I got Donna’s bike out of the trailer and aired up the tires before our friend Bill Frahm picked up Donna around 11am. They drove to the parking lot at Onyx skate rink where the Macomb Orchard Trail passes through to start their 20-mile bike ride on the paved trail.

I got my wash bucket and 75-foot hose out and went to work getting the road grime off the coach and trailer. Driving through thunderstorms on Tuesday really left a mess. After two and half hours, I thought it was “job done.” As I installed the windshield cover, however, I noticed that the water spots on the windshield were pretty bad. Then, when I put the tire covers on, I could see the spotting on the alloy wheels.

As the sun moved westward, I could see water spots and streaks all over the right side of the coach. The mineral-laden hard water here at Addison Oaks County Park made the coach look worse than before I washed it! What a bummer.

After their ride, Donna rode with Bill to his house and then he gave her the keys to his Nissan SUV – Bill generously offered to let us use his vehicle while we’re here. On the way back, Donna stopped at Papa Joe’s, a local gourmet market, and picked up a few things.

One of items she bought was a fresh ruby red trout filet. She prepared the trout by coating the fish with a mixture of dijon mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice and dill. I fired up the Traeger grill and preheated it to 350 degrees. As I explained before, it doesn’t hold the temperature at precisely 350. The temperature swings up and down and averages 350. This is normal. If you could accurately  measure the temperature in your oven at home, you would find the same thing happens there.

Preheated to 350 degrees

After lining the drip pan with aluminum foil, I put the fish skin side down directly on the grill. Twenty two minutes later, I removed the fish and cranked the grill to high. Donna also bought fresh baby bok choy at Papa Joe’s. She split the bok choy lengthwise and seasoned it with olive oil, salt and pepper.

High temperature for bok choy

The bok choy cooked quickly – it only took about 12 minutes on the grill. I like a little crunch in bok choy. It’s a favorite side dish for me.

Trout filets and bok choy hot off the grill

Ozark the cat began displaying strange behavior over the last few days. She’s been very vocal and restless, pacing the length of the coach, jumping up on furniture and counter tops, and spending a lot of time looking out the windows. She stretches her body, pressing down close to the floor, tail high and tapping her rear paws in a pedaling motion. Donna did some research and learned that this is textbook behavior for a cat in heat. Donna said she understands where the term “cat house” came from as Ozark struts her stuff in the windows trying to catch the attention of a passing tomcat.

Her behavior is a little annoying but we understand her hormones are raging. We have an appointment with a vet in New York about 10 days from now to have her spayed. The good news is that if she’s in heat, she’s not pregnant which could have been the case as she was a stray when we found her.

Although scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast Friday and Sunday, I think I’ll get the ladder out and clean the coach. I’ll use a waterless cleaner called “The Solution.” I didn’t use this yesterday because I wanted to wash the grit and road grime off with water. Today, I know better about the water here and I’ll go waterless with microfiber cloths.