Tesla Road Trip "Reach the Beach"

After not going on a real vacation since 1999, we decided that the Tesla Road Trip to Salisbury and Ocean City, Maryland sounded like fun.

We got our Tesla last June and we have made short trips to see our children and a couple of trips to my hometown. A long road trip was always a thought but even being retired, sort of retired, we just never seemed to have the time.  It is also interesting to plan a trip in a total electric car. The question of where to charge and how long it takes is a common questions asked by everyone who inquires about the Tesla. My son, Wes, put it very well when he told us that back in time there was not a gas station on every corner and you had to plan.  Being from Oklahoma visions of the exodus in the dust bowl days springs into your mind but cans of gas tied on the back of the car will not help.

So at the start of this journey, for those of you who do not how you can travel with no liquid fuel probably needs an explanation.  Our Tesla has a range of about 275 miles on a full charge. There are several levels of charging.  At home we charge on a 240 Volts, just like your dryer or air and heat. We charge overnight and it takes about three hours while we are sleeping.  The car can be charged on a regular 110 outlet which takes forever but something is better than nothing. A lot of motels will let you plug into an outlet while you are there. All the RV parks have plugins similar to what we have at home so this is another option.  There are several companies that install chargers at various retail locations and charge a minimal fee for you to plug in. Then we have what is called Plugshare. This is an app that can be installed on your phone that tells you every place in the country where other electric car owners live and will let you come by and charge, usually for a dinner out, a bottle of wine or a nice visit.

But - if you own a Tesla - you have free access to Superchargers.  There are currently several hundred of them across the United States with more being installed everyday.  We discovered a new one in Perry, Oklahoma today and it looks like St. Louis got on online this morning. They are spaced every 175 to 200 miles apart so that if your trip is planned correctly you never have to suffer from what they call "range anxiety".  That is where you panic that you will run the battery dry, stay home because you don't know what to do or not buy an electric car at all. Can you imagine of travelling across the country for free?  It is Awesome. Oh, I should add here that to get a full charge on the battery at a Supercharger it only takes about 30 to 45 minutes. Time to have lunch, walk the dog or wander through a store or two.

This is the Supercharger in Wichita, Ks.  We had a nice lunch at Applebees, walked the dog and fed him lunch.  Car was ready to go.  Now that I have explained how you travel with an electric car so you will be inspired to purchase one I will promise that this is the first and last picture of a Supercharger you will ever see.  Most Tesla owners ONLY take pictures of the Superchargers on their trips.  I will start tomorrow with pictures of whatever happens to be cool.  Today I missed taking one of Lucky shopping at the Bass Pro Shop from his basket and an awesome one of the Kansas City Royals stadium as we flew by. 

Today we drove 450 miles from Wynnewood, Ok. north to Wichita, Ks. and then to Independence, Ks where we got a full charge and kicked our shoes off at the La Quinta.for the night.  Dear Lucky dog likes the La Quinta because they like him and they have a decent breakfast even if you are a vegetarian.

Tomorrow it is off to Columbia, Missouri for a tour of the town.  Then we better hit the road if we are going to make it to Maryland by Friday afternoon.