While in Gilroy, I typed up that former post. But I could not publish it until now (at 9pm). So let me tell you about the journey since Gilroy.

The road to interstate 5 is hwy 152 also called Pacheco Pass. It is very scenic as you wind through the golden hills dotted with green live oak trees. I saw horses, cows, and maybe even some elk. Are there elk near that reservoir? There was also a brush fire along the way being fought by many firefighters. At the same time, I heard on KCBS that there was a big brush fire in San Jose. This hot weather makes for serious fire danger.

I arrived at Harris ranch at 5:45pm. odometer at 15,239 and outside temperature was 104 degrees. So, I traveled on the hottest day of the week! 75 miles of range was remaining.  I hit the restroom, looked around a bit, and enjoyed their displays and videos showing California Chrome. That is the horse who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness this year. Then I ate a salad and tried again to send the gilroy blog posting. It did not work. So, at 6:36pm I left for Tejon ranch with 190 miles of range in the car.

The road from Harris to Tejon is stinky in places and it is desert with tumbleweeds. As you near Tejon Ranch, there is suddenly lush green farms and orchards at the base of the hills. I arrived at Tejon at 8:20pm with 52 miles of range remaining. mileage at 15,356 and a cool 95 degrees!

Now I will drive to West Hills to spend the night with good friends. I hope to post tomorrow in Barstow! Until then, FT

Wow, I am finally supercharging in Gilroy! That means I left Santa Cruz and drove over Hecker Pass, an amazing path winding through redwoods. Usually I take this road at night, so seeing the daylight activities was nice. Lots of farms are in the Watsonville area and berry picking is prime now.

For those interested in the numbers, I left San Francisco with my odometer reading at EXACTLY 15,000. Cool, huh? Oh, I did manage to repair the kitchen leak… it was an old gate valve for a shutoff that needed tightening (and a wrap of teflon tape). The valve was difficult to access, so I took care of that with my favorite power tool: the sawzall reciprocating saw!

Back to numbers… after doing some work in Santa Cruz, I departed at 2:13pm with the odometer at 15,099 and energy range of 97. I had stopped to partially charge in fremont last night so I had an easy time getting to Gilroy. It was 89 degrees outside but I was at a nice 70 degrees in the car. I left Gilroy at 3:55pm with 190 range. On to Harris ranch!

Thanks for the comments, and feel free to ask questions. This blog was typed on the Tesla screen!  FT

Since today is Sunday, I attended a farewell Mass in San Francisco.  It was at St. Anne of the Sunset and coincidentally the parish was having a farewell party for their pastor, Father Ray Reyes. He is moving on to serve all priests within the Archdiocese of San Francisco instead of leading one parish.  Good luck to you Father Ray!  I was happy to attend your farewell celebration as I make my own departure and say farewell to SF!

One thing that Father Ray spoke of today was how beautiful it is to be Catholic.  He challenged us to consider how we show that to the world.  Perhaps by writing that here, I add my own agreement to his words.  Often we are shy to speak of religion in our everyday lives. As a former scientist, I saw how few were comfortable speaking about their spirituality.  I try to be grounded in faith which is sometimes not easy in a world where amorality seems to be celebrated.  Each waking moment is a blessing and hopefully we don’t take that for granted. I am glad to see that gratitude expressed by athletes after touchdowns, big basketball buckets and those recent GOALS of the World Cup.

Tonight I will charge at the Fremont Supercharger.  Then I will do my final preparation for the big trip in Santa Cruz.  One bummer to delay things… a plumbing problem (leak under the kitchen sink).  I hope to fix it now and then get going.  Wish me luck!   If all goes well, my next post tomorrow will be from the Gilroy Supercharger (my first attempt to blog on the road).  To date, these posts have been from a desktop computer.

Thanks to all who have contacted me with the words: “Be Safe”.  Vigilance and taking breaks to rest will be important parts of this long journey.  Keep the faith!

Packing and planning has been intense.  My biggest challenge will be charging the car at Superchargers only (provided by Tesla).  There are locations where my car will not have enough range (especially around the Las Vegas Superchargers), so I must track down alternate charging facilities. This is because my car’s battery is not the 85 Kilowatt version.  It is the 60 Kilowatt Model S with a max range of about 200 miles.  Tesla is working on this gap, but to date these extra Superchargers in NV and UT are not in place.  I am hopeful and keep checking the map!  I also had my car serviced… shout out of thanks to Carl at Tesla in Burlingame.

Other pre-travel plans included arranging a house sitter and packing emergency supplies, clothes, and food/drinks for the trip. One great friend has gifted me with some jerky for the road.  I hadn’t thought of that idea so I am very thankful!

Folks ask if I am concerned about the great distance, but I must admit that the Tesla seats are so ergonomic that I actually LOVE going the distance in the car.  We’ll see if I still feel that way at the end of the long journey!  Tonight I will get some pre-trip exercise by line-dancing with LDVALI with modern music of many kinds (not just country music).  Put that name into YouTube and you can join in too!  Be well friends.

Okay folks,  Here it is… My FIRST EVER blog post.  I hope that everyone will be patient while I figure out how this works.  Many know that I am NOT a high tech person… my phone is a flip-phone, and I still retain a dial-up internet service.  This February of 2014 was when I first signed up for a wireless internet connection.  Wow! What a difference.

Why the blog now?  After saving odd job money for many years (That’s the “frugal” part!), I managed to purchase the 3rd car of my lifetime.  It is my dream car:  The Tesla Model S.  It is brown, so I call it “The Chocolate Car”.  After about a year of ownership,  it is time to attempt a cross country trip.  The plan is to visit my Mom in NJ for her birthday in late July of 2014.   I will depart from San Francisco soon on this amazing journey.  To check out the route, go to TeslaMotors.com and click on SUPERCHARGERS– follow the dots!  I will use that serpentine route across the country.  Hopefully this blog thing will work while on the road so you can see my progress.  Wish me luck!  Enjoy the journey with me.  And please send comments to help me along the way.   Blessings to all.

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