# Ears and men with sticks - My first epic road trip



## ummgood

Here we go! This Thursday after work I start my first long EV road trip. I did a brief road trip to Ft Worth at the beginning of summer but this one will be a doozy. In addition we will have an ICE van that will also be caravaning with us. I am not over planning this (or maybe I am). I am not new to road trips. We have a ton of miles on our minivan. We have driven it across country at least 3 times. It is no big deal. Get in and go. Pray the battery doesn't die because a kid left a light on overnight. Anyway I am hoping maybe me being anal and charting this long trip (as long as I don't lose patience with all this typing) might help someone.

So we are going to Disney and Universal Studios in FL. We have 7 people going! My parents are driving our van with two of our kids and my wife and I are going in the Tesla with my teen. We'll be staying two nights on the way there and one night on the way back. My parents are staying in Marriott chains and my wife and I are staying in Hilton chains. They want to use points for the hotels and I need destination chargers and it seems like Hilton is easier with the destination chargers.

Here are the trip details so far.

Day 1: Drive from Austin to Beaumont, TX. We'll be leaving in the late afternoon. We will be staying at homewood suites (destination charger) with stops at Columbus and Channel View superchargers. The first day is a brief 254 miles.
Day 2: Drive from Beaumont, TX to Panama City, FL. You might ask why we are staying there well turns out every hotel in Tallahassee is booked the night we'll be driving through and need a room. So I am booked at a Hilton Garden Inn in Panama City that has a destination charger. We'll be stopping at Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, Slidel, Mobile, and Defuniak Springs. This leg is a more lively near 600 mile section.
Day 3: Drive from Panama City, FL to Orlando. Here is where we don't know what we'll be doing. We might drive down the eastern coast of FL to get there just for fun. If we are done by the end of the 2nd day we might decide to drive straight through. Anyway if we go the east coast through Daytona we'll be charging at Tallahassee, Lake City, St. Augustine, and Altamonte Springs. That would be a 440 mile day. If we drive straight we'll be charging at Ocala and Turkey Lake instead of St. Augustine and Altamonte springs and that would reduce the drive down to 367 miles.
Day 4 and 5 we'll be at Disney
Day 6 and 7 we'll be at Universal
Day 8 and 9 we'll be back at Disney
Day 10 We'll be driving and staying the night in Gulfport (I haven't figured out the superchargers yet)
Day 11 We'll be driving all the way home to Austin.

Anyway I'll be posting more updates as we go along. I bought a gopro but I have no clue how to use it or any of that fun stuff. You might get videos and you might not. You might get video my teen shoots or you might not. You might get video with kids screaming at parents or videos with parents screaming at kids. You might not.

Anyway my first question for everyone in FL. How the heck do I use the turnpike? From what I gather I need access if we don't go down the east coast and I think the Turkey Lake supercharger is on the turnpike right? @SoFlaModel3

Today my trip prep today was to change the brakes on the van because it had some bad vibration when stopping. It is a common issue with these vans.


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## Quicksilver

Sounds like a great trip! We went to Disney World last year and drove out to the Space Coast and visited Kennedy Space Center. It was actually fun and the kids enjoyed it. The drive from Disney World to KSC was easy (about an hour) and we made it a day trip - left in the morning and came back early evening. Check out the two-story slide if you go to KSC. Have fun!


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## Dr. J

@ummgood, looks like a great road trip! Did you get the rock damage on your Model 3 repaired? I haven't forgotten I owe you a ride in my 3 when it arrives, but I still haven't ordered it.  Happy trails! Looking forward to video screaming, if any.


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## Quicksilver

Yes, what happened to the rock chips? I am thinking they are not fixed yet...


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## SoFlaModel3

ummgood said:


> Here we go! This Thursday after work I start my first long EV road trip. I did a brief road trip to Ft Worth at the beginning of summer but this one will be a doozy. In addition we will have an ICE van that will also be caravaning with us. I am not over planning this (or maybe I am). I am not new to road trips. We have a ton of miles on our minivan. We have driven it across country at least 3 times. It is no big deal. Get in and go. Pray the battery doesn't die because a kid left a light on overnight. Anyway I am hoping maybe me being anal and charting this long trip (as long as I don't lose patience with all this typing) might help someone.
> 
> So we are going to Disney and Universal Studios in FL. We have 7 people going! My parents are driving our van with two of our kids and my wife and I are going in the Tesla with my teen. We'll be staying two nights on the way there and one night on the way back. My parents are staying in Marriott chains and my wife and I are staying in Hilton chains. They want to use points for the hotels and I need destination chargers and it seems like Hilton is easier with the destination chargers.
> 
> Here are the trip details so far.
> 
> Day 1: Drive from Austin to Beaumont, TX. We'll be leaving in the late afternoon. We will be staying at homewood suites (destination charger) with stops at Columbus and Channel View superchargers. The first day is a brief 254 miles.
> Day 2: Drive from Beaumont, TX to Panama City, FL. You might ask why we are staying there well turns out every hotel in Tallahassee is booked the night we'll be driving through and need a room. So I am booked at a Hilton Garden Inn in Panama City that has a destination charger. We'll be stopping at Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, Slidel, Mobile, and Defuniak Springs. This leg is a more lively near 600 mile section.
> Day 3: Drive from Panama City, FL to Orlando. Here is where we don't know what we'll be doing. We might drive down the eastern coast of FL to get there just for fun. If we are done by the end of the 2nd day we might decide to drive straight through. Anyway if we go the east coast through Daytona we'll be charging at Tallahassee, Lake City, St. Augustine, and Altamonte Springs. That would be a 440 mile day. If we drive straight we'll be charging at Ocala and Turkey Lake instead of St. Augustine and Altamonte springs and that would reduce the drive down to 367 miles.
> Day 4 and 5 we'll be at Disney
> Day 6 and 7 we'll be at Universal
> Day 8 and 9 we'll be back at Disney
> Day 10 We'll be driving and staying the night in Gulfport (I haven't figured out the superchargers yet)
> Day 11 We'll be driving all the way home to Austin.
> 
> Anyway I'll be posting more updates as we go along. I bought a gopro but I have no clue how to use it or any of that fun stuff. You might get videos and you might not. You might get video my teen shoots or you might not. You might get video with kids screaming at parents or videos with parents screaming at kids. You might not.
> 
> Anyway my first question for everyone in FL. How the heck do I use the turnpike? From what I gather I need access if we don't go down the east coast and I think the Turkey Lake supercharger is on the turnpike right? @SoFlaModel3
> 
> Today my trip prep today was to change the brakes on the van because it had some bad vibration when stopping. It is a common issue with these vans.


Sounds like a fun trip! Florida's Turnpike is a toll road. We have Sunpass which mounts in your windshield and pays the tolls. A lot of the toll booths are now unmanned and I believe you can drive right through and they'll bill by plate for a small administrative fee. We may want to check on the details some more to confirm for sure on that one.

I haven't charged at Turkey Lake, but you should be good there.

We live South of Orlando so Turkey Lake is a pinch out of the way for us on the return drive home. Assuming we top off on our last day at one of the parks we can make it home without a stop, but as a fall back we have Fort Drum and would only need a few minutes of supercharging to provide a safety net.


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## LUXMAN

ummgood said:


> Here we go! This Thursday after work I start my first long EV road trip. I did a brief road trip to Ft Worth at the beginning of summer but this one will be a doozy. In addition we will have an ICE van that will also be caravaning with us. I am not over planning this (or maybe I am). I am not new to road trips. We have a ton of miles on our minivan. We have driven it across country at least 3 times. It is no big deal. Get in and go. Pray the battery doesn't die because a kid left a light on overnight. Anyway I am hoping maybe me being anal and charting this long trip (as long as I don't lose patience with all this typing) might help someone.
> 
> So we are going to Disney and Universal Studios in FL. We have 7 people going! My parents are driving our van with two of our kids and my wife and I are going in the Tesla with my teen. We'll be staying two nights on the way there and one night on the way back. My parents are staying in Marriott chains and my wife and I are staying in Hilton chains. They want to use points for the hotels and I need destination chargers and it seems like Hilton is easier with the destination chargers.
> 
> Here are the trip details so far.
> 
> Day 1: Drive from Austin to Beaumont, TX. We'll be leaving in the late afternoon. We will be staying at homewood suites (destination charger) with stops at Columbus and Channel View superchargers. The first day is a brief 254 miles.
> Day 2: Drive from Beaumont, TX to Panama City, FL. You might ask why we are staying there well turns out every hotel in Tallahassee is booked the night we'll be driving through and need a room. So I am booked at a Hilton Garden Inn in Panama City that has a destination charger. We'll be stopping at Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, Slidel, Mobile, and Defuniak Springs. This leg is a more lively near 600 mile section.
> Day 3: Drive from Panama City, FL to Orlando. Here is where we don't know what we'll be doing. We might drive down the eastern coast of FL to get there just for fun. If we are done by the end of the 2nd day we might decide to drive straight through. Anyway if we go the east coast through Daytona we'll be charging at Tallahassee, Lake City, St. Augustine, and Altamonte Springs. That would be a 440 mile day. If we drive straight we'll be charging at Ocala and Turkey Lake instead of St. Augustine and Altamonte springs and that would reduce the drive down to 367 miles.
> Day 4 and 5 we'll be at Disney
> Day 6 and 7 we'll be at Universal
> Day 8 and 9 we'll be back at Disney
> Day 10 We'll be driving and staying the night in Gulfport (I haven't figured out the superchargers yet)
> Day 11 We'll be driving all the way home to Austin.
> 
> Anyway I'll be posting more updates as we go along. I bought a gopro but I have no clue how to use it or any of that fun stuff. You might get videos and you might not. You might get video my teen shoots or you might not. You might get video with kids screaming at parents or videos with parents screaming at kids. You might not.
> 
> Anyway my first question for everyone in FL. How the heck do I use the turnpike? From what I gather I need access if we don't go down the east coast and I think the Turkey Lake supercharger is on the turnpike right? @SoFlaModel3
> 
> Today my trip prep today was to change the brakes on the van because it had some bad vibration when stopping. It is a common issue with these vans.


I am sure the city of Austin hasn't paid you for the rock damage yet, but 11 days would be good to get the 3 fixed and you could all pile in the Minivan have more close time together 

BTW, why would you travel with the teenager? I ask as I have one , then again it would be quieter then with the smaller kids as the teenager may stare at their phone the whole time. LOL!


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## Quicksilver

LUXMAN said:


> I am sure the city of Austin hasn't paid you for the rock damage yet, but 11 days would be good to get the 3 fixed and you could all pile in the Minivan have more close time together
> 
> BTW, why would you travel with the teenager? I ask as I have one , then again it would be quieter then with the smaller kids as the teenager may stare at their phone the whole time. LOL!


Well, my son is 9 and he regularly stares at his iPad on road trips then goes to sleep until he needs a potty break. We've had several peaceful road trips so far... he's been asking for an iPhone and we said not until he is in middle school at the earliest.


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## LUXMAN

Quicksilver said:


> Well, my son is 9 and he regularly stares at his iPad on road trips then goes to sleep until he needs a potty break. We've had several peaceful road trips so far... he's been asking for an iPhone and we said not until he is in middle school at the earliest.


Yeah. We learned a lesson on the iPhone front. I would recommend to others to keep an iPhone out of the hands of young ones unless it is always monitored. We ended up switching him back to a cheapo non internet phone that could be used with our plan. Not til he was going into the 10th grade did he get another iPhone. 
The only reason that he was supposed to have one in the first place in the younger years was so that he could call as he would ride his bike home. But the other adult in the house wanted him to have an iPhone . Lesson learned,


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## Love

Safe travels! Looking forward to updates! /watchthread


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## ummgood

Quicksilver said:


> Sounds like a great trip! We went to Disney World last year and drove out to the Space Coast and visited Kennedy Space Center. It was actually fun and the kids enjoyed it. The drive from Disney World to KSC was easy (about an hour) and we made it a day trip - left in the morning and came back early evening. Check out the two-story slide if you go to KSC. Have fun!


We probably won't make it to KSC. (why does that remind me of KFC?) We have 6 days in parks then we are on our way home. I am already nervous about all that is planned. I do want to go to KSC sometime because I went to the one near Houston and it was actually pretty amazing. I was totally prepared to be bored but it turned out to be one of the best things I have visited. Even my wife liked it and she isn't nerdy at all.



Dr. J said:


> @ummgood, looks like a great road trip! Did you get the rock damage on your Model 3 repaired? I haven't forgotten I owe you a ride in my 3 when it arrives, but I still haven't ordered it.  Happy trails! Looking forward to video screaming, if any.


You better order it soon! You might as well pull the trigger on the performance model 

The rock chips are still in process. I sent the letter to the city attorney last week. Still waiting to hear back from them. I'm kinda relieved that it won't be fixed until I return in case I get 1 or 2 more.



Quicksilver said:


> Yes, what happened to the rock chips? I am thinking they are not fixed yet...


Nope car is blemished. Honestly I am over it whatever the outcome is. If they don't fix it (I won't give up without a fight though) I'll get the touch up kit from Tesla and go to town on the ones that are glaring or might rust.



SoFlaModel3 said:


> Sounds like a fun trip! Florida's Turnpike is a toll road. We have Sunpass which mounts in your windshield and pays the tolls. A lot of the toll booths are now unmanned and I believe you can drive right through and they'll bill by plate for a small administrative fee. We may want to check on the details some more to confirm for sure on that one.
> 
> I haven't charged at Turkey Lake, but you should be good there.
> 
> We live South of Orlando so Turkey Lake is a pinch out of the way for us on the return drive home. Assuming we top off on our last day at one of the parks we can make it home without a stop, but as a fall back we have Fort Drum and would only need a few minutes of supercharging to provide a safety net.


Can I get a sunpass somewhere quick on the way? We'll have two cars or do you think it is not needed? I know nothing and don't remember the last time we drove through what we did in 2011. I think we paid toll booths but I wasn't sure if they were still running because TX has gone mostly digital now.



LUXMAN said:


> I am sure the city of Austin hasn't paid you for the rock damage yet, but 11 days would be good to get the 3 fixed and you could all pile in the Minivan have more close time together
> 
> BTW, why would you travel with the teenager? I ask as I have one , then again it would be quieter then with the smaller kids as the teenager may stare at their phone the whole time. LOL!


OMG why do I want to drive the van??? My wife is already annoyed that I complain constantly about how I have to touch the break, close the garage door by pressing the button, I have to turn on the wipers manually, geeze it is so difficult! Plus the steering wheel feels like a bowl full of jello and I have to press the accelerator and wait before something happens. I am just kidding well not really. I drove it to schlitterbahn last week and it was borderline torture. My parents don't know any better and to them it is nicer than their Ford Escape. haha!

My teen isn't bad actually. She'll get sucked into her phone or talk my ear off but it could be worse. The only downside is she will take control of the music for the entire trip but the good news is 80's music is pretty popular at her school so she listens to a lot of stuff I liked as a teen. The smaller kids will be sucked into the rear entertainment the entire time. We have figured that out. You buy a couple movies they haven't seen and then let them pick a couple from redbox on the trip. Then each hotel stop we swap the redbox movies out for different ones. I love that you can return them at any location.



Quicksilver said:


> Well, my son is 9 and he regularly stares at his iPad on road trips then goes to sleep until he needs a potty break. We've had several peaceful road trips so far... he's been asking for an iPhone and we said not until he is in middle school at the earliest.





LUXMAN said:


> Yeah. We learned a lesson on the iPhone front. I would recommend to others to keep an iPhone out of the hands of young ones unless it is always monitored. We ended up switching him back to a cheapo non internet phone that could be used with our plan. Not til he was going into the 10th grade did he get another iPhone.
> The only reason that he was supposed to have one in the first place in the younger years was so that he could call as he would ride his bike home. But the other adult in the house wanted him to have an iPhone . Lesson learned,


We always said that our kids can't have phones until we need to get ahold of them. My teen didn't have a phone until last year which was 8th grade. It got to the point where she would have practice or games and we would need to send her with other parents and find her later. That is when she got a phone. We pass down our old iPhones to her when we upgrade. She has a iPhone 6. She is super careful and pretty trustworthy so no issues so far. I can spy on her messages on my laptop and she has no social media. We also have the restrictions on her phone set to pretty harsh and she cannot download apps without me or my wife approving. My middle child will be more difficult I think because she is already pushing boundaries more than my oldest ever did and she likes to walk a fine line between what is breaking a rule and what isn't. She likes to find loopholes.



Lovesword said:


> Safe travels! Looking forward to updates! /watchthread


Ok hopefully I don't disappoint!!!


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## Quicksilver

ummgood said:


> We probably won't make it to KSC. (why does that remind me of KFC?) We have 6 days in parks then we are on our way home. I am already nervous about all that is planned. I do want to go to KSC sometime because I went to the one near Houston and it was actually pretty amazing. I was totally prepared to be bored but it turned out to be one of the best things I have visited. Even my wife liked it and she isn't nerdy at all.


The shuttle Atlantis presentation at KSC was actually pretty darn good. Our whole family enjoyed that. The kids had a good time with some the activities for them - especially the big slide.

Ohh! forgot to mention...check out the Avatar at Disney, it's pretty cool!


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## ummgood

Next update...

I didn't do much yesterday. My son is sick (of course we get some garbage running through our house before a trip) so the goal is to keep him quarantined until the trip hoping the others don't get it. I am tempted to have them all drink after him just to get it to run its course. What I don't want happening is one getting sick then a couple days later the next one getting it and so on.

Anyway I did some planning on the Disney side for what we will do in what order. I find that the planning helps minimize the wait times. I booked fastpasses 2 months ago so all the good stuff we have fastpasses for. I printed out maps and started making a pile in the house of stuff that needs to make it in the vehicles for the trip.

Later I washed my car so it will be somewhat clean. I have to make up a bottle of rinse less car wash to take with in case I cannot take the dirt. I have never tried that so it will be interesting. My wife took the van to San Antonio today to pick up my teen from cheer camp so I'll clean her van tonight or tomorrow. It was pointless to do it yesterday because it within minutes my kids can make it look like a nuke hit a goldfish factory. Then last night I went to a church thing and on the way home I had some fun in the car. I got out and looked at the fenders and there is already rubber all over the fender wells. I am preparing for tires soon haha!! I wonder how long they'll last. I mean come on I only broke the rear end free making a left turn. My kids love it but my wife is slightly annoyed because she thinks I am going to kill the kids or something. I keep telling her how safe the car is and it averages out but she isn't buying it.

Funny story we went to Marble Falls to pick up the two younger kids in the Tesla on Saturday and my wife already is worried about riding all the way to FL in it. The AP is too jerky for her supposedly. Plus she doesn't like the instant torque for some reason. If it is too bad I might turn on chill mode for the trip (am I even saying this??). Anyway on the way home I floored it and my wife got annoyed but my 6yo boy actually said "thanks dad! I love that!" unprovoked so then I just tried to tell my wife that I was doing it for our son. I'll have to update when I have more info of if my wife can make it all the way to FL without ralphing in the car.


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## ummgood

Quicksilver said:


> The shuttle Atlantis presentation at KSC was actually pretty darn good. Our whole family enjoyed that. The kids had a good time with some the activities for them - especially the big slide.


Have you been to the one in Houston? I am wondering how they compare.


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## Quicksilver

ummgood said:


> Nope car is blemished. Honestly I am over it whatever the outcome is. If they don't fix it (I won't give up without a fight though) I'll get the touch up kit from Tesla and go to town on the ones that are glaring or might rust.


I am sure they will pony up the money to get you squared away. I would be surprised if they didn't. Good luck on this one!


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## KarenRei

I'll never understand why people would go to Florida in the summer.


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## Quicksilver

ummgood said:


> Have you been to the one in Houston? I am wondering how they compare.


Not yet. As a matter of fact, we will be down there next week and I'll have to compare it with Atlantis.

As for chill mode...do it for your wife...a happy wife is a happy life...as they say!


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## garsh

KarenRei said:


> I'll never understand why people would go to Florida in the summer.


<devil's advocate>

It's the only time you'll find short lines at Disney World.
Everything is air conditioned anyhow.
That's when the kids aren't in school.
</devil's advocate>


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## Quicksilver

KarenRei said:


> I'll never understand why people would go to Florida in the summer.


Well, mainly because kids are out of school; otherwise, I would love to go to Disney and Miami in January or something like that. Secondly, it's because its a rites of passage...you don't know what suffering is until you sweat buckets in 100% humidity and then later get drenched in afternoon downpours and feeling sticky all afternoon and night. On top of that you keep a smile on your face and tell yourself that this is fun and then rinse and repeat the next five consecutive days. What a deal!


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## ummgood

KarenRei said:


> I'll never understand why people would go to Florida in the summer.


You don't realize that I already live in Texas. It is 100+F here right now. Yes FL is more humid but we are used to dealing with it. If it was completely up to me I would go in December right before the crowds build but now that we have a teen we really cannot vacation unless she is out of school. It is just too stressful for her to miss and get caught up. I took her to Paris and London 1.5 years ago and it was a real struggle so we decided never again. We did FL once before in August and we survived. You just go to the parks early, ride a bunch of rides, eat lunch, see some stuff indoors when it is hot and go back to the room for a break. Then you go back in the evening and watch fireworks (if you feel like it). Add in swimming time at the hotel and I keep an ice chest full of cold water in the car so when we get back to the car on we can cool off.


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## ummgood

Quicksilver said:


> Not yet. As a matter of fact, we will be down there next week and I'll have to compare it with Atlantis.
> 
> As for chill mode...do it for your wife...a happy wife is a happy life...as they say!


I'll resist chill mode as long as I can!!!  Anyway let me know about the differences.


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## LUXMAN

KarenRei said:


> I'll never understand why people would go to Florida in the summer.


Yup! Did that once and the park was HOT! Everyone standing in line for the water rides. I wont do that again. But at least it wasn't cold! I've lived in the great white north and that sux more


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## LUXMAN

ummgood said:


> touch the break, close the garage door by pressing the button, I have to turn on the wipers manually, geeze it is so difficult! Plus the steering wheel feels like a bowl full of jello and I have to press the accelerator and wait before something happens. I am just kidding well not really. I drove it to schlitterbahn last week and it was borderline torture. My parents don't know any better and to them it is nicer than their Ford Escape. haha!
> 
> My teen isn't bad actually. She'll get sucked into her phone or talk my ear off but it could be worse. The only downside is she will take control of the music for the entire trip but the good news is 80's music is pret


I definitely agree with you there. It was torture driving/riding in the wife's Pickup the other day and it is actually a nice ride. I just wanna drive the 3 anymore. But you would get all that togetherness.... That was what I was getting at, nothing like being packed into a car like sardines to get everyone on everybody's nerves. LOL!

That is funny regarding the 80's. I have been torturing my 16yo with 80s music since he was born, and of late he seeks it out and can name the bands sometimes.  I have brainwashed him. BoooHaHa!


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## SoFlaModel3

KarenRei said:


> I'll never understand why people would go to Florida in the summer.


I don't know why I live here 

I usually remember why in January though 

@ummgood check out this link https://www.sunpass.com/en/support/faq.shtml


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## Dr. J

ummgood said:


> You better order it soon! You might as well pull the trigger on the performance model


Hahahahaha! You'd like (a ride in) that, wouldn't you?


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## LUXMAN

Dr. J said:


> Hahahahaha! You'd like (a ride in) that, wouldn't you?


Put me on that list!

BTW..I smile every time I see Private, your Avatar.


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## ummgood

Dr. J said:


> Hahahahaha! You'd like (a ride in) that, wouldn't you?


You bet I would!


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## ummgood

LUXMAN said:


> Put me on that list!
> 
> BTW..I smile every time I see Private, your Avatar.
> 
> View attachment 12427


I like it too. You'll never guess my favorite character from that movie. Funny story is every new animated movie I have a favorite character. My kids usually get me a small stuffed version of that character and they are in my office at work. Anyway Madagascar was my first stuffed animal gift from my kids. I'll let you guess what character.


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## Dr. J

ummgood said:


> I like it too. You'll never guess my favorite character from that movie. Funny story is every new animated movie I have a favorite character. My kids usually get me a small stuffed version of that character and they are in my office at work. Anyway Madagascar was my first stuffed animal gift from my kids. I'll let you guess what character.











Mort?


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## ummgood

Dr. J said:


> Mort?


Nope close though.


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## LUXMAN

ummgood said:


> I like it too. You'll never guess my favorite character from that movie. Funny story is every new animated movie I have a favorite character. My kids usually get me a small stuffed version of that character and they are in my office at work. Anyway Madagascar was my first stuffed animal gift from my kids. I'll let you guess what character.












My guess


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## ummgood

LUXMAN said:


> View attachment 12439
> 
> 
> My guess


Ha! I do love that character! That isn't the one though  Mine likes to move it move it...


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## LUXMAN

YOU GOT TO MOVE IT, MOVE IT


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## ummgood

Bingo!


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## ummgood

So last night this happened:









The fun thing about washing my wife's van is you never know what mystery is waiting for you on the inside. I like to play this game "What will I find in here". Also will it be gross or not? Last night wasn't too bad....
1. Imagine taking an entire small bag of goldfish and smashing them up into little bits. Now shove that into all the seat mounts in the middle row. Also put some in the seat belt buckle pockets. Maybe some in the groves of the leather seams.
2. Imagine taking about a years worth of girl hair that is long and smash it into the floor mats. It is so difficult to get out. I did clean this van top to bottom about 3 months ago. Anyone have any advice on how to remove hair?
3. There was a mystery bag of rolos that had melted into one large ball. Thankfully that was ziplocked so it didn't get on anything.

Anyway the van is clean and I didn't find curdled milk or anything like that so I say it was a win win.

Also of course the maintenance minder went off a couple days ago so today it was a trip to the fun place! (I didn't let them do the breaks because they want about $800 if I want them to change the rotors too. I will let them do the minor maintenance because it doesn't save me that much to do myself and it helps with warranty claims).









Turns out the van had a safety recall on the middle row seats. The amusing part is that EVERY time I take it in there is a safety recall on the middle row seats. I think everything in those seats should be probably new at this point except for the leather seat covers themselves. Anyway they refused to change just the oil and let me bring it back after the trip because the recall was "mandatory". I told them they have until COB to give me my van back or they'll have to provide me a new loaner for 10 days so I can shove 3 kids in it and about a years worth of goldfish crumbs if they don't have it fixed by COB. Hopefully they got the point.


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## ummgood

SoFlaModel3 said:


> I don't know why I live here
> 
> I usually remember why in January though
> 
> @ummgood check out this link https://www.sunpass.com/en/support/faq.shtml


I am really struggling with the toll issue. I could buy a sunpass but it also states that my TXTags will be usable in FL starting early 2018. I can't find anywhere it states I can use a TXTag in FL but other places say it can be used. What a pain in the rear. Anyway are there cash booths on the turnpike after I turn off of 75 into Orlando? What I don't want to do is buy a sunpass when it isn't needed since I'll probably not use it again for years. Plus if they bill me for my TXTag (which is both on the Tesla and the van) I wouldn't want to pay cash.


----------



## LUXMAN

ummgood said:


> I am really struggling with the toll issue. I could buy a sunpass but it also states that my TXTags will be usable in FL starting early 2018. I can't find anywhere it states I can use a TXTag in FL but other places say it can be used. What a pain in the rear. Anyway are there cash booths on the turnpike after I turn off of 75 into Orlando? What I don't want to do is buy a sunpass when it isn't needed since I'll probably not use it again for years. Plus if they bill me for my TXTag (which is both on the Tesla and the van) I wouldn't want to pay cash.


Have you called NTTA to ask about the tag working in FL? Or whatever the Austin area calls the TXtag place?


----------



## ummgood

LUXMAN said:


> Have you called NTTA to ask about the tag working in FL? Or whatever the Austin area calls the TXtag place?


I probably should but last time I had to call for something silly I had to wait over an hour with marvelous hold music. I'll probably try to call later if I have time.

Today's the day!!!! I am working 1/2 a day then I am going home. I am currently charging the Model 3 to 100% in the garage at work before I go home and get my wife.

Yesterday I went and picked up the van and it is good to go. They put on the 3 dollar clamp so the seat doesn't 'wiggle' (according to the service writer). I had to spend 1 hour in traffic yesterday because they couldn't put the clamp on the seat while I waited. I got up there early so I could get it done and go to work but it added another roundtrip commute through traffic to go pick it up. Anyway a side thing is there were two BMW i3's at the Honda dealer. When I asked about them he said that they own a BMW dealership in Corpus or somewhere like that and the i3's are there for people who have dogs. They won't let people put dogs into a Honda Civic loaner but if you need a car and have a dog then they'll give you a BMW???? Anyway next time my wife's car has a mandatory recall on the 2nd row seats (probably in a month or two knowing Honda) I'll see if they'll let me take one for a loaner. I am curious about them.









Anyway yesterday my mother-in-law picked up our dog. He seems to be doing ok but he gets on his 'place' when he gets anxiety so he probably is still adjusting to being somewhere else. I just turned a year and has been quite the handful. He gets separation anxiety so if anyone leaves the room or we put kids to bed he freaks out. So he has a 'place' a dog trainer taught him we put him on and it gives him some kind of comfort to stay on there. It was cute that when they got to their house that he went on his 'place' so he could calm down.









Ignore their floors their house is in the middle of being raised by FEMA because they live in a flood plain on a lake. When the house is done maybe they'll get flooring. I don't know. Anyway today the dog seems to be himself making mud to roll in.


----------



## Dr. J

A muddy dog is a happy dog!


----------



## Quicksilver

ummgood said:


> Anyway next time my wife's car has a mandatory recall on the 2nd row seats (probably in a month or two knowing Honda) I'll see if they'll let me take one for a loaner. I am curious about them.


Well, I had a leased i3 that I returned right before Quicksilver. It is actually a very fun car. Very quick off the line and nimble. I don't care for the rougher ride than the Model 3 and the thin tires don't seem to grip the pavement well. If it had beefier tires and a min. of 200 miles range, I may have considered it. The price is too high for what you get. I think you'll like it as a loaner.


----------



## ummgood

Well after working a half day and charging my car at work I left with almost a full battery. It only had 15 minutes left to charge so I left with this many miles and regen disabled...









I went home and picked up my wife and oldest daughter. We loaded the car. In the Tesla was two large suitcases, a spray bottle full of rinseless wash, the mobile connector, two microfiber drying cloths, two soft washing towels, a party stacker ice chest in the frunk, plus my laptop etc... I put in our destination in Beaumont. My gripe is that the car thinks it is ok to arrive with 4% battery. Plus I haven't figured out how to put in waypoints so the car will know I need to go somewhere after I arrive at my destination and cannot arrive with that small of a charge. If someone knows how to do this it would be great if you posted. Ideally I want to trust the hotel chargers but they could be ICE'd or not functional so I want enough charge to get to the next destination charger. Plus the car wanted me to drive slower than 70 to make it to my destination without charging but it should have added a supercharger stop so I could drive the speed limit.









After we left the house we drove to get lunch in Austin since it was 12:20. After picking up lunch we hit hwy 71 and drove east. We stopped at Bucee's because you NEED to. They have more stalls than Walt Disney World I swear. After leaving bucees we skipped the Columbus supercharger because the GPS said we could make it to channelview with 24%. We charged so the car had 215 miles of range which took about 20 minutes total. The cost was $4.40. 215 I knew would get me to the next supercharger on I-10 with lots of buffer. One other thing is when we arrived at the supercharger the car was dead on at 24% remaining. The supercharger was at a Holiday Inn which was really nice but three bottles of water was $9 OUCH.









We then drove the remaining distance which was about 80 miles to the hotel. The hotel had working destination chargers. I plugged the car in and am getting 40 amps at 200V. My parents beat us to their hotel by about 2 hours (we left way later). They picked us up in the van and we went to dinner. Tomorrow we drive another 600 miles. I gotta figure out how often we need to stop. This car goes really far on a charge!


----------



## Quicksilver

I wish you could set a buffer to arrive at your destination instead of arriving on near empty. Have fun!


----------



## MelindaV

ummgood said:


> He seems to be doing ok but he gets on his 'place' when he gets anxiety so he probably is still adjusting to being somewhere else.


one of my dogs naturally does that too. Strangers he doesn't know are in the house, fireworks, etc he will be sitting in his crate waiting for things to get back to normal.


----------



## ummgood

Look at the view from our room! I didn't even have to pay extra. Funny thing is when I looked out someone was taking pictures of Helga.


----------



## GDN

ummgood said:


> Well after working a half day and charging my car at work I left with almost a full battery. It only had 15 minutes left to charge so I left with this many miles and regen disabled...
> 
> I went home and picked up my wife and oldest daughter. We loaded the car. In the Tesla was two large suitcases, a spray bottle full of rinseless wash, the mobile connector, two microfiber drying cloths, two soft washing towels, a party stacker ice chest in the frunk, plus my laptop etc... I put in our destination in Beaumont. My gripe is that the car thinks it is ok to arrive with 4% battery. Plus I haven't figured out how to put in waypoints so the car will know I need to go somewhere after I arrive at my destination and cannot arrive with that small of a charge. If someone knows how to do this it would be great if you posted. Ideally I want to trust the hotel chargers but they could be ICE'd or not functional so I want enough charge to get to the next destination charger. Plus the car wanted me to drive slower than 70 to make it to my destination without charging but it should have added a supercharger stop so I could drive the speed limit.
> 
> After we left the house we drove to get lunch in Austin since it was 12:20. After picking up lunch we hit hwy 71 and drove east. We stopped at Bucee's because you NEED to. They have more stalls than Walt Disney World I swear. After leaving bucees we skipped the Columbus supercharger because the GPS said we could make it to channelview with 24%. We charged so the car had 215 miles of range which took about 20 minutes total. The cost was $4.40. 215 I knew would get me to the next supercharger on I-10 with lots of buffer. One other thing is when we arrived at the supercharger the car was dead on at 24% remaining. The supercharger was at a Holiday Inn which was really nice but three bottles of water was $9 OUCH.
> 
> We then drove the remaining distance which was about 80 miles to the hotel. The hotel had working destination chargers. I plugged the car in and am getting 40 amps at 200V. My parents beat us to their hotel by about 2 hours (we left way later). They picked us up in the van and we went to dinner. Tomorrow we drive another 600 miles. I gotta figure out how often we need to stop. This car goes really far on a charge!


You know all of that is really really good information, but the best part of the whole post - BUC-EE'S !! I know that is a local thing, but important.


----------



## LUXMAN

ummgood said:


> Well after working a half day and charging my car at work I left with almost a full battery. It only had 15 minutes left to charge so I left with this many miles and regen disabled...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I went home and picked up my wife and oldest daughter. We loaded the car. In the Tesla was two large suitcases, a spray bottle full of rinseless wash, the mobile connector, two microfiber drying cloths, two soft washing towels, a party stacker ice chest in the frunk, plus my laptop etc... I put in our destination in Beaumont. My gripe is that the car thinks it is ok to arrive with 4% battery. Plus I haven't figured out how to put in waypoints so the car will know I need to go somewhere after I arrive at my destination and cannot arrive with that small of a charge. If someone knows how to do this it would be great if you posted. Ideally I want to trust the hotel chargers but they could be ICE'd or not functional so I want enough charge to get to the next destination charger. Plus the car wanted me to drive slower than 70 to make it to my destination without charging but it should have added a supercharger stop so I could drive the speed limit.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> After we left the house we drove to get lunch in Austin since it was 12:20. After picking up lunch we hit hwy 71 and drove east. We stopped at Bucee's because you NEED to. They have more stalls than Walt Disney World I swear. After leaving bucees we skipped the Columbus supercharger because the GPS said we could make it to channelview with 24%. We charged so the car had 215 miles of range which took about 20 minutes total. The cost was $4.40. 215 I knew would get me to the next supercharger on I-10 with lots of buffer. One other thing is when we arrived at the supercharger the car was dead on at 24% remaining. The supercharger was at a Holiday Inn which was really nice but three bottles of water was $9 OUCH.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We then drove the remaining distance which was about 80 miles to the hotel. The hotel had working destination chargers. I plugged the car in and am getting 40 amps at 200V. My parents beat us to their hotel by about 2 hours (we left way later). They picked us up in the van and we went to dinner. Tomorrow we drive another 600 miles. I gotta figure out how often we need to stop. This car goes really far on a charge!


Unfortunately there is NO WAY to add waypoints, change the buffer % or pick alternate routes with this NAV system. I am hoping v9 will have a new nav setup that adds these things. Elon did say next level Nav was coming...…


----------



## ummgood

Quicksilver said:


> You. I wish you could set a buffer to arrive at your destination instead of arriving on near empty. Have fun!


That would be great!



MelindaV said:


> one of my dogs naturally does that too. Strangers he doesn't know are in the house, fireworks, etc he will be sitting in his crate waiting for things to get back to normal.


Yeah he does similar things. He definitely likes when people come over but his big thing is separation. He hates it when we put kids to bed or my wife goes into the bedroom to do something. Either he'll get into trouble or put himself on his 'place'.



GDN said:


> You know all of that is really really good information, but the best part of the whole post - BUC-EE'S !! I know that is a local thing, but important.


Of course that is the best part!!! If anyone hasn't been to one they don't know what they are missing. I already miss them after leaving Texas.



LUXMAN said:


> Unfortunately there is NO WAY to add waypoints, change the buffer % or pick alternate routes with this NAV system. I am hoping v9 will have a new nav setup that adds these things. Elon did say next level Nav was coming...…


Yeah that would be a huge improvement.


----------



## ummgood

First let me say I apologize there will be a bazillion photos in this post.

We made it and I am completely exhausted. Today was an almost 600 mile day. While my wife was getting ready I went out to the car to get the necessities out of the way. You know rinseless washed the car in the parking lot because I have some kind of obsession with this car. I have never done that before. Yeah there were no windshield washing stuff at superchargers so that meant I could justify washing the car haha!!! After washing the car and getting the ice chest loaded in the frunk so I wouldn't have another $9 for water in a hotel we managed to get rolling after breakfast in the hotel. This is what the frunk looked like...









I am spoiled by the breakfasts in European hotels so this was a bit of a let down. Who doesn't like grits soup...








At least my childish sense of humor applies to my breakfast too...









Did I mention how far this car goes on a charge? We started again on a full battery. I am going to stop this behavior because I don't want to shorten the life of my battery. I have now charged it to full 3 times. We basically needed only 2 supercharger stops this run. My bladder needs more stops than that so we stopped for that and superchargers basically. First stop was a truck stop in Louisiana. I learned a very important thing from this sign...








I actually asked the clerk what RCA (see the sign) meant. Turns out native people born and raised in Louisiana call themselves that?? Also I took my token photo with a gator...









After the much needed break we hit the road again. Our stops this trip were about 100 miles apart. 100 miles to a potty break and 100 miles to a super charger. Plus or minus some miles but that is how it seemed to work out. The first supercharger stop was at Baton Rouge. Doesn't my car look lonely?









Cost was $5.90 and we were there for 50 minutes. What did we do for 50 minutes? Well we went into Trader Joes, walked to the next strip mall over and sat in the chairs in Tuesday Morning. We also bought a $9 taco shell rack. I see a theme with the $9 cost at superchargers in addition to the supercharger cost itself.

















After a sweaty walk we arrived back at the preconditioned car. So nice! The issue with the darn stop was we arrived at 10:30 and we weren't quite ready for lunch. But after 50 minutes of doing nothing constructive we decided it was time to eat. Talk about bad timing. My teen wanted some Beignets so we found a place close by that unfortunately had food we had to eat there. Can you see the beignets under the sugar? It cracked me up they had sugar at the table also in case you didn't get enough.

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content










Now we finally got on the road after 90 minutes after arriving in Baton Rouge. I absolutely love driving I-10 this direction. It is so much better than going I-10 to Cali. Here are some sites...









































The next stop was Mobile, AL. The stop in Mobile was basically plugging in the car. Then walking over to the mall next door and buying $9 worth of cookies and pretzel bites in the mall and then walking back. We were temporary mall walkers. Cost was $5.50.









So far all of my supercharging stops have been $.20/min over 70kW and $.10 under 10kW. At this point I could have made it to my hotel. The problem is do I trust the car or not. When we left Mobile it said I would have 13% when I arrived. When I got back on the freeway I called the hotel and they verified they had a charger and it was working. They also were confused at first like the previous hotel when I asked for a car charger. They thought I meant an iPhone cable for in the car. Once we got past the confusion they said hardly anyone uses the charger. I thought OK I'll trust the car and go to the hotel and skip the supercharger before the hotel. My previous plan was to charge at the super charger before the hotel so I could make sure I had enough charge to get to Tallahassee the next day just in case there was a problem with the hotel charger. At this point I was tired and wanted to be done so we decided to skip. Then....

We hit a storm. The car's range started dropping from the 18% estimate on arrival (it had built up as we drove down the road) down to 13% drastically. Water on the road really kills range. At that point I made a last minute decision to charge briefly at DeFuniak Springs. We got some quick food and sat and charged for 15-20 minutes before heading south to Panama City. The charging cost in FL was by kW so I wasn't used to it. I think it is reasonable but different and so I can't wait to see how much we spend tomorrow getting to Orlando. The last supercharger cost $3.96 to add 18kW. 


After another bit of time we arrived at the hotel after a long day. The car is happily in its special spot between a dumpster and fire lane all by itself in the parking lot. It is a good spot because no one can ding it plus it has its own door into the hotel.









So tomorrow.. . Will I wash the car again???


----------



## ummgood

Oh and I didn't take a picture of DeFuniak springs but it was in a downtown of an old town and there was literally nothing to do. We were feeding our faces anyway so it didn't matter. One thing my wife noticed is every car driving by on the 4 way stop by the supercharger was gawking at the Model 3. I wonder if they even see Teslas there. If I drove that route often I would probably choose that supercharger dead last just because you are there with nothing to do.


----------



## Quicksilver

ummgood said:


> First let me say I apologize there will be a bazillion photos in this post.
> 
> We made it and I am completely exhausted. Today was an almost 600 mile day. While my wife was getting ready I went out to the car to get the necessities out of the way. You know rinseless washed the car in the parking lot because I have some kind of obsession with this car. I have never done that before. Yeah there were no windshield washing stuff at superchargers so that meant I could justify washing the car haha!!! After washing the car and getting the ice chest loaded in the frunk so I wouldn't have another $9 for water in a hotel we managed to get rolling after breakfast in the hotel. This is what the frunk looked like...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I am spoiled by the breakfasts in European hotels so this was a bit of a let down. Who doesn't like grits soup...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> At least my childish sense of humor applies to my breakfast too...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Did I mention how far this car goes on a charge? We started again on a full battery. I am going to stop this behavior because I don't want to shorten the life of my battery. I have now charged it to full 3 times. We basically needed only 2 supercharger stops this run. My bladder needs more stops than that so we stopped for that and superchargers basically. First stop was a truck stop in Louisiana. I learned a very important thing from this sign...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I actually asked the clerk what RCA (see the sign) meant. Turns out native people born and raised in Louisiana call themselves that?? Also I took my token photo with a gator...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> After the much needed break we hit the road again. Our stops this trip were about 100 miles apart. 100 miles to a potty break and 100 miles to a super charger. Plus or minus some miles but that is how it seemed to work out. The first supercharger stop was at Baton Rouge. Doesn't my car look lonely?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cost was $5.90 and we were there for 50 minutes. What did we do for 50 minutes? Well we went into Trader Joes, walked to the next strip mall over and sat in the chairs in Tuesday Morning. We also bought a $9 taco shell rack. I see a theme with the $9 cost at superchargers in addition to the supercharger cost itself.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> After a sweaty walk we arrived back at the preconditioned car. So nice! The issue with the darn stop was we arrived at 10:30 and we weren't quite ready for lunch. But after 50 minutes of doing nothing constructive we decided it was time to eat. Talk about bad timing. My teen wanted some Beignets so we found a place close by that unfortunately had food we had to eat there. Can you see the beignets under the sugar? It cracked me up they had sugar at the table also in case you didn't get enough.
> 
> __
> Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
> Show Content
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now we finally got on the road after 90 minutes after arriving in Baton Rouge. I absolutely love driving I-10 this direction. It is so much better than going I-10 to Cali. Here are some sites...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The next stop was Mobile, AL. The stop in Mobile was basically plugging in the car. Then walking over to the mall next door and buying $9 worth of cookies and pretzel bites in the mall and then walking back. We were temporary mall walkers. Cost was $5.50.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So far all of my supercharging stops have been $.20/min over 70kW and $.10 under 10kW. At this point I could have made it to my hotel. The problem is do I trust the car or not. When we left Mobile it said I would have 13% when I arrived. When I got back on the freeway I called the hotel and they verified they had a charger and it was working. They also were confused at first like the previous hotel when I asked for a car charger. They thought I meant an iPhone cable for in the car. Once we got past the confusion they said hardly anyone uses the charger. I thought OK I'll trust the car and go to the hotel and skip the supercharger before the hotel. My previous plan was to charge at the super charger before the hotel so I could make sure I had enough charge to get to Tallahassee the next day just in case there was a problem with the hotel charger. At this point I was tired and wanted to be done so we decided to skip. Then....
> 
> We hit a storm. The car's range started dropping from the 18% estimate on arrival (it had built up as we drove down the road) down to 13% drastically. Water on the road really kills range. At that point I made a last minute decision to charge briefly at DeFuniak Springs. We got some quick food and sat and charged for 15-20 minutes before heading south to Panama City. The charging cost in FL was by kW so I wasn't used to it. I think it is reasonable but different and so I can't wait to see how much we spend tomorrow getting to Orlando. The last supercharger cost $3.96 to add 18kW.
> 
> 
> After another bit of time we arrived at the hotel after a long day. The car is happily in its special spot between a dumpster and fire lane all by itself in the parking lot. It is a good spot because no one can ding it plus it has its own door into the hotel.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So tomorrow.. .  Will I wash the car again???


Love the stories! I actually love grits but never had grits soup...need to try it out. Also, looks like pics of lake Pontchatrain? I wouldn't worry too much about door dings...


----------



## LUXMAN

ummgood said:


> First let me say I apologize there will be a bazillion photos in this post.
> 
> We made it and I am completely exhausted. Today was an almost 600 mile day. While my wife was getting ready I went out to the car to get the necessities out of the way. You know rinseless washed the car in the parking lot because I have some kind of obsession with this car. I have never done that before. Yeah there were no windshield washing stuff at superchargers so that meant I could justify washing the car haha!!! After washing the car and getting the ice chest loaded in the frunk so I wouldn't have another $9 for water in a hotel we managed to get rolling after breakfast in the hotel. This is what the frunk looked like...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I am spoiled by the breakfasts in European hotels so this was a bit of a let down. Who doesn't like grits soup...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> At least my childish sense of humor applies to my breakfast too...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Did I mention how far this car goes on a charge? We started again on a full battery. I am going to stop this behavior because I don't want to shorten the life of my battery. I have now charged it to full 3 times. We basically needed only 2 supercharger stops this run. My bladder needs more stops than that so we stopped for that and superchargers basically. First stop was a truck stop in Louisiana. I learned a very important thing from this sign...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I actually asked the clerk what RCA (see the sign) meant. Turns out native people born and raised in Louisiana call themselves that?? Also I took my token photo with a gator...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> After the much needed break we hit the road again. Our stops this trip were about 100 miles apart. 100 miles to a potty break and 100 miles to a super charger. Plus or minus some miles but that is how it seemed to work out. The first supercharger stop was at Baton Rouge. Doesn't my car look lonely?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cost was $5.90 and we were there for 50 minutes. What did we do for 50 minutes? Well we went into Trader Joes, walked to the next strip mall over and sat in the chairs in Tuesday Morning. We also bought a $9 taco shell rack. I see a theme with the $9 cost at superchargers in addition to the supercharger cost itself.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> After a sweaty walk we arrived back at the preconditioned car. So nice! The issue with the darn stop was we arrived at 10:30 and we weren't quite ready for lunch. But after 50 minutes of doing nothing constructive we decided it was time to eat. Talk about bad timing. My teen wanted some Beignets so we found a place close by that unfortunately had food we had to eat there. Can you see the beignets under the sugar? It cracked me up they had sugar at the table also in case you didn't get enough.
> 
> __
> Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
> Show Content
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now we finally got on the road after 90 minutes after arriving in Baton Rouge. I absolutely love driving I-10 this direction. It is so much better than going I-10 to Cali. Here are some sites...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The next stop was Mobile, AL. The stop in Mobile was basically plugging in the car. Then walking over to the mall next door and buying $9 worth of cookies and pretzel bites in the mall and then walking back. We were temporary mall walkers. Cost was $5.50.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So far all of my supercharging stops have been $.20/min over 70kW and $.10 under 10kW. At this point I could have made it to my hotel. The problem is do I trust the car or not. When we left Mobile it said I would have 13% when I arrived. When I got back on the freeway I called the hotel and they verified they had a charger and it was working. They also were confused at first like the previous hotel when I asked for a car charger. They thought I meant an iPhone cable for in the car. Once we got past the confusion they said hardly anyone uses the charger. I thought OK I'll trust the car and go to the hotel and skip the supercharger before the hotel. My previous plan was to charge at the super charger before the hotel so I could make sure I had enough charge to get to Tallahassee the next day just in case there was a problem with the hotel charger. At this point I was tired and wanted to be done so we decided to skip. Then....
> 
> We hit a storm. The car's range started dropping from the 18% estimate on arrival (it had built up as we drove down the road) down to 13% drastically. Water on the road really kills range. At that point I made a last minute decision to charge briefly at DeFuniak Springs. We got some quick food and sat and charged for 15-20 minutes before heading south to Panama City. The charging cost in FL was by kW so I wasn't used to it. I think it is reasonable but different and so I can't wait to see how much we spend tomorrow getting to Orlando. The last supercharger cost $3.96 to add 18kW.
> 
> 
> After another bit of time we arrived at the hotel after a long day. The car is happily in its special spot between a dumpster and fire lane all by itself in the parking lot. It is a good spot because no one can ding it plus it has its own door into the hotel.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So tomorrow.. . Will I wash the car again???


Step away from the rinseless car wash. 
Really, love the story. Keep us up to date.
You need to add "RCA" to your Signature or make this your Avatar









The circled R under the Racoons tail is hilarious!


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## garsh

ummgood said:


> At least my childish sense of humor applies to my breakfast too...


We have so much in common.
(well, the important things, anyhow).


----------



## GDN

garsh said:


> We have so much in common.
> (well, the important things, anyhow).


So I must ask, Umm's plate seems to be two sausage patties and eggs. Your's seems to be a strudel/pastry of sorts with ? - what is the pan-fried goodness?


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## garsh

GDN said:


> So I must ask, Umm's plate seems to be two sausage patties and eggs. Your's seems to be a strudel/pastry of sorts with ? - what is the pan-fried goodness?


PB&J Banana Strudel with Potato Pancakes.


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## GDN

garsh said:


> PB&J Banana Strudel with Potato Pancakes.


Good stuff. So potato pancakes aren't a southern thing? Or as I thought growing up, a poor mans thing! We had our share of them, but loved em.


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## Quicksilver

ummgood said:


> View attachment 12549
> Look at the view from our room! I didn't even have to pay extra. Funny thing is when I looked out someone was taking pictures of Helga.


Silver looks so good at night!


----------



## Quicksilver

GDN said:


> You know all of that is really really good information, but the best part of the whole post - BUC-EE'S !! I know that is a local thing, but important.


Bad for you, but sooo addictively good...... Just had a few of these minutes ago...


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## GDN

Quicksilver said:


> Bad for you, but sooo addictively good...... Just had a few of these minutes ago...
> 
> View attachment 12615


THAT ! Is exactly why you stop at Buc-ee's. And you are right - so not good for you, but you hard to put down once you start.


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## ummgood

GDN said:


> THAT ! Is exactly why you stop at Buc-ee's. And you are right - so not good for you, but you hard to put down once you start.


We made it! My wife and I had a date night at Disney Springs. I am overwhelmed and exhausted at the same time. I will try to give details about today tomorrow if I can. We are going to Animal Kingdom tomorrow. We will take a break in the afternoon and the go back at night tomorrow night.


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## ummgood

Ok I am back and we had a great trip. Sorry I didn't update during the trip. We also had some nightmares with the hotel and other things happen during the trip that I'll briefly comment on. Those things didn't have anything to do with the car.

Anyway the Saturday before last we left Panama City with a 90% charge thanks to the destination charger at the hotel. I liked and didn't like the location of the destination charger at this hotel. The reason I liked it is because the location meant that no other car could damage the car. I didn't like it because it was by the dumpster and I could picture someone walking by it with a large bag of trash and damaging my car. The photo is in the last post. Also I couldn't resist and cleaned my car again after driving through rain the day before. The problem is my towels got a bit dirty so then I was nervous about using them more so the only other time I washed anything the rest of the trip was the windshield after some sap got on it at the timeshare but more on the timeshare later...

Also if you stay at this Hilton Garden Inn in Panama City make sure your room doesn't back up to the strip mall on the backside of the hotel. A garbage truck came down the alley between the hotel and the stores (I think Target??) and picked up at least 4 or 5 dumpsters and you know how loud that is because they shake them etc... Well that lovely event was at 4 in the morning. I got little sleep that night.

The first stop was Lake City FL. I really cut it close with this one. I think part of it was going back roads to get from Panama City to I-10. The other issue is the terrain to the supercharger was more rolling hills which made my car less efficient. We still had a little bit of charge but I was actually slowing down to make sure the destination battery level wouldn't drop below 8 or 9%.









We walked over to Panda Express for lunch. I really dislike that place but my teen things it is manna from heaven. Before heading over there we realized how HOT Florida is. It was miserable.









Plus to get over there you have to cross a REAL road...









After lunch and walking back the car was full. The cost in FL to charge is drastically more than the previous states. Before the most expensive charge I had was around $7. I did like the surroundings and restaurants around this supercharger though. Mostly new restaurants/shops.









From Lake City FL to Orlando we could make it without charging. I didn't want the car to be low on charge for the next week so I stopped on the Turnpike for a top up at the supercharger at Turtle Lake. There is no cost at that supercharger so that was nice. The cost for the Turnpike from 75 into Orlando was $4.25 total. $3.25 for the first stop and then $1.00 for the last bit. There are cash toll booths so we used those. I'll have to watch my TX tag to make sure I don't get charged on that too.

After that final charge we checked into a timeshare. My parents have a timeshare and we have used it there before. The timeshare was right across from Disney Springs with a bunch of other timeshares. They are nice 3 bedroom 3 bath units and it allows us to cook some meals so I don't go broke at Disney. That night my wife and I went out for dinner alone to Disney Springs. We used Lyft for the first time and that was amazing!!!

I'll update with some trip photos and more info about the way back and what the total cost was on both vehicles. Plus the van suffered a bit after returning home so I'll cover that too


----------



## LUXMAN

ummgood said:


> Ok I am back and we had a great trip. Sorry I didn't update during the trip. We also had some nightmares with the hotel and other things happen during the trip that I'll briefly comment on. Those things didn't have anything to do with the car.
> 
> Anyway the Saturday before last we left Panama City with a 90% charge thanks to the destination charger at the hotel. I liked and didn't like the location of the destination charger at this hotel. The reason I liked it is because the location meant that no other car could damage the car. I didn't like it because it was by the dumpster and I could picture someone walking by it with a large bag of trash and damaging my car. The photo is in the last post. Also I couldn't resist and cleaned my car again after driving through rain the day before. The problem is my towels got a bit dirty so then I was nervous about using them more so the only other time I washed anything the rest of the trip was the windshield after some sap got on it at the timeshare but more on the timeshare later...
> 
> Also if you stay at this Hilton Garden Inn in Panama City make sure your room doesn't back up to the strip mall on the backside of the hotel. A garbage truck came down the alley between the hotel and the stores (I think Target??) and picked up at least 4 or 5 dumpsters and you know how loud that is because they shake them etc... Well that lovely event was at 4 in the morning. I got little sleep that night.
> 
> The first stop was Lake City FL. I really cut it close with this one. I think part of it was going back roads to get from Panama City to I-10. The other issue is the terrain to the supercharger was more rolling hills which made my car less efficient. We still had a little bit of charge but I was actually slowing down to make sure the destination battery level wouldn't drop below 8 or 9%.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We walked over to Panda Express for lunch. I really dislike that place but my teen things it is manna from heaven. Before heading over there we realized how HOT Florida is. It was miserable.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Plus to get over there you have to cross a REAL road...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> After lunch and walking back the car was full. The cost in FL to charge is drastically more than the previous states. Before the most expensive charge I had was around $7. I did like the surroundings and restaurants around this supercharger though. Mostly new restaurants/shops.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From Lake City FL to Orlando we could make it without charging. I didn't want the car to be low on charge for the next week so I stopped on the Turnpike for a top up at the supercharger at Turtle Lake. There is no cost at that supercharger so that was nice. The cost for the Turnpike from 75 into Orlando was $4.25 total. $3.25 for the first stop and then $1.00 for the last bit. There are cash toll booths so we used those. I'll have to watch my TX tag to make sure I don't get charged on that too.
> 
> After that final charge we checked into a timeshare. My parents have a timeshare and we have used it there before. The timeshare was right across from Disney Springs with a bunch of other timeshares. They are nice 3 bedroom 3 bath units and it allows us to cook some meals so I don't go broke at Disney. That night my wife and I went out for dinner alone to Disney Springs. We used Lyft for the first time and that was amazing!!!
> 
> I'll update with some trip photos and more info about the way back and what the total cost was on both vehicles. Plus the van suffered a bit after returning home so I'll cover that too


Welcome back. Now your wallet can recover from Disney!


----------



## EValuatED

LUXMAN said:


> Welcome back. Now your wallet can recover from Disney!


I laughed and then I remembered my last trip with kids & grandkids. I sometimes joke that I'll have to work another year before retiring to be able to afford my Tesla, but... probably a decade for Disney, too!


----------



## Quicksilver

Yes, welcome back...now get that Model 3 of yours fixed up. 

I definitely agree with how hot and muggy Florida is in the summer. It’s like slogging through heavy moisture laden air when you take a few steps outside. 

We also get to use a friend’s timeshare not too far from Disney Springs...the Wyndham Bonnet Creek property which is next to the Waldorf Astoria - they have a great steak restaurant, Bull and Bear. Wife and I escape to that restaurant to recuperate after a long day at Disney.


----------



## ummgood

LUXMAN said:


> Welcome back. Now your wallet can recover from Disney!


Umm nope not happening. Got home to a letter from the city of Austin that they were denying my claim. So more money out of my pocket 



EValuatED said:


> I laughed and then I remembered my last trip with kids & grandkids. I sometimes joke that I'll have to work another year before retiring to be able to afford my Tesla, but... probably a decade for Disney, too!


Yep it is crazy expensive thankfully I have figured out how to manage expectations for my kids. I had everything paid for before we left that I could. I just had to pay for some meals in the parks (which is crazy expensive) and souvenirs for my wife and I and that basically boiled down to over 100 dollars worth of Starbucks mugs. My kids were given $50 to Disney and $50 to Universal in the form of a gift card to each. If they wanted to spend more they had to save their own money and they managed to save quite a bit. I like them to have to learn to save etc... so this motivates them usually. My 6 year old struggles but the two girls saved probably close to $400 between the two of them. My middle daughter started doing extra chores around the house to earn more money so for like a month before the trip I didn't have to do my normal duties like clean out the dishwasher or make coffee because she was trying to earn more money.



Quicksilver said:


> Yes, welcome back...now get that Model 3 of yours fixed up.
> 
> I definitely agree with how hot and muggy Florida is in the summer. It's like slogging through heavy moisture laden air when you take a few steps outside.
> 
> We also get to use a friend's timeshare not too far from Disney Springs...the Wyndham Bonnet Creek property which is next to the Waldorf Astoria - they have a great steak restaurant, Bull and Bear. Wife and I escape to that restaurant to recuperate after a long day at Disney.


Our's wasn't that nice  We were a couple blocks farther away than that.


----------



## ummgood

So before I get back to the scheduled trip report I figured I would comment on what's going on. I haven't really had time to be on here much lately because my wife's car threw an error and I have been running to the Honda dealer a couple times and also had a windshield repair shop come back out to fix the sensor that fell off the window of the van while driving home. We had the glass replaced in 2016 because of a crack from another road trip and the mount that is fixed to the window gave way. They came back and fixed it no issue.

When we got home from FL I had a nice letter from the City of Austin denying my claim for the rock damage done to my car. If you didn't see my post in Quicksilver's thread my car took on hundreds of rocks from a city truck that I was passing on a highway here in town. It chipped the bumper, hood, both fenders, mirror caps, headlights, and my windshield. I contacted the city and it seemed like they were going to pay after talking to the supervisor over the department but the city attorney had ulterior plans and just denied it all together. I guess this is common and their first thing to do is deny so they don't have to pay. I am sure they get lots of people trying to get them to pay for things like new paint jobs so this might be the best way for them to deal with it.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I thought I could live with it but it really irks me every time I wash my car to see the pepper all over the front. Plus my windshield is really annoying because it looks like it has bugs all over it but it is nicks in the glass. So I spoke to a friend that I know from church who works for a large auto insurance company and he recommended I get my group law policy at work to try to deal with the city. I called them and they ho humed about it because it would be a 'municipal' matter and I would need to get a different attorney. Then also my friend said that the claim would be a no fault claim because it was comprehensive so I just bit the bullet and called my insurance company.

I have an appointment tomorrow at 9am with the best body shop recommended by Tesla. They are going to take pictures of the car and the insurance company has to approve the repairs. Once they approve the repairs then the shop will order my windshield and headlights and whatever else needs replaced and when those parts come in I'll take the car in. I don't want to give it up the entire time it takes Tesla to supply parts so they are ok with me driving it until the parts come in. The insurance company also asked for all my documentation/paperwork so they can go after the city for the damages. I am guessing they'll have better luck with it than I will.

So after all of this I'll be getting PPF on the front of my car once it is fixed. I was on the fence before and now that this happened I am pretty much sold. Even though my PPF would have probably been damaged and I would have needed a windshield at least the entire front of the car probably wouldn't have needed to be painted.


----------



## Quicksilver

ummgood said:


> So before I get back to the scheduled trip report I figured I would comment on what's going on. I haven't really had time to be on here much lately because my wife's car threw an error and I have been running to the Honda dealer a couple times and also had a windshield repair shop come back out to fix the sensor that fell off the window of the van while driving home. We had the glass replaced in 2016 because of a crack from another road trip and the mount that is fixed to the window gave way. They came back and fixed it no issue.
> 
> When we got home from FL I had a nice letter from the City of Austin denying my claim for the rock damage done to my car. If you didn't see my post in Quicksilver's thread my car took on hundreds of rocks from a city truck that I was passing on a highway here in town. It chipped the bumper, hood, both fenders, mirror caps, headlights, and my windshield. I contacted the city and it seemed like they were going to pay after talking to the supervisor over the department but the city attorney had ulterior plans and just denied it all together. I guess this is common and their first thing to do is deny so they don't have to pay. I am sure they get lots of people trying to get them to pay for things like new paint jobs so this might be the best way for them to deal with it.
> 
> I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I thought I could live with it but it really irks me every time I wash my car to see the pepper all over the front. Plus my windshield is really annoying because it looks like it has bugs all over it but it is nicks in the glass. So I spoke to a friend that I know from church who works for a large auto insurance company and he recommended I get my group law policy at work to try to deal with the city. I called them and they ho humed about it because it would be a 'municipal' matter and I would need to get a different attorney. Then also my friend said that the claim would be a no fault claim because it was comprehensive so I just bit the bullet and called my insurance company.
> 
> I have an appointment tomorrow at 9am with the best body shop recommended by Tesla. They are going to take pictures of the car and the insurance company has to approve the repairs. Once they approve the repairs then the shop will order my windshield and headlights and whatever else needs replaced and when those parts come in I'll take the car in. I don't want to give it up the entire time it takes Tesla to supply parts so they are ok with me driving it until the parts come in. The insurance company also asked for all my documentation/paperwork so they can go after the city for the damages. I am guessing they'll have better luck with it than I will.
> 
> So after all of this I'll be getting PPF on the front of my car once it is fixed. I was on the fence before and now that this happened I am pretty much sold. Even though my PPF would have probably been damaged and I would have needed a windshield at least the entire front of the car probably wouldn't have needed to be painted.


Since this was a clear case and you have evidence of the City vehicle causing the damage to your car, I would still pursue the City. I recommend you contact the Austin City Manager about this matter. His contact info is below. Say that you've already spoken to the supervisor over that department, etc...retelling your story. The City manager is over all departments of the City and typically, he will get things moving more quickly. If he is non-responsive, then I would send an e-mail to the Mayor. He will then contact the City Manager because a citizen of the City is needing assistance - I am speaking from experience here. Let us know how things go...

*CONTACT INFO*
City Manager Spencer Cronk

Phone: 512-974-2200

*Physical Address:*
301 W. 2nd, 3rd Floor 
Austin, TX 78701

*Mailing Address: *
P. O. Box 1088 
Austin, TX 78767

Email to the Mayor...

http://www.austintexas.gov/email/steveadler


----------



## EValuatED

ummgood said:


> Umm nope not happening. Got home to a letter from the city of Austin that they were denying my claim...


Sympathies on the claim denial and best wishes for you to overcome them and hear the lamentations of the bureaucrats...

Kudos on the kids & saving! It will serve them well later in life...


----------



## Dr. J

ummgood said:


> I contacted the city and it seemed like they were going to pay after talking to the supervisor over the department but the city attorney had ulterior plans and just denied it all together. I guess this is common and their first thing to do is deny so they don't have to pay. I am sure they get lots of people trying to get them to pay for things like new paint jobs so this might be the best way for them to deal with it.


It's possible the city's insurance carrier (unless they self-insure) may require/encourage them to deny claims on the first try. I've seen settlements by the City of Fort Worth, but people generally have to sue--they never admit fault on first notification. Your City Council representative is also someone to talk to, though I wouldn't have high expectations. The part that cheeses me is, based on your description, the city is clearly at fault.


----------



## ummgood

Quicksilver said:


> Since this was a clear case and you have evidence of the City vehicle causing the damage to your car, I would still pursue the City. I recommend you contact the Austin City Manager about this matter. His contact info is below. Say that you've already spoken to the supervisor over that department, etc...retelling your story. The City manager is over all departments of the City and typically, he will get things moving more quickly. If he is non-responsive, then I would send an e-mail to the Mayor. He will then contact the City Manager because a citizen of the City is needing assistance - I am speaking from experience here. Let us know how things go...
> 
> *CONTACT INFO*
> City Manager Spencer Cronk
> 
> Phone: 512-974-2200
> 
> *Physical Address:*
> 301 W. 2nd, 3rd Floor
> Austin, TX 78701
> 
> *Mailing Address: *
> P. O. Box 1088
> Austin, TX 78767
> 
> Email to the Mayor...
> 
> http://www.austintexas.gov/email/steveadler


Thanks for the info. My insurance friend basically told me unless I sue and use an attorney or file with my insurance the city will do nothing in his opinion and I don't want to go too long or the insurance won't help me either. I figure my insurance will deal with it and has a better chance of getting the city to pay up.



EValuatED said:


> Sympathies on the claim denial and best wishes for you to overcome them and hear the lamentations of the bureaucrats...
> 
> Kudos on the kids & saving! It will serve them well later in life...


Thanks! My insurance can deal with it now.



Dr. J said:


> It's possible the city's insurance carrier (unless they self-insure) may require/encourage them to deny claims on the first try. I've seen settlements by the City of Fort Worth, but people generally have to sue--they never admit fault on first notification. Your City Council representative is also someone to talk to, though I wouldn't have high expectations. The part that cheeses me is, based on your description, the city is clearly at fault.


Right that might be the case. I'll let my insurance company deal with it now. It is a comprehensive claim so they can fix it and it is considered a no fault claim on my end.

Anyway here is the ouchie quote. I about pooped my pants. Seriously it was shocking. Anyway if you are wondering if PPF is worth it here is your proof of what it costs to paint the front of a Tesla and replace lights and windshield. The quote had the windshield, headlights, and marker lights as replacement. As well as painting both fenders, mirrors, hood, and bumper. Cost of windshield part is 530 plus one hour labor. Headlights are 880 each. Marker lights are 120 each. The parts cost is actually reasonable. I think a new corolla headlight costs about as much.


----------



## LUXMAN

ummgood said:


> Thanks for the info. My insurance friend basically told me unless I sue and use an attorney or file with my insurance the city will do nothing in his opinion and I don't want to go too long or the insurance won't help me either. I figure my insurance will deal with it and has a better chance of getting the city to pay up.
> 
> Thanks! My insurance can deal with it now.
> 
> Right that might be the case. I'll let my insurance company deal with it now. It is a comprehensive claim so they can fix it and it is considered a no fault claim on my end.
> 
> Anyway here is the ouchie quote. I about pooped my pants. Seriously it was shocking. Anyway if you are wondering if PPF is worth it here is your proof of what it costs to paint the front of a Tesla and replace lights and windshield. The quote had the windshield, headlights, and marker lights as replacement. As well as painting both fenders, mirrors, hood, and bumper. Cost of windshield part is 530 plus one hour labor. Headlights are 880 each. Marker lights are 120 each. The parts cost is actually reasonable. I think a new corolla headlight costs about as much.


Ouch! That is pricy. Good thing I got my comp at $500 deductible.

Good choice letting the insurance deal with the city. You don't need that hassle and that is what you pay the insurance co for.


----------



## ummgood

LUXMAN said:


> Ouch! That is pricy. Good thing I got my comp at $500 deductible.
> 
> Good choice letting the insurance deal with the city. You don't need that hassle and that is what you pay the insurance co for.


My comprehensive is also $500.


----------



## LUXMAN

ummgood said:


> My comprehensive is also $500.


Hopefully the insurance will get the city to pay and you won't have to pay even the deductible....yeah right, it seems they never go after people for such things.


----------



## Dr. J

@ummgood, that quote is really helpful information. I'm making decisions on insurance; good to know what kind of costs are involved, especially that windshield.


----------



## ummgood

LUXMAN said:


> Hopefully the insurance will get the city to pay and you won't have to pay even the deductible....yeah right, it seems they never go after people for such things.


I am hoping they can get them to pay.



Dr. J said:


> @ummgood, that quote is really helpful information. I'm making decisions on insurance; good to know what kind of costs are involved, especially that windshield.


No problem let me know if you want more info...

I am still dealing with this. After a few days of the initial estimate I think my insurance company wasn't happy with the quote so now they have assigned me an independent assessor who just came out today to look the car over. He will be the insurance companies representative to the body shop. Oh boy how I love jumping through hoops. Hopefully now we can proceed and he can deal with the body shop and the insurance. All I know is I am not willing to pay out of pocket.

One thing he did say was that $125/hour is normal shop rate for high end cars/imports/Tesla's. He did say that the insurance desires to pay out $50 so he'll most likely come up with a quote that is at $50/hour and then they'll negotiate. The annoying part is he did say if someone decides to take the cash and not repair their car they get the $50 rate. This kind of irks me that they wouldn't give you the rate they would have to pay for the repair. Instead they give you the rate they want to pay. If the industry knows that high end cars/imports/Teslas cost $125/hour to fix then how do they get away with paying $50 if someone cashes out? With all that said I wouldn't cash out I would get my car fixed but that doesn't seem right.


----------



## ummgood

Ok so back to the trip. I am going to summarize some things that we did/didn't do but there will be no good timeline to it. It doesn't really matter as far as the Tesla except for a couple small parts.

Lyft:
The first night of the trip I had talked my parents into watching the kids and my wife and I went to Disney Springs for a date night. We used Lyft for the first time. I didn't want to have to figure out how to park there so we decided to try out Lyft/Uber. I never used Uber because Lyft worked so well. I didn't realize but I got some first ride discounts so it was really cheap. The first ride was $4 I think from our timeshare to Disney Springs. The ride back that night was $6 I think. The most expensive trip was the last day at Epcot my daughter wasn't feeling well so my parents took her back to the timeshare with our son and left us without a van. We paid $10 I think to get back to the hotel when my wife and I and one child were ready to go back. I will say Lyft at Disney is amazing. You walk out and they have an area for them to pick up like a Taxi rank. You need to be near there because it is so fast to get a driver that you barely have time to walk to the curb before you find them. Most of the drivers were really good so I tipped nicely. I'll definitely be using Lyft more often when I am on vacations.

Amusement Parks:
We spent 4 days at Disney and 2 days at Universal. I am a real fan of Disney. To me they are both fun but Disney I think has a better grasp of the details. I think Hogsmede and Diagon Alley are the closest I have ever seen to getting anywhere near Disney for details but I still had some gripes. First it was insanely hot when we were there. It really made Texas seem like a cool tropical breeze compared to FL. I just couldn't imagine living there all the time. In Hogsmede they had no shade or ability to get out of the sun. It was so hot in that park. It was impossible to cool down except for going in the shop under the castle which had so many people that you couldn't move. In Disney they have trees and breezeways and all sorts of methods where you could get relief.

The other issue with Universal is they tend to favor 4D rides. There were so many and my wife just can't handle them. They make her sick. She can handle major roller coasters and enjoys them but all the new exciting rides at Universal were all 4D based. Both major Harry Potter rides were 4D, Kong, Transformers, Spiderman, Simpsons, yada yada yada were all 4D. She just really didn't enjoy herself.

Here are some photos:
They were coming after me!









One of my favorite cars when I was a kid.









Diagon Alley:









Hogsmede it looks cold but it felt like the surface of the sun:

















My kids had fun with the interactive wands:









Some characters weren't as inviting as Disney (you can see my son booking it past him):









I almost lost some kids to a hungry beast:









I found my long lost ancestor:









My daughter designed this car. Thankfully Tesla has nothing to worry about but it looks like your typical GM product:









Someone wanted to eat with us but we don't like rodent infestations:


----------



## ummgood

Hotels:
Ok so we did this trip on the cheap as much as we could. I just spent all my money on a down payment for some car haha. Anyway we stayed in a 3 bedroom timeshare my parents booked that was about a mile from the Disney Springs entrance. The timeshare was great. We had lots of room and went to the craziest walmart I have ever seen in my life to get breakfast supplies and easy to cook food for dinner. We really only went to the parks in the morning and lasted until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. We would normally eat lunch at the parks and then we would go back to the timeshare and relax and cool off and eat dinner. On a couple nights we went back to Disney for a light show or some quick entertainment but a few days we didn't bother.

My teen really wanted to go to Universal and I read somewhere that if you stay in a high level hotel there you get free express passes for the day you check in to the day you check out. So I found out it was a pretty cheap way to get express tickets so we booked all 5 of us in one room for one night to get express passes for 2 days. My parents didn't want to go and wanted to relax in the timeshare. The hotel we booked was Loews Royal Pacific. The stay was a nightmare and the room ended up flooded. They downgraded us and made excuses for it. We ended up on the floor with the dogs and barely slept all night. My daughter got sick and they made me dig in bellhop in our bag to get her toothbrush. It was just a bad visit. I have been working with them and they are trying but they didn't even bother while we were there. I probably wouldn't ever stay there again. Even if they convinced me they probably wouldn't convince my wife.

The Car:
So during the trip while we were at the parks we took the van to park it at the parks. They charged for each car and all 7 of us could fit in the van so we didn't want to pay for 2 spots. So the poor Tesla sat by itself all week. I did drive it once to old town Kissimme. My daughter broke her phone the first night and was having a meltdown because it was how she was going to take pictures and text her friends etc... I found a phone shop that repaired phones over there and we took it in. They did a great job but while we were waiting they had some kind of festival or something so my dad and I hung out and listened to Cuban music for a couple hours. I was so thankful that we got that phone fixed. Anyway the rest of the time I found a plug by some A/C units at the time share that had a plug nearby so I had the car plugged in there. It kept it topped up and I was able to leave the last morning with a full charge. The good thing about this spot is no one had to trip over the cord and I don't even think they noticed I had it plugged in.

















Anyway I'll add some info about our trip home and all that jazz.


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## Quicksilver

ummgood said:


> Ok so back to the trip. I am going to summarize some things that we did/didn't do but there will be no good timeline to it. It doesn't really matter as far as the Tesla except for a couple small parts.
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> Lyft:
> The first night of the trip I had talked my parents into watching the kids and my wife and I went to Disney Springs for a date night. We used Lyft for the first time. I didn't want to have to figure out how to park there so we decided to try out Lyft/Uber. I never used Uber because Lyft worked so well. I didn't realize but I got some first ride discounts so it was really cheap. The first ride was $4 I think from our timeshare to Disney Springs. The ride back that night was $6 I think. The most expensive trip was the last day at Epcot my daughter wasn't feeling well so my parents took her back to the timeshare with our son and left us without a van. We paid $10 I think to get back to the hotel when my wife and I and one child were ready to go back. I will say Lyft at Disney is amazing. You walk out and they have an area for them to pick up like a Taxi rank. You need to be near there because it is so fast to get a driver that you barely have time to walk to the curb before you find them. Most of the drivers were really good so I tipped nicely. I'll definitely be using Lyft more often when I am on vacations.
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> Amusement Parks:
> We spent 4 days at Disney and 2 days at Universal. I am a real fan of Disney. To me they are both fun but Disney I think has a better grasp of the details. I think Hogsmede and Diagon Alley are the closest I have ever seen to getting anywhere near Disney for details but I still had some gripes. First it was insanely hot when we were there. It really made Texas seem like a cool tropical breeze compared to FL. I just couldn't imagine living there all the time. In Hogsmede they had no shade or ability to get out of the sun. It was so hot in that park. It was impossible to cool down except for going in the shop under the castle which had so many people that you couldn't move. In Disney they have trees and breezeways and all sorts of methods where you could get relief.
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> The other issue with Universal is they tend to favor 4D rides. There were so many and my wife just can't handle them. They make her sick. She can handle major roller coasters and enjoys them but all the new exciting rides at Universal were all 4D based. Both major Harry Potter rides were 4D, Kong, Transformers, Spiderman, Simpsons, yada yada yada were all 4D. She just really didn't enjoy herself.
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> They were coming after me!
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> One of my favorite cars when I was a kid.
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> Hogsmede it looks cold but it felt like the surface of the sun:
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> My kids had fun with the interactive wands:
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> Some characters weren't as inviting as Disney (you can see my son booking it past him):
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> I almost lost some kids to a hungry beast:
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> I found my long lost ancestor:
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> My daughter designed this car. Thankfully Tesla has nothing to worry about but it looks like your typical GM product:
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> Someone wanted to eat with us but we don't like rodent infestations:


You should check out the Jay Leno's garage episode on the Back to the Future DeLorean. Just saw it a week ago and it brought back memories. Thanks for the vacation stories!


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## ummgood

Quicksilver said:


> You should check out the Jay Leno's garage episode on the Back to the Future DeLorean. Just saw it a week ago and it brought back memories. Thanks for the vacation stories!


Already saw it. I think Doug Demuro has one on his feed too.


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