Fake drive: Hawaii Edition.
After a day or two driving about town I decided it was about time to do the circle Island trip I had been looking forward to. It’s been a few days since I charged to the 242 mile standard charge, but when I parked for the night I still had 160 estimated miles displaying for the 120 mile trip. I woke up early the next day and noticed I had lost the customary 12 miles due to parasitic loss. Only 148 miles left.
If there were a super charger I would make a brief stop but I guess I could stop at at Ala Moana Shopping center and take advantage of the free charger and grab a bite to eat at the food court. As I drove to the charging area, there were already a Leif and a plug in Prius there charging. There is still plenty of charge for my day of driving.
I started out driving from Honolulu out to Sandy beach; I had the air conditioning turned up high to fight the blistering sun. It would eat up come charge, but plenty of battery life left. I made a quick stop to enjoy the surf and was back on the road, refreshed from the beach. Past around Makapuu Point and onto Kailua. As I stop at whole foods in Kailua I notice that there is a free spot at the Vola charger. Time for a quick charge before I am on my way. 15 minutes later feeling refreshed by a few healthy snacks I unplug and am on my way again. I only gain about 3 miles but I have plenty of charge left for my remaining trip.
The sun is high in the sky and I have opened up the pano roof to let in more sunshine. the one lane of traffic keeps the speed and wind noise down. The extra sun is warming me up a bit too much so I set the A/C to max. What the heck I can always stop at the next charging station to add a few more miles.
My stomach was growling and leads me to think about the shrimp trucks in Kahuku. As I pass Laie Shopping Center I realize that I missed the charger at the Polynesian cultural Center. I am starting to get some range anxiety but I still have plenty of charge left for my remaining trip. No worries at all since I can stop at Turtle Bay and use their charger.
As I circle around the parking lot at Turtle Bay I finally see the chargers and pull up to the station only to realize I don’t have my Better Place access card. I seem to be getting lower on charge than I would like. I can just make a quick call to ddruz who lives nearby and charge from his charger. A quick Private message to him posted from TMC and I will be on my way. 15 minutes later and no reply. I thought that everyone who is waiting for their car is on TMC 24 hours a day until delivery like I was.
I continue to drive. Mindful of my diminishing range, I turn the A/C from 62 up to 72 degrees, just in case Tesla is monitoring my data feed. The North Shore traffic is piled as high as the North Shore waves on this balmy day. Running at 5 miles per hour will definitely save me some charge. If I leave lots of room behind the ICE in front of me I can speed up and then use the regen to put some more energy back into the batteries. Why didn’t I think of this sooner? I can expend lots of energy speeding up and then gain MORE back from the regen. If I continue like this I won’t have any worries since I will have more energy than I started with.
No chargers in Haleiwa I press on to Wahiawa and get on H2 for the long downhill ride. With the regen on full there is no need to stop at the charger in Mililani unless I stop by SolarPowered's house to test fit my car in his garage. Another day since it is all downhill from here. I make it down to the H1 & H2 Merger do I go Right to stop at the Tesla Service Center in Waipahu or Left to get back to town. Since the Service Center isn’t open I take the left onto H1. Will I make it back to Honolulu on H1? Should I tale Nimitz Highway and stop at Pearl Ridge Shopping Center for a free charge?
Almost down to zero miles left I slow down to a crawl limping along with the traffic passing me. If I run out of battery power it must be someone else’s fault. After all, I started with plenty of estimated miles in the car.
Maybe I can get a shot of the Freeway service Patrol (FSP) tow truck and get a job with the New York Times....
How do all the birds find MY car, I don't park under any trees. I am constantly cleaning up my hood. 
