My initial thought was that if they allowed people to drive their own vehicles, then damage to the vehicles must be rare. I thought it would be fun to take the very quiet Tesla through. As I was paying the entrance fee, I asked if damaged vehicles were "likely", or just "a possibility". I was told that scratches and dents are "common", and that it was probably about "50/50" that I'd be able to get a vehicle through without any damage at all. I was also informed that the sanctuary would not pay for any damage to the vehicle for any reason. I decided that the risk was too high, and that I better just rent one of their vehicles for the trip through the part. I'm REALLY glad I made that decision.
The vehicle that we rented had no side windows (with horizontal metal bars welded in place instead), a cracked windshield, a missing grill, broken turn signals, and no radio or A/C. The exterior door handles had been removed, and the interior was quite dirty. Since Georgia has had a few rainstorms recently, and the vehicle was sitting on a slope with the driver's side on the high side, the drivers seat was soaking wet. Fortunately the engine started, the brakes worked, and I was able to shift into drive and reverse.
We laughed and giggled the entire way through the park. It was a LOT of fun as over 75 species of elk, deer, bison, buffalo, zebra, goats, pigs, and more approached the vehicle. Some were pushy and greedy while others were quite shy. The camels and the giraffes were in fenced in areas, but the road ran close enough to the fence that they could reach their long necks through or over the fence to stick their faces up to the cars and get some food. We rationed the food we purchased well, and had only a few pieces left over at the end of a 2 hour drive through the park. We saw someone a few vehicles ahead of us that had chosen to drive their own vehicle through. I suspect they regretted that choice when antlers started banging into the sides and front hooves clamored onto the doors.
As we were leaving, we noticed that a white Tesla Model 3 had parked right next to us in the parking lot. We planned to continue south to warmer weather, but found that there wasn't quite enough charge remaining in the battery to make it all the way to the next supercharger to the south in Tifton, GA. The navigation system routed us east to a supercharger in Macon. Shortly after we arrived the same Tesla from the sanctuary showed up. We chatted a bit while charging and then headed south to see how far we could get today. Since they were also headed south, I assumed we'd see that same group in the white Tesla at other superchargers along the way, but apparently our timing never matched up again.
While we were at the Tifton supercharger, we booked a Hampton Inn in the Ocala, FL area that provides complimentary electric vehicle charging for their guests. It would be a bit longer of a drive than we've taken yet this trip, but looked like a nice place to stay.
We didn't have any other plans, but thought we'd try stopping at the Florida Welcome Center for some free O.J. along the way. Unfortunately, when we got there at 7pm we discovered that they close the Welcome Center at 5pm. We couldn't get any free O.J., but we took some photos and then continued on our way.
So far, I've encouraged Lisa to choose where to go each day and what to do along the way. I've encouraged her not to plan any further into the future than the current day. We've chosen to head in a generally south-like direction just to get to warmer weather, but weren't trying to get to any specific destination long term. However, prior to embarking on this trip, I promised Lisa that I would pre-plan somewhere for us to stay New Years Eve and something for us to do for her Birthday (New Years Day). Since New Year's Eve is now only 2 days away, and we are in the middle of Florida, I've informed Lisa that for the next 2 days I'll need to take over choosing where we head each day and what we stop to do. This will allow me to keep the destination a secret as long as possible and will allow her to still have the experience of a road trip that feels random and unplanned.
Weather conditions: 70 degrees, partly sunny.
Starting location: Phenix, AL, Holiday Inn and Suites
Ending location: The Villages, FL, Hampton Inn and Suites
Total miles travelled: 451.75
Departure time: 8:31
Arrival time: 21:11
Drive duration: 7:38 (+4:03 site-seeing and 0:59 charging).
Overall average speed: 59.2 mph
Total kilowatt hours used: 106.43
Average miles per kilowatt hour: 4.24
Estimated range available at departure: 179 miles
Estimated range added at superchargers: 318 miles
Estimated range remaining at arrival: 27 miles
Range lost due to driving conditions (weather, altitude, etc): 18 miles (4%)
Kilowatt hours added: 76.61 kWh
Charging cost: $0.00
Effective cost per kilowatt hour: $0.000
Cost per 100 miles: $0.00
Local gasoline price: $2.09
Estimated cost per 100 miles for a vehicle that gets 30 mpg: $6.97
Electric vehicle savings over today's 451.75 miles compared to a 30 mpg vehicle: $31.47
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