Here is a recap of our trip. It happened largely as described above.
The Comfort Suites in Palm Bay has one charging station by the hotel entrance. It served well to charge our roadster although there is always the anxiety about someone else with an EV gets there first. As one of the charging websites notes, hotel employees will park in the spaces to keep them open for EV charging. We noted upon our arrival that was the case with an employee parked in one of spaces. We were more than satisfied with the hotel itself during both stays -- it is a very nice hotel.
Between Palm Bay and Miami we stopped both ways in West Palm Beach where there are at least two, and possibly more, very good garages to park and charge, and to grab some lunch. On the way there, we parked in the Esperante Parking Garage, and on the way back in the Clematis Parking Garage. The Clematis Parking Garage appears to be the better choice, because there is no additional charge for charging, parking is less expensive, and it is on Clematis Street which has a slew of decent places to get lunch (try Rocco's Tacos and Tequila Bar -- you will not be disappointed). Stopping in West Palm Beach for an approximate two hour charge removed the need to drive slower than traffic on I-95 so I was able to go as fast as I reasonably wished without worrying about unduly reducing the range of my roadster which is always a concern when looking at distances of 167 miles and driving at 70+ mph.
The Hampton Inn & Suites, Miami/Bricknell-Downtown is a garage on the first five levels with a wonderful hotel starting on level six. There are two charging stations with evident wiring for two more. When we arrived for the first stay, there was a Model S parked in one EV space and we took the other. On our second stay on our return trip, a Fisker Karma pulled into the EV space to charge as we were unloading. The Fisker driver from his questions appeared unaware of the existence of the Tesla Roadster. I, of course, was unaware there were any Fiskers still running but this driver seemed satisfied with his. You can see the photo I posted here: http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/15115.
The stay at Coconut Cay Resort & Marina in Marathon was somewhat of a hoot. Our arrival created a flurry of activity with the owner greeting us, showing us the charging station, watching as I plugged in the roadster Universal Mobile Connector with the NEMA 14-50 plug on it. When I activated charging, the owner exclaimed that he was happy it worked. I guess we were the first to show up to use his newly-installed NEMA 14-50 outlet with a "Charging Station" sign on the pole (see the photos I posted on http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/43285 and Recargo). That evening, after charging for an hour or so, we drove over the Seven Mile Bridge just as the sun was setting -- what a great drive in an open-top roadster! The next day, we drove the approximately 50 miles to visit Key West.
On the way back while staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites, Miami/Bricknell-Downtown, we visited Miami Beach and South Beach. Without planning on it we came across the Miami Beach Tesla showroom on Lincoln Road. We stopped in to say hello.
Would I do this trip again? Hard to say. The Amtrak Auto Train is interesting and made for a pleasant journey. But, it is a long drive from Sanford to the Keys. More than once the thought crossed my mind that I could have more cheaply flown into Miami or Key West and rented a convertible for far less than we spent on the Auto Train and various hotels along the way. But if we did that, we would not have had the joy of driving our open-top Roadster through the Keys in absolutely perfect weather which was undeniably worth doing at least once!
A photo of our roadster at US 1, Mile Marker 0 in Key West is below! I am happy to answer any questions.
John
The Comfort Suites in Palm Bay has one charging station by the hotel entrance. It served well to charge our roadster although there is always the anxiety about someone else with an EV gets there first. As one of the charging websites notes, hotel employees will park in the spaces to keep them open for EV charging. We noted upon our arrival that was the case with an employee parked in one of spaces. We were more than satisfied with the hotel itself during both stays -- it is a very nice hotel.
Between Palm Bay and Miami we stopped both ways in West Palm Beach where there are at least two, and possibly more, very good garages to park and charge, and to grab some lunch. On the way there, we parked in the Esperante Parking Garage, and on the way back in the Clematis Parking Garage. The Clematis Parking Garage appears to be the better choice, because there is no additional charge for charging, parking is less expensive, and it is on Clematis Street which has a slew of decent places to get lunch (try Rocco's Tacos and Tequila Bar -- you will not be disappointed). Stopping in West Palm Beach for an approximate two hour charge removed the need to drive slower than traffic on I-95 so I was able to go as fast as I reasonably wished without worrying about unduly reducing the range of my roadster which is always a concern when looking at distances of 167 miles and driving at 70+ mph.
The Hampton Inn & Suites, Miami/Bricknell-Downtown is a garage on the first five levels with a wonderful hotel starting on level six. There are two charging stations with evident wiring for two more. When we arrived for the first stay, there was a Model S parked in one EV space and we took the other. On our second stay on our return trip, a Fisker Karma pulled into the EV space to charge as we were unloading. The Fisker driver from his questions appeared unaware of the existence of the Tesla Roadster. I, of course, was unaware there were any Fiskers still running but this driver seemed satisfied with his. You can see the photo I posted here: http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/15115.
The stay at Coconut Cay Resort & Marina in Marathon was somewhat of a hoot. Our arrival created a flurry of activity with the owner greeting us, showing us the charging station, watching as I plugged in the roadster Universal Mobile Connector with the NEMA 14-50 plug on it. When I activated charging, the owner exclaimed that he was happy it worked. I guess we were the first to show up to use his newly-installed NEMA 14-50 outlet with a "Charging Station" sign on the pole (see the photos I posted on http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/43285 and Recargo). That evening, after charging for an hour or so, we drove over the Seven Mile Bridge just as the sun was setting -- what a great drive in an open-top roadster! The next day, we drove the approximately 50 miles to visit Key West.
On the way back while staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites, Miami/Bricknell-Downtown, we visited Miami Beach and South Beach. Without planning on it we came across the Miami Beach Tesla showroom on Lincoln Road. We stopped in to say hello.
Would I do this trip again? Hard to say. The Amtrak Auto Train is interesting and made for a pleasant journey. But, it is a long drive from Sanford to the Keys. More than once the thought crossed my mind that I could have more cheaply flown into Miami or Key West and rented a convertible for far less than we spent on the Auto Train and various hotels along the way. But if we did that, we would not have had the joy of driving our open-top Roadster through the Keys in absolutely perfect weather which was undeniably worth doing at least once!
A photo of our roadster at US 1, Mile Marker 0 in Key West is below! I am happy to answer any questions.
John
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