Heading Home

Great time with family, but by June 29th it was time to head home. Having learned from the ride up, I was determined to be more efficient in my charging choices. Here's the route.

Left Boston, MA at 10am.

North Attleboro, MA - Nissan Village of N. Attleboro. Depart 11:14am

Old Saybrook, CT - Grossman Nissan. Depart 1:34p

Darien, CT - I-95 Southbound Welcome Center (between exits 9 and 10). Met some Tesla owners who were on their way back to Oregon. I had just given Evie a complete wash inside/out. They couldn't believe we had traveled from Atlanta and asked for a full tour. Needless to say they were impressed. Take that Mr. Musk! Depart 3:57p.

Sidetrip through New York City! Kids really wanted to drive through Times Square. Fortunately, I didn't need a charge in the city. There weren't many QC options.

 



Piscataway, NJ - Rutgers Field Offices. Depart 8:39p.

Carney's Point, NJ - Flying J truck stop. It's so late and there aren't many food options here. Depart 11:05p.

Monday 6/30

Newark, DE - I-95 Delaware House rest stop. Mainly stopped here to grab some food but they also had a L2 so I grabbed a little charge in the meantime. Depart 12:28a

Baltimore, MD - Best Western Hotel & Conference Center. Depart 1:54a

Woodbridge, VA - Cowles Nissan. Huge car mall. Friendly security guard came out to check on us. Depart 3:58a

Richmond, VA - South Crenshaw parking lot. Kid's asleep so didn't have to use the McDonald's next door, but I did walk over to the 24 hour CVS and buy supplies. Depart 6:14a. Headed to hotel as we planned to visit with some friends the next morning. No place to plug in at, but I wasn't worried as I still had 50-60 miles left. Time for a good rest!!

Tuesday 7/1

Left Richmond, VA at 1:03p.

Colonial Heights, VA - Hilton Garden Inn. Depart 2:13p.

Roanoke Rapids, NC - Nissan of Roanoke Rapids. There's 130-140 mile stretch from Colonial Heights to the next QC. This location is the compromise. It has a L2 close to lots of stores. Need at least 2 hours charging to have enough miles to reach next QC. Dealership is very friendly. Walked the dog and grabbed some treats from a nearby DQ. Chilled out in the waiting room. Depart 5:42p.

Wilson, NC - Lee Nissan. Super nice place. Gave snacks/water to kids. Got the overheat error from their Nissan charger. Turned main switch on/off a couple of times to let it cool down. Used their L2 in between. Eventually got enough to move on to the next QC. Depart 7:30p.

Raleigh, NC - North Hills Mall. This place was like Atlantic Station on steroids. Very impressive. Gave Evie some juice while wife/kids went off for dinner. Great little cupcake shop right near the charging station. Couldn't resist. Yum! Depart 9:19p.

Greensboro, NC - Greensboro parking lot. Really low and instead of going to town parking lot like I did before, I decided to try the local Nissan. Mistake! Their QC was not working properly. The power flow was like a trickle charge. I had to L2 charge for 30 minutes to get enough miles to head back downtown to the parking lot. Fired up my Greenlots app and got the station flowing. Very late and of course kids needed the restroom. Had to take them into a pool hall, but they were cool about it. Live band was excellent. Officer on bike patrol stopped by to check on us. He said his department just started using electric motorcycles, but he wasn't sure how he felt about them.

Salisbury, NC - Ben Mynatt Nissan. Nobody around but trucker unloading auto parts. QC still showing temperature error, but I'm a pro at it by now. Squeeze about 40 miles out of it before temp error kicks back in. Decide to head up the street, PlugShare is showing a QC coming soon. Maybe it's ready, so took a shot. NOPE! QC is there but totally dead. By the time I get back to Nissan dealer, the charger has cooled down and I'm able to finish. Very tired, but I've got to get back for a morning business appointment. Press on!

Gastonia, NC - Caromont Regional Medical. This stop is in lower level of hospital parking deck. Fell asleep in the front seat. Thankfully security guard stopped by to check on us. QC wouldn't give me anymore than 81% but I needed 90% to make my next QC. It's somewhere around 4:30a.

Gastonia, NC - Highland Health Center. L2 ChargePoint. Took about 30 minutes to get me up to 90%

Greensville, SC - Richardson Street Garage. I like this spot because the QC is right across from 4 L2s. It's a good top off location. Ended up taking a nap next to the QC. Facility manager stopped by to see if I was ok and ask me some questions. He was having a meeting that day about expanding the electric charging in the city. Admitted he didn't know much about it. Talked to him about PlugShare and the different charging options. By the time we finished chatting, QC was done and I moved over to get the 90% I needed to get to GA.

Commerce, GA - Tanger Outlet. Unfortunately, I can't make it all the way to Athens without this L2 stop. Next time, I will try to stay off the highway and see if I can milk out the extra miles needed to to Greenville/Athens in one trip.

Athens, GA - GA Power Customer Center. Had to leave Tanger Outlet a little earlier than I wanted to in order to make my meeting. I had 20 miles, but coasted and brake recharged my way to 25 miles. Classic Center was closest but already in use so I had to coast my way back over to GA Power. Edged into the parking lot to find an empty QC. Changed clothes at gas station across the street. Dead tired but ready for my meeting. Whew!

Arrived back home at 12:15pm. Success!!