Escapade 2016

The weather here in Essex, VT has greatly improved.  It is much cooler than on Saturday.  I think it will be near 90 today, but there are lots of clouds.

Opening ceremonies were on Sunday at 3 p.m.  Mom was thrilled when she met Kay Peterson.  She and her husband are the co-founders of Escapees.  She is now 89 years old and such an inspiration.  She spoke at the opening ceremonies.  Kay gave the folks a big hug.  Kay's daughter Cathie has been the president of the club for several years, but the torch was passed to her son, Travis and his wife, Melanie at the opening ceremony.  The folks went to a social last night and they spoke with Cathie for quite a while and received hugs from Travis and Melanie.  Hugging is big at Escapades.

Kay Peterson speaking at opening ceremonies.

Sunday night there was entertainment.  It was good, but the sound system wasn't working the best.  Mom couldn't understand the punchline.

Yesterday, the classes began.  Mom took four classes.

Last night, they went to the Xscapers social.  They are part of Xscapers which  is a "branch" of Escapees.  It is for anyone, but the main focus are those who are working and living on the road.  Basically, is it the younger generation.  Mom doesn't really like socials, but Dad wanted to go.  She had a nice time speaking with Cathie, Travis and Melanie.  She was excited to meet a person that she has only seen online. Either the woman is shy or just didn't want to talk to Mom because she was not very social. Didn't want to talk at all. Mom left feeling sad and wondering what she said wrong. Dad said not to take it personally.  He said that Joey is more social on the blog than in person too.  Wait...what?

The folks then attended another night of entertainment.  As they looked around, they realized they were the youngest in the audience.  I guess the Xscapers decided to stay at the social.  Much of the music was from the 40's - 60's.  They did sing some disco songs, but those did not go over well.  Mom laughed because some of the people were dancing, but when "The Hustle" was played, they didn't know how to do it. The solo group had the most fun. They danced a lot.

The Marlins

The Marlins singing country songs.

There is another greyhound here.  Her name is Lee.  She is 12.  She is a brindle with a white face.  That girl has energy.  We have seen her running around.  She prances when she walks.  Dad took a real liking to her.  I didn't like that.

We have a pet parade on Thursday.  I am going to wear my Halloween costume again.  It got lots of laughs the last time. 

We found out that someone has stolen our credit card number.  They had a nice dinner last night in California at a Chevy's.  They spent $225.  The credit card company noticed there was an issue and let us know.  

Joey,

The Greyhound Who Is Making Lots Of Friends

Escapade 2016

The weather here in Essex, VT has greatly improved.  It is much cooler than on Saturday.  I think it will be near 90 today, but there are lots of clouds.

Opening ceremonies were on Sunday at 3 p.m.  Mom was thrilled when she met Kay Peterson.  She and her husband are the co-founders of Escapees.  She is now 89 years old and such an inspiration.  She spoke at the opening ceremonies.  Kay gave the folks a big hug.  Kay's daughter Cathie has been the president of the club for several years, but the torch was passed to her son, Travis and his wife, Melanie at the opening ceremony.  The folks went to a social last night and they spoke with Cathie for quite a while and received hugs from Travis and Melanie.  Hugging is big at Escapades.

Kay Peterson speaking at opening ceremonies.

Sunday night there was entertainment.  It was good, but the sound system wasn't working the best.  Mom couldn't understand the punchline.

Yesterday, the classes began.  Mom took four classes.

Last night, they went to the Xscapers social.  They are part of Xscapers which  is a "branch" of Escapees.  It is for anyone, but the main focus are those who are working and living on the road.  Basically, is it the younger generation.  Mom doesn't really like socials, but Dad wanted to go.  She had a nice time speaking with Cathie, Travis and Melanie.  She was excited to meet a person that she has only seen online. Either the woman is shy or just didn't want to talk to Mom because she was not very social. Didn't want to talk at all. Mom left feeling sad and wondering what she said wrong. Dad said not to take it personally.  He said that Joey is more social on the blog than in person too.  Wait...what?

The folks then attended another night of entertainment.  As they looked around, they realized they were the youngest in the audience.  I guess the Xscapers decided to stay at the social.  Much of the music was from the 40's - 60's.  They did sing some disco songs, but those did not go over well.  Mom laughed because some of the people were dancing, but when "The Hustle" was played, they didn't know how to do it. The solo group had the most fun. They danced a lot.

The Marlins

The Marlins singing country songs.

There is another greyhound here.  Her name is Lee.  She is 12.  She is a brindle with a white face.  That girl has energy.  We have seen her running around.  She prances when she walks.  Dad took a real liking to her.  I didn't like that.
 

We have a pet parade on Thursday.  I am going to wear my Halloween costume again.  It got lots of laughs the last time.

Joey,

The Greyhound Who Is Making Lots Of Friends

Ethan Allen And Other Things

We arrived at Escapade 2016 (Escapees RV Rally) yesterday.  Everyone said, "Come to Vermont, the weather is cool."  Well, yesterday it was 94!  We are in full sun and since we are parked at the Escapade, we only have 30 amp service.  That runs only one air conditioner.  We have three, but we normally run two in the sun.  We only ran one the whole time we were in Maryland because we were in the shade.  The weather is cooler today and we are having some storms come through now.

I was Dad's co-pilot yesterday because Mom had to drive the Jeep.  We needed to be unhooked when we arrived at the rally.  We were only about seven miles away from our other campground, so it was an easy drive.  Oh, before we left the campground, we decided to fill up our propane tank on the RV.  That was pricey!  They charge $5.25 a gallon and we bought 24.5 gallons.  YIKES! We normally spend about $3.50 a gallon.

When we arrived at the rally, there were a lot of parking people to help us. They make it a quick and easy process.  They really do a great job.

This was this morning.  Do you see us?  Look for the brown Jeep towards the center.

Sunrise

Our view this a.m.  200 more RVs have come in since this photo was taken.  We no longer have a view.

Last night, we walked around and I met lots of people and dogs.  It was fun.  The folks went shopping at Walmart and Mom said it was very hot in there.  She was sweating in Walmart. They then ate at a Chinese buffet that was really good.

Mom decided to jazz up my bed with some additional foam.  I prefer a Sleep Number 45, but she turned into a 100.  Blah!

This is not comfy.

She took out a layer of foam and moved the other layer to the bottom.  It is much better now.

It is much better now.  Not as good as the couch, but usable.

 Today, the folks went exploring.  Dad wanted to see Ethan Allen's Homestead.   Mom said it was the worst tour that they have ever been on.  When they got there, the movie was ending, so they were told they could catch it after the tour.  They walked with the other three people to the house.

This was the tour guide dressed to match the times of Ethan Allen.

The problem with the tour was that the guide really didn't talk about Ethan Allen.  He showed them lye soap, how to make a linen towel and a cone of sugar.  He said the only thing original in the house were the floors.  The house had to be totally refurbished.  Nothing in the house belonged to Allen.  Grrrr! 

Bed on floor was a child's bed.  Looks like a dog bed.

The guide said that they used to wear wooden shoes around here.

The grounds

The folks walked back to the museum to see the film in hopes they could learn something about Ethan Allen.  The film was a very strange and confusing one.  It consisted of voices and drawings.  A child was told about Ethan Allen but still nothing specific.  It was the oddest thing.  The folks left feeling very confused.  It was $8 a person for this terrible tour.

Mom came home and did a little reading on Ethan Allen.  He had nothing to do with the furniture company.  BOL!  There were people at the museum talking about Ethan Allen furniture, so maybe they are confused too.

The folks then drove back to the restaurant where they ate the other day and where they have the gift card. There was no parking to be found, so they left. They will have to try and make it back later this week.

They did make a stop to see what may be the world's largest filing cabinet.

This sits in an out of the way place near a parking lot. It is 40' high.

They also stopped at a chocolate factory.  No tours today.  They were able to sample some chocolate chips.  They checked out the factory seconds.  It was $21 a pound for factory seconds.  BOL!  They didn't buy any.

Mom said they did not have much luck in anything they did today.  They came home and walked me before the storms came through.

Today is my 5th Gotcha Day!  Dad said I have come a long way in five years.  He said I have really come out of my shell since I am an only dog.  Yep, I like having all the attention.

The rally starts tomorrow afternoon.  Shopping opens in the morning, so I know where the folks will be.  There is entertainment in the evening, so the folks will be out after dark.  :-(

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Got Fries For His Gotcha Day - A Little Disappointing

Shelburne Museum

Today the folks visited the Shelburne Museum.  It is an unique museum that has 39 buildings on 45 acres. Many of the buildings were moved to the grounds.  The most unusual items are a steamboat and a lighthouse.

Monet painting - very light

Monet painting - again very faint

The last drop.  Rider gives his horse his last drop of water.

Lighthouse that used to be at Lake Champlain

 

Photo of lighthouse as it sat in Lake Champlain

 

Dining room on boat

Another photo inside boat.

Wheel house.

Bear in log cabin.

There is one building dedicated to the circus.

Took 40 years for one man to do this.

 

It took 20 years for six people to make all the figurines that are in the windows on this wall.  Close-ups of a few follow.

 

This is inside the general store where you could buy anything.

There were lots of wagons and sleighs.

School bus sleigh.

Gypsy carriage

Horses wore these nets to keep the flies away.

There were so amazing quilts.

This is a quilt!

The folks found some greyhounds!

He is either over a very large rabbit or another grey.

Glass canes.

School house

Dual lane covered bridge with a walkway.

Meeting room

 It is a nice place to visit.  The folks said they were worn out after only four hours.  Their feet hurt. Mom didn't take photos of every building.  They didn't spend a lot of time looking at anything just because they didn't want to do so.

The ticket price is kind of high.  $24 a person, but it is good for two days.  The folks found a coupon for $2 off and used that.  There is a lot of maintenance to the place, so that is why the price is so much.   They ate lunch there and that was $20.

Yep, that is my souvenir.

It's mine Dad, I can eat it!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Likes This Park For Ease Of Walking