I managed to upload some videos to YouTube.  They look best when viewed full screen.  Sorry about the vertical videos.  I haven’t much practice recording with a cell phone.

Niagara Falls at night Nov 4th, 2016

 

Water falls in Oregon from October 15th, 2016

Multnomah Falls

I skipped breakfast at the hotel to sleep in a bit more.  Still tired and the weather being rainy and cold, I decided to skip any more sight-seeing in Glen Falls and head into Vermont.  I re-visited the SuperCharger before leaving to add a bit more charge.  While there, I took some pictures of the snow piles that have not fully melted from last season’s snow.

The route from Glen Falls to Burlington, Vermont is off of interstate highways, goes through small towns, and is quite scenic.  Not being in a hurry, I enjoy these drives. I tried to take some pictures of the scenery along the way.

The SuperCharger in Burlington is behind a Healthy foods store and across the street from a Trader Joe’s.  I enjoyed looking through the stored while charging, but didn’t pick up anything.  The couple I had spoken to in Glen Falls told me about the Market St marketplace in Burlington.  I drove through the marketplace and then headed over to a restaurant near the lake shore to eat.  The restaurant had views looking over Lake Champlain towards New York.

After the late lunch, I headed SouthEast to Montpelier, the capital of Vermont.  Tired, I decided to call it an early night.  The SuperCharger is in a good location, near a hotel, tucked away, and also near a new 24/7 gas station / truck stop.  I setup the bed and decided to lie down for a bit to see if the area was comfy.  It was cold.  I thought about turning the heat up in the Tesla and recalled that the low is predicted to be 27F tonight there.  After a few minutes, I got up and found a cheap hotel in nearby Barre.  I definitely want to use the Tesla bed more in warmer areas to save more money, but I’ll likely stay in hotels most / all nights of New England.

Miles: ~7125

Today was mostly a travel day.  I enjoyed the scenery while crossing upstate New York.  If you travel New York, be aware that there are many tolls and they only accept cash.

I stopped in Glen Falls and early enough to explore the town before going to sleep.  The SuperCharger was in a mall parking lot.  After charging a bit, I headed to Cooper’s Cave Ale Brewery for dinner and to chat with some locals.

The couple to my left were quite friendly and gave me several suggestions for sight-seeing.  After they left, I had a conversation with the man on my right.  He is a regular and has also lived in the two most of his life.  He gave me more suggestions for sight-seeing and discussed some history of the town and the surrounding areas.  Later in the conversation, the brewery owner joined us.  She handed me a local newspaper and some tourist guides.  🙂

I decided to try sleeping in a Walmart parking lot since they are open 24/7.  After sitting a while in that lot, I felt like I would be more comfortable in the mall parking lot near the SuperChargers. I drove over to the SuperChargers, got comfy in the back, and lied down.  A few minutes later, it started raining.  I watched the rain for a bit and fell into a light sleep until a few minutes later, about 12:30, someone knocked on the car window.

I woke up and saw a mall security staff member standing in the rain next to the car.  I rolled down the window and he asked if I was ok.  I explained that I was sleeping for the night and would drive in the morning.  He said no problem, apologized for disturbing me, and went on his way.  Very polite and considerate.

I tried to sleep again but was now wide-awake.  I read for a bit until I saw him drive up again.  He then explained that his boss stated I could not stay there unless I was actively charging as it was an insurance risk.  I said, no problem, I’ll move on.  He was very polite about it all.

I drove back over to Walmart and decided to use the restroom and consider staying there or getting a hotel.  After walking in through the rain, I find the restroom blocked for cleaning.  I head back to the car and notice a leaf in the car.  As I pick it up to throw it outside, I notice it was some kind of tissue that must have been carried in on the bottom of my shoe… time for the hand sanitizer.

On my phone, I open up Priceline and realize I can’t search for that night as it is past midnight.  I decide to drive up the road to the two hotels I saw and inquire.  Both end up having prices higher than I want to pay and neither will negotiate much lower.  Frustrated, I look up Super 8 and decide to just go there and pay whatever.

The woman working at Super 8 was very kind.  She gave me a discount, bringing it down to under $70.  I finally got into the room about 1:45am.  Not able to fall asleep immediately, I watched Alien: Resurrection on TV and finally went to sleep about 3:30 (after the time change, and thankful for that).

I didn’t fall asleep right away last night so I slept in a bit and got a later start.  I left Ann Arbor and headed into Detroit towards the Canada border.  The border staff ask a bunch of questions to, of course, try and determine if you have bad intentions.  Being unemployed and not having a specific itinerary raises more questions.  This continued for a bit until I was directed to the side lot for my car to be inspected.

The first inspector asked more questions, including how to open parts of the Tesla and then instructed me to go wait inside the office.  I left the laptop, cell phone and my passport in the car and walked into the office.  I tried to use the restroom but the door requires you to be buzzed in.  I asked for that, and then didn’t make it to the door before the staff member stopped holding the buzzer, so back to her again.  I didn’t think it would be wise to run inside the building.  She teased me about it and then told me to run while she buzzed it again.

I sat in the waiting area for a while and then hear some of the staff discussing Tesla cars and chargers.  I figure that means they’re looking at my car.  I get asked more questions about what I’m doing, where I’m going, where I work, what kind of work I do, etc.  Then I’m asked for the PIN to unlock my phone.  I provide it and go back to waiting.

After a time, I’m called up.  The woman is polite and asks me several of the same questions again.  She asks why I’m on the trip and not working.  I explain I had saved money for something that didn’t work out and decided to take some time off to travel and see things.  She asks what didn’t work out.  I gave a short reply and mentioned it was a long story.  She says, “I’ve got time”.  Really?  ok…. So, I indicated I would tell her the story and then she stops me and says I’m done and go on my way.  The entire thing was only about 30 minutes.

I left without looking through the Tesla other to verify the laptop and passport were there.  The woman inside had handed my phone back to me.  I get to the next SuperCharger and plug in.  This is when I started looking through the Tesla.  The inspection team had been thorough, everything was shifted around.  I set things in place and then went into Tim Horton’s to get some food.  My phone was powered off before I crossed the border to avoid roaming charges in Canada.  Border staff had turned it on and I had messages from Verizon informing me what roaming would cost and asking if I wanted to enable data.  I declined and switched to Airline mode and then connected to Tim Horton’s wifi.

It was about this time that I recalled the text I had sent to Jeff and Daisy when I entered Ohio yesterday and Jeff’s reply.  Nice.  So, I deleted those texts.

I continued on my way towards Niagara Falls.  During the drive, I took some pictures of the trees and some Canadian road signs.

The SuperCharger in Grimsby, Ontario was just across the street from the shore line of Lake Ontario.  I took some pictures with the lake slightly visible in the distance and part of the skyline of Toronto just barely visible over the lake.  This is the best picture of the bunch

Next to the SuperCharger is the Casablanca Winery Inn.  I stepped in for dinner at Bogey’s Grill House set inside the hotel.

After dinner, I finished the trip to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.  I arrived at night, so the falls were lit with colored lights.  I thought I took more pictures and videos than I found tonight.  Here is the clearest picture

The picture does not give perspective of being there and how large the falls are.

I returned to the car and started the drive back to the USA, crossing into Buffalo, New York.  The line going into the USA was quite long and it was over 30 minutes from seeing the border gate until I got up to the window.  I had another conversation but was permitted to stay in my car without a detailed inspection this time.  I was asked why I was going to Buffalo.  I said there is a SuperCharger there for my car.  The response was, “So, you drove from Phoenix to Buffalo just to charge your car?”  🙂  It seems the border staff on both sides prefer you have a specific itinerary.

At the SuperCharger, I took a look for hotel deals again and found a good price for a room at Salvatore’s Garden Place Hotel.  It was listed as a 3 star hotel.  I’d say it’s more like a 3.5 star hotel.  It’s a classy place with some nice upgrades and touches.  There are 24-7 coffee and hot chocolate machines on a table down the hall.  The bathroom has been updated, as well as the sink fixture.  Real glasses for drinking water and a Keurig machine are in the room.  I’m getting a better appreciation for good hotels on this trip.  So far, I like this one.  The lobby is very nice with a huge chandelier and staff wearing suits.

I don’t have a route planned at this point.  I’m thinking I’ll explore New England going up along the Western / Northern side of states and then travel South along the Atlantic coast.

Some comments have been left on the blog posts.  I don’t know why they are not displaying with the blogs.  I’ll look again for a setting to display comments.  I do enjoy seeing people comment on the blog posts so please don’t hold back if you have a comment.

Miles: 6666
Kms: 10727