Three years ago I led a rather ordinary life. In most respects, I probably still do today; but there are differences – changes – that relate to the automobile we have.
In relatively short order, we went from realizing we need a new car to deciding on a hybrid/electric to picking the options on a Model S. After delivery, our first supercharger trip to Newark Delaware was a harbinger of trips to come.
The purpose of this post? Well, the MS has made me, made us, different. I don’t think I signed up for these changes when we bought the car but now that they’ve happened, I’m happy about it.
We travelled prior to getting the Model S. But I’d say that we never really road tripped until getting the car. The difference? Enjoyment and distance. Prior to owning an electric car, how many of you ever said, “Let’s to check out the new gas station down the road” or better yet, “Let’s leave a day earlier so we can hit the gas stations in Nashville and Louisville”? While our prior incarnations may have planned a trip to Yellowstone, I’m pretty certain one of us would have looked astonishingly at the other if they suggested taking three weeks to drive around the country to see national parks and gas stations. And yes, there are people that do that in ICE’s today, especially with recreation vehicles. I’m not putting them down. I just realize that we weren’t part of that crowd. I’ve planned a trip to a New England party around using all the northeastern seaboard superchargers I hadn’t yet visited(13) and we’re now planning a trip to the furthest Electric Road Trip site we can reasonable get to and back over an extended weekend(TN) just so we can add to our supercharger count. The fun isn’t in spending all day in the car; the fun is in seeing different parts of the country you normally wouldn’t have experienced and in getting out and meeting different people.
My wife is a teacher and I see what she goes through every year prepping material and working with the children. It’s not a profession I wanted to pursue. Yet I find myself drawn to wanting to explain the car and electric travel every opportunity I get. I’ve even gone as far as volunteering with elementary, middle and high school students to discuss and demonstrate the car. In all fairness, I have had help from other forum members who graciously volunteered to do the demos with me and it has certainly been a team effort. It’s a bug because instead of being happy with past achievements I continue to look for opportunities to refine the presentations and to give them at other schools. At last count, I think there have been about 600 students that have participated the presentations and gotten hands-on with the cars. I can attest that many of the students are very aware of developments in electric vehicle technology.
Truth be told, I’m an introvert. Yet when I’m around the car or with the car or with others that share the same interest in the car, I’m more likely to participate and share and volunteer. Those are all scary words for introverts; yet for me, magically, a switch flips and I can be Mr. Outgoing, or Mr. Please Let Me Help or Mr. Whatever Needs To Get Done. I’ve shared meals with other Tesla owners and enthusiasts and while they probably wouldn’t say that I monopolized the conversation, I did add to the day’s topics.
I’ve also never written poetry about my other vehicles. High school or college assignments were probably the last time I attempted to write verse yet every so often I now find myself inspired to create a new offering. Some of them are efforts, not just a “There once was a man from Nantucket” submissions – I’ll spend hours, even days on it. No idea why other than it’s fun now.
I guess that’s really my point with this post. I don’t know why these things have happened to me. I certainly feel that my existence is better because they have and I wonder if I’d feel similarly if we hadn’t bought the Model S. But that’s another change because I really don’t spend as much time looking backwards anymore at how things could have been different. I’m looking forward to what the new adventures are that lie ahead. Tennessee here we come!
In relatively short order, we went from realizing we need a new car to deciding on a hybrid/electric to picking the options on a Model S. After delivery, our first supercharger trip to Newark Delaware was a harbinger of trips to come.
The purpose of this post? Well, the MS has made me, made us, different. I don’t think I signed up for these changes when we bought the car but now that they’ve happened, I’m happy about it.
We travelled prior to getting the Model S. But I’d say that we never really road tripped until getting the car. The difference? Enjoyment and distance. Prior to owning an electric car, how many of you ever said, “Let’s to check out the new gas station down the road” or better yet, “Let’s leave a day earlier so we can hit the gas stations in Nashville and Louisville”? While our prior incarnations may have planned a trip to Yellowstone, I’m pretty certain one of us would have looked astonishingly at the other if they suggested taking three weeks to drive around the country to see national parks and gas stations. And yes, there are people that do that in ICE’s today, especially with recreation vehicles. I’m not putting them down. I just realize that we weren’t part of that crowd. I’ve planned a trip to a New England party around using all the northeastern seaboard superchargers I hadn’t yet visited(13) and we’re now planning a trip to the furthest Electric Road Trip site we can reasonable get to and back over an extended weekend(TN) just so we can add to our supercharger count. The fun isn’t in spending all day in the car; the fun is in seeing different parts of the country you normally wouldn’t have experienced and in getting out and meeting different people.
My wife is a teacher and I see what she goes through every year prepping material and working with the children. It’s not a profession I wanted to pursue. Yet I find myself drawn to wanting to explain the car and electric travel every opportunity I get. I’ve even gone as far as volunteering with elementary, middle and high school students to discuss and demonstrate the car. In all fairness, I have had help from other forum members who graciously volunteered to do the demos with me and it has certainly been a team effort. It’s a bug because instead of being happy with past achievements I continue to look for opportunities to refine the presentations and to give them at other schools. At last count, I think there have been about 600 students that have participated the presentations and gotten hands-on with the cars. I can attest that many of the students are very aware of developments in electric vehicle technology.
Truth be told, I’m an introvert. Yet when I’m around the car or with the car or with others that share the same interest in the car, I’m more likely to participate and share and volunteer. Those are all scary words for introverts; yet for me, magically, a switch flips and I can be Mr. Outgoing, or Mr. Please Let Me Help or Mr. Whatever Needs To Get Done. I’ve shared meals with other Tesla owners and enthusiasts and while they probably wouldn’t say that I monopolized the conversation, I did add to the day’s topics.
I’ve also never written poetry about my other vehicles. High school or college assignments were probably the last time I attempted to write verse yet every so often I now find myself inspired to create a new offering. Some of them are efforts, not just a “There once was a man from Nantucket” submissions – I’ll spend hours, even days on it. No idea why other than it’s fun now.
I guess that’s really my point with this post. I don’t know why these things have happened to me. I certainly feel that my existence is better because they have and I wonder if I’d feel similarly if we hadn’t bought the Model S. But that’s another change because I really don’t spend as much time looking backwards anymore at how things could have been different. I’m looking forward to what the new adventures are that lie ahead. Tennessee here we come!
