Traveling from northern Illinois to southern Illinois is a common trip for us. It’s usually a five hour trip, unless you drive a mid-range Tesla model 3 in 30 degree weather. While I enjoyed our adventurous weekend, I won’t be driving the *eight hours* one way again.
Below are pictures from our first stop in Bloomington, Illinois. The Tesla chargers are on the third or fourth floor (past the electric chargers on the first and second). This was a great charging stop in the town’s Amtrak station with clean amenities and a subway inside. Parking is free for the first hour and $1 every hour after. We walked in the little town square and received (free) cookies from Insomnia Cookies. We tried to make it to the subway on our northern-bound trip since it was late, but the Subway closed at 9 pm on Sundays, even though station closes at 9:30 pm. The video below is of the beautiful Christmas music we encountered once entering the station:
Then we discovered the world of Scheelys in Springfield, Illinois. This was the last Tesla Supercharger before hitting St. Louis. It was a cool store to look around, and inside was a small cafe. Merry Christmas! Adults received free brewed coffee.
In St. Louis, I used the Tesla Destination charger downtown, which charged a tiny 27/miles per hour and was being used as a valet parking spot by the Magnolia hotel. We saw Wicked at the Fabulous Fox, and afterward crossed back into Illinois with 30 miles. The night chill ate away my battery, and we woke up with seven miles. My insurance covered part of a tow to St. Louis County Mall, where we began our long trip back home, hitting Springfield, Bloomington, and Bolingbrook superchargers again.
This trip proved a good lesson in:
1) always bringing a spare charging cable
2) consider buying the long-range models if you drive small road trips
3) how cold weather affects electric road trips
Not my proudest moment admittedly, but I learned a good deal, and most importantly enjoyed my time with the kids. I’m sure they won’t forget this trip.
Big Families Can Travel Too 