We usually take a trip to Southwestern Michigan in the Fall. The leaves have changed to their bright reds, orange and yellows, and the apples are ripe and aplenty. We are always on a search for the farm-stand pumpkin patch for a perfect carving pumpkin for Halloween.
Thursday, October 18 seemed perfect. The weather was crisp cool and sunny. A great chance to test Erik the Red's new software update (version 9) and to see how he behaves on the highways and back roads.
Charge to full the night prior of the drive meant waking up in the morning to 310 miles of range. We were packed with coolers and anticipation by 8 AM. I wanted to try the several new aspects of the software update that came over the air last week. Among the changes are: 1) full 360 degree ghost images of vehicles around you, 2) blind-spot warning, 3) a new dash cam option using the front camera, and 4) a bunch of layout modifications on the central monitor. One of the benefits of the Tesla is the continuing upgrade capability of the vehicle - my car today is better and has more features than the day that I bought it. And tomorrow will probably be better than today.
I often drive with Auto-Pilot engaged. It requires confidence in the system, but makes driving very comfortable. You need to maintain control and awareness of the whole environment, but it does reduce drive stress. The drive did prove out the new vehicle awareness feature.
We snapped a photo of the monitor showing how many vehicles are monitored as we drove the interstate. In this view of our "Erik the Red" is colored, while the surrounding vehicles are ghost grey. Ten vehicle types and positions are shown, all being networked around my car. Speed and position being tracked in real time. Pretty amazing.
We flew down the highway. Note the posted speed limit of this portion of the tollway. I kept up with traffic, but there was always the speed demon who needed to zoom past with abandon.Michigan's speed limit is 70 mph. This of course means actual speed is about 75 to 85 mph. The Auto-Pilot behaved well 99% of the time. There were two occurrences where a temporary (and momentary) speed reduction occurred. I'm researching this with the Tesla Forum - Tesla owners who discuss almost everything Tesla. More later when I learn more.
The day was great! Our normal stops were made. New places were visited and we did find a wonderful pumpkin farm stand. But our first pumpkin farm stand proved a challenge. But not the pumpkin prices.
A wagon full of oddly shaped giant pumpkins was just off the road after our apple stop. It looked likely... until we got up close to the pumpkins. The smallest pumpkin might have fit in the rear trunk, but hefting it into the car was not something I wished to do - 50 to 100 pounds. While this would have been fun, we passed on this farm stand.
After a brief visit to Stover's for a "got to have" dried gourd, we were navigating to a Public House for refreshments. As we sped past a sign for pumpkins, Beverly urged me to turn around and check it out. A farm stand just off the country road on Rocky Weed Road (quaint).
A farm stand is an understatement though. An enormous pumpkin patch with great prices on Rocky Weed Road in Berrien Springs was discovered - clearly a keeper.
We found our favorites and of course some small pumpkins for the kids and grand-children. The quality was amazing and price and service truly great!
Then, onward to Baroda Michigan. For those of you who like curiosities, Baroda Michigan is named after a city in India, I understand the name of the city in India has been changed to a more India-appropriate name, though.
We did find the Public House in Baroda, Michigan. This is another off-spring of the Round Barn group of establishments. Since we have been visiting Michigan over the last 35 years, the Round Barn Winery has become an expansive endeavor. The winery, distillery. brewery, multiple tasting rooms and now, a restaurant are part of their offering.Recommended for service, drink and food. This will be another keeper.
A charge was needed now. We have been to the St. Joseph Super Charger previously. But this time (about 4 pm on Thursday afternoon) we drove in to an empty Super Charger. We had the pick of the spaces. We backed into 4A and started charging. With no other Teslas, charge rates were quite good. We stayed about 35 minutes.
A back Model 3 (rear motor version) and an older Model S arrived just as we were leaving.
After a visit and walk to the St. Joseph Light House pier, we started our return trip. Except for the proverbial visit to Oink's Ice Cream stand in Bridgemen - a necessity. Single scoops in a dish were the order!
Now the dash cam feature.
Newer software updates record Front, Left, Right, and now Rear cameras. Pictures below are front, left and right images on a recent drive.
The quality seems fine. Something to keep active and use as necessary.
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