HEADING OUT TOMORROW FOR PALM SPRINGS

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Time for my bucket list road trip. From Portland I'm heading to the Lincoln City Supercharger then taking the 101 down to San Francisco. Doing the Tesla factory tour Friday morning, then taking three days to get to PS. The only things so far planned are to see General Sherman, the biggest living giant sequoia, and the giant Kettleman City Supercharger. I'm just looking for suggestions for what else I should see. Thanks.

 

[Naekuh]

That would completely depend on which route you decide to take down to los angeles from SF before you head east to Palm Springs.

Did you intend to take the extremely long route of 101 south?
Then i recommend you stop by solvang... well, you probably will have to as thats a super charger stop.
But Buellton is a very touristy place.
Its setup like a Danish Town, so go grab something to eat, the sausages are great there.

Or are you going by 5? which is a much faster route by about 2-3 hours, but at the same time, with nothing interesting to see until you hit Los Angeles.

Or you can go the super scenic route, at the time same i call it the suicidal route, well i guess it wont be if you have auto pilot on, but i have never tried it on a EV car, which is called the beach route, aka route 1.
But i think if i did that in a EV, i would have super range anxiety.

 

[azred]

That would completely depend on which route you decide to take down to los angeles from SF before you head east to Palm Springs.

Did you intend to take the extremely long route of 101 south?
Then i recommend you stop by solvang... well, you probably will have to as thats a super charger stop.
But Buellton is a very touristy place.
Its setup like a Danish Town, so go grab something to eat, the sausages are great there.

Or are you going by 5? which is a much faster route by about 2-3 hours, but at the same time, with nothing interesting to see until you hit Los Angeles.

Or you can go the super scenic route, at the time same i call it the suicidal route, well i guess it wont be if you have auto pilot on, but i have never tried it on a EV car, which is called the beach route, aka route 1.
But i think if i did that in a EV, i would have super range anxiety.

I think part of Highway 1 is still closed near Big Sur after the bad slides a year ago, so yes, I guess that would be a suicidal route currently. Normally, it is well worth the time and hardly suicidal, although I still have some crooked, formerly crushed toes from wiping out on my motorcycle years ago on Highway 1 just South of Nepenthe.

 

[TechVP]

Enjoy the Factory Tour. Couple words of advise... unless you really need to, try not to rely upon using the Supercharger near the Factory
Showroom @ Tesla's factory. The wait can be 30+ minutes. Oh and the Google SC, its even more congested. If you are in a hurry to get to the Factory tour, DEFINITELY take advantage of the no-charge Valet service. Its a nice perk to keep you on schedule for your factory tour.
While attending the factory tour, keep your eyes open very wide.... there is much to see and is happening 360 degrees in all directions.... You'll see quite a bit... can't add too much more than that. Definitely worth your time.
Kettleman is a worthy stop to get a glimpse of the beginnings of what a Tesla 'destination' may look like in the future.
If this is your first Tesla trip to CA from Oregon, you'll be stymied on which SC's to skip. I certainly was. Because in Southern CA there many more SC's to choose from. Enjoy your trip.
And if you get close to Eddie's World SC in Yerma, CA... definitely stop. It was an interesting stop to take in. Hint: Tank Bust'in.

 

[bmah]

Hope your trip is going well. If you're not in the Bay Area already, I recommend hitting up a Supercharger north of here to avoid Bay Area Supercharger congestion (think Petaluma, Napa, Concord, or Vacaville, depending on how you're entering).

Remember you don't need to do your northbound leg on the same route you went southbound. When we did Bay Area <-> San Diego last year, we went south on I-5 and north on US-101.

17-Mile Drive in Monterey/Carmel is really nice in a Tesla (in general, not sure what it'd look like with the weather this week). Seaside and Monterey Superchargers are close by. Be prepared for tourists gawking at your car. If you go in that direction, I highly recommend a meal at Lugano Swiss Bistro in Carmel.

Have a great trip!

Bruce.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Thanks for all of the advice. I’ll have to figure out if Hwy 1 is still partly closed and if I have time to take. Stayed last night in Crescent City. Hwy 101 sure is a crazy wild ride. Especially with autopilot and lots of rain. Just wish the AP would position the car further right in the lane instead of center. That’s a just a little too close to oncoming traffic for my comfort level, when the lanes are narrow. Still enjoying the latest update, though.