Tag: KOA (Page 1 of 2)

I would rather be in an RV then in the wet city

August 24, 2018 / Jeff Koltoff / 0 Comments

The second weekend away in Chateau Sugaree, our new RV. We were able to capture a spot at our former home away from home – the Delaware Water Gap / Pocono Mountain KOA Holiday. True to form it was a wet weekend. This has been the case just about all summer.

Wet and Wild Ride

Being as we have not secured a “permanent” camping home for Sugaree yet we have been picking her up on Friday afternoon and returning to the storage lot Sunday afternoon. Not that bad, but would love to have a place to go to without the setup and breakdown. This will come in time.

The ride up to East Stroudsburg was a wet and wild ride. Rachel and pugs meet the RV along the PA turnpike and we caravaned up to the KOA. Traffic was heavy but moving. To our West, we could see grey clouds headed our way. As we traveled up route 33 they got closer and darker. We just past the exit for Wind Gap when the rain started. The winds picked up and the rain came down hard. To say it came down in sheets would have been an understatement. You could not see the front of your vehicle, let alone any cars in front of you.

Small branches from trees along the side of the highway broke off and were blown across the road surface. The shoulder of the road is narrow and not a good place for a car to pull over, let alone the RV. Along with the rest of the traffic, we slowed down to about 5 MPH and stayed in the right-hand lane. Before long, the rains eased and we made to our destination with minor periods of lite rain.

Setting up in the rain

It is not fun. That is all I can say.

As we could not get proper alignment of the site we ended up being a little too much to one side of the site. This did not prevent us from hooking up to shore power or the water outlet. We were a little tight to a couple of trees and could not access the sewer connection. The slide had enough room to extend fully, the AC was kicking out cold air, dinner was on the table, and life is good. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we would move the rig to sit in a better position within our campsite.

What to do on a rainy weekend?

As this was our second trip in Chateau Sugaree, we were still in move-in mode. While most things were brought into the rig on our maiden voyage, there were new things to organize and find a proper home. While this did not take too long, it had to be done.

After a long week and a stressful drive in the rainstorm, we spent the rest of the evening relaxing, talking and spending time with the grumble. As we could not sit out by a campfire, we decided to call it an early night. It didn’t take long for the pitter-patter of the rain on the roof to allow us to fall fast asleep.

Saturday morning came and fortunately, the rain was taking a break. This allowed us to get the dogs out for a morning potty run before breakfast. After the dogs ate, bowls and kitchen counter cleaned it was time for coffee and tea. Yes, we got all this done without our morning coffee and tea – and everyone survived. It didn’t take long for the grey clouds to move back in and the rain to start up again.

By this point, the humans were getting hungry. So we made eggs, toast, and turkey sausage. After cleaning up from our breakfast it was time to do the prep work for chili. That was going to be our dinner Saturday night. We heard great things about the Instant Pot, so we bought one last summer and love having it in the RV. We browned the meat and drained off the excess grease. Then cut up the vegetables – did I tell you how nice it is to have a little extra counter top space? Put the Instant Pot into slow cooker mode and dumped everything in, and put the cover on. It was not long before the RV was filled with the wonderful smells of the chili cooking. YUM!

Saturday night the rain had let up enough that we could get a fire going and enjoy the night air.

Entertainment system

The original owners did not replace the old tube style TV. They did, however, install a surround sound system in the living room and a small flat screen TV in the bedroom. The TV antenna, cable feed, etc are housed in a cabinet over the front dash with the TV in front of and over the co-pilot’s seat. The wires in the cabinet next to the TV was a jungle. So I spent a little time trying to trace some the cables and just generally organizing the mess. This is the first step in getting upgrading the entertainment system.

Lesson Learned

Get out of the RV and walk the site prior to trying to back into, especially at twilight or after sunset. The mirrors and backup camera do not give you all of the information you need.

In the end

In the end, we had a great weekend. Learned a lot about our new to us RV and get some time to relax and just enjoy time with each other.

Indian Summer And No Air Conditioning

October 4, 2017 / Jeff Koltoff / 0 Comments

It always seems that as autumn comes to Eastern Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas the temperature drops and the leaves start to change color. Then, without warning, the heat and humidity return for one last gasp of summer.

Normally, this would not be a big deal. Except, this year as the temps and humidity head up our AC at home died. We learned this when we returned home on Sunday night after spending a nice weekend at Home d’Pug RV. We could have suffered through the next few days until it was fixed, but the pugs would not have survived the higher temperatures. This was especially true of our two forever fosters – Casey Jones and Maggie – who both have a collapsing larynx.

After the 2-1/2 hour drive home we packed the pugs and Tiger, our cat, (Yes! we also have a cat), additional dog, cat food, litter, litter pan, additional clothing we made the return trip to the Poconos. Finally got back to the RV around 12:30 in the morning. There we stayed the entire week. I drove the two hours each way to work every day.

The AC motor was replaced on Wednesday. We decided since the week as just about over, why not stay until Sunday. This meant we spent 10 days at Home d’Pug RV. Two adults, six pugs and one cat living in a 31-foot motorhome.

Tiger’s Big RV Adventure

Tiger and Casey Jones

Tiger has been with us for over 10 years now. She has moved from one home to the next and just rolled with the punches. As the pugs started to come into our life she would leave them alone for the most part. We did not take her to the RV as we were not sure how she would adapt to the small space with two humans and 6 pugs. Of course, there was also the fear that she would get out which would not be good as she is an indoor only cat. But the situation necessitated that she come along.

Tiger with the grumble

Much to our surprise (it really should not have surprised us), she just rolled with it. We unloaded the cars, set up her litter pan, food and water dishes and let her out. Tiger looked around and gave everything the once over. By this time we were exhausted and I had to get up early to go to work. Throughout the night, you could hear Tiger moving around, but no more than at home.

By early Monday morning, she had staked out the copilot’s seat as her own. This is where you could find her asleep most of the day. Her food and water were up on the covered stove top. This way the pugs could not get to it and she could eat in peace. Before long, she figured out the best way to get there was to hop up on the dining table and then make the short leap to the stove top. She even found time to spend with the pugs on the sofa bed.

It got us thinking that maybe Tiger would do OK coming with us to the RV on our weekend trips. Will need to plan out where to keep her litter pan, etc. so they are not in the way. That will be our winter research project.

Keeping them behind the fence

The campground managers, who live on site, have two Papillons and had a fence built on their site. In talking with Donna and J one quiet Sunday afternoon, they suggested that we do the same. One of the grounds crew built theirs and we were welcome to approach Kevin to do the same on our site.

After talking with Kevin, we made a deal to have a fence built on our site. It is not a normal in a fence as there are no posts dug into the ground. Rather, it sits on top of the ground. This means we need to find another way to support the longer runs. This is still a work in progress.

Having the fenced in area allows us a lot more freedom in allowing the pugs to join us outside – especially as the weather becomes more comfortable for them. The best thing about the fenced in area is at potty time we can just open the door and let the kids run out. Ollie and Ming are a little slow in getting with the program. They are eager to go outside. However, both still look forward to going for a walk to do their business.

Having the fence has become a must for us if we are planning on staying in any one spot for an extended period with the pugs. This fence has sections so it can be unassembled and moved to another site or campground. We still use one of our x-pens to keep the dogs away from the fire ring when we have a campfire going. The fire ring is one corner (not too close) of the fenced in area and we use the x-pen to block off that area. It has worked great. Of course, with any campfire, we keep a close eye on the grumble to make sure they don’t get behind the x-pen and near the fire ring.

Renovations ahead

We have planned an animal-free weekend for the first weekend of October. It will be good to have some quality alone time. The interior is also going to get a couple of renovations we have planned.

The kitchen area is going to get a new backsplash. The carpets in the living room and bathroom are going to be replaced with vinyl flooring. More on the renovations next time.

In Memorium

As we have talked about before, we forever foster two pugs for the rescue we founded. Both have collapsing larynx. Maggie came to the rescue in early June 2017 and underwent major surgery to fix her stomach that slipped past her diaphragm. It was after the surgery that we learned about the collapsing larynx and she became a Philly Pug & Short Nose Rescue Angel pug.

Monday (10/2/17) morning Maggie was having a very difficult time breathing and was in distress. From the beginning, we knew our time with her was limited. With great sadness, we helped her across the bridge. We did all we could for her. Our hearts are shattered.

We hope you are having fun at the bridge our sweet Maggie Moo Moo. We love you so very much.

Til we meet again. ❤️💔😪😪

Fall Comes Early To Home d’Pug RV

September 13, 2017 / Jeff Koltoff / 0 Comments

Here we are the weekend after Labor Day and the mornings have been a bit on the cooler side. Woke up Saturday morning with the temps around 48° F and 50° F Sunday morning. While these are not the coldest temperatures we have gone RVing in, after the hot, humid summer it was a little bit of a surprise. We do expect the heat and humidity to make a return as is usual in this part of the county.

Along with the cooler nights comes shorter days. That means that fall colors cannot be far behind. A couple of trees are already starting to change. We are looking forward to a spectacular fall with tons of colors before the trees shed their leaves.

The crowds leave along with the (unofficial) end of summer

Now that Labor Day has come and gone, so have the crowds at Delaware Water Gap / Pocono Mountain KOA. It very quiet back in our little corner of the campground. After the summer weekends with just about every campsite and cabins filled it is almost spooky at night.

With the cooler weather and lack of neighbors, the grumble was able to enjoy some outside time. We set up the x-pen between our canape and the RV. So long as the sun was not shining directly on them they were fine. Our two Philly Pug & Short Nose Rescue Angle fosters would sit in the sun and start to over heat, so in they went into the cool RV.

Pugs are also enjoying the cooler weather

After spending part of the afternoon outside enjoying the fresh air and the sunshine they were eagerly looking forward to dinner. After dinner, they all decided that they would take over the sofa bed and fall into the ‘post dinner food coma.’ Here are some pictures of the grumble.


The Whole Grumble	Rosie
Maggie	Sugaree
Casey Jones	Ming, Ollie, and Rosie

Labor Day Holiday Weekend – 2017

September 10, 2017 / Jeff Koltoff / 0 Comments

The unofficial end of summer started with a cool blast.

Tuesday we both had to be back in the city for work and early appointments so we could not stay over Monday night, which we would normally do. To enjoy as much of the Labor Day weekend we decided to head up to Home d’Pug RV on Thursday night. By the time we arrived, it was already dark. It was quiet and peaceful. This is what we love about our spot in the Poconos. We settled in and relaxed a little before turning in for bed.

I had to get up early in the morning and drive down to my office for a short day. We had no water in the rig until late Saturday morning. (More on this a little later). So I got up early, went to the shower house and got dress and left for work. The pugs did not get up with me so Rachel and the pugs got to sleep for a little while longer.

About the cool blast. After weeks in the 80’s and 90’s with high humidity, Friday morning was something we were not accustomed to. When I awoke it was 41 degrees. A very brisk way to start the day. This made things nice for the pugs, especially Casey Jones and Maggie who both have collapsing larynx.

Holiday Weekend Officially Starts

The unofficial tradition at my day job is that we get to leave early on Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Generally, I can get out of the office by 3:00 in the afternoon and be with Rachel and the grumble by 6:00~6:30 depending on traffic. This Friday the boss closed the office at 2 and I was up to Delaware Water Gap / Pocono Mountain KOA by a little after 5:00.

Our campsite is next four sites that are generally rented by the night. This means we have different neighbors every weekend. Often, two or three or even all four sites are rented to an extended family or group of friends. This weekend, all four sites were rented to a related group. Well, things did not get off to a good start. They did not show up until very late – sometime after 10 pm. They were tent campers. This means that from 10 pm until almost 1 am they were making all kinds of noise setting up their tents, blowing up air mattresses and shining lights into the windows of our RV.

They were an annoying group for most of the rest of weekend, but we did not complain. Not wanting to start any issues with them, we tried to let it slide. Maybe we were wrong in not saying anything to the group or management. Will have to think about how best to handle this type of situation going forward.

No Water To Start The Weekend

As has been noted in earlier posts, our campsite has water and power, but no sewer hookup. This means two things. First, we have to manage our gray and black tanks levels, and, second, have the tanks pumped out. Normally, we can get through the weekend without overloading the gray and black tanks. However, when we get pumped out or dump our tanks in a sewer connection, the gate to the gray tank would drip a little. We were told about this a couple of times by the guy who does the pump outs. Being as the Tiffin Allegro is an older rig, I was afraid that I would run into something I could not handle. So this weekend we called our mobile RV repair guy to come and replace the black and gray tank gates.

While he was there, I had him replace the water faucets in both the shower and bathroom sink. While these were not major changes, it makes things a little more useful. Our old shower head had a fixed mount. You could point it in any direction within the shower, but could not get everywhere. With the new faucet, we also installed a hand held shower head. This makes rinsing off both yourself and the shower walls so much easier.

The bathroom faucet head was too long for the size of the sink. Would wash your hands or brush your teeth and water would splatter everywhere. The new faucet has a shorter head and the splash stays within the sink for the most part.

These were not major upgrades. However, they make life at Home d’Pug RV a little nicer.

Hope you enjoyed your Labor Day Weekend.

Our Tech Solution – Staying Connected

August 23, 2017 / Jeff Koltoff / 0 Comments

You don’t need to say it! There are 100’s of articles on the internet explaining the “best” ways to improve wifi and cellular service. Well, here is our solution (so far).

Rachel and I run Philly Pug & Short Nose Rescue. We also have an online store, RSQ K9 Products that sells products for canines and raise funds for rescue organizations around the country. One of our key operating Guidestones is to be responsive to our followers, supporters, and customers. This means being connected even at Home d’Pug RV. We do not stay online 24/7, but, try and respond in a timely fashion.

As a general rule, campground wifi is useless unless you are close to the store/office or a repeater (if the campground has installed any). Wifi is a line of sight technology. Our site is relatively close to the camp store where the wifi emanates from. Unfortunately, we are on the down side of a small hill and cannot “see” the Wifi too well. One solution would be a wifi booster. This maybe the route we take at some future time, but for now, we are going to rely on a cellular solution.

So what is in our tech tool kit?

An Apple iPhone (each)
An Apple iPad (each)
Dell laptop computer (Windows 7) (Rachel)
Asus laptop computer (Windows 10) (Jeff)
ZTE Mobley VM6200 4G LTE WIFI Hotspot
weBoost Drive 4G-X RV Cell Phone Signal Booster

Not going to talk about the phones or laptop computers. Will spend the rest of this article talking about the ZTE Mobley and weBoost Drive 4G-X RV Cell Phone Signal Booster.

ZTE Mobley VM6200 4G LTE WIFI Hotspot*

I know your first question is what the heck is this device??? The ZTE Mobley* is a mobile hotspot device that allows you to connect up to ten Wi-Fi devices while on the road. No charging or cables required.

To use as a hotspot in your car just plug the Mobley into your vehicle’s (post-1995) OBD-II port and your Hotspot is live. (You need to get a SIM card and have it activated first.) The device is supposed to be for cars, but with an optional power supply*, you can use it anywhere. This is how we use it in the RV.

After two visits to the AT&T store and a phone call with the vendor from whom we purchased the Mobley, it is up and working like a charm. Spent a Monday at Home d’Pug RV answering email and maintaining several websites all on my laptop. Speeds are not as fast as our cable connection at home. However, it was very workable as both Rachel and I were able to stay connected with no real noticeable slow downs.

AT&T currently offers a special standalone unlimited data plan for the Mobley. It is only $20/month (plus taxes and fees). After 22GB of data use AT&T may slow you down, but will not charge you extra for the data usage. As we don’t stream many video or movies, this should not be a problem. Besides, we have 15GB of shared data on our iPhones we could use if the connection gets to be too slow.

This is a tool that will stay in our tech tool box for some time to come.

weBoost Drive 4G-X RV Cell Phone Signal Booster*

Using the Mobley or our cell phones as hotspots are only effective if we have a good, strong cell signal. To help ensure that we have a strong, reliable signal we decided to investigate a cell phone signal booster. After much research, we decided to try the weBoost Drive 4G-X RV Cell Phone Signal Booster* from Wilson Electronics.

weBoost Drive 4G-X RV Cell Phone Signal Booster* is reported to do exactly what the name implies – boost the 4G cell phone signal. According to the Wilson website: “The weBoost Drive 4G-X RV from Wilson Electronics is the most powerful RV cell phone signal booster in USA & Canada.

Boosts 3G & 4G LTE for any vehicle
Works for all phones & cellular devices, all major US & Canadian carriers.
Complete kit: all parts included, easy install.
Most powerful RV signal booster.
Better talk, text & internet guaranteed.

With up to +50 dB gain of power, it greatly enhances 3G & 4G LTE cell service for all your wireless cellular devices (smartphones, tablets, notebooks, hotspots, etc.) on any carrier in North America.

There are no monthly fees nor does it need to be connected to any internet source (wifi or landline) to work. It simply amplifies your existing in-building cellular service up to 32X for better talk, text, and faster internet.”

Our weBoost Drive was just delivered and will be installed this coming weekend. I will update this post with our thoughts on this device after we have had the chance to use it for a little while.

*Affiliate Link

July is a Hot Time in the Summertime

August 4, 2017 / Jeff Koltoff / 0 Comments

To say it’s hot is an understatement. The average temperature in Philadelphia is in the mid to upper 80’s with high levels of humidity. It seems that most of the middle of the month, average temperatures ran more in the low to mid 90’s. Between the above average temperatures and the humidity, air conditioners just could not keep up.

We do our best to keep the grumble cool. This means limiting their time outside in the middle of the day. We keep them off the cement and asphalt as much as possible. Lots of cool water available. And special treats, such as watermelon, cucumbers, cantaloupe, a frozen Kong with peanut butter or home made doggie ice cream.

Shore Run

The third weekend in July we decided to take a little break from the Poconos. Rachel and I took Saturday for just the two of us. We headed down the shore to Cape May for the day. As we were in South Jersey with no real schedule we decided to stop in at Camping World in Swedesboro, NJ.

We have never been in a Camping World store and wanted to see what it was all about. The store is just off of I-295 and was an easy drive. Outside, they had a huge lot with many different types of RV’s available for sale. They had about eight service bays filled and many rigs either waiting to be worked on or for their owners to return. Rachel and I had the same reaction to the retail store, it was small but had a nice selection of camping and RV related items. We figured we would do any shopping from Camping World on their website. Greater selection of items to choose from.

After our visit to Camping World, We headed to Cape May. On the way, we passed a couple of campgrounds. Naturally, we had to stop in and take a look around. Really liked Avalon Campground. Seemed quiet, clean and well cared for. The roads within the campground are a little narrow, but nothing we can’t handle. They have seasonal rentals from mid-April to early October. We like to start the camping season as early as we can and extend it as late into the fall as possible. Just not sure if a shore campsite would work for us for the season. More thought will be given to this idea.

Decided we “worked” enough on this Saturday and deserved some time to unwind. So we headed to the Willow Creek Winery located at 160-168 Stevens Street, West Cape May, NJ 08204. We found this little gem a couple of years ago after leaving the Cape May Lighthouse. They have a great selection of wines and menu of lite foods that accompany the wines perfectly. This is a must stop if your in the Cape May area.

We finished the day at one of our favorite restaurants down the shore, the Tuckahoe Inn at 1 Harbor Road, Beesley’s Point, NJ 08223 (just outside of Ocean City, NJ). The Tuckahoe Inn holds a special place in Rachel’s heart. Often her parents would drive down on a Friday night just for dinner. When Rachel was younger, she would often join them.

The food is superb. The wait staff is very friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating. Word of advice, if you’re planning on dining here during the summer season, call ahead to make reservations. Tuckahoe Inn has plenty of dining space, but they do book up quickly.

Sadly, the day went by too quickly. We went home and spent the rest of the weekend with the pugs trying to stay cool.

Another Hot and Humid Week

The next week was even warmer and it seemed like the humidity was higher.

Rachel was planning on going up to the Poconos Thursday night with the grumble. However, after running some errands and taking all of the dogs out for a potty break before dinner she was exhausted from the heat. When I got home, she asked if I wanted to drive up to Home d’Pug RV and go to work Friday morning from there. I agreed.

The pugs got so excited as we started to pack the car. They know when an adventure is about to start.

Arrived around 9:00 pm. Unpacked the car, walked the pugs, they all got treats and then we settled down for the night. Having two A/C units cools down the RV in quick order. Was up by 5:30 the next morning and on my way to work by a little after 6, as it is a little over two-hour drive to my job from Home d’Pug Rv in the Poconos. But so well worth it to have a few more hours in our little slice of heaven. After work, I headed back to spend the rest of the weekend.

Rest of July – Misqueto City

The rest of July we continued to try and beat the heat on the weekends at Home d’Pug RV. However, the mosquitoes have taken over. We are trying everything to deter them as-well-as deal with the itching from the many bites.

With so much in the news of diseases that are carried by mosquitoes, we conferred with our doctor. As we have no other symptoms other than itching, we have nothing to worry about.

We have tried all types of creams, ointments, and lotions. So far nothing is working. Any suggestions are welcome.

4th of July – Sit Down & Patch My Bones

July 21, 2017 / Jeff Koltoff / 0 Comments

Ollie misses his dad

After almost two weeks on the road, it was time to get away for some serious rest and relaxation. As the pugs were not with us on “tour”, we felt they deserved some quality time with us. So we went to Home d’Pug RV from June 30th to July 9th. Actually, Rachel and the grumble stay up there all that time. I had to come home for work July 5th through the 7th. After work on the 7th, I made my way back to the Poconos.

I had to come home for work July 5th through the 7th. After work on the 7th, I made my way back to the Poconos. Ollie really missed his dad while I was away. He decided to sleep in one of the captain’s chairs.

Being an extra long holiday weekend, the campground was packed from Friday until check out on July 4th. Generally, the weekenders who camp around us are not a problem. Fortunately, we were able to get the much-needed rest and spend quality time with the pugs. They were not complaining.

Fireworks

The DELAWARE WATER GAP / POCONO MOUNTAIN KOA is about a mile down the road from Shawnee Mountain Ski Area. As part of the holiday festivities, on July 3rd Shawnee had a fireworks display. Fireworks may be beautiful, however, many dogs are scared by the loud noises the make. Knowing this we had a plan.

Before it got dark out, all the pugs went for their final walk of the night and got their treats. Everyone snuggled in on the sofa (laid flat in its bed configuration) and we put on a movie. The volume was turned up much louder than normal in an effort drown out some of the noise from the fireworks. It worked mostly.

Ming, Rosie, Ollie, and Sugaree (who is deaf) all snuggled down and slept through most of the noise. Casey Jones was another case. She was terrified by all the noise outside. Finally, I was able to get her to snuggle into my shoulder and she settled down but was still on edge. After about 45 minutes the fireworks ended.

We will have to rethink staying in the RV when Shawnee has fireworks planned.

Wildlife

Bear walking along Route 209

It’s Sunday, July 2nd around 10 am and we decide to go to one of our local favorite diners, Mullers, for a late breakfast. As we are making our way South on Route 209 traffic starts to slow. I look to my right to say something to Rachel and the only thing that comes out of my mouth is – Bear! Rachel looks at me “like, yeah, right!” She realizes that I am looking past her and she turns to her right and guess what she saw. YUP! A bear walking in an open field right next to Route 209. Rachel quickly grabs her cell phone and gets a couple of pictures of the bear.

One of the things that we like most about our camp site is that it faces a wooded area. Often, we get to see or at least hear some of the wild life that wonders close to if not into the campgrounds. We have seen deer, wild turkeys, chipmunks, squirrels and a great number of different types of birds.

Doe through screen window

Wild turkey on hill behind rig

Rainy Day Pugs – 12, 10, 8, 5, and 4

May 15, 2017 / Jeff Koltoff / 0 Comments

This weekend it was rainy day pugs.

Another weekend in the Poconos at Home d’Pug RV. Another weekend of rain (mostly). We had a Nor’Easter come through the Mid-Atlantic states Friday night into late Saturday night. So what to do on a wet, dreary weekend. Go to the winery of course.

Franklin Hills Vineyards

Our campsite is down the road a short way from Shawnee Mountain Ski Area. Several weekends during the non-ski season they run weekend activities. One weekend that we were at the Delaware Water Gap / Pocono Mountains KOA there was a food truck festival. One of the vendors was the Franklin Hills Vineyards. Rachel and I sampled a couple of wines and really liked a few. A few weeks later we visited the vineyards and had a lovely time tasting a few more varieties of wine.

So, on this rainy, chilly Saturday in May we get the pugs settled in and go for a drive to Bangor, PA and Franklin Hills Vineyards. They had a couple of different varieties of wine available. Naturally, we had to do a taste test. We ended up buying a mixed case of wine. No, not all the bottles are for us. Two bottles are for friends we are seeing next weekend in Milwaukee.

Pugs, Rain, and Saturday Night

By the time we return to Home d’Pug RV it is dinner time for the pugs. If you know nothing about pugs there are two things you will learn very quickly. Pugs are stubborn creatures and most hate rain. Taking Rosie, Ming, and Casey out in the rain is a no go from the start. For them, we lay out pee pad (puppy training pads). They have learned to use them when they need to. As Rachel would say, “Ollie is a boy and does not know any better.” Sugaree is blind, so we carry her in and out of the RV. While she is not happy about the rain, she will go about her business.

Now that the kids are fed, walked (mostly) and napping, we had a bite to eat and opened a bottle, I mean two, no your right three bottles of wine by the end of the evening. Did I mention that we like the wines from this vineyard??? With full glasses of wine in hand, we relax and watch a movie.

Sunday Morning

As has become our ritual, Sunday morning after breakfast is time to do some work around the RV. Today’s project was trying to clean some of the dirtiest spots in the carpeting. We brought with us our BISSELL Spotbot Pet Handsfree Spot and Stain Cleaner* (an item worth its weight in gold). While the dirtiest spots did come out, it just highlighted how dirty the rest of the carpet really is. We will spend a little move time and effort deep cleaning the carpet one area at a time.

New Construction at KOA

In an effort to increase rentals, Delaware Water Gap / Pocono Mountains KOA is adding a couple of new cabins on existing tent sites. While the construction does not add to the natural beauty of the area. Once they are done they will blend in as nice as possible.

There is one problem with the construction that came front and center on Sunday. It seems that the construction crews would tap into the closest power pole available. Normally I would not object. However, the seasonal sites are charged monthly for their electrical use. What upsets both Rachel and I the most are two things. First, we were not informed in advance, and second, we are getting charged for electric that we are not using.

Did not have a chance to talk with the manager before we left Sunday afternoon for home. I did send her a detailed email and currently awaiting a reply. Heard back from the manager on Tuesday afternoon. She needs to discuss the details with the owner but assured us that we would not be charged for usage by others. She does not think that the owner was aware that this has been going on most of the month. We shall see.

Not visiting Home d’Pug RV next weekend

As mentioned earlier, we will be in Milwaukee next weekend. We decided not to take the RV on this trip.

What is in Milwaukee? Well, pugs and lots of them. It’s time for the 13th Annual Pug Fest run by Pug Hugs Pug Rescue and benefits Pug Hugs rescue and the other rescues in attendance. Our rescue, Philly Pug & Short Nose Rescue, will be in attendance for the third year and this is personally our fourth year in making the pilgrimage to Milwaukee the third weekend of May.

Hope you have a great weekend.

“I’d rather be in some dark hollow”

May 7, 2017 / Jeff Koltoff / 0 Comments

🎶”I’d rather be in some dark hollow where the sun don’t ever shine. Then to be in some big city…“*🎶

It was a cold, damp weekend at the Home d’Pug RV this weekend. Eager to get out of the big city we decided to not let the weather hold us back. On Friday Rachel had the day off. She took the opportunity to sleep a little later than normal (lucky girl). By late morning she had the car packed, the pugs in their safe places within the car, and was on the road to the Poconos.

Meanwhile, I was in the salt mines working hard. (Yes, I know, “Poor Jeff”) After work, I headed up the Northeast Extension of the PA Turnpike. An hour and a half later I joined Rachel and the grumble. We were all so happy to be at Home d’Pug RV for the weekend.

Repair needed to be made

Since we bought the rig last July one of the nagging problems that needed to be fixed was the temperature and pressure relief valve on the hot water heater. If it drips slightly you most likely need to replace the valve. The temperature and pressure relief valve on our hot water heater did not drip. Water poured out of it when the temperature and pressure increased.

Have you ever looked at the location of the temperature and pressure relief valve on the Suburban hot water heater? There is not much room to work in there. Also, not sure if I had the right tools for the job. So we called in a professional to do the repair. Cost a pretty penny to have a mobile RV repair person come to our site. It was worth it in the time not spent and aggravation of having to break camp to take the rig to a local (relative term) repair shop. Sit around while they did the repair. Then come back and reestablish camp. There are better ways to spend your time away from the salt mines.

Finding a mobile RV repair person was a little more difficult than one would have expected. The managers of the KOA gave us a recommendation of a repair service. Called them and left several voicemails. Tried emailing them, no response. Then I went to the great equalizer – Google’s search engine. Found Trailside Mobile RV Service on Thursday afternoon. Willing to wait for a time he would be able to schedule an appointment, Tim was gracious enough to squeeze us in on Saturday morning. An hour later, the wallet lighter we had hot water for the first time. Life was good.

Time to Relax

Saturday we ran a couple of errands, had breakfast and came back to Home d’Pug RV. While the rain subsided we set up some plant pots around the site. Added blocks to the base of our canopy to help stabilize it in the wind. The rain started to pick up after we walked and feed the grumble. The entire weekend the rain would stop and start. We got a chance to start a campfire, share a bottle of wine and enjoy some of the nature around us.

Pump out time

RV tank gauges are notorious for not be accurate. The tank indicators on our 89 Allegro don’t work at all. Tried cleaning them. Still nothing. Not sure if it worth the time, effort and expense to put in new sensors or just let it go. Time will tell.

As part of our seasonal rental, we get two pump outs a month as we do not have a sewer hookup on our site. After doing the Sunday breakfast dishes we asked the office to schedule a pump out of the black and gray tanks before next weekend.

Lesson of week

Spent a good part of the balance of Sunday morning vacuuming under the sofa and dinette benches. Looks like these areas have not been cleaned is a while (a long while). I went to vacuum the bedroom area and noticed the carpet in front of the bed was wet. First thought was that one of the pugs peed back there. This was not the case. We discovered the low point in the RV’s gray water system – the shower drain.

Evidently, the gray tank was filled past capacity and backed into the shower and out. The good news is, the pugs were not in trouble and there was no new leak in the water system.

The lesson learned

When you think it is time to empty your black and gray tanks, it is too late.

The calendar now has a reminder to call for a pump out every other week and after a long weekend.

The takeaway from the weekend

Even if things go wrong. 🎶”I’d rather be in some dark hollow where the sun don’t ever shine. Then to be in some big city …”*🎶

Spring 2017

March 20, 2017 / Jeff Koltoff / 0 Comments

As Spring 2017 is here our focus turns to RV season. OK, our mind never really left RV season. We struggled with the anticipation of getting the RV out of winter storage and setting up camp.

As you will recall in our post “Home Away From Home” we talked about the Delaware Water Gap / Pocono Mountain KOA. For the 2017 summer season, we have a site starting April 1st and going to the end of November. This will be our weekend getaway for most of the summer.

But first, we need to get the rig ready for the summer. This means it is time for the annual state inspection along with the deferred maintenance items that need to be addressed before we head off for our summer adventures. This includes new tires, work on the suspension and exhaust systems and repairs to a leak in the plumbing around the shower/bedroom area. It is our hope to have everything done in time to head up to our Pocono site for Easter weekend. That is the goal (fingers and toes crossed).

This year for the holidays we decided not to get traditional presents for each other. As lifelong Deadheads, we decided to get tickets to see Dead and Company. Having the RV means that we are able to travel and see them a number of times during this summers’ tour. As we both work full time we had to chose which cities we could travel to once the tour schedule was announced. Of course, we had to keep in mind the limited vacation time our jobs allow us each year. We have tickets and campsite reservations to see Dead and Company six times over a ten-day span.

Our pugs are looking forward to going camping too. We say, “You want to go camping?” and they get all excited and happy. This past February we drove down meet up with friends who run a pug rescue in Memphis, TN. The purpose of the trip was to catch with them and to a adopt a special needs pug. She was found as a stray and was in rough shape. Under feed and over breed. We feel in love with her instantly and made her a member of the grumble. Please welcome Sugaree to the Home d’Pug family.

Now that we have our summer plans in place is it time to start thinking about a fall adventure???