Destination #1 Buffalo, NY area

Day 2 & 3 of the drive went smoothly with no issues. I went through torrential downpours near Louisville for about 45 minutes, so bad that people were pulled off the side of the road waiting it out. I thought about doing the same, but with the ceramic coating and the wipers on high I really could see just fine so I kept going, albeit at a slower pace (didn't trust that the other 2 people on the road could still see). Autopilot was fabulous, it saw the lanes and other cars without a problem, even in the hard rain. The car felt really good and still anchored to the highway.

I ended up getting to Akron about 6pm on day 2 (remember I went the extra 90ish minutes that first night b/c of the malfunctioning chargepoint station) and had heavy storms ahead of me if I continued, plus I couldn't find a good place to stop around the time I had planned to so I went ahead and stayed in Akron for the night. Since I got there early I decided to get a hotel and relax at the pool for a few hours before bed. For the record, a hotel is always my preference over the car-camping, I just couldnt find one near the station the night before, then at the final stop I didn't want to pay $100 for only half a nights sleep.  So, the hotel.... I was at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn - love this hotel! They have a really nice outdoor pool and a fabulous indoor pool and hot tub. They also have a fitness center, restaurant (expensive- it IS a Hilton) and several really nice outdoor seating areas along with a courtyard pond complete with a family of ducks. I used the pool areas for several hours before bed and found the water in the pool to be the perfect temperature and the water in the hot tub not too hot. The doors to the outside open to let in a breeze or close off when it is cooler outside, a really nice setup! Clean room, comfy bed, nice staff, couldn't ask for a better place.

When I arrived the front desk was really excited, they had just recently installed their 4 Tesla destination chargers along with 1 or 2 J1772 chargers on site between the Hilton and the Double Tree so I was the first person to ask to use them. They told me where to look, just around the corner from the entrance so a convenient location, but when I drove over all of the spots were ICED (gas cars parked in them). I let the front desk guys know and they took down my cell and room number and said they would find someone to move and block off a spot for me. They apologized profusely and "just can't believe people would not pay attention." I explained this actually happens a lot (if you are guilty please stop doing it- it is like an EV blocking a gas pump) and assured them it would be fine as long as I could plug in before I go to bed. I also gently suggested some better signage and that they not share the spots with general restaurant parking (the signs actually still say restaurant parking instead of EV parking). It only took about 20 minutes for them to call me to let me know I could move so I grabbed the umbrella and went to go move the car and plug in (not sure the logic in the umbrella since I went straight to the pool when I got back inside and even used the outdoor pool some since there was no lightning) lol.  Anyway, the ICE problem was resolved very quickly by the staff so no problem at all for me and I woke up with a full charge and ready to go again.

When I left the hotel, I made the short drive to my friend's house (hey Grace/Tom) to stay for a few days. I had an uneventful last few hours on the road and other than that first non-Tesla charger mishap at the unnamed dealership in Evansville, the trip has been super easy to make.  It has taken a little longer than it would have in a gas car, but not by much. My time on the road in the EV was just under 17 hours.  The average time it used to take in a gas car was 14-16 hours depending on how long we stopped for meals (and if my sister is driving or not). With the EV I just ate while I charged so, even using a best-case drive time for the gas car, charging still only added about 2 1/2 hours to the total trip time for this leg.

Summary
So far this trip I have gone a total of 1117 miles with an overall efficiency of 96%, charged at Tesla superchargers and destination chargers (remember the non-Tesla charger didn't work), had the air & seat heaters on for part of the drive due to it being in the upper 50's to low 60's for a while in the morning (seriously- it was JUST 103 degrees and needed the A/C, gotta love the midwest), plus had the front and rear defrosters on during the rain.  Comparable cost of gas to make this part of the drive  would have been $127.28. What was my actual total fuel cost for this part of the trip? Wait for it..... I have spent $8.20 on electricity.  Not bad! :-)

I will jump back on later, for now I will leave you with pictures of the pond and ducks :-)