My first long trip in Model S - Corpus Christi, North Padre, and USS Lexington

[radrays]

Just got back from my first long distance trip in the Model S (85D). Trip was for an overnight stay on USS Lexington with my son's Scout Troop. I pleasantly surprised how well the superchargers work and how little they change traveling except for a little extra planning. Drove from Keller (North of Fort Worth) to Best Western on the Island (North Padre Island). After getting a 250 RM charge at San Marcos Supercharger made the 200 mile hop to Best Western on the Island with 15 RM left on arrival. Drove a few miles below the speed limit on average on this last leg of the trip. If I was getting short of power could have stopped at George West or the Corpus Christi mall.

Best Western on the Island has HPWC and J1772 chargers with two reserved EV spots near the front. They were very accommodating and excited for me to charge. Guess I was the first Tesla to use the HPWC? I called ahead to make sure the parking places were not ICEd.   Not sure about the peak amperage but my single inverter Tesla averaged 29 or 30 RM per hour. Basic, but clean hotel. WiFi was more than fast enough to watch NetFlix. Breakfast is included. Hotel is less than a mile for beach.  Highly recommend if needing to stay in this area.

Had a few hours before the rest of the Scout Troop arrived at USS Lexington and stopped at Texas State Aquarium. Relatively small aquarium, but they are in the process of a significant expansion. There is a J1772 charger on the east side of the parking lot. Guess it is usually plugged into the Aquarium's Leaf. Next to the Leaf is the Aquarium's cargo van, but there is enough charging cord to reach a third third spot if you back in.  Charged at 20 RM per hour (220v/30amp). Talked to the Aquarium's manager who said they were happy for those staying overnight at on USS Lexington to park and charge while on the USS Lexington. Just asked to pay the $5 general parking fee.

Hope that this is helpful if anybody is planning a trip to Corpus Christi, North Padre, or USS Lexington. (Especially before the SCs reach further south.)

 

[Stenn]

If you were the first Tesla to stay at the Padre Island Best Western, I'll be the second as I plan to stay there over the Thanksgiving weekend. Thanks for blazing the trail! :smile:


Before I got the Tesla, I liked to stay at the Omni downtown. When I asked them about a charger, they replied that they didn't know if they had one (???) but that they'd get back to me with an answer. That answer was no. I find it amusing that the fancy-pants Omni is losing high-end businesses to Best Western. I replied to Kirsten, the E-Commerce Specialist at Omni, with the following. It will probably come to nothing, but I couldn't help but try.


Kirsten,


You should know that I’ll be staying at the Padre Island Best Western as they are the only hotel in Corpus Christi that accommodates drivers of electric vehicles like my Tesla. It seems odd staying at a Best Western with my $100,000 car. I’d much rather stay at the Omni, but I really don’t have any choice. With the simple addition of a couple of chargers in their parking lot, Best Western has managed to steal high-end business from Omni and I’m not the only customer you’ve lost as you can read here:


http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...-Corpus-Christi-North-Padre-and-USS-Lexington


I hope that Omni adds electric car chargers in the near future as my wife and I would both prefer to stay at your hotel again as we have many times in the past.


Best Regards

 

[TexasEV]

Stenn, you could also send her the link to the Tesla destination charging program. Free HPWCs!
Destination Charging | Tesla Motors

 

[BBishop]

I drove from New Braunfels to Sherman where I picked up my brother and drove to Ann Arbor. We used AP whenever appropriate, "Serenity" never surprised us. It does not take long to learn when AP will potentially have issues with road conditions. Using common sense and being attentive to the road AP will work great. Occasionally we did have range anxiety, I think it was because of the trip app. If we only looked at Navs mileage and rated miles we felt more confident (false confidence?).
Our only disappointment was the lack of services available at most of the Superchargers along our route.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

I find it amusing that the fancy-pants Omni is losing high-end businesses to Best Western. I replied to Kirsten, the E-Commerce Specialist at Omni, with the following. It will probably come to nothing, but I couldn't help but try.

I'd bet that it gets their attention!
(Omni Dallas self-parking garage has a few Blink chargers which have their fee set to $0 per hour - "only" daily parking rates apply)
Do send her the Destination Charging info after they chew on the "Lost Our Guest To BW" issue a little bit.
You don't have to mention that a Corpus Supercharger is planned sometime in "the next tenteen months"...

 

[DriverOne]

We did the Lexington scout overnight stay too. It was great fun and the beds were comfortable enough. There's plenty to see on the Lexington so staying overnight was well worth doing. Didn't take my Tesla (a 60) due to lack of charging at the time. Glad to hear there are more resources slowly filling in the map!