Escapees -- Huntsville -- Isn't there a prison near here????

We spent last weekend (November 14-16) at an Escapees Bootcamp in Livingston, TX (near Huntsville).

Escapees - huh?

We arrived into Livingston a couple of days early which allowed us to go on the Escapees tour as well as the CARE center tour. More later on the CARE center... but, regarding Escapees.

Escapees was started in 1978 by Joe and Kay Peterson. They formed the club for a way to get together with other RVers, and the name was based on the initials: Service, Knowledge, Parking - SKP - what every RVer needs. If you say the initials, the name comes out - Ess Kay Pee - thus "Escapees". They are also sometimes called "SKiPs". There are a number of "Co-Op" parks that have been created by members, as well as a number of Rainbow Parks which are commercial campgrounds but Escapee members get a discount.

One of the big services that they offer is Mail Service and help in Domiciling. Dwayne and I are still figuring out whether and when we will go fulltime in the motor home, but one of the things we have to understand more is domicile. One of the bumper stickers we picked up while in Livingston is "Home is where you Park it" - neat concept, but there are several things we have to get figured out. I was reading in the Escapees magazine that was waiting for us when we got home; one thing it said was that you can't just forward your mail to someone if you have no intention of living at their address - that is considered mail fraud (who knew?!?!). If we give up our bricks-and-mortar home, we will need to make use of a mail forwarding service like the one provided by Escapees.

During the tour, we got to go through the mail processing center. They get the mail from the post office for 1000s of Escapees clients, and sort it into collection bins. They then will forward the mail on demand to the client - to whatever address they give. They can send it to a post office in care of "General Delivery" or to an RV park, or a family member - wherever the RVer knows they will be in the next few days and be able to pick it up. They are piloting a program where they will take pictures of the pieces of mail (the outside) and let the client decide which pieces they want forwarded. This pilot program will also provide the ability for the mail to be opened and scanned to be sent to you. Each of the services has a fee associated with it.

A lot of people choose to make Livingston their domicile also. This becomes their legal home - so their drivers license, vehicle registration, voters id - all indicate their Livingston Mail Forwarding Service address. One of the the Escapees I talked with told me that the community there in Livingston was very supportive of the RVing lifestyle; for example, she said that if you get a jury summons and you have either missed it (because you didn't get your mail) or you can't make it back to serve, they are very understanding. I hadn't even thought about jury duty with going fulltime -- so much to consider!

There are also a number of "sticks-and-bricks" homes/lots there at Rainbows End - most have a place to park an RV and a modest home on the lot. One of our considerations on "what to do next" includes purchasing a small house there in Livingston to use as our home base.

Patti and Dwayne - Escapee # 118698