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Deb & Dan's big adventure(trip to Palm Springs Fl from Peterborough NH)

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Hi All:
So Deb & Dan's big adventure entails travel from Peterborough NH to West Palm Springs FL in their new Model S -- with a stop over in Morehead City NC.

Day 1: All went well. Our destination was the Darien CT SC. We probably could have made it but there -- with 2 or 3 rated miles left on the car! Not for me. So we decided to stop at the Milford SC for some insurance miles. Best I could get from the charger was 50kw -- it's probably an older charger. We were off after about 20 mins and got a full charge in Darien. No problem at Darien and we got the full 110kw zap from the charger! They also have 2 Chademos there. Funny thing - there was someone with a Leaf who was having problems with the Chademo. Being curious about these things, I decided to give him a hand a see what kind of G2 I could discover about the car and charger. We couldn't get it started. It didn't seem to be powered on for whatever reason. Turns out this person had the Leaf for just a few days and wasn't very happy. He said that in the cold weather he barely got half the rated miles and had to turn the heating off which blew cold air down on his feet! Ugh. I'm guessing it's probably because he's unfamiliar with the car because it's hard to believe the cold cut the rate that much - there must have been something wrong somewhere we couldn't figure out. So after 45 mins we where off to the Newark Delaware SC. Got there and juiced it for only 20 mins cause we where staying with friends nearby.

Day 2: Spent an enjoyable evening with our friends and headed back to the Newark SC the next day for a full charge. The best we could do was 50kw charge. Only thing I could think was that the battery was cold and the charger lowered the wattage to protect the battery. The service center at Newark is very clean, comfortable and well maintained with some nice amenities and eateries. We where off after about 45 mins charging headed for Glen Allen VA. Decided to take route 301 thru Delaware to avoid the DC traffic. Decided to stop in White Plains DE for some insurance miles and have lunch at the Prime St Grill. Great food and nice people there. There have 2 Charge Point chargers that worked quite well. Moved on to Glen Allen and hung out at Panera's and Barnes & Noble while we got a full charge. There are alot of stores there to keep anybody occupied. We then veered off to Kitty Hawk which we usually visit each year on our way to the Outer Banks. I had located an RV camp ground near Kill Devil Hill. When I called a couple of days in advance, they told me to just give them a buzz when I was nearby. Unfortunately they had a freak snow storm at the beginning of the week so the entrance was obstructed with snow, Yikes!! Luckily they're located directly next to a Holiday Inn Express which faces the back of the RV park. So they where good enough to have their maintenance man meet me in the back where I fed the Tesla charging cable thru the fence!! The cord length was plenty long enough. Sandy and Terry saved the day because we only had 35 rated miles left. If you're planning a trip there, check out the RV park and the Holiday Inn Express. And to gild the lily, our favorite restaurant, the Black Pelican is 100 yards from the hotel. We had a wonderful meal and charged overnight.

Day 3: Started with a full charge to Morehead City. We decided to take the Ferry route instead of the land route. It's a beautiful ride along the sea coast and since it's so flat we where getting better than rated miles. Tes had no problems with the ferries and rolled into Beaufort early enough to eat at anther one of our favorite restaurants Aqua. We got to Atlantic Beach with about 90 rated miles left. Our friends live across the river and I'll will have to install a 220/40 amp circuit there which is a snap for me at this point. Unfortunately there are not very many places to charge in this area! Will have to try and promote EV's down here.

Will hang out here for a couple of weeks before we head down to West Palm Beach.
Stay tuned!

Ciao
 
Sounds fun, Deb & Dan! Thanks for sharing your trip so far.

You've discovered a fundamental rule of EV touring: whenever stopped, charge.

We can hope that sometime in the future Tesla will expand the Supercharger network to roads like US-17, so you could drive from Morehead City along the coast to Charleston. That's a much nicer route than the inland I-95 corridor.
 
Well it's been too many weeks of cold temps at Atlantic Beach NC so we decided to pack our swimsuits, shorts & tee shirts and head down to West Palm Beach.


Day 1 - went smooth as usual. Headed west to Lumberton; SC was in a large parking lot with fast food places; we ate at Denny's in the Holiday Inn while charging. Did the job. Santee SC area felt isolated alongside a motel, Clark's Inn; we walked about 150 yards to MacDonald's for rest rooms & wifi, leaving as soon as we had enough charge to get to Savanna SC by 6:00 pm. This one was in the airport parking lot. We went into the bar there for a drink and appetizer. Nice place to hang out, watching planes as we waited. Parking was free -- we should have gotten the ticket validated at the Information kiosk but the attendant didn't charge us anyway. We decided to continue to St Augustine so the next day would be a breeze.


Day 2 - started the day at the SC near the outlets and got a decaf cappuccino. Person there says he usually sees a Tesla almost every day. Quick hop to Port Orange SC. I used to live there when I was much younger so it was a nice stop. SC in a large shopping center parking lot. Recharged in Port St Lucie shopping center parking lot and pulled into West Palm Beach around 5:00 pm. If you plan properly and are a little patient at the SC the journey is quite pleasant in the Tesla. In retrospect it's a bit like flying a small airplane. You always need to have an alternate backup plan for refueling because airports are not everywhere!


I had a chance at practicing my drafting during the long journey. All you need to do is pick the biggest semi you can find stay about 50 ft behind. A little unnerving but they tend to keep there mph pretty constant. The best I could achieve was 70 mph at 307 watts/mile. Thought it would be little bit better at night but the head lights add to the energy drain.


We've been using several different L2 chargers while we've been down here.


Clematis parking garage in West Palm Beach. Very clean and well maintained. Free charging at the Chargepoint pod. Parking is $1/hr but free on Sundays. Many nice restaurants within walking distance. I would pack my bike in the back of the Tesla and leave the car charging all day. BTW after an hour the pod degrades the amperage to 22.


Bankers Row Parking lot in DelRay - free parking and free charging. Again within walking distance of a ton of great restaurants and the beach. Constant 30 amp charging rate.


Ocean front Park - $10 for the day, no entry after 4:00 pm but I stayed till after 5:00 and didn't get kicked out. Beautiful beach, nice bathrooms and nice food station. Check out the home made coleslaw. Ah yes the charging is also free.


Palm Beach Outlet mall -- newly opened and they have several charging stations in the parking lots - all are free via ChargePoint. The first one I tried wasn't working but the next one worked perfectly.


Lake Osbourne - though I'd try my luck with an RV park again but unfortunately you have to have an RV or trailering a camper to get a spot. Too bad it would have been a nice place to hang out and leave the car charging over night.


Ah well that's all there is to report. Just waiting for the temps to warm up before our journey back to Atlantic Beach NC.
Ciao
 
Well it's been too many weeks of cold temps at Atlantic Beach NC so we decided to pack our swimsuits, shorts & tee shirts and head down to West Palm Beach.

Santee SC area felt isolated alongside a motel, Clark's Inn; we walked about 150 yards to MacDonald's for rest rooms & wifi, leaving as soon as we had enough charge to get to Savanna SC by 6:00 pm. T
Maybe the temps will be warmer by the weekend.
FWIW: the Santee SC is not the in the safest or secure town in the world, I'd be cautious there especially after dark.