Travel and Transformation, Courtesy of My Tesla

During a road trip between Marin County and Southern California, my electric vehicle, a Tesla, that titan of personal vehicular transport, taught me a valuable lesson about travel, its power of transformation and life in general.

A lesson learned about superchargers and the serendipity of travel. A lesson learned about letting go of control to get all you need. while enduring the rigors of travel.

It all started on the first of two separate road trips to Northern California in my new electric vehicle, each covering a daunting distance of 1,032 miles. Outside the comforts of home, a traveler constantly confronts discomfort. And confusion. And feeling out of control.

Driving and familiarizing myself with my new electric vehicle ignited my darkest compulsions to control every road-tripping outcome at every turn.

But my Tesla had other ideas.

How do I know this? Read on.

My First California Road Trip In A Tesla

On the first road trip, I hopped on Interstate 5 northwards to San Francisco after typing in my destination into the navigation screen. The Tesla mapped out my  directions, showing my route dotted with supercharger stations to cover the 500-mile plus distance.

But I could not yet trust Tesla.

During the entire ride, I constantly watched my battery draining down from 90% to 45%. At 35%, I began freaking out that I won’t make it to the next supercharger station. I stared at my display constantly, checking my position, zooming in and zooming out.

Am I heading to the right supercharger so I can make it to the next supercharger?

Am I going too fast, in danger of burning up excess battery life?

What if the Tesla nav is wrong and I don’t make it?

What if my battery dies?

In the electric vehicle world, it’s called range anxiety.

But I made it to my ultimate destination with a 15% battery reading, just as my nav had predicted.

But my Tesla wasn’t finished with me yet.

My Tesla Begins My Lesson During the Second Road Trip

After my first roundtrip, I felt more confident on my second lengthy trip north and a tiny bit more comfortable about giving up control.

My Tesla began teaching my lesson just outside LA where the Tejon Pass drops out of the mountainous Los Padres National Forest into the flat, empty Central Valley.  

While speeding on this lengthy, isolated stretch of Interstate 5, I checked out the location of my next supercharger station.

Which appeared to be an empty farmer field.

Nothing there. Just dirt.

Confusingly, Tesla had placed a supercharger icon at a lonely isolated exit in the middle of nowhere, the map displaying neither structures nor superchargers.

Do I trust my nav?

Am I on the right track?

Am I in danger of running out of battery in 100° weather on a lonely stretch of superhighway?

Would I soon be screaming into my phone for Tesla to come and tow my car to the next supercharger station?

Once I found the turn-off, I exited onto a beat-up asphalt country road and I found this:

There, directly to my left, stood a small parking lot lined with several red superchargers where other happy Tesla owners were charging up. And, thankfully, I noticed a worker sanitizing a bank of temporary bathrooms, his supplies stowed in his pickup truck parked under a shade awning.

Okay, I thought, superchargers had just materialized out of nowhere and I have no excuse to continue freaking out.

I can trust my nav.

Yet, I still hadn’t learned my lesson. On my return trip home, my range anxiety again raged over me.

The Final Frontier – Negotiating LA’s Industrial Area

This time my nav landed me in the thick of Los Angeles’ industrial area for my next supercharge. I hate driving on the beat up and broken roadways amidst the crazy drivers; I’ve seen blatant U-turns against red lights, trucks dangerously cutting me off and intersections treated like speedways. 

Worse, where can I find a decent bathroom? I clutched my wheel, fretting about my options, stinking restrooms coated with dark grime in a filthy fast food stand or in a filthy gas station. Where to find a safe, clean place? An impossibility, for sure.

As I neared my next stop in the City of Commerce, I zoomed in on my map.

To my surprise, I got directed to a bank of chargers inside the Citadel Outlets. The very outlet mall I had written about in the 2020 Travel Guide to California yet had never actually visited.

And I’ve always wanted to visit this former 1920s tire factory inexplicably encased in walls resembling an Abyssinian palace. The outlet mall’s Exotic Revival architecture façade looks straight out of ancient Babylon, resembling a set from a Cecil B. DeMille biblical epic. Landing there gave me a crazy-wild, ‘Only in LA’ moment.

Today, the tire factory is long gone, the huge, industrial property now re-purposed as an outlet mall with over 100 stores.

With my car hooked up and supercharging, I joined Los Angelenos on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in 86° weather, scented by the occasional whiff of marijuana.  

But I was not here to shop. I had to find a restroom. Pronto.

I found the ladies restroom not only allayed my expectations but went beyond my fondest dreams of roadside relief.

I stepped inside a delirious, palatial powder room set-up, offering cheer, safety, cleanliness and architectural splendor.

All that freaking out for naught. Just look at these pictures.

When my car buzzed my phone, signaling a full charge, I headed back. I jumped into the front seat, threw the car into reverse and pressed the accelerator. Nothing. No response.

My car was teaching me the final coda of my lesson.

Always take the time to unplug the charger and replace it back upon its hook before your getaway. In other words, patience!

Learning the Power of Travel and Transformation, Courtesy of My Tesla

While traveling, we always want to control the outcome. We all do. We want to pay a certain price. We want to eat what we want, do what we want when we want and how we want. In short, we crave control of our money, time, physical comfort. All the time.

During my California road trips, the Tesla taught me a lesson not only about travel. My new electric vehicle also schooled me on how to let go of control while traveling and learn to live with the outcomes.

Be patient – don’t throw your car immediately into reverse but take time to think about what you’re doing and where you are. Let go of control, go with the flow and expect the best. Take it one moment at a time on your journey and trust your navigation.

Just chalk it all up to the power of travel and transformation.

Sometimes you learn the most powerful and key lessons of life while moving about our planet, the most easy and simplest lessons.