it is true that Scots don't wear anything under their kilt. They
lift it up and find it is true, to their shock. They decide to tie a
blue ribbon around the Scots private part and leave. When he wakes
up he looks down and says, “I don't know where you've been but you
won first prize.” It was a very clever skit and well done,
probably the best act of the night. After the entertainment we went
back to the coach and watched TV, then went to bed.
Thursday, March 21st, the
last day of the Escapade. We had a relaxing morning and a little
before 11:00 we went down to the events area to watch the pet parade.
As you might expect, it was all dogs, but some were in really cute
costumes. One of the cutest used a prop we got in the goody bags
upon arrival at the rally. There was a small, red thermal lunch bag
size cooler bag with “Winnebago” on the side, provided, of
course, by Winnebago. They had cut the bottom out and put it over
their Chihuahua and were calling it a “Minnie Winnie” which is
one of Winnebago's model names. Very cute. After the pet parade we
went out to a local Thai restaurant for lunch, then did a few
geocaches, getting four new finds and one DNF. We then went back to
the coach and relaxed for an hour before going down to the main hall
at 3:00 for the final door prize drawings and the closing ceremony
for the rally. We didn't win anything, again. At 5:00 we had
cocktails with the Bullock's, but because of the big, late lunch, we
didn't do any dinner. After the Bullock's left we watched some TV
and went to bed.
Friday, March 22nd, when we
signed up for this rally we elected to stay one day after the close
of the rally, mostly because we could and we were in a full hookup
site. We had thought that the Bullock's had done the same, but they
didn't sign up for the extra day, so they left this morning, along
with about two thirds of the people who were at the rally. They went
to the same RV park in Arizona City that we will be in for the next
week, they are just going a day early. After lunch we went out and
had Thai food again, then did some geocaching. We were able to get
five new finds in an hour or so. After that we went back to the
coach and relaxed for the rest of the day. I did a few minor chores
getting ready for our departure tomorrow.
Saturday, March 23rd,
another travel day. We are only going 76 miles northwest to Arizona
City, a small town just outside of Casa Grande. Since we didn't have
far to go we didn't leave until 10:30. We also filled up the propane
tank at the fairgrounds since their propane station was right across
the street from where we were parked and was easily accessible. We
had an easy trip and arrived at the High Chaparral RV park right at
noon. We got parked in our spot, right next door to the Bullock's,
and did our set up. About 5:30 we had cocktails with the Bullock's
and were able to have them outside because the weather has finally
turned nice. I was even able to put on shorts! After cocktails
Jackie served dinner, a nice chili relleno casserole. We had a nice
dinner and afterwards the girls played cards for an hour or so. When
the Bullock's left we watched some TV and went to bed.
Sunday, March 24th, we left
the RV park with the Bullock's about 11:00 and drove to the Pinal
County Fairgrounds for the county fair. Today was the last day of
the fair and, although the exhibits, vendors and carnival were still
in place, by the time we got into the fair, close to noon, most of
the animals and the 4H kids that were showing them, were moving out.
We got to see a few pigs and goats, but almost all the rabbits,
chickens and other small animals were gone. That was a bit
disappointing as that is our favorite part of the small fairs. After
an hour or so we left the fair and drove into Casa Grande to have
some lunch. We ended up at Big Wa, one of our favorite Chinese
places and the four of us had a great lunch. We then went to Walmart
for a few things and then back to the RV park. We had cocktails with
the Bullock's at 5:30, but no dinner as we all were full from lunch,
plus most had leftovers. After cocktails we went into the coach and
watched TV until bedtime.
Monday, March 25th, we had a
stay at home day. About 2:00 my brother Ken and his wife Susan came
over for a visit. They live in Goodyear, Arizona, a suburb on the
west side of Phoenix, but this weekend they were camping at the KOA
campground near Picacho Peak, only about 5 miles from our RV park.
We, and the Bullock's, sat outside and talked and visited for several
hours. The weather was nice in the shade and we had a great visit.
About 6:00 we did some burgers on the BBQ and all ate outside. Ken
and Susan left around 7:30 and went back to their trailer at the KOA.
We will be in Goodyear in less than a week, so we will be spending
more time with them next week. After they left we watched some TV
and went to bed. Tuesday we went to brunch with the Bullock's about
11:00 to a place just down the road from the park called the Cotton
House. We learned that the place just changed hands this year and is
now owned by the same person that owns the RV park we are in. We
tried it and found it to be a five star lunch and breakfast place.
Great menu, great food and great service. After lunch Jackie and I
went out and did some geocaching, getting eight new finds and one DNF
in a couple of hours. After we got back to the RV park we had
cocktails with the Bullock's and then Peggy served dinner, a nice
penne pasta dish that is one of my favorites. We ate and then
visited until about 8:30 when we went back to our coach, watched a
little TV and went to bed.
Wednesday, March 27th, was a
stay at home day for the most part. We did some chores and did some
relaxing. We did make one quick trip to a nearby market. We had
cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:30 and then we did a rack and a
half of baby back ribs on the BBQ. Vernon cooked because he has a
technique that works. I manage to screw up ribs whenever I try. The
ribs were great and we had them with beans from Peggy and coleslaw
from Jackie. We visited until about 8:00, then went home and watched
some TV before bed. Thursday morning I helped Vernon put up some
outside colored lights over his patio, similar to we have.
Unfortunately, the adhesive wasn't working, so we will have to come
up with a better plan on a later date. We left the coach with the
Bullock's about 11:00 and drove into town to have lunch at the Big Wa
Chinese restaurant again. Tomorrow is our last day here and I really
like their food. After lunch we stopped at the mall and went to
Petsmart and Kohl's for a few things. After shopping we went back to
the RV park and stayed in for the rest of the day. We had cocktails
with the Bullock's at 5:30, but no formal dinner as we all had
leftovers from lunch today. After happy hour we spent the rest of
the night with the TV.
Friday, March 29th, we went
out after lunch to do some geocaching. We were able to get six new
finds, and one DNF, in a couple of hours. We also stopped at a
couple of stores looking for some solar flamingos to add to our
collection of birds. We finally found them at the Dollar Tree at the
mall. After our fun afternoon we went back to the coach. We had
cocktails with the Bullock's, then did dinner on our own. We watched
TV and then went to bed. Saturday was another travel day. The
Bullock's left early as they are going nearly 200 miles to Quartzsite
today. We are only going 112 miles to Goodyear, outside of Phoenix.
We will meet the Bullock's again in a week in Las Vegas, but for the
next week we will be on our own in the Phoenix area. My brother, as
well as my kids and most of the grand kids, live in the Phoenix area.
We arrived at the Cotton Lane RV Resort around noon, got parked and
set up then spent the rest of the day relaxing.
Sunday, March 31st, we left
the coach after lunch and went out to do a little geocaching. We
were only out for less than an hour and got two new finds. We then
drove over to my brother Ken's house in Goodyear to visit with them.
We spent a couple of hours sitting in the kitchen chatting with Ken
and Susan, and Susan's mother Helena, who lives with them in a
“mother in law” apartment. They have a very neat,
multi-generational house with a three bedroom suite upstairs, a one
bedroom apartment downstairs on the other side of the garage, and
then a great room in the middle with a shared kitchen, dining and
living room.
Ken and I took a little field trip
while the women visited and drove to the Goodyear airport to see
where Ken is working now. Until recently he worked for the City of
Avondale, right next door to Goodyear, as a Code Enforcement Officer.
He worked for them for about 15 years and decided that since he was
now vested in the Arizona State Retirement System, that he would
leave Avondale and go back to being a flight instructor. He had done
that a few years ago as a part time pursuit and he loves to fly, so
he wanted to do something that made him happier than being a pseudo
law enforcement person. He is still only working part time, but
seems happy and making decent money. He showed me around the flight
school and we looked at some of their planes on the ramp. Being
Sunday it was pretty quiet. After Ken and I got back to the house
the four of us went out to Red Robin for dinner. Helena didn't want
to go out. We had a very nice dinner and talked for another hour and
a half. After dinner we went back to the coach and relaxed for the
rest of the night.
Monday, April 1st, April
Fool's Day. I have always hated April Fool jokes. Today was a
chores day for us. We left the coach about 10:30 and stopped first
at a local jewelry store. Jackie's wedding ring has a loose prong
she wanted fixed, but they wanted too much money and too much time,
so we didn't leave it. We have a good jeweler in Pahrump and will be
there in less than two weeks. We then went to In N Out for lunch.
Yum! After lunch we went to a laundromat in Avondale and did our
laundry. By 1:40 we were done with laundry and went to the Avondale
Costco to pick up a few things, then headed back to the coach. After
we got everything put away we relaxed, had dinner, and then watched
TV until bedtime.
Tuesday, April 2nd, we left
the coach after lunch and went out to do some geocaching, getting
three new finds in about an hour. Caching is taking more time here
because we have already gotten most of the caches near the RV park,
so we have to drive long distances to find new caches to get. After
caching we stopped at a couple of Ross stores looking for a new
comforter for our bed. We accidentally left the old one at the
laundry and it was gone the next day when we went back for it. It
was a couple years old and getting spotted, so no big deal, just
annoying. After shopping we stopped and both got haircuts. We then
stopped at Walmart for some supplies and then headed home. We had
dinner and then watched TV until it was time for bed.
Wednesday, April 3rd, we
left the coach after lunch and went out to do some caching. We found
an area in Buckeye, a few miles west, where we hadn't cached before,
with a number of caches hidden in a very nice residential area. All
of the caches were in parks, but we had a hard time with some of
them, ending up with four new finds as well as four DNFs. Sometimes
we just get humbled. After caching we made a quick stop at Walmart
for a couple of things and then went back to the RV park. We had
dinner and watched TV for the rest of the night. Thursday we went
out after lunch and both got pedicures, then we went to Sam's Club
for a couple of things. After our errands we went back to the coach
and stayed in the rest of the day.
Friday, April 5th, our last
full day in Goodyear. We left the coach around noon and drove to
north-central Phoenix, a shopping area known as Metro Center, to have
lunch with my son Roy Jr. Roy lives not too far from Metro Center.
We had lunch at a nice Taquaria called El Pueblo. We sat and ate and
talked for about an hour. We dropped Roy off at his condo, then went
out to run some errands. We stopped at a couple of stores, including
another Sam's Club because Jackie was looking for some specific brand
of pants. After our errands we went back to the coach and relaxed
for a little while, then went out again and met Ken and Susan for
dinner at a local brew pub, Saddle Mountain Brewing. We had a nice
dinner, then the four of us went back to the coach and sat and talked
for a couple hours. They left around 7:30 and we watched some TV and
went to bed.
Saturday, April 6th was a
travel day. We were packed up and on the road by 10:00, heading 180
miles northwest to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. We stopped at the Lake
Havasu RV Resort, one of our RPI membership parks, got checked in and
set up for a one night stay. After we got set up we just stayed in
and relaxed for the rest of the day. Sunday we were up and on the
road by 9:00, continuing north 150 miles to Las Vegas, Nevada. We
arrived at the Oasis RV Resort, located at the far south end of the
Las Vegas strip, about noon and quickly got set up. We are here for
a week long rally with Monaco International, one of our FMCA
Chapters. The rally doesn't start until Wednesday, but we wanted a
couple of days in Las Vegas on our own, so we came early. After we
got set up we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Peggy and
Vernon Bullock also came in today from Bullhead City, where they had
been staying with some other friends of ours, Ray and Suzi Babcock.
The Babcock's were originally going to come to this rally also, but
they canceled a couple of weeks ago. About 5:00 we had happy hour
with the Bullock's and several other couples who are here for the
rally also. We sat and talked for a couple hours, then we went back
to our coach and watched TV until it was time for bed.
It has now been almost three weeks
since we published, so our arrival in Las Vegas for a rally marks a
good spot to close this chapter and get it published. Until next
time remember, if what you do is stupid, but it works, then it really
isn't stupid after all. Mission accomplished! See ya soon.
