The drive to Kelowna, BC would be about 5 hours with charging. For a round trip within a day, that's quite substantial. On our first supercharger stop in Hope, BC, I realized that not once in my entire life have I ever visited this town! This stop was literally just to get off the highway and fill up my tank with gas. But with supercharging, we were led into the main strip of the town.
First of all, I FINALLY got that coveted charging spot where I didn't have to back in.
And you have to admit... that backdrop is killer beautiful.
We ran into a couple of sweet ladies walking their dog, and asked where we could get some breakfast. They gave us two options, and really gave us their in-depth review of what we could expect so we could make the perfect choice.
Blue Moose was the winner -- evidenced by how I forgot to take pictures of the food. Next time!!
The thing is, it's as if this "mandated break from driving" to supercharge is actually a way to make sure Tesla drivers can stay alert on the road. Sightseeing and walking around for 30 minutes is honestly a perfect promoter of mental health.
Off on the road again.. now for 2.5 hours. Autopilot on a windy road doesn't really behave the way I normally drive -- though I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing! There was one point where we passed a police officer who had clearly pulled a car to the side of the road. My friend was going to warn me to slow down, only to notice on the centre console that I was going the exact speed limit.
I did slow the car down a bit in autopilot just to make my friend comfortable. I do notice that when I have guests who are not familiar with Tesla's autopilot technology, I really have to hold back and wait until they get accustomed to it before I let Sparky really rip it up.
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Most of our time in Kelowna was spent just outside the city. We visited Summerhill Pyramid Winery (not to be mistaken with the other Summerhill winery further south) -- a wonderful winery that is probably a "must visit" when you to go to Kelowna. From the complimentary wine tasting to the incredible view of the lake and hills, I'm not sure you can spend a better afternoon with friends!
And there was a wedding!!!
I was amazed how incredible clear my mind was. I mean, I had just been on the road for 5 hours... and then drove another 20 minutes to this place. But I don't think it even dawned on me that I SHOULD be tired.
What this all means is, I got to arrive and actually enjoy my experience to the fullest. I wasn't recuperating. I didn't need a nap or a break. I could just be with my friend, enjoy some fantastic food and wine, talk about the beauty of the moment, and get back in my car like I had just driven a few minutes to the local park.
By the time we were ready to leave Kelowna to head home, the battery had run quite low. This is something that I am learning to accept -- the fact that I can't just take off anytime and be able to charge up whenever I want. I need to plan. And for this trip, I had to get back up to almost 100% at the Kelowna Supercharger and make another stop back in Hope, BC again.
And in my neurosis, I felt like I have to apologize to my friend/guest that we couldn't just drive straight. But instead of forgiving my car for what I figured were unwanted stops, my friend acknowledged just how great it was that we were forced to stop, and how restful the trip felt as a result.
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We had left in the morning at 6:30 AM, and got back at around 11:00 PM. That's one LONG day! Yes, I slept well! But there's NO way I would have survived this kind of day trip in my gas car. It would have been brutal. In fact, the last time I did this trip in my gas car a couple decades ago (when I was younger, and healthier) I remember arriving and having to take a deep nap for a couple hours before I felt like I could even socialize, let alone sightsee.
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Odometre reading by day's end: 5500 KM on the dot!
(not enough data to post the chart yet... but soon!)
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