Bob and Judy K in Nova Scotia

Submitted by Bob and Judy Kominski (June 2015)

We left Vista on May 13th with a stop at Sams Town in LV.  We started running into rain in Utah.  We had to stop and stay  a few nights with friends near Rifle, Colorado because of rain and snow on the high passes on I-70 to Denver.  After a 3 day stop over in Rifle we got a break  in the weather and got across the Rocky Mountains to Brighton, Colorado in times for our youngest grandsons high school graduation. It rained everyday we were there.  After 3 days,we were off to  Winnebago at Forest City, Iowa for two days.  As we traveled on across the states we have rain, rain and more rain.  Everyday we were driving and setting up camp in rain.  After $100+ in toll road costs and 4000 miles we made it to Prince Edward Island, but it is still raining.  We had one day of sun on the island.   On June 6th we left Prince Edward after paying $39.00 toll to cross the 8 mile long bridge to get off the island.  Again crossing in the rain. 

So now we are on Nova Scotia traveling around island.  We had two sunny days but it is still cool.  The mornings are in the low 40's and the days maybe get into the low 60's on some days. We find that a number of things do not open for the season till mid June.  Traveling here and on Prince Edward is like stepping back in time.  Our plan is to drive all the way around the island and hope to find better weather on the way.

Fortress of Louisbourg.  This is a 18th century French fortified town.  Dine like a settler on cod and rice.  We have traveled 80% of the shore line around the island (1300 miles) about 200 miles to go.  The roads are really bad this year in Nova Scotia because of the hard winter. We are finding that a number of attractions and state campgrounds are not open in June.  There season starts July 1st.  Diesel cost is about $4.30 U.S.   Camping fees run about $40.00 Canadian . The exchange rate was $1.25 when we started for our dollar and now is down to $1.19.  The weather still is cool in the mornings at 41 and we may get to 60 during the day.  We now have one or two days of sun and than a day of rain. Everything is so green here and the people are very helpful and friendly.

Thanks to Bob and Judy for submitting their travel experience. Please share yours by sending a short narrative and a couple pictures to shantyshakers25@gmail.com. Happy trails !

Link to June meeting minutes HERE

• Please let Betty and Clark Paxton know if you are interested in attending the lunch gathering at the San Marcos Spaghetti Factory on Saturday, September 12 at noon so she can give a count to the restaurant. (call please, no email 760 310-5854)
• Please email Faith Foster if you are interested in attending the Yuma Balloon Rally November 19-22 at the River front RV park faithf2@gmail.com
• If you would like to be part of the Nominating Committee for the 2016 Chapter officers, please let Garth and/or Judy know garthjudy2@gmail.com. Also, inform them if you are interested in becoming an officer. All elected positions are open.

$1,603 !!

The annual auction for CARE hosted by Mike and Judy Formico was a big success and a lot of fun !

Submitted by Mike Formico:
The weather was great, the location was great and the company was even better !
Twelve rigs attended the rally at beautiful Pechanga RV Resort in Temecula, CA, and three couples drove in for potluck and auction. The potluck was awesome as usual and nobody went away hungry.

Don Regnier as auctioneer and his able bodied assistant, John Pumphrey, kept the show  on the road and the dollars coming in. Our compliments to all who brought gifts for the auction. The quality of the wrapped items was above and beyond. Whoever thought one could get $100 gift card to Ruth Chris Steakhouse ?? The grand total raised for the CARE facility in Livingston, TX was $1,603 !

We would like to thank everyone who attended and everyone who helped. The rally was a great success and we look forward to next years event !
Sincerely,
Mike and Judy Formico    Kudos to Mike and Judy for stepping up and hosting their first rally !!

Flower Fields, Mexican HOP cruise

Enjoying the warm sun, ocean breeze, the view of the flower fields and the magnificent sunsets while chatting, eating and being in the company of your RV friends... that's what the Carlsbad Flower Field  Rally was all about !! Fifteen rigs and many visiting day guests for a total of 41 people enjoyed this unique event.

One day was spent exploring the flowers and scenery walking or on the wagon ride.

Another day, several folks toured the Miniature Craftsmanship Museum and discovered it was quite fascinating and said they would be back.

And every day was spent hanging out with friends for happy hours, meals and just enjoying the day.

Garth and Judy wish to thank everyone for coming and hope you enjoyed yourself !! Thanks for hosting the rally!!

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Mexican Riviera HOP Cruise: Submitted by David and Marilyn Anderson

(what is a HOP you ask...it stands for Head Out Program. The program coordinators plan and host different events. "You will find that every HOP is different, and each one targets unique locations, special events, and theme-related activities to create a fun-filled, adventurous SKP outing. Some HOPs involve touring, while others consist of activities such as the Rose Parade, the Grand Canyon Train Ride, Niagara Falls, the Stampede, extreme rafting, and ATVing.)" from Escapees website

It was another great cruise, wish you all could have been there with us. I love being spoiled. My bed made towels picked up not once but twice daily. What fun returning to the room after the great evening shows to find the next days schedule, chocolates, and adorable towel animals waiting for me.

Food is not really 24 hours (unless you count free room service) but can be plentiful. I enjoy eating in the Main dining room rather than the Lido buffet style. I like being served a leisurely meal, small portions and recipes I might not have at home. For the HOP portion of our cruise we had a wonderful window table and one evening we were entertained by a whale doing a show for us. Up close and personal!

Always nice meeting new SKPs and other travelers. The ports were not new to us but enjoyed visiting them again. There were a lot of excursions from zip lining to shopping that could be done. Since we continued on the ship for Circle Hawaii cruise too we did our Rainforest and Waterfall hike on the islands. Museums were available at several ports and we always enjoy those. We did very little shopping but enjoyed as many beaches as we could.

It's difficult to share the experience in a couple of paragraphs maybe the best way to say we had a good time is to tell you we have our next cruise booked. Between Rving and Cruising – what a great life !!

hugs

David & Marilyn Anderson

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New Escapees Website (from Club News)

We believe that Escapees offers the best in the industry when it comes to services, benefits, information and education, but were we bringing all of this information to the online community? Simply put, the answer is not until now!

"What is the goal of our website?"

The answer is to provide a complete resource center for the RV community and Escapees members. We wanted to make the website a "tool" that members would want to visit on a regular basis, not a place where members go just to check postage amounts or find the date for an event.

So how did we accomplish this goal? We reorganized the content to be more user-friendly and concise and added additional information and tools to help you. It was also important that the website be viewable on any platform. That dream became a reality; it is completely responsive and will automatically adjust to any size screen, making it easy to get information anytime on whatever device you are using, whether it is a desktop computer or smart phone.

Because this is an entirely new site that was built from the ground up, there are some aches and pains involved in launching such a large project. One issue that you may have already noticed is that we could not import accounts from the old website due to multiple security concerns. All users will need to register a new account to initially access escapees.com and xscapers.com. This account can be registered on either website and will allow you access to both sites. You do not need to register twice. 

Once your account verification is completed, you will get access to your membership information and the member's-only menu of the website.

Here is a quick overview on how the process works:

•  Click "Register" in the top right of the website.
• Fill out the registration form.
• Click "Register" at the bottom of the page.
• You will then be sent an email verification to the email address used.
• Open the email and verify your account by clicking the link provided.
• Log into your account.
• Enter your SKP # and the email address on file associated with your Escapees account.
• Your account will then be synced, and you will gain access to the member's-only menus.

Utilizing the email address associated with your Escapees account is the best way for us to ensure accounts are properly and securely linked to the correct users. If you have problems with this process or you need to change your email address on file, then you will need to contact Escapees HQ at 888-757-2582 so we can verify your membership information and update your email address. We apologize for the inconvenience;  however, our number-one priority is security and the protection of your information.

There is still more to come! Over the next few months, we will be adding additional resources to our online arsenal, such as an articles-and-blogs center that will be compiled of Escapees magazine articles, featured bloggers and contributors, along with the ability to create your own personal blog, and a job board to help connect those seeking employment and those seeking to hire in all types of job categories. We are also in the process of building an enhanced mapping tool to meet the goals of what we always envisioned the Park Locator to be. So, stay tuned for upcoming announcements about the new Escapees website!

Western Area Rally of Escapees (WARE)

Three Shanty Shaker couples traveled to the Yuba County Fairgrounds for the WARE (Western Area Rally of Escapees), Dayle and Herb Sands, Bob and Judy Kominski and Mike and Marcy Parker. From all the posts and comments of the WARE Facebook page, it seems like everyone enjoyed the new venue and had a fun time.


From Marcy Parker:

"Made it to the WARE with Judy and Bob. Here for the week with lots of stuff planned. IT IS GORGEOUS HERE. RODEO to the left, aquatic park to the right, happy hour at 4pm. Oh happy days!  Supposed to be @ 130 rigs and a full schedule. Friendly SKPs every where and beautiful weather. I like it!"

Our happy representatives for the Chapter Banner Parade

Judy K. concentrating on learning the line dancing routine.

 Hanging out and meeting new friends.

Bar hopping in Marysville, CA at the infamous Silver Dollar Saloon. Marcy was designated driver and photographer.

Cody,owned by Bob and Judy Kominski won 1st place in the pet parade !

Sue Pace placed a proxy bid on this item from the CARE auction and won it !! Really neat!

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The group enjoyed a Hawaiian Luau and Polynesian Dinner, with entertainment my Kermet Apio 

From informative classes, crafts, line dancing, bean bag baseball, classic car to all the eating, drinking, sharing and fellowship with fellow SKPs, a good time was had by all.

It was announced  the 2016 WARE will again be held in Yuba City with a start date of April 10, 2016. Plan ahead and mark your calenders now !

Escapades in Tucson, AZ

The Pima country fairgrounds in Tucson, AZ didn't know what they were in for when close to 900 rigs, 2000 hugging Escapes showed up for the 55th Escapades. Twenty five Shanty Shaker rigs made the journey, with several of them attending their first big rally. At the opening ceremony attendees were welcomed by the co-founder of the Escapees, Kay Peterson. What a delightful lady she is with quite a sense of humor.


“This was our first Escapades! We were so excited to go and REALLY had NO idea what to expect! We were overwhelmed with all the classes and after attending a few we had some thoughts: some classes were story telling, others for newbies, others there selling products. Out of all the classes we both took (we took separately and we went to a lot) we got a little something out of all  of them and a lot out of about 3-4 of the classes.We were able to purchase some things from vendors we had been researching and wanting. The only thing we didn't get is the driving class for Debbie! They were already full by the time she found where the people actually were.The biggest plus for us was, that we feel like we are starting to make friends. And we are excited about getting to know people in our Shanty Shakers group!” Submitted by Debbie Lupton

Mornings started with coffee and donuts.Then days were filed with informative seminars,  crafting, (Gene Stout and Dale Stauffer presented) exploring the vendor fair, drooling over the RVs on sale (just ask Rey and Loretta) or chatting with representatives of BOFs (Birds of a Feather: people who share a common interest) or other Chapter representatives on the Chapter row. Faith and Vern Foster represented Chapter 25



We received about 150 couples  signing our log and we gave out candy Hugs, taffy and butter fly magnet clips. Visitors were interested in information about San Diego we gave most of what we had away. We passed out membership application forms and shared the blog address. Here is a picture of the winner of the basket (sorry no names)  They were over joyed with winning the basket. (Thanks Frances for the donation!)  Submitted by Faith Foster
              
Every day at 4:00, the relaxing began with Happy Hours and pot lucks springing up all over the Fairgrounds. John and Debbie  hosted Taco Tuesday complete with Pollo and Carne asada grilled by several of the men. It was great fun.





One day there was a Pet Parade. San Diego was represented by Annette Stout and her dog Lady sporting their Charger jerseys. There were dogs of all shapes and sizes represented. (Lady was by far the cutest )
 

55th Escapades  in Tucson, AZ was our first escapade, we were known as "first timers” and we had to wear orange stickers that said “1st” on our badges. There were many aspects of the Escapade that were pretty much as expected: lots of rigs (800+), Escapers, seminars and the ever present vendors and RV dealers. What was not expected was how friendly and wonderful Escapees' are.  You guys hug a lot, I mean a lot and that orange sticker got us even more hugs.  That was not expected and took us by surprise, it made for a really great time!!As for the seminars and vendors, I took advantage of them and learned many things about the RV life style and new technology and gear to help us along the byways.  I had the mind set that the prices set by the vendors could always be bettered elsewhere, but perhaps I am wrong.  You see, my awning gave out on this trip, I priced the awning guys there and figured I could beat it at home.So far, I have not been able to better the price.  GO figure.  Chris liked the quilting ladies and enjoyed volunteering by helping with the projects and meeting some of the sweet ladies from all over the country.She also had a blast making chili for the “Chill Cook-off”, she raised just over $92.  I know now that Escapades are a good thing.  So, I say go to at least one event. Submitted by Dan Garcia

The Arizona sunsets are fun to watch and make for great photo ops




One evening during general assembly Travis Carr, grandson of the founders and his wife Melanie announced the launch of Xcapers, a branch within Escapees geared toward the younger, non retired generation of RVers. Great forward thinking by the club since statistics show that 80% of the club members are over 65. For more info LINK HERE

The chapter officers had a meeting with the National staff members from Livingston, TX. The main topic of discussion was the creation of the Escapees Social Network for the chapters as a non profit organization and reasons for it. Our chapter Treasurer, Wayne, was asked by the COO Teresa Moore for his assistance in answering questions due to his past experience in non profits and IRS regulations.
 
 
 





One of the best things about this rally was seeing new friendships forged among the chapter members. On the last evening the group gathered and seemed to want to linger together just a little longer.The rally was coming to an end and it was time to say good bye.....or until we meet again !! HUGS !!

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Minutes from the February meeting HERE

Photos by Walter Campbell

Lake Skinner Rally

First, this note from John and Wendy Pumphrey:

“To all who attended the rally at Lake Skinner, Wendy and I would like to thank you for making it a success.As always. everyone pitched in when they saw something needing to be done. That is what makes hosting a rally so easy. We would like to thank Dave and Carol Ruldolph for bringing Mardi Gas to us on Fat Tuesday. It made for a fun evening.

On Wednesday, we had another terrific pot luck dinner. Three couples joined the 17 rigs already camped for a whopping 40 hungry people. Among the desserts was a birthday cake to celebrate Ed Decoteau and Judy Carle’s birthday.

Janice and Richard Huskey managed to spoil us once more, by making monkey bread in their dutch oven on Friday/hitch-up morning. 

We are looking forward to many more great rallies !! See you at Marie Callenders on the 28th.”
John and Wendy

It was a wonderful week with warm, sunny days punctuated by gorgeous sunsets. The nights and early mornings were cool which made us all move a bit closer to the campfire.

 Day time activities  included a ride on the lake in a pontoon boat for some, wine tasting at a local winery for a few others, going for a long walk, biking, metal detecting or relaxing with a good book and a cold one.

Welcome to new Shanty Shakers, Nick and Patty Bailey.

Welcome to Dan and Chris Garcia for attending their first rally. 

And welcome back George Bass, our illustrious fire starter !! Loved the colors !

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Wow, Congratulations to Judy for receiving an award for Outstanding community service. Proud of you !!

(Many thanks to Judy C, John Lupton , Ed Decoteau , and Lynn for contributing photos for the blog)