1 May ’04, Saturday. Quite a different day than yesterday. We decided that we should find a grocery store and if possible find a street market as well. As it was, we were able to do both. The office here at the campgrounds suggested that we go down the road about 30 km to Assen and we would find both of them there. We have been so lucky, the weather today is sunny and warm and that about calls out what we have been having since our arrival back in the Netherlands just about a month ago. I don’t want to say we haven’t had rain, wind, and clouds because we have, but during the day time almost everyday has been right back to the warm and mostly sunny days. We were able to find Assen with out problem and also found all that we needed to fill the refrigerator once again. Assen is a nice city of about 60,000 and in the main street of town there are no cars allowed. Lots of sidewalk eateries and pubs, shopping in nice stores was not a problem, and the people were really great. As far as the people in the Netherlands, they all have made us very comfortable, made our lives easier in helping us through the language difference (almost everyone speaks English), and being there when we need directions. Just a note about the grocery stores; They all have the little hand baskets that you can pick up throughout the stores and they all have the grocery carts. But the difference is with the grocery carts….you have to put $.50 into a coin box on the handle that releases a lock from the cart in front of it. You use the cart as usual and after you have checked out and loaded your groceries you take the cart back to the cart location and after you connect it to the cart in front with that chain mechanism again your coin comes right back out of the same slot for you. That way it seems no one will take the carts down the street and dump them into the ditch somewhere. One more difference, the grocery stores do not bag your groceries for you and they do not supply bags for what you have purchased. They do have bags available for you but, they cost an average of .15 cents each and you want to keep bringing them back with you for the next time. Among the things we brought back to the van today was a nice Salmon fillet and that’s what we barbecued for dinner tonight. Louise had given me a salmon rub (by Tom Douglas) that she picked up in the Washington Store last December and this was the first time we had had a chance to use it. It was dynamite !!! It not only tasted good it looked it as well….
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