Entry 5 Sseptember 8 2008 Rover is ours again

[David and Susan Bratt]

After all the anxiety and frustration of the previous Friday, picking up Rover on Monday turned out to be very simple. Another taxi ride (€52 this time), less than a two-hour wait in the shipping company’s office on the dock, and literally a thirty-second customs check: we put the license plates back on and were on our way. There is no way to describe the rush of adrenolin we felt as we pulled out of the port. We had actually pulled it off. We were in our own Rover in Europe. The rush ended quickly as within a quarter mile we approached large orange detour signs and had no idea what they where telling us to go.
The first thing we had to do was stop for gas (about $9/US gallon). We were delighted to find that we could also fill our LPG tank at the same station for about €2.40 /US gallon. Not only that, but we didn’t need any special fittings--like, for instance, the ones we had paid $170 for that we’d been told we would need. Instead, the supply hose had a fitting that we screwed on to the tank’s input, and we filled it just like you fill a gas tank. It shut off automatically at the necessary 80% full.
We drove south along the coast of the North Sea, never actually seeing water, stopped at a grocery store, and found our way to a lovely rural campground outside Bredene, near Oostende, with many permanent trailers. We’ve seen about five people, so we think most of them come in on weekends. There are bike paths everywhere and we intend to use them.
We spent the afternoon unpacking and putting everything in its place. Now that we are here and have cleared customs on both ends, we can admit that we did not ship the motorhome empty as the shipper required. (Neither does anyone else whose webpages we’ve read on the subject.) We had put locks on the underbed spaces and closet and filled them with everything--linens, dishes, tools, some food, two folding bicycles, pots and pans, clothing, cleaning supplies, books, bedding, folding chairs and table for outside--so it looked empty. We carried with us some additional clothing and the computer, camera, gps, and telephones. Our suitcases were not full. Everything was still in Rover just as we left her. And we could tell that a few cupboards had been opened, but not the locked ones.
All in all, it is a great relief to be here, to have everything with us, and to be recovering from jet lag. Our biggest problem right now: David cannot find his passport.