Life is Good

     This morning I wandered (drove) over to by a nearby general store to get a Boston Globe and a couple of bagels.  Toasted with butter, they constituted breakfast.  We wandered around the campground a bit and took a few pictures.  Next to the office there are some big, bushy shrubs the color of hydrangeas...but they are not hydrangeas.  The first shot is from a distance and the next is a close-up.

     If anyone can identify it, I would appreciate it.  It's a handsome bush.
     To the north of us are Scituate and Cohasset, both classic South Shore and fairly wealthy towns.

     That's Scituate and the next is Cohasset.

     The next picture shows that life is relaxed.  We sat outside this evening for a couple of hours.  The Atlantic  horizon extends for 180 degrees.  Tomorrow I will set up the telescope to see if we can see Provincetown from here.

Relaxing on the Mass. Coast

     It is nice to sleep in again.  Fortunately, Baxter doesn't mind.  We had a quiet day of listening to the surf and watching all the water traffic here.  We did do a bit of shopping.  We dropped $183 on groceries at a great market (thanks, Ann), and I found a place to replace some old, rotten sandals.
     I woke up at 0500 (that's the way it goes), so I broke out the camera to show you what the eastern horizon looks like at that hour.  Fortunately, one of the rare pleasures at this age is going back to sleep.

     In the evening, which included a shared sirloin strip, medium-rare, and a salad, I took another picture to show the extreme proximity of our set-up to the edge of the ocean.

     This is a wonderful spot which is located in what is known in the local vernacular as "the South Shore".  I hope we can do it justice a get some good pictures for you.

Humarock, MA

     Actually, Humarock is a village within the town of Scituate located perhaps halfway between Boston and the base of Cape Cod. Much of village is located on a very narrow peninsula that juts into the Atlantic and turns north.  On the west side of the peninsula are the mouths of the North and South rivers.  On the east, of course, is an unimpeded view of the Atlantic.  On the very northern tip is Fourth Cliff.  In the 1880's it was home to a life saving station; perhaps selected for the extensive area of ocean that could be seen from its elevated vantage point.  
     In last night's post I mentioned the possibility of a sunrise picture.  We had left the windshield uncovered, so about 0515 the red sun came pouring in.  I snapped a shot through the yet unwashed windshield.

     After WWI the place became a Navy Radio Compass Station, and during WWII the government built a coast defense artillery site with a large concrete "bunker" and observation tower.  We are parked immediately to the north of the bunker.  You can see the overgrown mass behind the Jeep.

     The concrete pad we are parked on was poured to support long range guns.  I'm sure that it is more than adequate for a forty foot RV.
     After the war the armament was removed, and the site became an antenna range.  It was used by the MIT/Lincoln Lab for radar development work associated with the famous (in the profession) Rad Lab Series of 32 volumes of text/reference books.  It also hosted a pair of giant, low frequency, radio towers to test communications with submarines.  In 1966 the towers were removed and the site evolved into a recreational facility administered by Hanscom AFB.  Cindy commented to the previous post with a forty year old recollection of harvesting and steaming a bushel of clams when we stayed here in a cabin.  We also stayed here in January of 1998 on the maiden voyage of our new "Bounder".
     On the way back from a trip this morning to replenish the Jeep's gas tank, which was last filled in Colorado, I took a couple of shots to depict Humarock.  The first shows a typical seaside cottage with water on both sides.  This picture shows the "back" side.  The Atlantic is on the other side.  The other shot is a raft of cormorants.

     This is a piece of federal property that I am sure is much coveted by developers.  Meanwhile, it provides a full service (albeit with 30 amps) RV site for fortunate military retirees for $25 per day..

Fourth Cliff (Humarock, MA)

     We have arrived in Humarock.  I'll provide details and history in the next post.  We arrived a day late, because we replaced the four coach batteries in Glenville.  More later.  Below are three pictures:  the first shows that we are parked right above the beach.  The woman in the picture is probably 75 feet away and 75 feet below us.

     The second shows the view out the windshield.

     Looking back toward the west at the North River there was a sunset picture.

     I'll have a better post soon.  This was just a check in sort of post.  There should be some great sunrises if I manage to get up in time.

A Glitch

     Well, here we are in Glenville, NY.  We had been having some minor difficulties since we left with the transition from onboard power to "shore" power and back.  The power transfer switch appeared to be erratic.  Now we find that it may be more serious.  The coach batteries have become suspect.  They were replaced 30 months ago with deep-discharge, AGM, glass mat batteries.  They should not be a problem.  An RV tech will be here tomorrow morning.  I'll keep you posted.  Meanwhile, here are a few pictures from their dock on the Mohawk River.

Why we do this

     As we wander around this country , I have found it very interesting to note strong regional differences in the various perceptions of the roles different regions played in achieving our national independence.  Being from New England, we grew up with the tales of the Minutemen, Concord and Lexington, the Adams', the tea party, Paul Revere, etc.  Of course the more dignified Virginians in the House of Burgess, such as Jefferson, saw those folks as a bunch of undisciplined firebrands who were going to muck everything up.  The Philadelphians understandably treasure their legacy as the place where it all came together.  Now we live surrounded by a bunch of obstreperous South Carolinians who correctly recall how the "Swamp Fox", Francis Marion, harassed and otherwise occupied the attention of a great proportion of the British forces.

     I mention this as I reflect on the factionalism that encumbers us today as we celebrate our 236th anniversary as a free and independent nation.  Are our differences today any more divisive than the the ones that divided our fractious and fiercely independent colonists?  Can't we find the civility and compromises that they did to create e pluribus unum?

     On a lighter note, today was a perfect example of why we do this.  We were sitting under our neighbor's canopy enjoying some camaraderie and a few smoked shrimp that I had bought an hour before. That's a new one, and they were excellent. Walking by was a guy with a leonberger.  This is a giant breed of German dog that is a lion-like (hence the name), gentle giant with a distinctive black mask.  He's related to a Newfoundland, but with much less saliva.  Later the owner's wife joined us.  They are also first-timers at this campground.  A bit of a shower cropped up (our first rain since leaving South Carolina), so we pulled our chairs in closer under the canopy.

     So here we are...six folks who have never met before having a wonderful time on the shores of Lake Erie.  That is what this lifestyle is all about.  By the way Harley is a really special dog.  The folks at the nursing home in Cincinnati really love him.

Another nice day on Lake Erie

     Not too long ago I started off one of these blogs with a sort of an apology that I didn't have any pictures to go with my narrative.  Tonight the reverse is true.  The sunset was wonderful over the lake and, in the opposite direction, the moon was full.  Last night we went out for supper with some new friends, Larry and Jane Rozborski.  The place was called "Guppy's".  It was local word of mouth that found it for us.

     In a major faux pas I failed to get a picture of my appetizer.  Picture a giant martini glass about 15 inches high with a diameter of the rim of at least a foot.  It was filled with thirty or so sauteed mussels in a white wine and butter sauce...Outstanding!  After the supper, we came back to the campground and sat outside and visited until after 2300.
     Today was one of those "read a book" days that makes this lifestyle so pleasant.  Supper was leftovers and we went down to the shore for the perennially enjoyable sunsets.  We barely got there in time.  Happy hour ran a little late.

     When you turn your back to the sunset, there is the full moon.

     That light over the bus is the moon.  As you can see, this blog is much more about pictures than it is activities.  After all, pictures are easier.