Readers Digest
This is going to be a very abridged version of the last two days that contained something like 24 hours of time on the road. It’s late and I’m tired. I also shot some video along the way that you can check out in the future. I dropped off Elsa late Saturday morning at Ali’s after I buzzed around mowing the property earlier in the morning. I thought it would be good to get her dropped off early so I could focus on what I needed to get done before leaving. It was good in that regard. What was not good was just how empty the house felt Saturday night without her there, it made me sad.
I left the house Sunday about 7:45, steeling myself for what I knew would be a very, very long day. The long range battery did well. I made it out of the state while only having to charge once, I think that is the first time that has happened. I decided to spend the $200 to get full self driving turned back on for a month. The automatic lane change feature it includes is very welcome during long road trips as it makes changing lanes easy and safer.
One thing I was not happy about was for the first time ever I had to pay to supercharge. In the past I had free supercharging because of all of the Tesla referrals I had. Tesla has now killed that program and also killed any miles that had not been used yet which I think really sucks. I had over 20K free miles that got evaporated. As a result I will likely be spending a couple hundred dollars on charging on the trip.
I did get to stop at some different supercharger spots which resulted in a bunch of different random encounters like having dinner at a bowling alley and shopping at a Food Lion late at night. I really like the rolling of the dice that occurs when hitting the open road.
I knew I wanted to push to see how far I could get the first day so day 2 was easier. I wound up going until after 11PM, winding up about 20 miles inside the North Carolina border. I booked a room at Holiday Inn, showered and was out. It was a grind you into the dirt sort of day.
I woke up today without an alarm a little after 6, eager to roll. The cold weather stung my skin when I went outside with temps in the 20s. The Tesla seat heater came in handy. The drive today started out gloriously with clear blue skies. A little of that luster was lost during the afternoon when I was ensnared in awful traffic in the DC/Baltimore area, resulting in my getting to Todd’s place an hour later than originally expected.
It was great to see Todd, Mindy and the girls. I last saw them briefly in July when we met for dinner after the upstate NY trip. I also got a very excited hello from their two huge dogs Bailey and Oakley. Even though it had been a couple years since I saw them they seemed to remember who their favorite uncle was.
Caroline and I went to go pick up food they ordered for dinner. It was a nice opportunity for us to catch up on what the latest and greatest is with her. She is a big fan of the Tesla. I had a sweet surprise waiting for me in the bathroom. Caroline laid out everything for me hotel style to make me feel at home. It was thoughtful and I appreciated it, a lot.
Todd and Mindy have to work some tomorrow. I am going to see two of my friends during the day, Charlie in the morning and Rich around dinner. I have not seen Charlie in at least 3 years and the last time I saw Rich was for my 50th birthday party. I look forward to catching up with both of my long term and dear friends.
This week will be all about appreciation and gratitude.
Sorry this isn’t longer but it’s all I got….