Leaving this stop, I encountered my first bug. It's been reported in the 6.2 bugs thread, but I'll mention it anyways. After Supercharging and getting ready to hit the road, the center nav screen just got stuck "loading" to get to the next stop in South Hill, VA. I gave it a moment because I was thought maybe it was downloading map data and had a weak signal, but I got on the interstate and it was still loading. I ended up doing the both upper button hold to cycle the center screen, and that showed me that in fact it is holding both scroll wheels that reboot the center screen. And of course, this also kills off Spotify and shuts off your HVAC temporarily. Nothing like going down the interstate while the screen reboots. And that brings up another point. Didn't I read somewhere that there is a third reboot? One of the above two, but you keep holding during the reboot cycle. What does that reboot? I didn't want to try it on the road b/c these two were the only two I recall being safe to do while driving.
So the next leg of my journey was the most fun. I drove through Richmond and had two Tesla Moments as people stuck their heads of their car to catch a better look and coast beside me to really take it in. That just made the Tesla grin that much wider! It also providing a change in driving behavior between stretches of seemingly nothing and city limit interstate driving. The car performed admirably and was truly a pleasure to drive. In this traffic, I can see where TACC would be great, but traditional cruise still does a great job. Things were pretty uneventful (which is good).
Once I got to South Hill, I had some trouble finding the Supercharger. Thankfully, I saw it in the corner of my eye in the back parking lot of a local restaurant. I now know where this is, but imagine it would be nice if the Supercharger entries in the on-board Nav had a picture or description of where the chargers are. I haven't looked at Superchargers on Plugshare, but L2 chargers usually have comments on where to find them and any caveats to beware. Anyways, a quick double back had me pulling in and practicing using the rear view camera versus the huge mirror view of my 4Runner. A note to self that the guidelines are about where the the wheels are, so if the guideline says you are right up to the stall line, then you really are. Good practice for future curb rash avoidance! At the restaurant, the chef gave a welcoming hello from their deck and said to come on in. At first I was anxious to spend more time checking out my car as I only needed 15 minutes to stay above 20% when reaching Burlington, NC, but alas, there will be plenty of time for that over the next few years. I went inside, had a good lunch, and chatted with the wait staff who asked about my car. That prompted the attention of a very nice married couple who had a Pearl White 85 w/ Autopilot also charging out there. The warmth and camaraderie of the Tesla family is well in Virginia! The were from the area of VA and stopped for lunch as well while topping off. A great experience overall.
Not long after getting back on the Interstate, I was at the NC border. Here is some proof of that...
Let's just say that driving a Tesla can be a bit more spirited when you aren't worrying about a plane flying overhead scanning license plates.
The drive to Alamance Mall in Burlington, NC was also uneventful. It's a strip mall much like any other strip mall. The chargers are behind Dillard's and the nearest restaurant (that I could find outside the stores) was across from the movie theater in the back of the stores. No directional signs, but the lady at the Yankee Candle Store was kind enough to direct me. Trip Planner said I only needed a 5 minute charge, so I had plenty of range when I got back to the car. The rest of the way to Charlotte is a trip I've done many times before because I used to live near Greensboro and still visit friends up there, so it just flew by.
My final stop was at the Charotte Supercharger. Technically I did not need this stop, but I don't have charging set up at home and work, while having a 30A J1772 for employee use, asks that we limit sessions to 3 hours so everyone has a chance to use the chargers. I will be getting a 14-50 installed at home soon. But in the meantime, work and a Supercharger on the other side of town will do me fine. Today I tested the HPWC at my local Tesla store and confirmed my car indeed has dual chargers. I could always go full blown and get a HPWC for home if I get enough service to support it. Plenty of time to think about it!
I hope my ramblings have been helpful and share a bit of the joy of road tripping in a Tesla is like. I've only had the car 24 hours, and already I was told tonight that maybe tomorrow we should just take a road trip to Asheville or the mountains "just because"!
