Travel Experiment

Our house has been sold, the money is in the bank, and we continue to discuss if we should buy a small van or not. The cheapest and simplest is to just have the car as our total transportation. So, to help us in making a decision, we had the idea of going to the coast for the day on Friday with our car.  All our trips to the coast in the last 7 years or so have been in an RV, with all the conveniences of a toilet, kitchen, bed, lots of  food and extra clothing.  So, could we do a day-trip with out these comforts?  Our first stop was at Holmes Road Park on Devil's Lake.  Just discovered this past year, it has become one of our favorite stops for birding on the coast in the Lincoln City area.  The sun was out and we got a good list of birds. Here are the photos.

female Bufflehead

 Red-breasted Nuthatch

Song Sparrow

Western Gull

After birding at the park we stopped at McDonalds for lunch, and then continued on to Lincoln City Outlets for some shopping. By early afternoon we were tired and drove home.  So, what did we learn? We did fine without our personal restroom, we used the public toilets at the park, McDonalds, and the Outlets.  We snacked on fruit and water we had brought and ate at McDonalds.  It was easier to park at the Outlets in a car than in a RV. We considered it a success, particularly made possible because the coast is much closer from Dallas than from Salem. Maybe we can get by using the car for our birding adventures.