I set the alarm for 4:00 a.m. this morning. I wanted to make the most of the weekend. The drive was uneventful until the last 30 miles. Shortly after I left the Mobile Supercharger, the skies opened up and it poured so hard traffic slowed to well below the speed limit. I knew rain was forecast for the weekend so I wasn't surprised.
By the time I reached the East End of Dauphin Island, the skies were clear although at times we heard thunder rumble in the distance.
I started with a small piece of beach right near my car that was empty at that moment. A Willet and a couple of Sanderlings scrambled in the surf. A few Black Skimmers kept skimming by.
Without even thinking, I laid down in the sand to go eye to eye with the Willet for better photos and stayed there for quite some time.
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| Willet |
When I decided to move on to the main part of the beach, I found some rocks to sit on where I could watch the Black Skimmers more closely.
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| A Tern - Maybe a Sandwich Tern? |
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| Another tern - Maybe a Royal Tern? |
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| Willet |
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| Brown Pelican |
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| Black Skimmers |
I then walked along the beach a bit with my camera and found these Laughing Gulls perched on a fence protecting the sand dunes.
By this point, I had realized my mistake - I had not put on sunscreen. Plus, I wanted to unburden myself of my heavy camera and just walk. So I returned to the car to put the camera away and find sunscreen. Note, to future self - put sunscreen on before laying in the sand. I tried to brush/wash the sand off but the sunscreen still did not go on well (and as a result I'm just a bit red).
Since I had not eaten breakfast, I checked out the food truck and bought a pickle, chips, and a water before heading back to the beach. I walked more than a mile down the beach before finding a deserted spot to just sit in the sand where the waves could wash over me. It was also out of cell phone range so I couldn't be tempted to scroll social media. I probably spent an hour in that spot, just watching the waves and enjoying the feeding frenzy of pelicans and terns with dolphins jumping among them.
This pause was very much needed, as the purpose of this trip was to clear my head and do some self-care with all the challenges I have been facing in my personal life.
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| A huge container ship was making it's way to the port of Mobile. |
Since I hadn't received notice my hotel room was ready yet, I decided to check out the Indian Shell Mound Park. Although the birds were really singing, I didn't stay long as the path was a bit muddy and the mosquitos were biting.
So I started the journey back to Mobile where I was staying at a Hampton Inn. Since I was still a bit early, after parking, I walked over to the Mexican restaurant near by and had some really good ceviche on a tostada.
The room I had selected at checkin still wasn't ready (so all my indecision about what room to select was a waste). They put me in a first floor room, first one with a lock that didn't work, and then a second room facing away from the parking lot. I spent the rest of the day relaxing in the hotel room, editing photos, blogging, and just enjoying some quiet. I was so tired from being up so early, not sleeping well the night before, and spending so much time in the sun that I went to bed about 8:30.
I had been planning on going back to Dauphin Island Sunday morning to swim in one of the inlets. But with how red my skin was, I just didn't think it was a good idea to spend a lot more time in the sun and 35 minutes each way is a long way to drive for just a quick swim.
So I had leisurely morning at the hotel and then started my trip back home. The drive home was long and busy. Traffic was so thick that I came to a complete stop about four different times. Plus, I went through some downpours that made it difficult to see the car in front. It was a relief to be pulling off interstate into my city.
I took the Model 3, drove a total of 593 miles, and it looks like averaged around 4.2 miles/kWh which I think is pretty good. Over four charging stops across both days, I added 112 kWh and spent about 60 minutes charging total. My longest charging session was 28 minutes in Mobile before heading to Dauphin Island. With the supercharger being north of my hotel, I wanted to avoid having to charge again until I was ready to head home so I sat far longer than normal to get the car up to a 95% charge (charging speeds really slow after about 70% so that last bit takes a long time).
I did not have access to charge overnight at my hotel so had to depend on the superchargers. I arrived home with a 29% charge so probably will add about 43 kWh over the next 36 hours through the 110 outlet in our parking garage to get her back up to 100%.
