20 July - Arrived at Fourth Cliff Recreation Area in Marshfield MA

20 July
Today we departed West Point NY about 8 am and headed for our fifteenth campground, Fourth Cliff Recreation Area which is part of Hanscom Air Force Base MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation). Since it is a military campground, the cost is reduced and they are usually pretty good quality.  After researching construction and the various route options we decided to go north and catch I-90 east.  As we traveled across Massachusetts, we headed southeast into Connecticut and then through Rhode Island and up the coast to Fourth Cliff.  This allows us to fill in those States on our RV map and it was not really out of our way all that much.

 Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island added!!

Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Michigan will be added before this trip is over!

The trip was fairly uneventful until the last 10 miles where we missed a turn.  Normally this would not be that big a deal, but when you are pulling a nearly 42 ft long "condominium on wheels", it is very hard to maneuver and mistakes can be hard to correct.  Well, we did not take out any overhead lines, we got back to the road we had intended and we found Fourth Cliff and 3 pm.  About 327 miles and about 7 hours total travel time including breaks and refueling.

For the number crunchers out there, here are some stats:

Total point to point miles: 2999
Total vicinity miles: 3974
Total miles: 6973
Total point to point travel hours: 70 hrs 47 min

Total gallons fuel purchased: 540.698 gal
Total fuel cost: $1224.27
Average cost/gallon: $2.267
Most expensive fuel: $2.709 (Wayne PA on 21 Jun)
Least Expensive fuel: $1.959 (Belleville IL on 7 May)
Approximate miles/gal:  13

Total campgrounds visited:  29
Total nights camping:  147
Average campground cost/night if nothing changes:  $29.80

So back to Fourth Cliff.  It is a peninsula with the Atlantic ocean on the east and a pair of rivers to the west.  It is one of a series of cliffs located in Scituate MA.   in the 1600's to 1800's the area was known for it's shipbuilding.  Fourth Cliff was a very popular vacation spots for the Boston residents.  In 1880 a Coast Guard life saving station was located here.  Then after WWI, a Navy Radio Compass Station was installed.  During WWII, an Army Coastal Artillery Gun Site was installed.  It is still here, but of course decommissioned and the guns removed.  (I would LOVE to see inside the underground bunker area, but asbestos has been identified in there so it is off-limits.  Drat!)

This door is about 15 ft from our camp site.  Our RV is right on top of where the left gun sat!

The observation tower where they used to keep eyes on the ocean for enemy ships or submarines is still intact, but is also locked to prevent entry.

The barracks were made to look like cottages to disguise it from enemy ships.  Now they are cottages.

Later, radio towers were installed to communicate with submarines.  In 1966 the towers came down and the area was transformed into recreational use again.  There are still remnants of the old days, though, back when phones were connected with wires, LOL!!

Now, it is a 56-acre seaside resort with 17 winterized cabins, 4 efficiency cabins and 12 RV spots.  We are in spot 10, below.

Our 5'er and my two neighbors.  The little white travel trailer on the left is a rental from Hanscom MWR, occupied by the wife and daughters of a deployed Barnes Air Guard base Airman.  The diesel pusher on the right is owned by a retired Marine from the Boston area.

So we are literally right up next to the beach.  There is a cliff (hence the "fourth cliff") that separates us and the beach.  You can see the chain link  behind us to keep us from going over the edge.

We are right at at the end of the peninsula

The back of our RV is our bedroom, so our large bedroom window faces east and the ocean.  The view is absolutely breathtaking, and the sound of the waves is hypnotic!

Out the RV bedroom window.

This was taken just down the road a short distance towards the west to catch the sunset.

So thats about it for here.  We plan to visit Plymouth (rock) MA and down the coast to Cape Cod.  Doreen has a relative that has a place down there.  We want to continue the quest for lighthouses and see as many historical sites as possible.  We also plan to spend the evening watching the sunset!