Hi Mike and Donna, welcome to the forum and the Escape family !
Like you, we looked at Casitas and all the other fiberglass trailers available, and kept coming back to Escape, because of the quality, the price, the weight, and all the options possible . The respect people showed Tammy and Reace and the incredible respect that Escape showed for their customer's satisfaction was the deciding point .
Since we've only had our 19' since April, our experience is limited, but there are some options we are really glad we got . Two 6-volt batteries and solar panel, the front storage box, the door under the passenger side bench seat, making the cabinet opening for the middle cabinet above the bed wider( to have better access for the storage area) , windows for the bathroom and the kitchen, having shelves put in the "closet", and turning the stove 90 degrees (for more counter space) all work really well for us .
Probably the one option that we didn't need, but seemed like a good idea at the time, were captain's lights . We got two over the dinette, and two for reading in bed . The Escape already has plenty of lighting, and we find that we don't use them very often .
Have fun with your build list, and I think you're right, that the year will fly by, so enjoy !
Dennis and Jessica