It’s now day three and the first time I’ve had time to sit and type so far.  It’s been a bit hectic and not everything has gone exactly to plan, especially the weather; however, things are looking up .  Here are my thoughts on the first few days:

I’m not sure why I thought that a 6 AM flight out of DC was a good idea at the time.  That lure of landing in Portland to pick-up my car overcame all rational thoughts which would have prevented me from waking up at 3 AM to make the Christmas eve flight. I was so excited that I only had a few hours of sleep!  A couple of restless hours of sleep later in addition to a great conversation with a guy from New Orleans about exploring off the beaten path en route back east, I had made it to the Tesla store in Portland.  Jared, the store manager took me through delivery of my new car (AKA, Sunrise).  He even managed to teach me a few things despite the fact that I have remained abreast on every Tesla-related topic since I put down my deposit three years and 273 days prior (but who’s counting!).

Originally, I had planned to head south directly from Portland, but as all perfect plans go, my initial schedule was erased less than an hour after I had picked up Sunrise.  From there, I was off to the airport where Tina was waiting; another great and adventuresome friend who managed to set aside the time to take this trip.  It was quickly decided that we should spend some time around town enjoying the sunshine of Portland; getting used to the new car; verifying charging stations; catching up on some sleep; and even getting some sightseeing in before heading out on the road.

The next couple of hours were spent visiting Portland classics such as Voodoo Donuts and Powells Books in the Pearl District.   A good bit of time was also spent talking with passersby who would stop and ask about the car.  Even though I had been warned by others, I’ve been amazed by the number of people who stop, stare, strike up a conversation or simply take pictures of us on the highway!  I was also pleasantly surprised that it only took one gentleman two seconds to look at my personalized license plate before pegging me as an engineer!