2012 Escapade – A Rally of the Escapees RV Club

Chuck-3rd from right

Robin had researched various RV clubs with their benefits of discounts at campgrounds and mail services and other useful things and had decided the Escapees was one of the ones worth joining.  Now all of a sudden we were surrounded by over 1000 fellow Escapees who arrived in over 600 “rigs”, everything from towable pop-ups to sleek, silvery Airstreams to million dollar homes on wheels.  The annual Escapade is part reunion, part tradeshow, part professional conference.  We’re labeled with that big “First” sticker on our nametags telling everyone it’s our first Escapade which apparently means we’re to be hugged by the veterans.  It’s amazing how agile we’ve become avoiding hugs from total strangers.

The friendliness is genuine though.  Smiles and hellos from passersby are routine.   Conversation is easy to start with the two questions everyone likes to answer: Where are you from and what kind of RV do you have?  It’s just nice – sort of like being in Canada or Minnesota. 

Backing up a bit though…on Sunday I didn't have any luck finding a  UU church in the area, so, finding ourselves with an empty morning, we decided Sunday was dump-day.  Yes, we emptied (successfully) our grey and black water tanks.  Yippee!  With no help.  I’ll spare you the details but it only took 3 pairs of gloves and 30 minutes.  We’re getting better.  We’ve also been to the local Walmart which is THE source for RV supplies and groceries in the area.  Milk and sewer hose all in one store – it’s hard to fight that business model. 

RV Aisle at Walmart

Sunday afternoon we attended the Escapades Opening Ceremonies complete with songs, prayers, and parades of banners.  You know, one of the things I like about going to Walgreens is that I’m usually the youngest person in the store.  Opening ceremonies was like that.  The RV population at the rally skews older, even older than we are.  Which makes sense when you think about it, who else has the time to wander around the country?  It would be easy to be snarky about geezers RVing, but then I realize that I hope we’re still able to be on the road at their age.

After dumping and Opening Ceremonies we took a break from the masses and headed into downtown Sedalia which has a very attractive town square complete with a old courthouse in the middle and retail shops all around.  Also, Sedalia has a memorial to Scott Joplin which was showing a little wear and tear but added some culture to our day.  Dinner was at a good brew pub on the square with a pizza special and a great beer list.  

The Marketplace

Today was back to full-on learning mode.  Robin and I split up to cover more ground and we learned (more) about electrical systems, how to clean the RV without chemicals, tire monitoring , Internet options for RVers, smarter-than-you phones and LED lights.  Alongside all the seminars is the Marketplace with over 60 vendors selling every imaginable RV gadget and service.  Our shopping list is growing.  Dinner tonight was at a family-owned barbeque joint.  Great food and service.  Tomorrow is another full day of learning.  

The cats are really settled in, lounging on the dash of the RV watching the human traffic go by while we're out and romping the length of the rig like a herd of ponies when we’re home.  People ask us where we’re off to once the rally ends, and all we can say so far is, “west”.  We’ll keep you posted.