I haven’t posted in a few days.  Things have been busy with Mom’s birthday, more visits with nieces and nephews, and my preparations for returning West.  One glitch in my week was a migraine on Friday night which effectively made Saturday somewhat useless as well. I need to get back to my chiropractor (which eliminates migraines for me).   I was happy to be much better on Sunday and able to go to Mass at the Jersey Shore.

I am beginning to plan for the return drive.  I still have a few errands to complete before leaving, but I will get them taken care of in the next few days.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and you will soon have more travel blogs instead of these scattered reports of my NJ visit.  One more thing to report is that after some rain, there was no evidence of any water intrusion into the Tesla.  So, it seems that the NJ service center solved that issue. Thanks!  I will continue to monitor this after any upcoming rain.  And, the car still  looks great since I did wax it after the car was serviced.         Frugal Tesla

On Monday I drove from the Jersey Shore up to the Springfield service center.  I arrived before noon, and spoke with Mike about the water intrusion issue.  I explained that there has been a drought in California, and  I have the car parked in the garage during rain anyway, so this issue never presented itself before. George was there to shake my hand with a pleasant smile (he is the one who called and left me a message on Saturday).  I explained to both of them that my sister lived nearby so they could either get the car serviced by the end of the day or by the next morning since I would stay overnight in the area.  Then, George drove me to meet with my sister and nephews.

After a fun day with family, I received a call that the car was done and they could bring me back to the service center to pick it up.  But, I was too tired to do any more driving after having been up late Sunday night (too much fun reading the Tesla Model S forum pages!).  So, I asked if they could pick me up on Tuesday morning instead.  My nephews and I prepared tasty toppings for the pizza that we ate for dinner. Then I read a little bit of C. S. Lewis before going to sleep.

Mike arranged it so that I was given a ride to get my car in order to head back to the shore on Tuesday morning.  The car looked amazing since they cleaned it inside and out!  And, the water intrusion issue was taken care of (although I won’t know for sure until the next big rain hits… perhaps on Thursday?)   Everyone at the service center was professional, courteous, and pleasant.  And I even enjoyed the short time in the waiting area (chatting with Cari, and snacking on the chocolates there).  Another plus was being able to head out with the car fully charged.  Thanks Mike!

The drive back to the shore was pleasant and as usual I avoided the toll roads.  It turns out that there was a huge backup on the toll road, so it was a great choice!  The humidity is rising and temperatures are in the 80s here.  It is a beautiful summer day in NJ.

Thanks again to all who have sent in comments.  I look forward to hearing from you all.  Also, feel free to ask questions that I can try to answer regarding this journey.   Frugal Tesla

I was able to speak  to a Tesla Service representative in Fremont, CA regarding the water intrusion issue.  He put me in contact with the nearest service center, which right now is in Springfield, NJ.  George called me from the NJ center on Saturday, but I was not able to speak to him (I was in a restaurant with the phone off).  My plan is to bring the car in on Monday and hopefully they can resolve this issue.

Sunday morning I drove out to Hamilton to visit the Supercharger, pick up a few books at the Barnes and Noble, visit Mercer County Park, and attend Mass at St. David The King Catholic Church (about 6 miles from the Supercharger).  I highly recommend this 11:30am Mass for those Catholics who may be traveling and charging at the Hamilton Supercharger.  I even let the pastor drive the Tesla around the huge parking lot there!

At the Supercharger, I met a nice family from NY who were traveling to Hershey, PA.  Also, there was another family from Vermont.  When I first arrived, I was the sixth Tesla that arrived to charge making it a full house (6 stations there).  When I returned from the bookstore, several Teslas had moved on, and that is when the families arrived to charge.  So, there were at least 8 Teslas within one hour!  As I said before, other than Fremont, CA (the Tesla factory), NJ seems to have the most Teslas I’ve seen!

In a few days, I will let you know how the service center handled things.  Until then,  Be well.  Frugal Tesla

It has been a few days since I posted here.  The weather in NJ has improved since it isn’t raining.  There are scattered clouds and then stretches of beautiful sunshine.  The temperatures are cooler now, reminding me of the Denver area.  I awoke with temperatures in the 50s and now it is warming up into the 70s.  I’m hoping it will get warmer before I begin my journey West so that I can get in a great day or two at the beach.

I have spent time with all of my nephews on this visit so far.  So, these past few days I have been visiting with some of my nieces.  My youngest niece and I played with my camera so she could see herself “on TV” since I plugged it in for viewing slideshows.  Last night I took three other nieces out for a nice dinner.  They all grow up so fast, especially since I usually only see them about once a year.

I have not driven the Tesla much lately, but today I have some errands to run.  Also, I look forward to heading back to the Hamilton supercharger soon while visiting a friend who lives only 8 miles away from it.  One problem I need to look into is this:  after the rains, when I opened the hatch in the back, a LOT of water began dripping out of the hatch and into the car!!  This didn’t happen in California because we’ve been in a drought (and the car is parked overnight in a garage).  So, hopefully the service department of Tesla will help me resolve this.  I’ll let you know how it goes.       Frugal Tesla

With thunderstorms coming and going through Wednesday, I am keeping close to home with my Mom.  Today during breaks in the rain I helped weed her garden and I washed parts of the car that still had dead bugs stuck in them.  Then, the cloudburst provided the perfect rinse!

I enjoyed watching Derek Jeter in his final All-Star Game tonight.  It was cool that he scored the first run of the game.  And, going back to Sunday,  I was happy that Germany won the World Cup since it is the home of my ancestry and I have a brother who lives in Germany.  It is an interesting coincidence  that we have two Popes, the retired one is from Germany and the active Pope is from Argentina!  I wonder if they even watched the World Cup?!!       Frugal Tesla

This is a quick post to acknowledge that I was very lucky and blessed  with good weather for my cross country sojourn.  Today at the Jersey Shore there have been extreme thunderstorms with lightening even striking around the corner from my Mom’s house.  That brought out the police and fire departments to check on the situation!  Right now it continues to pour rain with loud claps of thunder.  When I watch the news covering the weather across the country now, it looks pretty severe.  So, I am glad I made it here before all of this harsh weather began.  Be careful out there current travelers.  You are in my prayers for safe passage.   Frugal Tesla

I have enjoyed these days visiting with my Mom, Siblings, and many nieces and nephews.  There is still  more than 130 range on the car despite several test drives, a trip to the movies yesterday (saw the latest Transformers movie with nephews), and drive to church today (Sunday).  This week I will help my Mom with some planting around the house and perhaps some re-caulking in the shower. The weather is sort of rainy (on and off) so I will hold off on a trip to the beach.

I have been asked to provide my toll breakdown on the journey here, so this is it:

No tolls in the West (That is why roads are called freeways there).

July 7: On I-90E  in Beloit, WI at the border to IL, toll was $1.90.  I exited onto 39/51 Southbound to avoid more tolls on the way to Aurora, IL.

On July 8:  On I-80E/I-90E in Indiana, I paid a toll of $4.30 before entering Ohio.  Then, in Ohio I took Exit 59 at 8:34am and paid a toll of $4.25.  Later that day, on the way from Macedonia, OH to Cranberry, PA,  I paid another $4.25 on the Ohio Turnpike at 6:19pm and I paid $5.90 on the PA Turnpike at 7:12pm. The final toll that day was a whopping $9.70 at 9:37pm (also on PA Turnpike).  I decided that would be my last time on toll roads in PA!!

On July 10:  On I-95 in Maryland, I paid $4.00 at 11:45am.  Then, another Maryland toll was a surprising $8.00 at 12:25pm.  About 20 miles later, Delaware claimed its $4.00 from me at 12:43pm.  So, I left the toll roads for the rest of the Eastbound journey since I had only quarters left and did not want to enter toll roads without enough cash on hand.

So, the toll total is:

$1.90 +$4.30 +$4.25 +$4.25 + $5.90 +$9.70 + $4 +$8 +$4 = $46.30

By State:  Wisconsin ($1.90), Indiana ($4.30), Ohio ($8.50), Pennsylvania ($15.60), Maryland ($12.00), Delaware ($4.00).

Frugal Tesla

 

These data took me all day to compile (All dates are for 2014):

Date: Time:Temp:Location: Odometer:Leg distance:Leg Range:Cost

(PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME ZONES)

6/29    9pm   ?F   San Francisco, CA  15,000  No miles No range

6/29   9:45-10:20pm  ?F   Fremont, CA 15,050  50miles  ?range?

6/30   2:13pm   ?F   Santa Cruz, CA    15,099   44miles  57range

6/30   3-3:55pm  89F   Gilroy, CA     15,127   28 miles   ?range?

6/30 5:45-6:36pm 104F Harris Ranch, CA 15,239  112mi  115r

6/30 8:20-9:45 95F Tejon Ranch, CA 15,356 117miles 138r

6/30 11:30pm-7/1 11:15am West Hills, CA 15,435 79mi  ?r?

7/1   1:45-3:30pm ?F Barstow, CA 15,577  142miles 173range

7/1  6:20-8:30pm 112F  Las Vegas, NV 15,739 162mi  146range

ENTER MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME = PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME

7/1 10:30pm- 7/2 6:30am 85F Littlefield, AZ 15,832 93mi 100r $15

ENTER MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME (ADD 1 HOUR TO  PDT)

7/2 9:43am-11:30am 80F Beaver, UT 15,963  131miles 148range

7/2 12:30-1:45pm 83F Richfield, UT 16,027  64miles  61range

7/2 3:45-4:45pm  98F Green River, UT  16,151  124miles 121range

7/2  6:45-7:47pm  96F Grand Junction, CO 16,249  98mi  109range

7/2  9pm- 7/3 6:50am 58F(am) Rifle, CO  16,318  69miles  ?range?

7/3  7:30-8:45am  Glenwood Springs, CO 16,343  25 miles ?range?

7/3  10:15-11:45am 71F Silverthorne, CO 16,439  96miles  109r

7/3 1:30pm- 7/5 11am 82F Denver area, CO 16,514  75miles 55r

7/5 12:27-2pm  91F  Cheyenne, WY  16,610  96miles  ~100range

7/5   4:45-6:11pm  94F  Lusk, WY  16,769  159miles  175range

7/5   9:30-10:30pm  82F  Rapid City, SD  16,924  155mi  126 range

7/5 11:11pm-7/6 4:37am  MM 100, SD  16,965  41miles  32range

ENTER CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME ZONE   (PDT + 2 HOURS)

7/6  7:08-7:42am  70F  Murdo, SD  17,060  95miles  102range

7/6    8-9:40am  76F  Draper, SD  (Mass) 17,070   10miles   8range

7/6  11:45am-1:15pm  90F  Mitchell, SD  17,203  133mi  135range

7/6 3:15-5pm 89F  Worthington, MN  17,330  127miles 134range

7/6   7-8:30pm  85F  Albert Lea, MN  17,446   116miles  ?range?

7/6 10:45-11:15pm 73F Onalaska, WI 17,572 126miles 117range

7/6 11:30pm-7/7 9:11am 71F  MM 20, WI  17,587  15mi  22range

7/7 11am-1pm  82F  Madison, WI  17,704  117miles  101range

7/7 4-6:30pm 94F Aurora, IL 17,848  144mi  ?range?  $1.90toll

ENTER EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME (PDT + 3 HOURS)

7/7 10:26-11:25pm 74F  Mishawaka, IN 17,990 142mi 125range

7/7 11:40pm-7/8 6:35am 73F  MM 90, IN  18,001  11mi  11range

7/8 8:40-11:50am  76F  Maumee, OH  18,130  129mi  123r $8.55t

7/8  TRAVEL to LAKE ERIE, OH* (Also in Maumee: batteries $14.93)

7/8 5:20-6:15 82F  Macedonia, OH  18,275  141miles* 145range*

7/8 7:44-8:15pm 81F  Cranberry, PA  18,372  107mi 103r $10.15t

7/8  9:43-10:45pm 71F  Somerset, PA  18,457  85mi  97r  $9.70toll

7/8 11:45pm- 7/9 2:25pm 93F Altoona area, PA 18,523 66mi  57r

7/9  4:23-5:45pm  87F  Hagerstown, MD  18,625  102miles 94range

7/9 7:20pm-7/10 11am 76F Bethesda, MD 18,712  87mi 96r $6park

7\10 2:30-4:10pm  83F  Hamilton, NJ  18,889  177mi  161r  $16tolls

7/10  4:57pm arrival time 77F  Jersey Shore  18,925  36mi  31range

Total miles:  3,925  Total tolls paid:  $46.30  other costs: $35.93

(43 Different Places in 12 days)

Travel through CA, NV, AZ, UT, CO, WY, SD, MN, WI, IL, IN, OH, PA, MD, DE, NJ. (16 states)

Frugal Tesla

 

In Hamilton, NJ a father with his son and daughter were very interested in the Tesla so I gave them a tour of the car.   I also met Jamie from Mullica Hill, NJ who was charging his gray 85kw Tesla.  Next, Paul arrived from his home about 20 miles from this charging site.  After Jamie left, Alok from Princeton arrived in a white 85kw Tesla.  His name fascinated me and he said it is from India.  It turns out that his family has 2 Teslas (the other one is a P85kw version).  Alok and I chatted for a while and he invited me into the bookstore café to treat me to a nice cool drink.  Thank you, Alok!  When we returned outside to the cars, Phirun (a Cambodian name) was returning to his white Tesla 85kw that had pulled up while we were inside. He lives 5 minutes away in Hamilton… a true local!

Now here is the ironic twist, there was a lot of news in NJ about not being able to get Teslas because of the laws concerning dealerships.  Yet, here at this NJ supercharger there were 4 cars from New Jersey while I was there!!  That is MORE Teslas at this station than ANY other station that I encountered across the ENTIRE U.S.A (with the exception of Fremont, CA which is the location of the factory and the stomping ground of many “frequent chargers”).

I stopped charging at 4:10pm to cruise to the Jersey shore with 206 range.  I arrived and greeted my Mom at 4:57pm.  Odometer at 18,925 and temp of 77 degrees.  Range of 175 remains in the car for my visit this week. I emptied all of the contents of the car to re-sort and clean up. I spoke with the neighbor whose son is very interested in getting a Tesla.  Hopefully I will get to meet and speak with him.

Tomorrow, I will try to put together a summary of the stats in a single post.  Then I will give very brief daily posts until I begin my journey West.  Happy to have made it all 3,925 miles!!  Thank you for your comments and keeping me company in this half of my Tesla adventure.    Frugal Tesla

According to MapQuest, I would need to travel 174 miles from Bethesda to the NJ supercharger.  That seems to be too far for my comfort zone in the 60kw Tesla (I like to have extra miles for speed and any elevation changes or hills).  So, I planned to drive to Newark, Delaware to charge on the way to NJ.  I left Bethesda at 11am with the car at 206 range.

The problem of paying tolls had daunted me in Pennsylvania, and now I discovered that Maryland tolls were higher than I thought.  I paid $4 at one toll booth, and the next one was $8!!  I asked when and how much the next toll would be.  They told me there would be one in Delaware for $4 coming up in 20 miles.  I had 3 dollar bills and quarters ready to pay it.

Another issue was speed limits.  It seems that in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey, everyone goes at least 10mph over the speed limits.  I did my best to follow the limits, but at times, it seemed safer to maintain with the traffic flow rather than become the slow driver that everyone is annoyed at and has to whip around. This is why my choice to get off the toll roads was often more appealing.  I would be able to drive at a safer pace without the same ire forming in the drivers around me.  Also, the slower pace is WAY better for extending the range of a Tesla.

I listened to a radio program about Proverbs chapter 31, verse 10 as I crossed into Delaware at 12:40pm. The sign simply said: “Welcome To Delaware.”.  (The period was included on the sign).  It was 85 degrees and I had 18,809 on the odometer.  I realized that I had 118 miles of range, so maybe I should recheck the map to see if I could actually get to the NJ charger without a stop in Newark, DE.  It turns out that the Supercharger is on the SOUTH bound side of I-95, so I would have to exit and re-enter the Delaware turnpike and then turn around again!  I shuddered to think of the toll consequences of this since I was using only quarters now.

At 1pm I pulled into the rest stop just before exit 3 (which would get me to the Newark, DE charger).  It took only 10 minutes for me to determine that it was 74 miles to the NJ supercharger and I still had 112 miles of range. (I had already traveled 102 miles and had only used 94 of the range). So I decided to skip the Delaware supercharger and head to NJ.   I also decided to stay off the NJ turnpike and take a toll free route so I could slow down to extend my range (and save money!).

I crossed the Delaware River at 1:15pm and entered NJ at 1:17pm  with 101 range. The sign said, “Welcome to New Jersey”.  As I drove through South Jersey,  I saw marshy areas,  water covered with lily pads, more of the lush greens, and many trees along the highway. I arrived in Hamilton at the Supercharger behind the Barnes and Noble Bookstore by 2:30pm with 45 miles of range remaining!  The odometer read 18,889 and it was 83 degrees.   Frugal Tesla