Summary of our drives

There are a lot of pages here to go through, so I thought that I would pull together a single page to summarize the four cross-country, no-gas road trips we've taken.

Background

When I got the Model 3 Performance in 2018, people were telling me I couldn't do road trips with it, so I decided show them that I could. I used A Better Route Planner to plan a route and then I decided where we would stay each night and made hotel reservations in those towns. When it was time to go, I just put the hotel's address in the car's navigation system, and it navigated me to the first charging station (and told me what charge level I would be when I got there how long I would need to charge). Very nice!

2018

We were away for 24 days from November 14 to December 7. Here's the overall map for the trip:

If you look carefully at Georgia you can see a side trip to visit my aunt, and in the Florida panhandle you can see our visit with some friends. You can also see some driving around the Houston area. We only stayed one night (with Suzanne's family) on our way back home.

Here it is showing all the charging stops:

Statistics: 6,113.25 miles driven. 1,699.74 kWh consumed 278 Wh/mile. 

Energy equivalent of 50.4 gallons of gas, so equivalent to 121.2 MPG.

2019

We were away for 17 days from November 20 to December 6. Here's the overall map for the trip:

This time we swung by Atlanta to pick up some things from my sister's house to take to the farm. Again, we only stayed one night (with Suzanne's family) on our way back home.

Here's an interesting way to look at the trip, the battery's charge level:

Statistics: 5,970.45 miles driven. 2,014.93 kWh consumed 337 Wh/mile. 

Energy equivalent of 59.8 gallons of gas, so equivalent to 99.85 MPG.

2020 - The lost year.  COVID. No road trip...

2021

In previous years we had flown back to Houston to stay with Suzanne's family for Christmas so she can see her mom and brothers (& their families). We thought, why not just make the trip a little longer to include Christmas and we could avoid the fun and games of the airport. So we called up Greg & Marika, whose house we usually stay at to ask them if they would be okay with us staying that long. They were game, so our trip went from a little over 2 weeks to more than 6 weeks.

In order to try and not overstay our welcome, we added a visit to some friends about half way down Florida after Thanksgiving. We were away for 45 days from November 18 to January 1! Here's the overall map for the trip:

Statistics: 7,765.64 miles driven. 2,495.3 kWh consumed 321 Wh/mile. 

Energy equivalent of 74.0 gallons of gas, so equivalent to 104.9 MPG.

2022

This time we planned more visits with friends between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so that we wouldn't be so long at the in-laws. They said it was okay last time, but we felt that we were there too long last year and cramped their style. So we planned to go see our friends in Florida, my old roommate from Auburn, and an old friend in Mobile. We also to spent more time with my parents in Austin. That seemed to work better. 

We were away for 47 days from November 14 to December 31! Here's the overall map for the trip:

You can see where we spent more time because the blue is darker on the map.

Statistics: 7,680.51 miles driven. 2,794.76 kWh consumed 364 Wh/mile. 

Energy equivalent of 82.9 gallons of gas, so equivalent to 92.6 MPG.

Totals of the four trips

27,529.85 miles driven

9,004.73 kWh consumed (327.1 Wh/mile), equivalent to 267.2 gallons of gasoline (103.03 MPG)

The Future

Will we do it again. Sure. We will probably add some other friend & family visits on the way too.

We've been thinking of taking a trip up North to go see my daughter who lives in Michigan, visiting a cousin in Bellingham on the way. And since we are already that far, why not go and see Maine? Then, we would go to Atlanta to see my other daughter. And since we were there, why not go see the Florida Keys? Of course stopping and hanging out with friends and family along the way... I plugged that thought into A Better Route Planner and it came up with this:

A total of 10,360 miles and 162 hours of driving. Maybe we will wait to do this after I retire (whenever that will be). It seems kinda daunting, unless we really take our time at it.

Home Bound - Day 47

After 46 days of being away from home, if sure feels good to be heading home today. Today we drove another 460 miles from San Diego. The traffic and weather were pretty bad. I had forgotten how horrible the traffic is in LA - yuck. 

Then, when we got north of the Grapevine the rain started. There were so many people on the road trying to get to where they were going for New Years celebrations, that it was hard to even do the speed limit on I-5. We got home at 5:00 as the "atmospheric river" was still flowing onto the central coast.

7,680 miles in 47 days is 164 miles per day (average). The longest day was 594 miles (from Ozona TX to Willcox AZ) and really boring - pretty much just dirt & rocks.

The whole trip so far:

Total: 7,680.5 Miles, 2794.8 kWh consumed = 364 Wh/mile

Today: 460.4 Miles, 7:35 driving, 149.4 kWh consumed = 325 Wh/mile. 

Here is the detailed data:

It's really good to be home!

West Bound - Day 46

Today we drove another 550 miles to San Diego to visit Steve at Aptera  to visit their new factory. The weather has been good so far, nothing except some light rain and fog. No snow, or heavy rain to deal with. I get the feeling that our drive tomorrow will have rain in it, as the atmospheric river is still flowing onto the central coast.

The whole trip so far:

Total: 7,220.2 Miles, 2645.4 kWh consumed = 366 Wh/mile

Today: 554.1 Miles, 7:49 driving, 200.0 kWh consumed = 361 Wh/mile. 

Here is the detailed data:

West Bound - Day 44

Today we drove from Sugar Land to Ozona Texas, visiting our high school friend Scott in Kerrville on the way for lunch at a wine tasting shop that had excellent food - Grape Juice. Our efficiency is going down again, because with a speed limit of 80 MPH, we are gobbling down the KiloWattHours.

The whole trip so far:

Total: 6,071.0 Miles, 2993.8 kWh consumed = 361 Wh/mile

Today: 405.2 Miles, 5:53 driving, 166.4 kWh consumed = 411 Wh/mile

Here is the detailed data for the day:

Drive Southeast - Day 34

On our drive back to Sugar Land today, we stopped in to see an old friend Cheryl and her partner Skip. They live in South Austin (almost on the way) and we met up at a cool little BBQ place on Menchaca Rd called Valentina's Tex-Mex BBQ. The Brisket and the Carnitas were excellent! I can see why they place was featured in Diners Drive-ins & Dives.

I hadn't seen Cheryl since 2000, when we worked together at IDB Systems (a WorldCom company). She hasn't changed one bit! Still so full of energy and life! We ate, and we sat and talked for 2 hours until everyone was too cold and we had to go on our separate ways. But we vowed that we would get together again the next time we were in the same area, whether that's Austin or California. 

On the way we had to stop at the Buc-ee's again so Suzanne could get her Buc-ee's fix. I added to our charge while we wandered around inside with what seemed to be half of Texas. I appreciate that they added the Superchargers since last year. Before we would have had to make two stops...

Then we had to stop at Hruska's Koache shop in Ellinger (half way between Austin & Houston on highway 71).

We got to Sugar Land with 20% charge, but since we installed the 20A 240V outlet, I'll be full (90%) before dawn.

The whole trip so far:

Total: 5,419.4 Miles, 94:25 driving, 1,932.1 kWh consumed = 357 Wh/mile

Today: 222.4 Miles, 3:46 driving, 84.6 kWh consumed = 380 Wh/mile.

 

Here is the detailed data:

South Bound, Day 26

Today we left Lake Hartwell to Mobile, AL. It's about half way to Houston and we will stop in to see Venetia, another friend from college. The first 2 hours were not very fun. It was raining and the roads were quite wet. Once we got through Atlanta the skies opened up and the driving got much calmer.

When we got to Mobile, we checked into the hotel then went over to the supercharger which is about 1 minute from where our friend Venetia works. When she was done for the day she swung by and we followed her to her cool old house on the Dog River as the sun was setting. 

We had a cocktail with her watching the night come on, then went to a funky little restaurant/bar called the River Shack for some seafood and to chat. They had a live band (the vocalist wasn't that good), but they were in another room, so they didn't interfere with our chatting much. I snapped this photo of the bar where we were sitting (to avoid the band).

The whole trip so far:

Total: 4,384.7 Miles, 1558.0 kWh consumed = 355 Wh/mile

Today: 482.9 Miles, 7:46 driving, 162.4 kWh consumed = 336 Wh/mile. 

Here is the detailed data:

Lake Hartwell - Days 20-25

It was a really wonderful spending time with Hap and Allison at their house on Lake Hartwell. It was longer that we had originally planned, since the Florida visit was shortened. I was worried that we were going to be like fish and start to stink after a few days, but staying with them was so easy. They accepted us into their daily routines.

The first day there was sad as their dog Ty had become so sick that he had to be euthanized. That was very hard as he had been a family member for so many years. Afterwards their other dog Pita was having a hard time figuring out her place in the family. Suzanne and I were both accepted by her as a part of her pack though. That was nice.

They found an interesting concert in Athens (about an hour away) that we went to Black Violin, and we had a very nice meal at Five and Ten before the show.

It rained most of the time, so it wasn't until Thursday that we took the boat out and rode around. We crossed over into South Carolina for a little bit when we were near the dam. It's been a long time since I've been on a lake and even longer on a lake with Hap. It was chilly but nice. The winds were so light that the lake was like a mirror.

Not as much driving around as when we were at the farm, but I did get a chance to go through Lavonia and see the old places that I remembered as I was growing up (totally not the same now). I also visited the cemetery where my ancestors are buried (on my Mother's side).

The drive during days 20-25:

I'm not showing the drives and charges here since I don't want to expose exactly where their house is. The charges were all at 120V from a regular wall outlet, but that worked fine for the time we were visiting. The have big plans for the house and maybe there will be a 240V 50A outlet in the new garage (hint hint).

Total: 3901.7 Miles, 1395.6 kWh consumed = 358 Wh/mile.
Around the lake: 195.9 Miles, 74.1 kWh consumed = 378 Wh/mile.  

North Bound - Day 19

Today we drove to Hartwell Georgia to visit with Hap & Allison. Hap and I met as freshmen at Auburn in 1977! So I've know him for quite a while. They are in the process of moving from their cute 1910 house in Atlanta to Hartwell Lake.

This is the same area that my mother was born (just one town over). The back roads are where I learned to drive! This lake is where I went fishing with my grandfather. While we are here, I'm going to visit the family cemetery and the old houses in Lavonia.

The whole trip so far:

Total: 3,705.8 Miles, 1321.5 kWh consumed = 357 Wh/mile

Today: 395.8 Miles, 6:53 driving, 128.6 kWh consumed = 325 Wh/mile. 

Here is the detailed data:

Around the farm - Days 7-17 & 18

After 12 days at the farm seeing everyone for Thanksgiving and getting some things taken care of, we are off to visit Brian & Debbie in Florida. While at the farm we drove almost 400 miles to a bunch of the towns nearby.

Total: 3080.0 Miles, 1112.7 kWh consumed = 361 Wh/mile.
At the farm: 359.2 Miles, 128.8 kWh consumed = 358 Wh/mile.  

Day 18:
Brian & Debbie are in an apartment near the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. We will only be staying one night to give them both big hugs and support them on their long hard road ahead. It was delightful seeing them and it was proven (once again) that Brian can drink my skinny ass under the table.

Total: 3310.0 Miles, 1192.9 kWh consumed = 360Wh/mile. 
Today: 230.1 Miles, 80.2 kWh consumed = 349 Wh/mile.

East Bound - Day 5

Today we drove to Auburn Alabama. This is where we lived when I was in grade 6 through 8 and where I met Larry, who lived two houses down. We quickly became best friends. We shared a lot of common interests and I was accepted into his family like a third son. After we moved to Houston, we drifted apart but we reconnected again in the 2000s, and I've visited him every time I can when I'm in the area. We had a wonderful dinner of homemade chicken & dumplings that Anne made from her grandmother's recipe (it takes 3 days to make!). Jake, his older brother, was there too along with his girlfriend, who was very nice. We stayed up and talked until after my bedtime so I'm posting this the next morning.

Today we drive to the farm, another short-mileage day. My daughter Sarah and her husband Greg (and their two fur babies) are arriving today too. They were in Charlotte visiting Greg's mom after driving down from Michigan earlier in the week. It will be great to see them and to start the process of collecting the family together for Thanksgiving.

The whole trip so far:

Total: 2,493.8 Miles, 907.2 kWh consumed = 364 Wh/mile

Today: 228.1Miles, 4:46 driving, 79.3 kWh consumed = 347 Wh/mile. 

Here is the detailed data:

2021 West Bound - Day 24

With sadness we left the in-laws in Sugar Land...  I think they were ready for us to leave, but didn't want to say it. Honestly, we are ready to be home - to sleep in our own bed with our own pillows. 

On the first day out of Houston we try to meet up with an old high school friend who lives in Kerrville. This time our old high school friend Scott was in town (he's a navigator on off-shore boats and was off-shore every other time we passed through Kerrville). We had lunch with him, his wife, and son at a really nice restaurant in the old train depot building. Then we got to spend a couple of hours at his house and took some time to just hang out sitting on his front porch catching up and throwing the ball for his dog.

We arrived in Ozona and I dropped Suzanne off at the hotel and I went and charged up the car for a quick getaway tomorrow. We want to get into Wilcox before 5:00 because we hear that Apple Annie's Country Store has amazing apple pies and we want to pick some up before they close. We are also looking forward to having dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant of all time, La Unica.

Here is the map for today's drive:

Here is the map of the west-bound drive so far (3,047 miles):

And here is the total trip so far (6,145 miles):

Here are the details of the day: