But also lots of "Tesla" stuff happened for me.
Friday (that was Day 95), I was driving from work with a friend and we stopped by a grocery store where they had a parkade with an entrance/exit straight from a very busy street.
Driving out of the parkade, it's one of those challenging portions where if you stop before the sidewalk starts, you can't see the road to see if it's clear to turn. So you inevitably have to block the sidewalk with the nose of your car, just to barely see if there's a break in traffic for you to turn.
I ended up waiting long enough, that another set of pedestrians showed up. Not wanting to walk around the front of my Tesla (and get too close to the road traffic). They chose to walk behind. I momentarily put my car in park to give them room and then noticed they wanted to walk around behind my car. The problem is, when I saw an opening, the car was still in reverse. I put my gas pedal on...
There was an alarm sound that I had never heard before from my Tesla. And I hit the brakes. And I realized just a second afterwards what had just happened. I attempted to go forward, but my car, being in reverse mode, jumped backwards, recognized an obstacle (a pedestrian... gulp!) and yelled at me to stop!
My heart sank. Had I not been in a Tesla, who knows what kind of tragedy that could have been. I feel like Sparky saved a whole host of lives.
I still can't figure out if the obstacle-aware acceleration did the braking, or if I did. What I do know is that the car definitely knew something/someone was there and yelled at me to stop.
I was immensely grateful.
*****
Next day, Saturday, was an exciting trip! I looked forward to spending the day at Pike Place Market and experience all of the tourist attractions that I hear about but never did myself. And in contrast to many trips I've already taken, Seattle feels like just a run-of-the-mill Tesla road trip.
I decided to stop at the Lynnwood Supercharger location. It's a high usage supercharger so I got the message while charging:
Incredible that I witnessed a black Model 3 DOUBLE-PARKED! There was one more spot left besides the one (s)he blocked. And being on a road trip, I would have been so mad if that was the only spot left. Unbelievable. I should have taken a picture and FB-shamed them.
*****
I headed out to Pike Place Market, and there were droves of people walking towards it. I arrived around 11:30 AM, which is probably the absolutely WORST time to try and find parking. I decided to drive around for about 10 minutes and see if I could find a parking spot. I saw a parkade... that was about $8/half hour (um.. no thanks). And I was inching my way around in traffic. There was no way I was going to tolerate this, considering it was already getting really hot outside. And so I left.
I went to the university of washington area, on University Blvd. While inside eating (this place is terrible for many reasons, so I'm not going to post anything about it), I didn't realize that Sparky's alarm was triggered. It was only at the end of the day that I noticed it in my notifications history.
I have looked at my saved footage, and I don't see this time saved on my car. What the?
I did look through the folders before and after 11 AM, but nothing of consequence was there. I don't see any damage to the car, so I'm going to assume it's a false alarm.
*****
My next stop was Snoqualmie Falls, about 30 minutes east. The place was packed, but that's okay! I am starting to become a sucker for waterfalls after my experience at Multnomah Falls in Oregon.
I was super fortunate to have found a parking spot close to the pedestrian bridge going over the road traffic.
After doing an extremely shaking Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge, this was nothing! :)
And then a walk up to the observation deck, and THERE IT WAS!
It's a hydro plant as well (with lots of historical significance), but they did a great job at having a natural setting for the waterfall. Massive tons of water flowing over the edge every second... wonderful!
I headed to the second observation deck..
And after staring with a smile for about 10 minutes, I continued to follow the path. It appeared there was about a half mile of path that would take you downwards nearer to the stream, and I figured I'd try it. About 5 minutes in, I realize, the ENTIRE half-mile was going to be a steep downhill.
I pulled out my iPhone, plugged in my ear buds, and braced myself for a challenge. I had to do it!
Another 10 minutes go by, and I could feel a little bit of panic set in. Every step I take is an uphill step I'll make later on. How far before it's enough?
About half an hour later of careful walking down (and legs starting to feel jiggily), not to mention that nature was calling SO BAD, I saw something that thrilled me and saddened me at the same time. A break in the path to give me some level ground, a washroom to use... and a PARKING LOT! Yes! All this time, I could have drove down to this point and saved myself a lot of panic!! This made me dread the walk up all the more, knowing it could have been avoidable.
There was more downwards walking to be had. Well, I had come this far... I really had to see it all the way through.
Well, I would like to tell you that the walk was ALL worth it, but honestly, it was just another perspective to see the waterfall just a small fraction closer, in a very small observation deck packed with people who weren't interested in waiting in line for a front row view. Now I see why I'm an introvert...
But I did snap a pic. Can you see the difference in perspective?
Okay, yeah, I guess that was kinda worth it.
And do you see the two kayakers in the water? It was kind of fun watching them steer through the rapids shortly later.
But no more stalling. It was time to brave my way back up. I was determined to do it, and listening to the Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast certainly kept me entertained enough to keep my mind from telling me there was no way I was going to make it.
Step by step, one foot in front of the other, slowly and steadily, I walked up. There were several sitting spots along the way, a lots of shady points. I took advantage of about half of them, and for a couple of sits, I let my legs completely rest and recouperate as far as I could stand it.
I watched little kids run as fast as they could uphill past my tired old feet, giggling with glee as they went. I saw women bigger than I also brave their way up. I even ran into one (with her male partner) who was probably about my size, and without words, acknowledged that we knew what each other was going through. This challenge, while small for many, was about to be an amazing accomplishment, if we get to the end of it.
To my big surprise, the walk up did not last as long as I thought.
My friend just finished surviving cancer, and with it, grew life wisdom. "Self-compassion" is her new mantra. For me on this day, it meant forgetting about being a super-woman, and taking it as slow as I wanted, even if it was painfully slow.
I made it to the top, no dizziness, no migraine, and NO REGRETS! Yes! Maybe my former days as a hiker is finally coming back, and all of that self-loathing nonesense I shed through counselling is finally paying off!!!
I walked slowly back to my car, taking a moment on the way to recondition it and get the cabin temperature back down to... REALLY COLD! (hehe)
Is it terrible that I'm almost disappointed when I get back to my car, surrounded by lots of people, and the other cars have parked far away enough that I don't need to use summon to pull my car out? HAHA. Yeah, I figured I better get in and get out. There was a whole line of cars just vying for my spot!
*****
On my way back to the highway, there was an Audi sports car just getting on the merge lane to the highway, and started gunning it. I figured, I can keep up with him!. So I floored it just for fun.
And that's when I was reminded that I just finished an abnormally difficult physical activity. I was reminded that I did exert myself further than normal. Because in that incredible acceleration of my Tesla, I went into a dizzy spell.
My first reaction, now completely normalized, was to put the car in autopilot. Let Sparky take the wheel while my head has a chance to cool down and return back to normal. Yes, I kept up with the Audi with ease. But I am reminded now how incredible the acceleration is in my car.
*****
Last stop of my trip was to one of the popular seafood buffets in Seattle. This one, Haiku Buffet, looked incredible in youtube, and was priced very reasonably.
It had started to get smoltering hot outside (like for Northwest Coast, not like California!), and after walking around waiting for Haiku to open, I decided that it was way too hot for that.
Back in my Tesla, I was able to finally take some time to recline, rest my weary head and body, and take a moment to just "be". For a hot day like this, you would think the all-glass roof would battle the temperature of the car... and you would be wrong. The car stayed incredibly cool, I was able to stare at the clouds in the sky without squinting from the brightness, and even close my eyes for a bit in a safely locked car to take a quick 10-minute nap.
The buffet was.... 6/10. Beautiful presentation, which makes everything look so tasty. But unfortunately, there was no fooling my taste-buds. I love big flavours and this was the opposite.
Still, I ate a lot and was ready for my drive home.
*****
Once again, I stopped off at the Burlington Supercharger, used their facilities, got a couple of cups of melon ice water, and sat in their lounge with a cooking show playing on the TV in the background. I hooked up to their free wifi, and just relaxed while flipping through my Facebook newsfeed.
Indeed, Burlington is my favorite supercharger spot so far! There isn't much by the way of amenities, but what you do get is far superior to having lots of choices of "nothing much".
This Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites is fantastic and so friendly. If you are looking for a place to stay for the night, please give them your Tesla-thankful business!
*****
Odometre Reading: 11,165 kms
My Referral Code: somi22310
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