Redefining "Day Trip"

We had plans for Saturday morning to take a day trip down the coast to see my in-laws but that trip got canceled at the last minute so I woke up with the usual question in my head... What am I going to do today?  I normally decide where to go birding on Saturday mornings when I wake up on Saturday morning.  This Saturday was no different, but I did wake up a little to late to try to go too far.  The Armand Bayou monthly bird count starts at 7:00am but I was a little late to try and make that one.  I could just go somewhere local but then I would be back at the house too early and have to figure out how to fill the rest of the day.  October is one of my least favorite months to bird for a few reasons.  Most of the summer birds are gone, the bulk of the migrants have passed already and now we just have to wait patiently for the winter arrivals.  So with all that stacked up against me and getting a little unmotivated I jokingly made the suggestion to drive 6 hours to Padre Island to see a rare pigeon and then drive back home.  My wife said just go do it, and so I grabbed my gear and off I went.  I did not want to think about it too long and give me a chance to talk myself out of it.  So 6 and a half hours later I made it to South Padre Island for Texas Life Bird 431, White-crowned Pigeon.
I snapped a bunch of pictures, walked around the boardwalk at the nature center and bobbed my head a few times like Chevy Chase did in National Lampoons Vacation when he saw the Grand Canyon for the first time then put his arm around his wife, gave it a quick look got in the car and left. Now for me all that was left was a 6.5 hour drive home.  I think a 12 hour round trip is about all I can handle for one day...  or is it?

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