Downsizing advice needed - pay cash for smaller home w/o new mort

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We're planning to downsize and need advice from those who have gone through this process before. The sale of our current home of 15 yrs would allow us, after paying off the remaining 15 yrs of the mortgage, to buy a smaller home with cash and have plently of cash left over to save or invest. We're 50 and want to be free of mortgage debt. We want to buy the new house first, move into it, then stage and sell the old house. We're staying in Maryland, moving only be a few hours away. We do not want to rent inbetween, so selling first is not an option.  Since we cannot pay cash in full for the new house until the sale of the old house, is our only option to dip into our liquid cash savings to pay 20% down payment on the new house and be forced to get a 'bridge' loan or mortgage? Could we get a mortgage and pay it off within a few months, when the old house sells? What additional costs and penalties would we face?  Are there other options?  Please share your experiences with this process and any recommendations you may have. Thanks.