54th Escapade at Goshen, IN

We checked into the Fairgrounds on Sunday, a day early. This is actually a nice setting with lots of green grass everywhere.

Escapades are filled with 5 days of events geared to educate and entertain. You don't need to be a member of the secapees club in order to attend. In fact, our neighbors here were a young couple with 5 children and one on the way just interested in the rv experience of full timing. There are lots of seminars and presentations with a wide range of rv related topics, including boondocking, preparing for full timing, technology for travelers, how to find work camping jobs on the road, classes on picasa and blogging, etc, etc. We have gone to one other escapade before. This time we went to several of Geeks on Tours seminars on cloud computing and google maps and a couple of travel seminars on Alaska and the Canadian Maritimes. We started with a few days of warm humid weather but boy did that change. Most of the week was cold and rainy. Luckily most things were indoors but we still had a walk through wet grass to get to the seminars. Better than wet mud however. In one of the big rooms, there were vendors selling rv products. Also a thing called the row open for several hours each day. This is where different chapters of Escapees have tables set up to present information on their chapters. We helped man a table for Jojoba Hills to encourage people to come to our beautiful park for a visit. It was fun talking to people, some who knew of Jojoba and some who didn't and thought it would be a good place to stay for a a visit in So Cal. Monday late afternoon there was an open ceremony and door prices and announcements. Other afternoons also had door prices and announcements followed by entertainment. 
There was even a chili cookoff. We had thought about entering but didn't. There were a lot of different chilis and you would donate money to the ones you liked best and the ones who received the most money were the winners. The money went to CARE, the big Escapee charity in Livingston, Texas. The three winners got money as prizes but all turned around and gave it to the charity as well. 

When we signed up for the rally, we also signed up for an one day HOP on Saturday to visit Amish Country.
That will be in my next post and there will be lots of pictures. Stay tuned.