Day Trips — Like a Vacation . . . Almost
by Katy on April 25, 2025 · 68 comments
My husband and I love a day trip mini-vacation. Not only does it save the cost of accommodation, but it also simplifies the process, as there are no cats to feed, clothing/toiletries to pack and we get to sleep in our own comfy bed. We’re lucky that Portland is close enough to the coast, Mt. Hood or area destinations to make this possible.
Just yesterday we spent the day at Cape Meares at the Oregon coast, hitting this single beach and making sure to be there during low tide to maximize the tide pools and cave access. I mean, c’mon . . . who doesn’t love a bright purple starfish?!
Or this chonky specimen:
Sea anemones are usually green in the center, but this gal displayed a pop of bright blue!
For comparison:
Oregonians are allowed to harvest up to 72 mussels per person per day, as long as you buy a $10 annual permit. I’ve never done this, but feel like I need to give it a try at some point.
The very best part of low tide are the caves which are only accessible during the very lowest of tides.
It wouldn’t be a Cape Meares beach day without hitting the Tacos La Providencia food cart in nearby Tillmook. The best! My camera lens was smeary, but it only enhances the romantic quality of how good these tacos were. Their homemade avocado salsa is next level!
Where was I? Oh yes . . . day trips. They’re as cheap as the gas to get you there and back. We did pack snacks, but we certainly could’ve packed food for the entire day.
Love, love, love a day trip!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 68 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, wow! I have never seen purple starfish before! Or photos of real sea anemones (only diagrams in our high school biology textbook). That was a real treat for this landlubber! Thanks for sharing.
I love taking a cheap trip. My husband’s grandma has a cabin in Door County Wisconsin so we love taking a trip up there for a free weekend. We take advantage of the free tastings at the local wineries and listen to live music.
My 5 frugal things this week
1. I used up the rest of the cut up berries in the fridge to mix with yogurt for breakfast and brewed up some coffee at home.
2. It was my mother in laws birthday yesterday so I baked her my famous BIG chocolate chip cookies for everyone to enjoy after dinner. She is very frugal as well so we all met up at a local restaurant for their Thursday night $12 full slab rib special with fries and garlic bread. Instead of a birthday bag, I used an Aldi paper bag with handles, and she enjoyed that it was reused.
3. I’m going garbage picking tonight with my mother in law. It’s spring cleanup in our area and we find so many good things. We then have a garage sale to sell our finds and use that money for vacation.
4. My in-laws parked their camper at a campground for the next 6 weeks and they invited my daughter and I to come and camp with them this weekend. I’m looking forward to all the food cooked over the fire.
5. My husband had to drive 4 1/2 hours to Michigan for a week long business trip. He took my car so we could take advantage of better gas mileage. I have his truck this week which works out since I’m working from home all this week.
Wasn’t Cheap Trip a band in the 1970s? ;D
It was Cheap Trick
But the Grateful Dead would sing “what a long strange trip” it’s been….
We drove over to visit my son and his family. It is a 3 hour drive. We carried our own beverages, breakfast sandwiches, and fruit plus snacks for the trip home. We met them for a pizza lunch. After a nice visit we got back on the road to drive home. A lot of driving for a day trip but it was good to see everyone and totally worth it.
Here in Central NY, there’s no shortage of day trip options, especially in the Finger Lakes area. I haven’t done enough day-tripping in recent years and will make a point of doing at least a few trips this summer. Thanks for the inspiration, Katy–and the starfish photos are amazing!
Love the Corning Glass Museun (and the Glenora winery, too.) My sister-in-law found a shop in town where the winery is that sells local wines for a few dollars less than if you go to the winery itself. Not a wine fan unless it’s so sweet I can’t taste the alcohol. Glenora’s Red Rasperry and Blueberry Breeze are the only 2 wines I will drink.
We need to get back to the Finger Lakes region and do more exploring – we spent 5 nights at Watkins Glen state park a few summers ago, and did some exploring in the area, but ran out of time to see everything we wanted.
I love day trips to the beach, especially since hotels there are $$$$$.
Love the Corning Glass Museun (and the Glenora winery, too.) My sister-in-law found a shop in town where the winery is that sells local wines for a few dollars less than if you go to the winery itself. Not a wine fan unless it’s so sweet I can’t taste the alcohol. Glenora’s Red Rasperry and Blueberry Breeze are the only 2 wines I will drink.
The Corning Glass Museum was such a surprise – a friend recommended it and I didn’t think we’d be there very long, but we spent the entire day and the kids still weren’t ready to leave. Such a great place !
Beautiful to see the sea life and scenery on your coast! Things are slow here as I continue to work on long term goals…the year of unexpected expenses continues to haunt me, but I am working on it slowly.
1. Aldi had several great clearance finds this week. I bought several I needed and took photos which I shared in my neighborhood Facebook group.
2. I was approved to start working for Instacart and did some trips this weekend.
3. I used a gift card to get my hair cut the other day.
4. We are continuing to eat down our Easter left overs. Tonight I will portion them and freeze them into meals for future use.
5. My weekend plans include decluttering the plants in front of my home for a cleaner look. The price for this activity is free.
Not sure how I posted that reply twice. Oh, well.
Love the “scratch and dent” shelves of the local supermarkets. The other week, I bought a Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix regularly $1.99 for $.99. Half price – sounds good to me! I’ve also found flour there different times (when workers accidentally cut open the bags when opening the case to put on the shelves; they tape the bags with clear packing tape, mark it down, and put it on the clearance shelf. A month or so ago, I scored a 10 lb bag of flour and a 5 lb bag of flour…total = $3. I always check there first…you never know what treasure you might find.
Went to get some bread today and the edges were starting to mold. Cut the moldy stuff off, then got a clean knife, cubed it, and tossed it in a freezer bag. I do the same with the “heel” (ends) of bread – not sure why ww don’t eat them, but we don’t. Next time I make filling/stuffing/dressing, whatever you call it where you live, I’ve got my bread cubes ready to go.
Something to keep in mind – on soft foods like bread, the mold you see represents hyphae that have penetrated deeper into the loaf, and the surface spores can contaminate the air when disturbed. Exposure might not make you immediately ill, but mycotoxins present can cause organ damage and illness over time.
If moldy bread is a frequent problem, keeping bread frozen may be more prudent than trying to salvage affected loaves.
My grandmother used to send us kids out to gather mussels for her. Now and then she’d boil them and make a mussel broth, which she insisted we all drink. As the “difficult” child, I refused to, even though she informed me I’d get a goiter if I didn’t. I decided to risk it. Who knew? It wasn’t 1910 any more and I never did get a goiter!
Rose,
I guess, back in the day, mussel broth would supply the iodine your body needed? Um, yeah….I would’ve refused, too, and take a chance on developing a goiter. 🙂
Wow, love the pics! I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actual starfish.
Day trips are the best! We typically drive up to the North Shore of Lake Superior or to the Stockholm, Wisconsin area.
The savings on not having to get a room overnight always offers substantial savings. We’re in a similar situation here on the East Coast…we’re about 45 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean, about 1 & 1/2 hours from Cape Cod and two hours away from the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We often take day trips to save money on hotel rooms. Every once in a while, I get an itch to see the mountains or walk along a beach so we pack up and go. I have to say, we don’t seem to have as many interesting or beautiful creatures as you have on the West Coast. The mussels look so plentiful, too. Glad you had a good vacation day.
It was very refreshing to get away, even if it was just for the day.
Those photos are gorgeous. I never knew starfish could be so colorful.
We live in a rather touristy town and most summers have a day of being hometown tourists and go to fun, inexpensive things in the middle of the week when it’s quiet. It’s a lot of fun.
Ruby, do I dare say “See Ruby Falls”? 😀
It’s as fabulous as ever. 😀 I have not been to Rock City since I was 4 and traumatized by the thought that my dad would get stuck in Fat Man’s Squeeze.
Our most fun thing was going to the zoo last year and getting a personal tour of the program that is breeding hellbender salamanders to release in the river system. It was just amazing.
Ruby, here’s my favorite Rock City story: It’s said that soon after Garnet Carter opened Rock City, he was asked if he had any special plans for the upcoming 4th of July. As you will recall, there’s a point on the overlook from which people can supposedly “See Seven States.” Carter thought for a minute and then said, “I think I’ll let folks see eight states.”
That is so funny and sounds like him. A few years ago I got a copy of Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” for free and read it, even though fantasy is not my thing, and was tickled to see that the big show-down with the gods takes place in Rock City.
The hellbender is our state (Pennsylvania) amphibian
I just heard that song at a concert! Great song, done well by the choir or Rock Voices and their band.
Yes, this trip was on a Thursday and we pretty much had the entire beach to ourselves. We certainly had the tide pools to ourselves.
I agree, day trips are great!! How nice to live so close to the ocean. Those photos are beautiful.
We Portlanders are very lucky.
Katy, my favorite food when in France is mussels , you really should try them. In France they were in some sort of white wine and cream sauce/broth.
I love daytrips! Your photos are awesome.
1.made bread in time to not have to buy any.
2.defrosted, cleaned and scrubbed both freezers and decided I have enough ready meals (homemade) and need to start getting them used up. It’s not frugal to not use what you have available.
3. laundry all dried outside. Weather has been awesome.
4. painted my deck myself and prepping for plantings. I will buy 1 annual for each large pot and surround each one with spider plant babies of which I have a plethora.
5. Cleaned all of the brisket tallow/grease and it turned out snow white.
Bonus: Not going to the Popes funeral and using it for a “networking” event. tRump is such an asshole.
MUSSELS: Want to try them, cheap? I got a 1 lb box of Pier 33 Gourmet Organic Mussels fully cooked in natural sea brine. 6 minutes on the stove or in the microwave. Aldi’s. $3.99. Granted, that weight includes the weight of the shells, so you’re not going to have 1 lb of actual meat. If you want to try them, this is probably one of the least expensive ways to do so.
I’m planning to pick those up – my husband loves them. Whole Foods, surprisingly, has decent deals on oysters and mussels.
We have some native shellfish in the river but I wouldn’t eat them as it’s certainly not as clean as the Oregon coast.
Yes, after making such a big deal of Zelenskyy not wearing a suit to the White House, Dump wore a blue suit to the Pope’s funeral in Rome! The Pope’s funeral!!! At least Melania had enough sense to wear black.
@Julia T – she got a designer to give her a new dress, I highly doubt she paid a penny. Not sure if it was her veil and/or her makeup but it was not a good look. Perhaps it was her “I’d rather be anywhere else but here look” on her face.
Spider plant babies are a frugal person’s best friend! I’m impressed that you painted your deck — gold star!
Good timing, I had just decided our summer vacation is going to be all different day trips! We took a big trip for spring break that involved airfare, lodging, some dining out etc so wasn’t keen to do that again for summer. I’m in the SF Bay Area though so there’s tons of things around here I’ve been meaning to bring my kids to and haven’t had the chance. So I took a week off in July, I’m actually really looking forward to it as much if not more than a regular vacation.
It’s so nice to keep things simple.
Personally I am not a huge fan of mussels (aka rubber bands) — I’d rather have steamed clams or raw oysters any day. But in your situation. I’d pay the $10 and each of us get our share. Then I’d have a paella party. Or the white wine/butter sauce is also pretty tasty with good crusty bread. Free advice, all day today, Katy!
My FFTs:
1. Ate the last of our tortillas with some chicken asada from the freezer, and beets, beets, beets.
2. I pulled some late winter beets to make room for new seed, so we had cooked beets, sauteed beet greens in bacon, and a beet-stem salsa. I wasted no part of those beets.
3. Made a smoothie this morning from strawberries, banana and a kiwi that was too mushy/funky. The rest of the ingredients were fine but that kiwi has made everything taste slightly off. Now I have to finish the pitcher (a full blender) or else waste it. Oh well.
4. We did a late afternoon exploring drive to a new-to-us thrift store and farm feed store. I found a rare book for my collection (Nevil Shute is the author) and saw some adorable goslings at the feed store. Spent less than $20 at the thrift, and $0 on gas for our electric car.
5. Cooked pinto beans for dinner tonight, and will have them with salsa and cheese over tortilla chips from Costco (the giant bag). A cheap, no meat-dinner. Beet-stem salsa for pizazz.
I went through a Nevil Shute kick at some point in my early teens. Some books stuck with me for decades, and I was glad to find them to re-read. Haunting if I could remember much of the story after all that time!
Beans, cheese and salsa over chips for dinner? That sounds amazing!
What a fun day!
Indeed.
I am such a homebody, so going on my (non-frugal and excellently wonderful) trip to Turkiye was a huge deal. I am glad to be home, although the jet-lag is real. I am trying to give myself the gift of a kind inner voice, as I am needing a bit more rest than I ‘think I should’.
1. My #1 Son, Daughter outlaw and #1 Grandbaby dropped by to see chickens and dog and sheep – and eat some dandelion flowers, fennel and lemon balm. Everything goes into his mouth at 8 months.
Apparently they have scored tickets to see Neil Young over on the mainland in the Fall. Her parents are going to try to go, but when she asked me if I wanted to my introverted self declined. However, I offered to go over with them to hang out with that baby of theirs. We can all stay at her parent’s place, which keeps the costs down. We shall see, I have time to prepare myself.
2. I was also invited to go camping with them at a remote beach, over the Canada Day long weekend. My aching bones are saying no, and my inner child is laughing at how home-body I am. Again, I have time to gird my loins. I could choose to drive out for a day trip, it is a bit of a distance but not un-doable.
3. The riding lawnmower wouldn’t start. I found the trickle charger, set it up, and eventually got it running.
My place is (ahem) a HUGE challenge to mow, however Wonder James (WJ) has less time available, so I made the commitment to take on the task. I have left the steepest hills for him, and I got the rest of the yard hacked down (with my heart in my mouth on a few of the slopes, I think I will become more comefortable as time goes on). It is a time-consuming job, but one that I CAN and SHOULD be doing, leaving the other more physical tasks for WJ on the days he can come.
The key for the mower is bending and sad. I took it to a key cutting place but the one they sent me home with didn’t work. I have found a few options online, and am delaying the purchase only because I think we might also need a new belt for the mower – I shall consult with WJ to see if he is up for replacing it if I buy a new one.
4. Made some purchases at a local store on special day – You could get a $30 gift card if you bought over $200 – and if you used their Credit card you would get another $20 in credit on your account.
I needed a cabin air filter for my truck, which is why I went in in the first place. Seeking the deal, I found a few plants on steep discount, as well as a heavy-duty popup canopy on sale, plus a needed part for my portable drill – I came home with the card and the credit.
I need to use the gift card soon, as it has a short expiry, however I have some other items on my list so it won’t be hard to do.
5. The little car is back from the repair shop – #2 son dropped me off on his way to school. I am thrilled that my mechanic was adamant that this car is worth keeping around, and the repair was minor (and understandable – new spark plugs after 270,000 km is probably a reasonable thing to do, eh?)
Ecoteri,
Personally, I’d jump at the chance to see Neil Young. I’m an introvert and a homebody, too, but missed out on seeing Neil perform in his younger days. He’s a favorite artist of mine.
I feel for you on that lawn mowing. When I’d inherited my parents’ “dream house out in the country,” as they called it (I beg to differ), mowing the acreage was a nightmare. I’d have to divide it into sections and do one every evening. It took days to get it all done! What a nightmare!
(I moved into an apartment complex, and not a moment too soon!)
We got rid of our lawn years ago and I do not miss it!
Interesting that the gift card has an expiration date, which is illegal here in the U.S.
Ecoteri,
You always have such cool lists! I would love to see Neil Young! Re: the key for the mower, you can also take it back to the cutter and have them sharpen it a little more: that might do the trick. Also, I sometimes rub a pencil lead on it (the graphite might lubricate it.) But I bet you will find the key online if these don’t work. You are brave to mow on the slopes!
I love that you are keeping your little car. I am at 296,000 miles and aiming for 300,000 miles!
Lucky me, the Oregon coast is an easy day trip from where I live in SW Washington. I will surely try the Taco food cart on my next trip to the coast.
Do it, it’s the best! Plus they have a bathroom, which I’m always happy to use at the end of the drive from Portland.
Thank you for taking us along!! I’ve never seen sea life like that. Our right coast beaches look very different. The purple star fish are amazing!!
I’m from here and don’t remember ever seeing purple starfish!
I’ve only been able to visit one PNW beach, but Cannon was a revelation for this Atlantic coast native. The only things that weren’t there 500 years ago were white people and one lost baby sock. Can’t wait to see others.
Cannon Beach is very fun!
Beautiful pictures!
The starfish!! Wow!
I didn’t photograph it, but we also found a pretty big crab in one of the tidepools.
I second the mussels for paella.
1. Went to a local urban gardening plant give away today. Came home with 2 tomato plants, 2 cucumber, 2 zucchini, a potted pineapple plant, strawberry runners, violets, lambs ear, and a small bag of assorted flower seeds.
2. Sold 2 items this week on marketplace $20
3. Repurposed a few items for the new chicken run. No $ spent.
4 getting 4 eggs a day from the girls
5. Chickens happily eat up any food scraps we have. And give us eggs!
Hooray for the food scraps to eggs pipeline!
Love, love, love the photos of the sea creatures! What a lovely place!
It really is amazing, plus there was nobody at this end of the beach except for us.
Gorgeous pictures of the sea creatures – thanks so much for sharing. We will be exploring Oregon for a few weeks this summer, and Cape Meares is on our list! The list is far longer than we will have time for, I’m sure, but I’m looking forward to whatever we get to see.
1. In anticipation of being gone most of the summer, I’m limiting grocery shopping to just necessities and loss leaders, and meal planning from the pantry and freezer to try to use up stuff before we leave for the summer.
2. Made lasagna this week. Cost prohibitive if I buy all the ingredients at once, so I buy things as they go on sale, and once I have everything I make 2. One for dinner, and one for the freezer for next month – it’s just as much work and cleanup to make 1 as 2, so why not do a solid for future me?
3. Husband is experimenting with cold smoking cheese in the Traeger, so I stocked up on 32 oz blocks of cheese when they were on sale for $6 a few weeks back. Finally had a cool enough night to smoke them this week, and they’re currently aging in the fridge. We do a lot of snack meals in the camper, so these will be great to take along this summer.
4. Helping my mom declutter and purge ahead of moving, and brought home several things to sell for her on Marketplace. The things not worth selling she put out today at her apartment for friends and neighbors to go through, and about 75% of it was gone by this afternoon. She’s happy that it went to people who wanted it, and I’m happy to have less to box up and take to thrift.
5. Put out a request for moving boxes and packing materials on my Facebook page, and a friend brought me far more boxes and paper than we could use from her work. Whatever is left after we pack up Mom will get passed on to another neighbor who is moving after her.
Cape Meares is not well know, as it has no businesses like restaurants or shops. But that means there are hardly any people there at any time. Go during low tide to enjoy the tide pools over by the cliff face.
We like to go where the people AREN’T, so that sounds perfect!
Hubby and I took a day trip to 2 craft shows about 1 1/2 hours away from home. Shows were disappointing (vendors like Pampered Chef and Scentsy, and the actual crafts looked “junky” for the most part). Even the baked goods didn’t look impressive. Enjoyed the day out though and found a church that was serving a free community lunch. The set up was a small church, tables were set up for about 40 people. On the order of a soup kitchen (we didn’t care…FREE is a great price!). We were served a small portion each of ham, mashed potatoes, corn, side salad, and a cupcake. Serving size was more than adequate. Came home to a bowl of my husband’s chili for supper. It’s NOT for the faint of heart. He’d put ghost peppers in if I would let him. I can do hot, but not THAT hot! Enjoyed the day out together – PRICELESS!!!
Just sold a rotary blade mower we were given by friends that moved to another state. Great condition. Gained $40. I actually had to pause this post because the couple came to pick it up.
Had to stop at the grocery store to pick up ĥubby’s prescriptions. Looked at the e-coupons the store offers and, today only, FREE bag of store brand pretzels, 12 oz bag! Not much of a pretzel f
Got cut off there…
Not much of a pretzel fan per se, but I am a fan of FREE SNACKS!
Thank you for sharing the seaside pictures, amazing, my daughter was very impressed!!! Not quite like that in the Scottish Highlands, we love a beach trip, we also love a daybreak holiday too. Xx
I’ve been to Scotland, but it was a short trip three day trip up to Edinburgh when I lived in London. Not quite a day trip, but almost!