‘Dry Run’ Road Trip!
Dry Run Road Trip - Entry #1
A few months back I let a good friend, Benjamin, know that I’d begun planning a ‘road trip’ journey for my new Model 3.
I knew Ben would be excited for me - he’s spent the past five years backpacking around Europe, including a number of stints spent on boats - like me - and even a few months spent with a friend, Luca, living in a classic camper van.
Another of his friends renovates them, posting progress photos on Instagram, so we’ll sometimes talk about a particular post we’ve both enjoyed.
Ben himself spends much of his time in Sicily, where he owns a 1973 Fiat 126, a European classic that is, apparently, still very popular in Poland. My friend has spent a lot of time making improvements to his car - he’s named her ‘Angela’ - and documenting it all for the Gram. He’s worked hard on her, putting in improvements like a new headliner and retractable seatbelt! He even has an Espresso machine in the frunk…
I figured that Ben would want to join me in some strategizing for my upcoming quest, so I was excited to share it with him. I certainly never expected he’d want to join me on it. But when I told him what I was planning, his first concerns were whether, with my health, a trip on the road was something I’d be able to handle. When I told him I was going to do a few shorter ones first, to try to find out, he asked me to wait until he visited the US in a few months.
“Let’s go together,” he suggested. “I can help you if you need help along the way.”
I supposed it wouldn’t hurt Ben that he would get some cred on the #vanlife scene, as someone who’d gone #TeslaCamping and lived to tell the tale. In Europe, converting vans and other vehicles to homes on the road is the rage. Young people, especially, are eschewing property ownership in favor of life experiences. Spending a few days in a Tesla is probably on at least a bucket list or two.
For me, it would be an opportunity to spend some time with one of my best friends, someone who’d supported me (albeit via FaceTime) for months since my cancer diagnosis. Having a little company - and a lot of help - on the road would just be an added bonus for me.
Still, I did my best to dissuade Benjamin, warning him that I had the Model 3 - not the larger, roomier Model Y that was the one he was probably conjuring if he’d Googled “Tesla+camping”. Sleeping quarters would be tight.
He wasn’t fazed. It wouldn’t be his first time sharing a small, confined space - he’d spent time living in a Volkswagen van with a companion, after all.
"I’m a big guy, Ben,” I reminded him.
“I’m not worried about it,” he countered. “I knew who you were when I offered to join…”
I advised that the trip would probably be poorly planned and underfunded.
Nothing would dissuade him.
So one day, on a FaceTime call, we chose a random place - Holland, Michigan - and decided that would be the turnaround spot.
Benjamin had lived in the actual Holland. Who, for whatever reason, had built and delivered a windmill to their sister city across the Atlantic. Ben would be returning to Amsterdam in the weeks after his visit to the US. Why not make “Holland USA” our destination?
“It’s on Lake Michigan!” Ben told me excitedly on a subsequent call. He knew I love the water. “Maybe we can sleep in the Tesla on the beach?”
“Maybe,” I said doubtfully. I figured that was probably illegal. I’d later find an RV park that allows exactly that - but we’d run into some trouble with the “Tesla Camping” portion of the reservation. (More on that later).
On a later call budgeting for the trip, I’d inform Ben that the cost to enter the windmill would be $10 each.
“Oh, we’re not paying $10 to see the inside of a windmill,” Ben corrected me. “Once you’ve been inside one windmill you’ve been inside them all…”
“I’ve never been inside a windmill,” I reminded him.
“I’ll save you the $10 and describe it to you on the way,” he offered. “We’ll get some nice pictures outside the windmill, instead.”
“Maybe with the car in the shot,” I suggested. I was excited about getting some photos of the car on this trip.
“Exactly.”
Our plans were (close to being) made, and our journey mapped out. We’d begin in my home city, Geneva, and travel a scenic route, staying as close to the shores of the Great Lakes as possible, until we reached Holland.
Avanti all'Olanda!!!
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READ ALL ABOUT THE ‘DRY RUN’ ROAD TRIP!
[Dry Run Road Trip] [Outfitting The Tesla] [Day 1: Niagara Falls] [Day 2: Route 5] [Day 2: Presque Isle] [Day 3: A Screeching Halt in Erie, PA] [Day 3: Just Another Day in Paradise!] [Day 4: Time to Go…] [NYC & Post-Trip Wrap-Up]
