Winter Florida Trip - Travel Day - December 7

This was the year my travel plans were all shook up.  So as I watched things get cancelled and removed from the calendar, I looked for ways to still travel in a way that fit my budget and that would help me heal from the divorce.  When I heard my parents had rented a place on Sanibel Island and had a pull out couch, I might have invited myself for part of their stay.  :)

But I also wanted some time to myself so I'm taking my time getting down there.  After a successful road trip north for Thanksgiving in my Tesla, I was confident that I would enjoy this time in my car just as much.

I left at 6:00 a.m. with a full charge.  The streets were quiet and I had a chance to stop at this stoplight and admire the Magic City sign.

The first colors of the sunrise were just starting to appear as the lights of Birmingham were in my rearview mirror.  Temperatures started out in the 20s but got warmer with every charging stop.  At one point, in the fairly early morning hours, I crossed a river that was engulfed in steam and low level fog.  If only I could have pulled over somewhere to photograph the scene.  It was mystical and a sight I will not quickly forget.  

Albany, GA

These first charging stops were really quiet but by the time I got to Valdosta, GA, they got quite a bit busier.  There was a Cybertruck at this one (pictured below in the furthest stall).

The last one in Ocala, FL even had a warning about being a high usage supercharger and reset my charging limit to 80%, although I could and did override that because this was my last stop and my hotel did not have charging.  All eight chargers at this location were pretty consistently occupied although it seemed that no one ever waited - there was always someone leaving as someone new arrived.  I wandered the mall while I waited and marveled at the sheer number of people and then I realized it's the Christmas season when everyone is out shopping!

I love seeing palm trees and they were all over this mall in Ocala that I walked as I waited for my last charge.

Then before I went to my hotel, I took my car through a car wash.  This was the last intimidating thing I needed to overcome since the divorce.  I know it is silly but I so rarely drove over the last decade and this Tesla has a checklist of things to do in the very brief time you have as you are entering the car wash.  Regardless, I successfully got the car in neutral and pushed all the right buttons before the car wash began!  Yay!

I even vacuumed the front seat area!

Then I checked into my hotel, the Holiday Inn & Suites Ocala Conference Center where the front desk woman was able to easily get my name changed on the reservation to my new name.  I had already changed my name with the loyalty program but the name mismatch seemed to be causing issues with accessing the reservation on the app and I wanted to make sure I got the points!  The hotel is really nice and I have a quiet room on the sixth floor.  I'm loving lounging in the chaise lounge in my room!

I ended the day relaxing in the hotel room and making plans for the next day.