Catching Up…Again

It’s been a while since my last post, so my apologies to all who might have been looking for something new. Someone recently wrote that several friends had stopped blogging. It got me to thinking, why do I blog? If it’s just a chore for a few people who don’t see my updates on Facebook, is it worth my time and effort? Or, is it a more-or-less permanent record of our lives and adventures to which I can return? I guess it’s a mixture of both. But that leaves me wondering whether I need to cover the month since my last blog, or just pick up from now and skip some experiences? Is it boring to read about something that happened a month ago?

Since I have no answers for my own questions, I’ll just make a stab at what readers might want and post some pictures, mostly from the Escapade, the Saguaro Co-op’s 25th anniversary ice cream social and the Chapter 21 rally in Tucson.

For my knitting/crocheting projects lately, instead of baby caps, chemo caps or lapghans, I knitted up 10 scarves for a veterans donation from Escapees at the Western Area Rally for Escapees (WARE).

Miss Kay (Kay Peterson, Escapees Founder) looked great as she autographed her newest book, Chasing Rainbows. I bought a copy and am just starting to read it. Kay’s seen here with daughter Cathie Carr (Escapees President) and Russ Johnson (Escapees CARE Director).

Nick and Terry Russell were busy at their Gypsy Journal booth in the vendor area. We always enjoy seeing these friends, and have been subscribers to their great newspaper as well as readers of Nick’s novels for many years. Nick writes an excellent daily blog where both Don and I start our day. His best-selling novels and non-fiction books are available in print and e-book formats on Amazon, and I highly recommend them.

I caught Chris Guld at the Geeks on Tour booth during one of the few times she and hubby Jim (not pictured) weren’t swamped with people. They are my go-to gurus for help on computer- and smart phone-related issues.

Charles and Chris Yust were very busy at their insurance booth. Don and I recommend them every chance we get because they saved us a lot of money when we switched our policy to them several years ago, and their customer support is unmatched!

Paula and Carlin Serra dressed themselves and their U.S. Mail booth for St. Patrick’s Day.

W.C. Earnst and Don are shown here helping attendees at the Volunteer booth while Jan and Bill Mains talked about how busy we were at the booth. After doing this for 5 years, it’s the first time we filled all the slots for volunteers during the first two days of the Escapade – never before has it happened this quickly! The high number of attendees could be the reason – over 900 rigs and 2,000 people!

Marilyn Anderson, Lisa Koca and David Anderson were pretty busy at the Escapees products booth, next to us.

Molly and Bob Pinner made announcements at the opening session of the Escapade.

Mark Nemeth’s camera was set up in the midst of the 2,000-person audience during the general sessions, to project shots of presenters as well as slide shows from photographers who roamed the grounds during the rally.

Kay and Ron Rivoli were the featured entertainers. We always enjoy seeing them perform, even though we’ve heard most of their songs and we know all their jokes!

Notice Ron’s Airstream guitar!

The most surprising thing that happened at Escapade was during the closing ceremonies. My name was drawn for the Grand Prize! It’s a choice of one of the MegaRallies put on by Adventure Caravans, worth almost $4,000! Wow – I was so shocked, I wasn’t even aware of moving when I walked up the steps with Don to accept the prize on stage. And I don’t have any picture but I think some of my friends might have taken a few.

The morning after Escapade ended, Dennis Hill and Don supervised the tire repairman before the Hills could depart. Bummer to discover a flat just as you’re trying to pull out!

During the next week, the Escapees Saguaro Co-op RV Park in Benson celebrated its 25th anniversary. Chapter 21, of which Don is President and I’m webmaster, provided cake and ice cream one afternoon. Here are some of our serving team in the kitchen of the clubhouse at the park.

The week after that, Chapter 21 had a rally in Tucson. The 4-member board of officers all agreed to run for their respective offices for another one-year term, so they were elected by acclimation. Our VCRs (Voluntary Club Representatives) Nathan and Cynthia Colter installed them during the business meeting, first Don as President…

…then Stu Dutcher (VP), Betty Dawson (Secretary) and Ann Meilicke (Treasurer).

Our cake wasn’t as big as the ones served at the Co-op, but we still celebrated 27 years.

Several of us went to Reid Park Zoo one day, and a musical at The Gaslight Theatre one evening. Both were fun and entertaining.

Now Don and I are enjoying our lot at Cochise Terrace in Benson for a few weeks. I’ve been busy with some RV Driving School lessons, and both Don and I have had several doctor appointments in Tucson and Sierra Vista, with a few more to follow. It’s nice to have a little free time and enjoy some nice sunsets across our back fence.