Tahoe trip report #3 Tahoe to Irvine. The time at Lake Tahoe was more or less vacation for me so there weren't any real spectacular EV drives although I did have a complete blast driving around the north end of the lake. Here's a small recap of the few days before departure: 8/21 Friday - No EV driving! Rafting down the Truckee river with Mark and Larry. 8/22 Saturday - Driving around with Mark 110.1mi so far in Tahoe. 8/23 Sunday - Looking at real estate, stargazing at Squaw Valley. 8/24 Monday, 10/25 Tuesday - real estate, goof off, etc.. 85.0mi. 8/26 Wednesday - Jet Ski in the morning, head out in the afternoon to check on some charging spots for Tom Dowling and his troops heading up on Thursday to meet me. No luck in Truckee, things aren't looking so great. I head up the pass and down to Cisco to check out the Chevron station Tom had set up... unfortunately I start out in Truckee with about 50% and by the time I get to Cisco I'm down to 5%! I did have my 6kw charger with me but "Carl" is not around and nobody will let me plug in! After a few phone calls we straighten everything out and I'm charging up and ready to head back to Tahoe. Charged at Cisco Grove 1:30 hrs 58.7 mi. 5%->80% Drive back to Tahoe no problem, stop in Tahoe City for an evening walk during sunset. Plug in at the cabin at 31% 96.6 miles. 8/27 Thursday - 79.1 miles I ran a few errands in the morning, working on some PR for the return trip and also taking care of some Zefiro Acoustics business. The first car with Steve and Craig from Saturn (kinda) is due around 2pm with Tom and Darrell not far behind. The plan is to bring them up one by one from Cisco Grove directly to Tahoe City where I can escort them to the cabin for a quick charge. Then we're all supposed to plug in at the Boatworks shopping center at 110V while we dine at Jake's on the Lake. Steve and Craig arrive with a bang (or scrape I suppose) hitting the curb in front of the Tahoe World newspaper with the utmost of enthusiasm. We head on back to the cabin and plug them in while we hang out and wait for Tom to call from Cisco. Tom's about ready to head up and Darrell is just starting to charge at Cisco when the gang at the cabin heads back into town to see the sights before sunset. Tom ends up hanging out in Cisco longer than expected and more or less shows up at the same time as Darrell... this poses a charging problem... but not to fear, Tom has a 1 to 2 splitter that can charge both cars (if the house can handle it). 60kw on a 100kw breaker seemed like a lot so I asked my parents (staying in the cabin) not to use the dishwasher or clothes washer while we charge :) Fortunately(?) both Tom and Darrell's cars were charging slow (20kw) due to some rather warm battery packs. Before we took the cars up to the cabin we took some shots of the cars plugged into the Boatworks shopping center (drawing more of a crowd than we were drawing power!) Actually a circuit breaker blew somewhere when we plugged the 3rd car in so we couldn't actually charge there (not a big deal as the 110V charger doesn't go very fast). After all 4 cars are set up (charged, or charging) we finally make it back to Jake's where Craig, Steve and my friend Mark are already waiting. The discussion (as usual) was centered on electric cars (it's probably a good thing Mark's friend Rachel and my parents didn't show up, they probably would have been bored to death... but we all had fun!) After dinner Craig and Steve head back to Truckee with their red EV1 while Mark and I go back to the cabin to pick up Tom and Darrell's silver EV1s. After the whole gang is out of the cabin headed for Truckee I finally have a chance to charge and pack up for the final leg of a very cool trip. I charge up to the high 80s then head out for Mark's place in Truckee where I'll just have a short downhill run to meet the gang for breakfast. Charged (110) at Mark's place overnight 66%->full. 8/28 Friday the big day! Tahoe to Redwood City 250.8 Miles With a full charge in my car, Mark and I head out in the morning to meet the gang at 9:30 at 'Sierra Summit' in Truckee for a great breakfast. Of course he have to get a few photos of all 4 cars lined up and then we're off for the dreaded Donner pass. No problem getting to the pass, many of us used less than 30% to get up there (it is steep!) At the top we stop for more photos then it's all (mostly) downhill from there. Different people take turns in the lead and we all try to get pictures of each other while driving past. It's fun watching the confused expressions on other drivers faces... "look, there's another one!" We stop at Saturn of Roseville so Steve can pick up his ICE car, but other than their red EV1, none of the rest of us charge up... gonna make it from Truckee to Sacramento on a single charge (I'm only at 50% at this point, 84 miles into the trip!) Down in Sacramento a green EV1 pulls in right as we're turning into the SMUD center (Sacramento Utility) where there is enough charging for all of us. It turns out to be Michael Schwabe in his ZZZZZIP license EV1! We meet the whole Sacramento Utility gang in their really snazzy building and are treated to a free lunch! After filling our tummies and EVs it's time to head out to the S.F. bay area. Craig and Steve are off to the airport to fly down to Irvine for a departure party for Pat Ward :( Darrell has to get back to his job at the local air quality district leaving Tom, Michael and myself. Tom's car is still charging at half speed so Michael and I head out ahead of him to check out the charging at Saturn of Fairfield. Charged at SMUD for 2 hours, 107.6 miles (on one charge!) 22%->91% Michael and I stick it in cruise control at 55mph for the drive down to Fairfield. This Saturn dealer doesn't support the car yet so they only have 1 charger, but it turns out all the car lifts in the shop use 240Volts with an L6-30 twistlock... I finally find a use for my L6-30 adapter! We plug in and head for the air conditioned lounge. Tom's car meanwhile had sped up the charging and was at 95% back at SMUD when we called, so he headed out to join us. By the time Tom arrived, I already had a decent charge and so I headed down to Walnut Creek to meet my friend David who does all the advertising work for Zefiro Acoustics. Charged at Fairfield Saturn for 1:40, 158.9 mi. 35%->88% The Walnut Creek BART station has a wide variety of charging options including normal Magnacharge, thin citicar magnacharge, AVCON and other assorted conductive plugs. I plug into the one real magnacharger while a Honda EV+ charges next to me. A little plastic commuter thing is charging on one of the thin paddle magnachargers nearby.. very strange. David comes out the meet me and we head back to his office to discuss the latest ad for our Zefiro Inbox microphone preamp. Tom and Mike call me to say they've moved over to the Sunvalley mall chargers and before long I'm on my way back up to Synvalley to meet them for dinner. Charged at Walnut Creek BART for 1:15, 184.5mi. 58%->89% Back at Sunvalley, Tom's car is poking along but Michael is already up to 74% so he lets me plug in... Since their cars are taking up the two inductive spots, I actually have to block a conductive spot to reach the magnacharger (Ain't that a switch!!) not to worry, there's still one conductive spot open in case an EV+ should happen by. We have a nice relaxing dinner at a soup/salad place and another person at the restaurant comes over to ask about our EV T-shirts... it turns out he works with PG&E and was involved with the PrEView drives in 1994! Back at the cars I plug Michael back in so he can get up to 80%, he assures me he doesn't need that much to get home... better safe than sorry. We all bid each other goodbye and they head off (hopefully Tom made it back to Folsom ok!) Charged at Sunvalley Mall 190.0 mi. 82%->95% Now I'm back on my own and it's 10pm on Friday night. I head South on the 680 and end up at a Saturn dealer in Fremont where I plug in while I walk around to check out the nearby Costco, Hilton and supermarket for chargers, room and chocolate respectively. Close to midnight Tom Wuttke calls me and says its ok to crash over at his place in Redwood City. Charged at Saturn of Fremont for 1 hour, 231.9mi. 49%->83% Drive over the bridge to Tom's place and plug in at 110. I make some space for myself in one of the rooms and hit the sack (sleeping bag actually) after a long day. Charged at Tom Wuttke's Place overnight, 250.8mi. 61%->full. 8/29 Saturday Redwood City to Santa Cruz 69.7 miles Tom and I head out in the morning to check out the Sunnyvale Frys electronics. They've got 2 inductive chargers mounted sideways servicing 4 EV only spaces (the signs just went up). Inside the store there is a red EV1 (vin#483) with a zillion fingerprints all over it and tons of curious people fiddling with it. Frys is going to have an EV promotion over labor day. Alec Proudfoot zips over to say hello and we answer questions for the crowds outside at our cars then wander in to check out the displays inside the store... this store seems to be themed after the history of electronics (my best guess)... I still think the Frys at Burbank with the 50s sci-fi is the best theme I've seen. Charged at Frys of Sunnyvale 2:10hrs, 19.5mi. 70%->full I head out with Tom in search of the local transit train that will take him home. After dropping off Tom, I rush over to Saratoga to meet with my friend Mike Kaye for a brief 45minutes before heading up rt9 into the mountains where I'll meet Dru Sutton in Boulder Creek for a quick charge. I can see why Dru doesn't get bored with his commute, taking the EV1 up route 9 proves to be a very fun drive. Dru and Sue have a really nice place up in the mountains, he tells me he's the first EV1 driver in Santa Cruz county! Charged at Dru's place for 50 minutes, 50.2 miles, 38%->78% Now I'm running late to meet my friends in Santa Cruz but it's not so bad. I arrive down in Santa Cruz around 6:20 where I meet my sister and her husband Andreas (visiting from Switzerland) at our friend Krista's house (from back in our childhood days growing up in Mill Valley) Krista and her husband Chris have a nice quiet place not far from route 1. We head out on bikes to see the sunset and then go out for some Italian food. We talked late into the evening while listening to some strange/cool early 60s cocktail lounge music... gotta get some of that for my next craps party. Charged at Krista's place overnight (110), 69.7mi. 63%->full 8/30 Sunday Santa Cruz to Big Sur 91.7 miles Relaxed most of the morning at Krista's place then I depart along with Sis and her hubby in their ICE car (also headed south although they'll get there a lot faster than I will). We stopped for a quick bite to eat in Carmel then they left and I doubled back to the Monterey Peninsula College of Automotive Technology (Thanks Garrett!) where John Holland let me plug into some 240V while I went out on foot to explore Monterey. After a good walk around town I got back at 4:40 and John was waiting for me. Charged at Monterey Peninsula College for 2hrs, 57.3mi 9%->89% On the road again this time headed for Ripplewood Cabins in Big Sur. The fog/clouds were hanging just barely off the coast and I took a quick drive back through Carmel and on down PCH. Every now and then you'd have to wait for one way traffic in sections still being repaired after El Nino. With plenty of daylight left I claim cabin #4 and plug in the 110 charger. After a simple dinner (typing all of the above) I go retreat to the cabin to get some rest for what will surely be a long day ahead. charged at Ripplewood Cabins, Big Sur overnight, 91.7mi, 47%->full 8/31 Monday Big Sur to Seal Beach 342.0 miles (A new record!) Out the door by 7am I was greeted by clear skies. Unfortunately a few miles later I discover I'm heading down into a sea of fog... looks like an ocean of cotton candy. So I miss the great coastline scenery and get to navigate the twisty road with less than perfect visibility. bummer. At 69.1 miles I'm just on the verge of Cambria when I hit 0% user SOC. I slip into a Best Western on the coast and they let me plug into 110 while I crab some breafast at the Denny's style cafe next door. charged 110 at Best Western San Simeon for 1:20hrs, 69.1mi 15/0%->8% After breakfast I make the final 7 miles to the home of Ben and Barbara Boer where William Korthof had charged on his LA->SF trip in the EV+. I plug in and they let me use the phone for some business calls (remote tech support for Zefiro). Later, Ben takes me on a little sightseeing tour of Cambria... a nice little town and they've got one of the best views right from their living room! I lost about 30 minutes of charge time as Barbara accidently switched on the clothes dryer before leaving to run some errands.. it seems the receptacle and dryer are on the same 50A circuit! oops. Oh well. charged at the Boer's house in Cambria for 2:40, 76.1mi. 1%->89% Now comes the stretch past Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo, I'm driving kinda slow for range (50-55mph) but it pays off with the some great range. I pull into the Saturn of Santa Maria where there's a charger right on the walkway/entrance to the dealership... I drive up and park in front of the main door and plug in. Several employees come out and are confused by my car... It looks like their car, but not exactly... they'd never seen another EV1 in the area (this dealership doesn't support the car, the owner merely wanted one so they brought one up on flatbed from Oxnard). When the other silver EV1 returns, the driver is surprised to see another car using the charger! I go for a little walk around Santa Maria and get some soda. charged at Saturn of Santa Maria for 2:40hrs, 142.3mi. 15%->88% Ok, now comes one of the legs I was more concerned about.. it's over 80 miles from Santa Maria to Carpinteria (near Santa Barbara) and there's a good (900ft) summit along the way! Here I was leaving with only 88% charge... I go into ultra conserve mode and lock the cruise control in at 49mph only to let up on dowhnills where the momentum would pay off more than regen. After cresting the pass and following more or less level ground along the coast I could see I was going to have no problem making it to Carpinteria!!! I keep it at 49mph though just to see how little power I can get by on. I cruise into Kilovac's public charger on the side of their building in Carpinteria at 7:50pm with 9% charge still remaining!! That's 87 miles on 79% charge with very little loss in elevation! Kilovac's got a great location just a block from the beach in one direction and a block from the main part of town in the other! sweet! I grab some average Italian food at a nearby eatery then head to the beach to make some calls on the cell phone. My buddy Mike in Irvine says "Don't even bother coming home, it's 90 degrees at 10pm and there's smoke from a nearby brush fire sweeping through town!" That doesn't sound like fun... (no A/C at my house) charged at Kilovac in Carpinteria for 2:20hrs, 229.3mi. 9%->84% Back on the road now (10:10pm) I go back into ultra conserve (Granny) mode at 49mph. No point in following the coast at night so I decide to follow the 101 and see how far I can go. I'm tempted to go all the way to West L.A. but decide to stop at Hawthorne Savings in Tarzana to get some charge (and cash! I was down to my last few dollars) Not much going on in Tarzana at midnight. charged at Hawthorne Savings, Tarzana for 1:20hrs, 292.8mi. 20%->74% Ok, last leg... time to go home... or actually to the Korthof house. I take up the Korthof's on their offer of a charge and room (I figure it's gotta be cooler at the beach than back at my place!) Back to 49mph I make way for the 405 to get from the Valley over to West L.A. Of course from the top of the hill all the way down to the 10 freeway is more or less a free ride. I arrive in Seal Beach 49.2 miles later having used only 34% !!!! Yes, I did lose elevation along the way but WOW that would be 144 miles if I could keep up that pace for 100% When I arrive Bill helps shuffle the chargers around (they don't yet have a 6kw charger for their new EV1 but the EV+ is plugged in at 240V) It's 3am and I get about 4 hours of sleep in the bedroom with a sign on the door "Greg's Lair" In the morning we need to move cars around so that Mrs. Korthof can get to work. I decide to head back home and tackle the phones (things back up when you've been on the road for 3 weeks) Stuck in morning traffic on the 405 with outdoor temps already approaching 90 degrees and smoke blowing over the southland from the brushfires, I decide to call Mark up in Tahoe to see what the weather is like up there... "Just another Tahoe day" he says.... I wish I was there. charged at the Korthof house, Seal Beach overnight... 342.0 mi (!) 40%->full. Wake up range in Seal Beach: 96 miles.