Tesla Road Trip

April 28, 2915

It turned out to be a beautiful morning in Mobile, Alabama this morning.  The weather forecast last night predicted flash flood warnings with lots of rain.  Thankfully those got cancelled and replaced by cool weather and sunshine.  So it was off to our tour of downtown and to see what the seaport looks like.

Dug into a little history last night and Mobile, like all the other places we have visited, is very interesting.  Will try to condense it a bit as their is a lot.  If it sounds a little choppy - sorry but I picked out some of the more interesting details.

Mobile was the capital of French Louisiana in 1702.  During the first 100 years it was a colony of France, then Great Britain and lastly Spain.  Finally became part of the United States in 1813 and joined the Confederacy in the 1861. Lots of different flags have flown over the city as well as a lot of cultural influences.  One of the nicknames for the city is "The City of Six Flags".

As the riverfront areas of Alabama and Mississippi were settled by planters who developed the cotton plantation economy with the use of slave labor, Mobile's population exploded. It came to be settled by attorneys, doctors, merchants and other professionals seeking to capitalize on trade with the upriver areas. By 1822 the city's population was 2800. By 1850 10% of the population was from New York City which was deeply involved in the cotton industry.  Mobile was the slave trading center of the state until it was surpassed by Montgomery. The prosperity stimulated a building boom with some of the most elaborate structures the city had seen up to that point.  The waterfront was developed with wharves, terminal buildings and fireproof warehouses.  Mobile was second only to New Orleans in the export of cotton in the nation.

By 1860 the population of the city reached 29,258 people. It was the 27th largest city in the United States and would be the 4th largest in the Confederate States of America. During the Civil War the first submarine to sink an enemy ship was built in Mobile.  One of the most famous naval engagements of the war was the Battle of Mobile Bay resulting in the Union taking control of Mobile Bay in 1854.  Federal Reconstruction began after the Civil War and during the last half of the 19th century it was a time of economic depression and municipal insolvency for Mobile.  The value of exports leaving the city dropped from $9 million in 1878 to $3 million in 1882.

The 20th century saw Mobile's economic structure improve with the harbor improvements to deepen the shipping channel in the harbor.  During and after world War I manufacturing became increasing vital to Mobile's economic health with shipbuilding and steel production being the two most important. During the second world war more than 89,000 people moved to Mobile to work in the shipyards. The years after the war saw some of the shipbuilding replaced with paper and chemical industries.

Today Mobile is a beautiful, thriving city. Shipbuilding made a comeback in 1999 with the founding of Austal USA. A subsidiary of an Australian company building defense and commercial aluminum ships. Airbus is beginning to build the Airbus A320, a family aircraft, at their Mobile facility. This assembly plant is their first one in the United States.

Mobile is the home to an array of cultural influences with its mixed French, Spanish, Creole and Catholic heritage, in addition to British and African. It is the birthplace if the Mardi Gras in the United States and has the oldest celebration, dating back to the 18th century.  Carnival, as it is called, evolved over the course of 300 years from a beginning as a sedate French Catholic tradition into a mainstream multi-week celebration that includes all cultures.

Our drive into downtown Mobile was down tree lined streets filled with antebellum mansions of every size, color and description.  For a city with a metro population, I was surprised at how easy it was to navigate around in a town with over a million people.  The down town was a nice mix of the old and the new construction.  Many of the buildings were adorned with wrought iron balconies and decorative stonework. The old train station was truly magnificient.

A very beautiful city and one that warrants much more time to explore but it was time to head south on I-10 towards Baton Rouge.  We made a slight detour and turned south to go see Biloxi, Mississippi.

Hurricane Katrina demolished Biloxi in 1994.  A ten mile stretch of the coastal highway was completely destroyed and driving along, even though we had never been there, it was easy to see that most of the construction and the small craft marina were all new.  The casinos have been rebuilt but there is an awful lot of vacant land for sale all along the road.  All the typical coastal homes are gone as are all the restaurants and business that were along the beach.  The beach is beautiful and maybe one day new construction will replace what was lost.  There are some interesting UTube videos of the destruction that really shows the damage.

Good little Lucky liked Biloxi.  We took a walk on the small craft marina and he was once again excited to see the sea gulls and the cranes.

We hopped on the I-10 and took the split onto the I-12 to bypass New Orleans and go on to Baton Rouge.  I have never had the desire to go to New Orleans.  Actually I have been to Baton Rouge three times to the drag races.  All I ever saw was the dragstrip and the motel.  It was a surprise to see what a large city it is.  When we stopped at the Supercharger there was a Petco nearby so we walked over to entertain Lucky for the thirty minutes it takes to charge. (also a great place to use the restroom).  Lucky had fun whinning at the birds and the hamsters. Had a long talk with a very nice lady who thought Lucky was a cute dog.  We knew that.

On to Lake Charles for the night.  This is the last place to charge until we get to Houston tomorrow night.  My son Wes, his wife Aspen and son Jett, and Aspen's mom live there and it means we are getting closer to the end of our trip.

Should add before I close for the night.  All along this trip we have been asked many questions about the Tesla.  We consider ourselves sales people for the company since they do not advertise and there are many people who know nothing about them.  Actually it is a great marking plan because who would know more about the car than the people who drive them everyday.  The Supercharger in Mobile is brand new and many people either waited for it to be built so they could see a Tesla or wanted to find out the strange structure was. When we were there on Monday evening a truck with three young men stopped.  They had been talking about Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, in finance class that very day.  Never having seen one their truck came to an abrupt halt.  We talked to them for about fifteen minutes telling them all about it.  This morning when Marshell went back to make sure we had enough power for the down town tour two more men came by.  He answered all their questions.  When he stopped at the Starbucks before returning to the hotel one of the young men working there asked him about the car.  Come to find out this guy was in the same finance class as the young men from the day before.  Bet they had a great discussion in class today.

Tesla Road Trip

April 27, 2015

It is day thirteen of our road trip.  The trip started with us headed to Salisbury and Ocean City, Maryland for the Reach the Beach Tesla event.  After that it has been seeing some of the places I lived and loved.  Then came the decision to just see how travelling with the Tesla Superchargers worked out.  Besides seeing Lu Beth in Greensboro, North Caroling it has been get up in the morning and  see which way the charger route takes us.  Everyday has been an adventure to places we have never been and may not of thought of going. What fun we are having.

Lucky has really been a trooper.  A different hotel every night, off-schedule with food and naps, and so many different sights and places has not seemed to bother him.  Between the Tesla and the cute little dog we have gotten lots of attention and smiles.  I think he loves the coast.  He can really whine when the sea gulls fly around him.  What a dog!

For me it has been great fun to tour some of the cities that I and others have had a tendency to fly by on the interstate.  Looking up the history of each place has been extremely interesting for us and I hope for everyone who reads this blog. Guess we are having a history lesson as we pile on the miles but it is also supposed to introduce some of these places to you, as readers, to maybe get off the interstate more often.  We are even getting braver and venturing off and taking backroads to the next charger - even if Gertrude doesn't like it.

This morning we woke up in Macon, Ga. and decided to go to Auburn, Al without going out of the way to Atlanta to charge since we figured we could make it.  Just a few miles from Macon we went through a little town famous for vidalia onions and came upon the Blue Bird bus company manufacturing plant.  Hundreds of new school buses filled the parking lot but they also make all the huge motor homes you see on the highway.  Interesting and a good number of jobs for the people of the area.

On to the beautiful town of Auburn, Al. Everyone has heard of Auburn due to their football team and our vet in Wynnewood graduated from there.  Lots of history in this town of 58,582 people that is one of the top ten places in the US to live.

Originally the home of Creek Indians it was opened for settlement in 1839.  During the mid-1840's several schools opened - separate ones for boys and girls - caused a rapid influx of families from the planter class of people, In 1858 of the 1000 residents - 500 were students.  Auburn College was founded in 1859 for all males.  But during the Civil War the town emptied and all the schools were closed as well as the businesses.  After the war there was a prolonged depression.  It wasn't until 1910 that the population reached its antebellum level.

Fortunes reversed again with the collapse of cotton prices in the early 1920's - then the Great Depression.  The colleges closed again.  It was not until WWII that the economy improved when Auburn's campus turned into an armed forces training ground.  Then after the war Auburn was flooded with soldiers returning to school on the G.I. Bill.  Reports in the 1980's and 1990's ranked Auburn's schools among the top in the state and the nation.  This brought a 65% increase in the city's population.  Today Auburn is a beautiful city with a very interesting history.

Hopped back on the interstate and rolled down the road past Montgomery and on to Greenville to the Supercharger.  All along the highway there are very tall pine trees. We noticed that their is evidently a lot of logging that goes on in this area.  Nice thing is that where the trees have been cut down new ones have been planted.  This part of Alabama has beautiful rolling hills, trees everywhere and lots of deep, wide rivers.  Quite impressive.

From Greenville it was on to Mobile, Al.  Didn't really ever think about Mobile but as I have studied the history it is really interesting.  We checked into our free hotel room at the La Quinta that we have earned by staying at their hotels for ten nights.  Not a bad deal and a very nice hotel chain.

Tomorrow morning - weather permitting we will go explore Mobile and the sea port. Lucky will enjoy watching the birds.

Tesla Road Trip

April 26,2015

Each day on the road seems to bring new surprises.  I have discovered that the pictures really don't show the real story but they will serve in years to come all the neat places we have gone and the interesting things we have seen.  Also heightened my awareness about what a beautiful country we live in that we all tend to miss unless you hit the road.

Don't think we have done very well at making progress towards home in the last few days.  Sunday we only managed to rack up 155 miles going from Savannah to Macon, Georgia. Our thought that we could go to Savanna early on a Sunday morning and there would not be any traffic or people about was a pretty silly assumption.  I think half of the country is currently traveling about like we are.

First stop of the day was of course, the Supercharger.  Had to back track eight miles down the highway to the Savanna/Hilton Head Airport. The charger was located in the parking lot and if you went in and got your ticket stamped you did not have to pay for parking.  Okay, we can do that.  Off towards the entrance to the airport.  Surprise!  Most airports are pretty plain jane and blah.   Not Savanna. You would have thought you were walking into a luxury hotel.  Here are a couple of pictures - see what you think.

Entrance to Savannah  Airport.

Then it was off to see the city.

We did not get very far into town before we realized that their was no quiet Sunday morning on a beautiful day.  Luckily we found a parking place with out too much trouble and in a place where we could easily find the car.  Then off on our hike around town.  I wished I had a better camera than my iPhone as it is difficult to really capture the houses and architecture when everything is so close        together and hidden in the trees.     We walked for about two and a half hours up and down the         streets and along the Savannah River.  It seemed every corner we turned brought a new surprise and   something more beautiful.

 

                                                                                                                                                                         When the town was laid out in 1733, there were 22 squares and the houses were built around the squares. Some of the squares are larger than others but all are filled with trees statutes or fountains.  It was the job of the people would lived around each square to landscape their own.  Of course now the city takes care of them, but each one is a little different but beautiful. Savannah is one of the largest National Historic Districts in the country and is much more than you can see even in a week.  Poor Lucky walked his little legs off for two and a half hours but I think he did better than we did.

The city itself has always been an important sea port.    Agriculture was essential to Savannah's economy.  During its first two centuries silk and indigo production were its mainstay shipping as much as a ton of silk per year to England. Georgia's mild climate offered perfect conditions for growing cotton and was the dominant commodity after the American Revolution.  Its production under the plantation system and shipment through the Port of Savannah helped the city's European immigrants achieve wealth and prosperity.Sitting twenty miles up river from the Atlantic Ocean has helped it maintain its importance as a seaport.

The old cotton warehouse along the river have now turned into shops and restaurants, Many of the old commercial buildings have been restored as hotels by Hilton, Weston, and Hampton Inn to name a few.  I think what really impressed me was the reuse of the old structures by companies who tend to always build new.  On our stroll by the river we saw a cargo and a chemical freighter plus all the tour boats.

   Savannah is a beautiful city and one I am very glad I got to see.  Traveling through this part of the country I have realized I need to go back and read some history books.  Oklahoma history was a breeze compared to the three hundred years, the American Revolution and the Civil War that happened here.

                                        This will be my favorite memory of our trip to Savannah.

We left Savannah about 1;00  and headed off towards Macon, Georgia which was the next Supercharger on our trip south.  I think I thought that we would make to maybe halfway to Montgomery, Alabama before stopping for the night.  Surprise - Macon was a surprise we could not miss.  The supercharger was located downtown close to the visitor center.  As we drove in that direction we noticed this huge downtown area of totally renovated buildings.  I don't know what I thought Macon would look like - but this was amazing.

Macon is the largest city (154.000) in the Macon-Warner Robbins area that has a combined population of 400,00 and is 85 miles south of Atlanta.  Macon was establishes at the sire of the Fort Benjamin Hawkins built in 1806.  The fort served as a major distribution point for goods during the War of 1812 with Great Britain.  The city survived due its ability as a shipping port for cotton.  In the Civil War it served as an arsenal for the confederacy and used as a prison for captured Union soldiers.
Luckily Sherman spared Macon on his march to the sea when all the other cities were sacked and burned.

As most cities Macon suffered from the flight to the suburbs and the city became empty.  I could not fins any information on the restoration of the huge downtown but it is amazing.  A couple of more hours of walking around looking at all the buildings and then driving around gazing at the lovely mansions with their very well manicured lawns meant we were not getting any further than Macon for the night.  I must say that for a large city I have never seen one so clean. Even in the parts of town that tended to be a little shabby there was no trash in the street and everything looked neat and clean.

The Macon Trains Station

Tesla Road Trip

April 25, 2015

There were lots of race fans filling up the hotel in Richmond on Thursday.  Hopefully they got to see a race as the weather report was not very good.  The southern part of the country had rain and severe storms predicted from Texas moving across to the east for the weekend. But it was a pretty morning so we headed south.

Our usual plan was to check with good old Gertrude, the Tesla navigation system to see where the superchargers were.  Not that we can't get creative and charge other places, it is just fun to follow them along the highway since we haven't really had a plan since Sunday.  Actually I did have a plan if it could work out.  There happened to be a high school friend living in Greensboro, So - off we went.

I keep thinking, being from the southwest, that at any minute the scenery is going to change and get flat and treeless.  Wrong. It just keeps getting more beautiful.  Huge trees line the highway as we go along.  I have some pictures but we are not going to discuss here why I can't post them..Actually I have no idea why they won't down load from my iPhone now when they have before. Hopefully I can sleep on it and the computer will be nice in the morning.

It was a beautiful trip from Richmond to Greensboro except for one charging stop.  The superchargers don't sit on the corner of an intersection like gas stations do.  Most of the time they are in the parking lot of some restaurant or behind some store or way off to the side of a shopping center.  Gertrude tells you where to turn but at times it is to turn on an unnamed street.  That is nice. Do you know how many unnamed streets there are in shopping centers? Answer - LOTS!  We attempted to find one that looked to be located in a shopping center and Gertrude McNasty kept telling us to make a u-turn NOW until we were dizzy from going in circles. Seems like I remember Marshell getting upset and I think I sort of thru my iPhone.  All of a sudden there they were.  Tempers are not good when Marshell, Gertrude and myself all want to kill each other. Thirty minutes out of the car, a long walk alone, and re-charged ready to go and everyone seemed to be in working order again.

My friend from high school, Lu Beth, has lived in Greensboro for twenty some years.  I can remember asking her one time why she lived there and did she ever think about moving back to Oklahoma.  Once at her lovely 1920's brick tudor house on a tree lined street I actually apologized for even thinking that, much less saying it. Her house is one of those special places where you instantly want to curl up on the sofa or enjoy a beautiful afternoon on the deck. Of course she and her fur kid, Maggie contributed to that feeling.

Lucky has never really had many dogs to play with and living with no yard he has really not had the chance to run free.  It took a few minutes for Lucky and Maggie to feel the situation out.  Maggie was not sure about a strange dog in her territory and Lucky didn't know what to do with no leash in the backyard and another dog.  But both being very sweet dogs they were soon running and playing with no problems.  Maggie is much bigger than Lucky and he would spring straight up to play with her.
Lu Beth now describes them as cousins and there are pictures of them exhausted and napping.  Friends in the human world and the dog world are great.

Marshell and I felt very stupid since we know very little history of the civil war.  Guess we are going to have to hit the library when we get home.  Greensboro is currently the third largest city in North Carolina with about 280,000 residents.  Home to five colleges, a beautiful restored section of downtown and yet it feels like a much smaller city.  Quakers from Pennsylvania settled in the area in 1750.  In the 1840's withe the advent of the railroad it became a transportation hub for goods for textile goods.  It still remains today the center for major textile manufacturers such as Burlington. Wrangler, Lee, the North Face and Nautica.

Although North Carolina did not vote for succession they joined the confederacy.  From 1861 to March of 1865 the city was relatively untouched by the war except for shortages of clothing, medicines and other goods.In April of 1865 during the final weeks of the war, General Beauregard instructed the city to prepare for the defense of the city. During this time Confederate President Jefferson Davis had fled from Richmond to Danville, Virginia and then to Greensboro. Greensboro was the last place the confederate government met. This made the city known as the "final capital city of the Confederacy". Governor Vance proclaimed in Greensboro the North Carolina Surrender Declaration on April 28, 1865. So, Greensboro not only witnessed the demise of the Confederacy but also the civil government of the state of North Carolina.  Lu Beth really knows her history and it was great fun to hear about her great-great grandfather's part in the history of the area.

We had a wonderful time visiting with Lu Beth and Maggie and would have like to have stayed longer.  Already making plans to return and spend more time but it was almost noon and time to hit the road.  Weather map did not look favorable.  To go north did not sound like much fun since we came that way.  South looked like "torcon" reports all across the area we needed to go - so - we decided to go south. What is a little severe weather - new adventure sounded fun.

Marshell backed out of the driveway and I tried to get a route from Gertrude.  Well, I guess she had gotten pissed at being yelled at the day before and all I could get her to do was make the horrible loud buzzing sound.  No way could we drive with that noise even if I did have an idea of which direction to go.  So Marshell pulled off the road and I called Tesla service.  A very nice fellow answered the phone and walked us through how to re-boot the computer. Boy, Gertrude must have gotten mad.  It only took a few minutes and we were on our way towards Atlanta.

Turned into a beautiful morning with no clouds and we followed I95 south - for awhile.  Gertrude gave us a new route all of a sudden.  After all of her screaming at us that morning we decided to be nice and follow the directions trusting her to know best,  Hmm - all of a sudden we were on Old Highway 6. It was two lanes and went through very small towns, cotton fields and past a lot of very cool old architecture.  No 80 mile an hour traffic or trucks and really very pleasant and "our" kind of road. It had become cloudy and on the little driver's screen to the left of the steering wheel it looked very strange.  It showed what would be clouds covering 95 and then there was a very strange place where it looked like the clouds were in a circle and much taller than the rest.  Did she lead us away from bad weather? Interesting.

Finally back on the 95 after a nice calming drive and headed for Savanna, Georgia.  Now - I am not sure I would go to Savanna to get to Atlanta.  Maybe I don't want to go to Atlanta - maybe I want to go to Macon.  All I know is that I really get to go to Savanna!  One of my favorite books is "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"! I have seen the movie which was filmed there and I have always wanted to go see it for myself.  It was dark when we arrived last night in Savanna.  Lots of rain coming in and sheets of rain after we were tucked in the motel.  Tomorrow morning I get to drive around Savanna and if I am lucky, Marshell will stop the car and I will have pictures.  Can't wait.

Stay tuned.

Tesla Road Trip

April 24,2015

This is beginning to get confusing - I had to look at a hotel receipt to remember where we stayed last night.  I guess after Philadelphia hopping off the 95 north of Baltimore was not too memorable.  The hotel was nice.  We have stayed mainly at La Quintas since they love doggies and have a decent breakfast.  Someday I may actually have enough points to get a room for the night free.

So we headed out for the day and I had picked Annapolis as the place to go.  When we headed out since we were north of the city we did get a look at it.  Actually Baltimore is one of the currently best renovation places in the nation.  I am ignoring all the current news stories about it.  Travelling on the 95 we got to go through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. I did not know that Baltimore was a real "harbor" city so - surprise.

Baltimore is located along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay.
The tunnel was built in 1952 and is 1.45 miles long.  I never knew how a tunnel is built under the water.  Actually I always tried not to think about it when going thru the Lincoln Tunnel into New York.  But curious I looked it up.  The Baltimore Harbor tunnel was built with pre-fab sections of the tube 310 feet long.  The middle one was dropped in place in the water then added to from each side.
I guess it is safe - there were not any leaks I could see and there was such a neat feeling driving through it.Baltimore is evidently a large ship building location.  It has a deep water port and there are huge cranes along the bank of the river for ship building.  The town might have been more interesting than I thought.

I picked Annapolis for our trip since Marshell was in the navy and I was sure there would be water vessels around.  What a surprise Annapolis turned out to be.  What a history is has. Here's a brief  little bit of it's history and hopefully enough for others to put it on their trip plan.

Annapolis is the capitol of Maryland and was founded in 1649.  It sits at the mouth of the Seven River on the Chesapeake Bay thirty miles east of Washington, DC.  (We have driven around DC twice saving it up for another trip.) It served as the sight of the first Continental Congress in 1783-84 before they moved it to Philadelphia for the writing of the constitution.  It also served as one of the first Capitols of the United States after signing the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

The United States Navel Academy was founded in 1845 and the St. John's College established in 1789.  There are many eighteenth century buildings and houses lining little narrow streets. The streets still carry the names form the eighteenth century like King George's, Prince Georgia's, Hanover, Duke of Glouchester etc. Once again Marshell got to navigate the streets while looking at all the beautiful row houses and buildings.

During World War II the shipyards in Annapolis built a number of PT Boats and military vessels.  For the Korean war and Vietnam mine sweeps and patrol boats were constructed there.  The shipbuilding ended up moving to Baltimore with it's deep water port.  Today it is known as America's Sailing Capitol.  I had to laugh since there was a store close to the water front dedicated to the sale of Sperry Rand Topsiders - Boat Shoes!

Marshell picking out which one to buy

In 2007 Annapolis celebrated the 300th anniversary of it's Royal Charter granted to them from England.  This established Annapolis as a democratic self-governing colony.  This was just one more day of finding parts of this beautiful country that we knew existed but had no ides of how beautiful and historical it could be. We won't soon forget Annapolis and hope to return again and spend more time.  Lucky seems to like the water for a change or maybe he is just looking for the seagulls.  He would also like to return as they actually let him visit in the Irish Woolen store while Marshell bought me a wonderful present.  He also enjoyed the hand dipped corn dog he had for lunch,  oh, no, he's not spoiled!                                                                                                                                                     

This was a McDonald's we stopped at by a Supercharger 

How cool is this!

Tesla Road Trip

April 23, 2015

Since we are actually early birds at home we seem to be keeping up the practice on the road.  It certainly is not Lucky's doing.  I think if he had it in his way he would sleep until at least 10:00 every morning.  After yesterday he probably does not want to get up at all. It makes you wonder how a dog can process all the new experiences he has had in the last week.  I read an article lately that said a dog does not remember anything from one day to the next - are they nuts? They must not have had a dog.

It was a beautiful day again yesterday, at least in the morning.  We headed off a few miles north to the charger in Hamilton Township just to top off the battery pack. Then headed for the beautiful. historical and exciting city of Philadelphia.  Marshell is having fun himself trying to process all the experiences.  In school everyone studied Philadelphia because of Independence Hall and the founding fathers but unless you were interested in history or got the bug later in life you don't pay much attention to the city.  Exception, of course, is that if you were pre-teen or teenage in the late 1950's or the early 1960's, you knew EVERYTHING about Philadelphia because that is where American Bandstand was broadcast from.  Girls especially rushed home from school to see who was going to be on, learn how to dance and of course, keep up with good old Justine and Bob.

A very brief history of Philadelpha
It was founded in 1682 as the capital of Penn Colony on the banks of the Delaware River to serve as the capital of Penn Colony. William Penn was an English nobleman who became a Quaker against the English rule that every citizen had to attend the Church of England.  In effect he was banished from England and came to the colonies for freedom of religion.

Philadelphia, The City of Brotherly Love. served as the meeting place of the founding fathers during the American Revolution. Also the site where the Declaration of Independence was written in 1776, the Constitution in 1787, was the capital during the American Revolution and the temporary Capital while Washington was under construction during the terms of  George Washington and President Adams. Also, the home of Ben Franklin who opened the first post office, the first insurance company, was an inventor and on and on. Need to get out a good history book as this is the place where America became the first Democratic country in the world.

Besides the history lesson, the architecture is astounding.  There is a nine block area that houses not only Independence Hall but the Liberty Bell, the first and second banks in America, the Bourse which was where the goods coming in on the ships were sold before they even docked (breathtakingly beautiful), Ben Franklin's Post Office and Printing Company, Betsy Ross's House, Dolly Madison's House and on and on. It is really hard to believe so many of the structures have survived and been restored in this one area.

Many things have changed since I lived here thirty years ago.  In 2000 they began construction on a new Liberty Bell Center.  In the process of excavating for the foundation the remains of the President's house foundation was discovered.  They have created a neat display, much like the one of Ben Franklin's house where they show the excavated parts of the foundation thru glass.  It is amazing to look at the foundations and explanation of the houses of that era. The National Park Service operates all the historical sites and does a wonderful job.  Don't begrudge them your tax money - this is our history and without a history - there is no future.
                                         
Ben Franklin Museum
                                                       

    Ben Franklin's House

       
                                       Independence Hall

       
First Post Office and Ben Franklin's Printing Company

     

After the Ben Franklin Museum and several other sights, the architecture and a carriage ride with more history Marshell was on overload.  Lucky was mind boggled especially with the horses pulling the carriages.  After Market Square we took a pretty good stroll with a storm approaching down to Penn's landing. I could not let Marshell miss whatever ships they had on display.  Luckily there was an old battleship, a tall ship and a Navy battleship across the river.  After all, Marshell was a Navy guy. When we lived here twenty tall ships came up the river and it was a sight I will never forget.

By this time the approaching storm was getting closer so we dashed for the car just in time to get there before the sprinkles started.  Marshell was getting a bit grumpy by this time so I knew it was time to go to Pat's.  Grumpy usually means hunger and he had been anticipating a Pat's Cheesesteak sandwich for a week.

A neat drive down ten blocks of narrow streets lined with row houses.  The streets in most of Philadelphia are three narrow lanes wide in most of the city.  On most of the commercial streets there is pasking on one side, a driving lane in the middle and a bus lane.  I have to say Marshell did a wonderful job of navigating throught the streets.  I never heard any bad words about traffic as the streets are so fascinating.  Best part is to watch the people whip into the parking spaces.  Needless to say this is where the auto parking thing on cars would come in handy but most of the people could whip in the spot in one quick move.  Cool.  Marshell passed the driving test and will be ready for New York City on our next adventure.

Pat's is one an island in the middle of one of these narrow little streets. It has been there since 1938 and although some people will tell you other places are better, like Gino's across the street, Pat's is the place to go.  They only make cheesesteak sandwiches that you can order with or without onions and with or with out whiz.  Whiz being Cheese Whiz.  They are open 24 hours a day and you either get one to eat in your car or sit down at tables in the middle of the street.  No place like it as it is in the heart of the Italian section of town and two blocks from where American Bandstand was broadcast from. Marshell agreed it lived up to the legend and I must confess the vegetarian gave in because even I can't pass up a Pat's.


View from our table at Pat's

See that happy face!

After lunch we drove through the Italian Market.in the rain.  Hard to take pictures but there is one lane of traffic this time of the year for three blocks.  The street is closed off in the summer and for the weekend this time of year.It is lines with little shops and tables in the street selling fruit, vegetables, fresh fish, chicken and turkey.  This all lays on iced lined tables in the street. If you saw the movie Rocky, he runs thru a street where there are fires burning in 55 gallons drums.  This is winter in the Italian Market.  Don't go to Philly without a trip there.

The last on the list due to the rain was to drive by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Remember the steps Rocky runs up and down.  That was the art museum.  The movie does not do it justice and you have to see it to believe it. Marshell is ready to come back to Philadelphia and stay several days just to try to see everything.  I am so tickled that I have not only hooked hime on the shore but also Philadelphia.  He was one of those who made faces when I talked about all these places.

It was late in the afternoon and we headed south on the 95.  Think we will stop for the night in Baltimore and decide what to go see tomorrow. There are lots of choices of places to go, but I have an idea that I think he will like.  Tune in tomorrow to see where we ended up.

I have to say here before I close that we have seen more Tesla's at the charging stops than we have ever seen on our trips in Oklahoma and Texas.  All the owners praise the car just like us.

Tesla Road Trip

April 21, 2015

I didn't post anything last night as it was late when we got to the motel and I have to admit it was twice as much money for the room as it had been on our other stops. Seems like we were not in a great place and it was the last room in the motel.  Tired and ready to stop, I gave in.

We had thought of going to Dover, Delaware and catching th ferry for the ride to Cape May, New Jersey but it was cloudy, windy and about 55 degrees.  Maybe not the best day for a ferry ride. So change of plans put us on the backroad through Dover and on to Newark, Delaware.  It was a nice drive through lots of small towns past beautiful old houses on small farms.

Much to my dismay being a vegetarian, not only for health reasons but also because I don't believe in torturing animals and then killing them for food.  We kept passing truckloads of chickens crammed into cages flying down the road.  Realized that Perdue Farms is headquartered in Salisbury, Maryland and the chicken torture chambers were every where.

When we got to Newark the exit ramp for the Tesla Supercharger was closed.  When we tried to get a different route the voice on the computer began to sound like Gertrude McNasty telling us to make U-turns or to turn immediately.  We tried asking directions from a gentleman at a Dunkin Donuts and got an alternate way to go, but no way to get to the Supercharger since it was in the plaza in the middle of I-95.  Finally got back on I-95 and went north several miles past the closed exit and then went south for several miles.  Finally found an exit for the plaza and the Supercharger.  It was huge.  The food court looked like a food court in a mall.  Some electrons and food got us in a better mood and on our way north to New Jersey.  Gertrude did seem to get back to her civil self.

Our reason for going to New Jersey was to check out the place where I lived from 1980 to 1984. We moved there on a job transfer and I can remember not wanting to live there.  In our search for a house all the real estate agent would show us was the "junior executive" houses in the suburbs close to shopping centers.  I finally found a newspaper and looked for something myself.  Behold!  I found a house built in 1915 a block from the Delaware River and across the river from Philadelphia. Of all the places I ever lived - that was the best.

Marshell always made faces when I talked about New Jersey.  Most people think of the "Sopranos" or pictures of Newark, New Jersey when the state is mentioned.  No one pays any attention to the fact that it is known as the Garden State.  Tomatoes are as big as a softballs, little stands line the road in the summer with home grown corn, asparagus, strawberries and blueberries. Northern New Jersey is a huge horse area with training tracks hidden among the trees. It is fun to surprise Marshell.

We got to Riverton about 3:00 in the afternoon and the one person I had contacted was Michael, who took my place as the director of the Riverton Library when we moved away. He recognized me when we walked in the door and both of us decided neither had changed even though it had been thirty years since I left.  Now that was a good feeling!  He gave us a tour of the library which is housed in a little yellow house where it has been since 1902.  The house itself was built in 1855 and donated by the owners to the library.It has a new beautiful handmade desk and a large new room added to the back, but it still looks and feels the same.  Michael has done a super job as the library has stayed extremely busy.

Then it was time to go for a walk around the block to where I used to live.  Marshell was enthralled. He really did not expect to see the beautiful, storybook town that Riverton is.  The town was founded in 1850 by wealthy people from Philadelphia who built huge summer homes along the Delaware River.  Some of the houses have nine bedrooms so the entire family could come and get away from the heat of the city during the summer. At the end of Main Street is the oldest Yacht Club on the Delaware and one of the oldest in the country.  Sailboat races take place every Wednesday night and Sunday afternoon.  Large freighters come up the channel in the middle of the river to offload goods on the Pennsylvania side.

Riverton Free Library

 As we walked around I realized how Riverton has not really changed which was a great feeling. We walked along the river and if anything is different it is that many of the houses have been restored to their 1900's beauty.  Gone was the vinyl siding and now the original fishscale siding and three color paint schemes dress up the house. As we approached my old house it looked awesome.  Just the same but better - nice for a house that is 100 years old.  The little garage that was a thorn in my ex-husbands side is just the same as we left it. There is no doubt that the people who have lived in it for the past thirty years loved it as much as I did.

I had orders from Wes on what pictures he wanted me to take.  Both os the boys remember Riverton as the neatest place that we lived.  In looking for a house I always heard from the real estate agents where the best places to live were.  Of course the more expensive houses always had the best school systems, the ones with thousands of kids in each grade level.  The one we had in New Jersey was no different.  When I waved the newspaper add in her face she knew nothing about Riverton but I prevailed.  The Riverton school was K through 8 with an enrollment of about 300. Sounded okay to me and I could see the playground from the front yard.

Several interesting facts about Riverton school is that way back in time the PTA was founded there. I guess before then parents were not encouraged to get involved in school happenings or their children's education.  The PTA became a national organization taking directions Riverton did not like and sometime in the 1950's they dropped out of the national organization and started their own Home and School Association.  Somehow I managed to end up as the president for three years.  During that time we had carnivals, balloon launching events and one very cold, windy Saturday we built a Tire Playground in the school yard.

Never be put off by a small school.  Riverton was almost like a private school in that the principal, school board and parents worked for the best education possible for the students.  Most of the teachers had children who attended the school and once hired they stay until retirement.  Anything the school requires is gladly provided for by the community. Wally learned to read in Kindergarten and Wes did manage to graduate from the eight grade. Wes still has friends he stays in contact with from this very special school and community.

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The was one person I really wanted to see I was not able to get his phone number prior to our visit.  So, I did the knock on the door routine.  He looked through the door at these strange couple and their dog on his porch.  Suddenly a smile broke across his face and he called out my name.  Wow!  How cool is that - to once again be recognized after thirty years.  Bill and I are about the same age and his Mom and Dad lived in a house across the street from us.  Even with a twenty or more year age difference, his parents were my best friends and subtitute grandparents for Wes and Wally. When we had to go someplace the boys did not want to go to they would just state that they wanted to go to Sis and Gus' house. Both are gone now and Bill lives in the house.

Interesting story about Sis and Gus.  Sis was born in that house.  When she and Gus got married they lived in a third floor apartment down the street. Sis's parents got to the point where they needed help both physically and keeping up the place, so Gus bought the house from his in-laws.  They took care of Sis's parents until they passed away, raised their children there and Bill moved back home to care for them in their last years.  How about spending your whole life on one block.  Pretty cool.

There is so much more to say about Riverton, New Jersey but pages could never describe what a beautiful place it is. The sidewalks are always busy as you can walk anywhere in town.  Every path you take leads you down tree lined streets which at this time of the year are filled with flowering trees and shrubs behind turn of the century iron fences. One would be hard pressed to find a better place to live.

Much as I hated to leave we had decided to go see the Shore so we headed off to Hamilton Township near Trenton to add a few more electrons to the car.  Only a few stern comments from Gertrude on finding the Supercharger which was located in a huge shopping area.  Barnes and Noble was a great place to spend a few minutes and the Panera Bread was a great place to eat  Lucky liked it. And on to the Shore.

Marshell had been continually amazed at New Jersey.  We took a small state highway instead of the Parkway or Turnpike to get to Long Island.  The small towns with their neat old buildings and the tree lined roads were so pleasant to drive along. We noticed that the speed limit in a lot of places was 45 and 55 but you would have been run over at that speed but traffic moved along very weel for a two lane road.

Long Beach Island is just north of Atlantic City and was hit hard by Sandy two years ago. I really did not know what to expect - hoping for the best. Crossing over the bay bridge to the island it was noticeable that there was a lot of new construction.  The interesting thing to note is the rebuilding has been done in the "old" beach style.  A store we visited for souvenirs several blocks from the beach said they had several feet of what come in. But the beach looked beautiful and surfers were out in full force.

After trying to figure out how we could live here forever it was time to head back towards the hotel of the night.  Tomorrow is my big tour for Marshell of Philadelphia.  Poor Lucky gets exhausted everyday with so much to see and things to experience.  Makes you wonder if he goes to sleep and dreams about birds and waves and all the new things he is experiencing.  Can't believe he is such a good travel partner.

Tesla Road Trip

Sunday, April 19, 2015

The dinner on Saturday night for all the road trip participants was at Adam's Rib in Salisbury. We only had trip to freshen up, feed the Lucky dog and a quick walk before we headed out. Freshen up meant to look in the mirror and say "Oh, well" and dash off.

Can't tell everyone how great it is to have the navigation system in the car.  I think this trip has taught us how to really appreciate it.  Most of our driving since we got the car has been to places we were pretty familiar with.  Maybe we thought it was only to find places to charge.  When we asked someone on this trip where something was they just said type it in.. Type in Adam's Rib and you get directions so you don't have to follow someone going to New York. I think I miss real maps especially since starting tomorrow we haven't really decided where we are going......or maybe it is an "old person" thing"  Naw - can't be that!

Saturday night we sat at a table with six other people, one couple we had spent quite a bit of time with, the others were new to us.  You have to remember that we have been living in a very small town for the last eleven years and the conversation level is mostly weather related, political opposite of what we think or about people we have never met or heard of. To listen to everyone talking about the Tesla's tech side, places we should go and their experiences was so interesting and I guess I should say - refreshing.  Living in rural Oklahoma where a lot of people never go seventy miles to Oklahoma City or can't imagine driving in Dallas still gets to us after all these years.

One of the guys was from Toronto, Canada and he suggested we come to Toronto and take the Trans Canada Highway to Vancouver.  Now that sounds fun.  Another couple from Maryland are going cross country to California this summer. We had a guy from Tesla at our table who came to speak at the lunch on Saturday about some of the tech side of the car.  He had a beautiful accent and evidently was Serbian, Another very interesting an intelligent man had lived and gone to China many times and there was a couple from North Carolina from India.

I am learning on this trip that we have stayed so busy the last eleven years we have fallen into a rut I don't like.  We took the leap and came on this trip - the first one in fifteen years - and there is now no turning back.  I can honestly say that of the hundred people in this group there was no one that we would not like to spend more time with, The people we have met on the road have all been friendly and interesting which is not what most people in the Southwest believe.  The best thing is the huge mix of different accents, different nationalities and different color all having a great time together.

Too many people are missing this beautiful country we live in. Tesla people do sort of go from one charger to another but it makes you stop every couple of hundred miles and take some time to look around. I really have lived in a lot of different places, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Detroit, several moves in and out of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and Norman, OK. Moving with children to all these really cool places made us get out and check out the area. They had the experience of touching the Liberty Bell, visiting the NJ shore, snow skiing in Michigan, camping in Canada, walking around Market Square in Philly, seeing the Tall Ships and so many other things we would have missed.
It seems like all the Tesla owners get this and it was fun to hear all their travel stories around this country.

We decided to stay another night at the hotel in Salisbury.  After three days on the road and the trip to the beach, we needed a day to veg.  Also needed to plan where we are going to head next. All I really know is that we are going to head to New Jersey so I can hear more of that wonderful Jersey accent and have a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich = Marshell does need to see the Italian Market In Philadelphia and Market Square and Independence Hall and the Ben Franklin Museum and...............

Tesla Road Trip "Reach the Beach"

Saturday 18, 2015

I put in a wake up call for 5:00 since I didn't want to miss registration at 7:00.  Let Marshell and Lucky sleep in while I scouted for coffee, got dressed and then checked in with the Tesla group.

Aaron, who was the contact for the trip greeted me with a big smile and a hug.  Someone had already downloaded my blog on the start of our trip. It made me feel very welcome and rather relieved.  It isn't everyday you drive halfway across the country to hang out with people you don't know. If I had any worries they all disappeared the moment I met Aaron and got a big welcome.  Time for Marshell to roll out of bed.

First order of the day was to fill out the paper work, get our car number and where we were supposed to be at what time.  We drove a mile down the street to charge the car up enough to get to the beach and back.  Then Marshell had the car steam washed in the parking lot.  This was a great idea from the planning group.  It is not favored to wash your Tesla at a car wash. Then we had to be at a stadium a few miles away at 11:00 for "staging".

At the stadium parking lot they moved the cars around so that the cars spelled out the word "Tesla".
How cool is that?  A drone flew around with a camera and the photographer for the event was on the roof of the stadium.  Can't wait to see those pictures.  Then all the cars lined up around the parking lot and we had a police escort for 30 miles to Ocean City.  They turned all the stop lights green and 67 Tesla's drove to the beach.

I lived in New Jersey for five years in the early 1980's with many wonderful memories of going "to the shore" as they say in Jersey.  Never having been to Maryland I did not know what to expect but had hopes it would be as I remembered and loved. Getting closer to Ocean City I realized it was going to be everything I remembered.  We stopped for lunch at Hooper's Crab House.  That was a wow.  Since I love whimsical I was happy. The wooden people were fantastic and the airplane from the ceiling really neat.

Marshell thinks we need this guy.

He'd look great at our kitchen counter!

 

After we had lunch it was time to head for the boardwalk.  The planning committee did a fantastic job of setting this up.  The was the first time in the history of Ocean City allowing cars to park on the boardwalk.  The weather was perfect and really the first nice weekend for people to come and enjoy a day at the beach.  Too cold to swim but lots of people playing in the sand, visiting all the interesting to quirky shops and of course, sampling the boardwalk food.  The whole area was packed with people and here comes sixty-seven cars!  We filled the board walk angled in about twenty-four inches apart and covered three hundred feet.

The afternoon was spent walking around and taking in the sights.  The ocean looked wonderful and Mr "California" Marshell fell in love.  He even said he thought he liked it better than the "left coast"!

Actually most of the afternoon was spent talking to all the people who inquired about the cars.  There were the same questions we, as Tesla owners, answer all the time.  What kind of a car is it?  Who makes it? How far can it go on a charge?  What! All Electric? No Way Man! You drove from Oklahoma for free!!!!  This is really the fun part about owning a Tesla.  All of us are such believers in the concept itself, the performance and the luxury of the Tesla that we want to tell everyone about them, let them sit in it and even drive it.  In truth the car sells itself, it is just fun to take it out and show them off.

When it was time to leave we drove the full three miles to the end of the boardwalk.  The place was lined with people all the way down.  Then it was back to Salisbury for dinner.  Funny story here in that we were the second car in line and the couple in the car took off and we followed them as well as a few others. We sped through town and out on the highway.  After making an exit onto another highway the car in front of us made a U-turn and stopped.  The women came back and said they were headed back to New York and we were all going the wrong way.  It was really funny and all of us turned around and finally figured out how to get back instead of just following someone.

Tell you about dinner tomorrow,  Here I have to tell about Lucky.  He saw some geese early in the morning and went nuts.  We got to the shore and the sea gulls were flying everywhere.  He was shaking and whining to go play with them. Then he spotted the children playing in the sand, then the waves and then the plethora of dogs with their owners on the boardwalk. He never stopped moving and exploring all day.  When we started back to the hotel he was standing on my lap looking out the window for more excitement until he finally sunk down in my arms not to move until the car stopped.

When we left for dinner there were no sad eyes at the door - only closed eyes in the middle of the bed - exactly the same position when we returned later.  

What a wonderful day for all of us!

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