My First Overnight Road Trip

 As the COVID-19 pandemic started to wane, all sorts of folks were itching to travel again.  A road trip, especially a run down the California coast, seemed a natural outing with minimal public interaction.  I wanted to return to Cambria, which is an artists’ colony that I have enjoyed visiting.  I had three days (and two nights) to plan.  And I wanted to visit a winery on the trip home while passing through Paso Robles.  (The winery where I work gets some grapes from Adelaida Vineyards in Paso robles and I wanted to try their wines.)

First, I needed to plan the trip for charging, so I turned to Google Maps.  The distance from San Jose to Cambria is about 170 miles running down Highway 1 on the coast.  My car can drive 140 miles reliably at the slower speeds along the coast, so I needed to charge somewhere midway.  South of Monterey there are no DC fast chargers along the route.  The town of Seaside lies about 65 miles along the route and is the last DC fast charger.  So, I planned a lunch stop in Seaside to charge.  In Cambria, I booked accommodations at a hotel with a level-2 charger, so I was able to charge there twice (once each night).  The winery offers a complimentary charger to visitors, which gave me enough of a boost to get to Soledad for the last charge stop (and dinner), before the final leg home.

The first leg of the journey with a charging stop near Seaside.

The remainder of the first leg of the journey to Cambria.

The return trip from Cambria by way of a winery.

The drive down the coast at the end of January was spectacular.  The weather was sunny the entire trip.  I saw sea lions crowding the rocky beaches.  I found the i3 was comfortable, quiet, and spirited for quickly passing the occasional RV.  Once in Cambria, I was a little disappointed to learn that my favorite blown-glass gallery had closed with no other gallery to replace it.  On the plus side, I discovered The Red Moose Cookie Company and their brown-butter chocolate chip cookies.  I also visited the town of Harmony, which prides itself on being the ideal spot to begin a marriage (and get a scoop of ice cream).  I also discovered that the wines made by Adelaida Vineyards were quite pleasing.  And I spent a total of 70 minutes fast-charging, during which time I ate on both occasions.  Overall, the trip went as planned and was relaxing.