Experience taking a road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco by ELECTRIC CAR: Too simple

Last week I had a trip to San Francisco, the plan was to leisurely go for 3 days and 3 nights to visit cities along the West Coast of the United States. Before, if I went on a long trip, by default I would always choose to go by gasoline car, but this trip I chose to take the electric car to create content for you guys to read. The car accompanying me on this trip is a Tesla Model 3.

Besides the content story, one of the other main reasons I chose to ride the electric car is that it has Dog Mode. When this mode is turned on, the car will always maintain a cool temperature so we can leave the dog in the car and go somewhere. While there are many places that welcome dogs, not all of them do. Sometimes I have to leave my dog ​​out of the car, to go eat for example, at that time this mode works very well. In addition, when Dog Mode is turned on, the car's screen will also display the message "My owner will return soon, don't worry, the air conditioner is on and the temperature is...". This will help people passing by not have to worry when they see someone leaving a dog in the car.

About 30 minutes out of Los Angeles, I started looking for a place to have breakfast. I chose to have breakfast at Taco Bell, Mexican-style fast food, to eat quickly. This is not my favorite fast food chain, but they just released a new dish that's quite delicious so it's been a while since I've eaten here.

This Model 3 has a maximum range of 260 miles (about 420 km). The distance from my house to San Francisco is about more than 400 miles (about 600 km). So I need to charge 2 to 3 times for this distance. I've never traveled that far by electric car, so at first I didn't think I had to plan too hard to find a charging place. But no, we just need to press the destination, the car will automatically calculate the route and reasonable charging stops. Normally, the system will automatically calculate so that when it arrives at the charging station, the car will have about 20-30% battery remaining. Reasonable, if you let the battery get too low and when you get to the charging station it's damaged or has some other problem, it's very annoying.

The first time I will fully charge the battery so it will take a little longer, about 45 minutes. Next time, just charge it enough. After charging, just go.

Interstate 5 (I-5) is a highway that runs from the Mexican border in California to the Canadian border in Washington state, connecting major cities such as Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland and Seattle. This is the most important arterial road on the West Coast of the United States, serving the freight and travel needs of millions of people every day.

After about 150 miles (240 km), I reached the second charging station. The reasonable point is that after two hours of driving, stopping to charge the battery is also a condition for me to stop to rest, eat or go to the toilet. This place is Coalinga city, a small deserted city.

The charging station here is quite good, has a roof to protect from the sun and its charging posts are also 350kW high capacity. In addition, they also equipped Wi-Fi, very thoughtful.

In addition to charging stations, there are also many gas stations and restaurants around this place. This makes Coalinga an ideal place to stop during your trip.

Going to the bathroom, stretching, taking the dog to pee, etc. back and forth took 30 minutes, just enough time to fully charge the battery.

If you have nothing to do while waiting for charging, watching a movie is also a good choice. The car has built-in applications like Hulu, Netflix, Disney, AppleTV,... nothing is missing. Tesla's 14-inch screen is extremely sharp and vibrant, providing a great movie watching experience.

I don't know what occasion I went on, but the traffic was extremely crowded. Traffic jams make the trip from LA to SF more than 8 hours. Normally, this route only takes about 6 hours.

We finally arrived in San Jose quite late. San Jose has a very large Vietnamese community. San Jose is also the third largest city in the state of California and ranked tenth in the US. This city is located south of San Francisco Bay, right in the heart of Silicon Valley - the world's famous high-tech capital. Established in 1777, San Jose currently has a population of nearly one million people and has a large Vietnamese community, a developed education system, high security and many attractive tourist attractions.

This place has both Trung Nguyen and Phuc Long, two very famous brands for us Vietnamese people.

We went to Phuc Long to buy water. Even though it was late, it was still quite crowded. My friend went to America in 2014 so he doesn't know what Phuc Long is. I said this place is very famous and recommend you to try it. I'm not a fan of these drinks so I drink them for fun and don't have any comments.

I bought 1 cup of lychee tea and 1 cup of Phuc Long milk tea, total 14 dollars. 4 times more expensive than drinking in Vietnam he he.

Of course, eating Vietnamese food is indispensable. I see this place has many reviews on Yelp. When it comes to eating, it's just decent. Crab noodle soup and banh khot were quite good, and bun mam was below average. The prices here are quite high but the food is not much. Overall, won't come back 😁

The schedule has changed slightly. Instead of spending the night in San Francisco, we spent the night in the coastal city of Santa Cruz. It's true that I don't understand why hotel prices are so unreasonably expensive. We rented a normal room, like an inn, for 200 dollars.

Santa Cruz has a place called Boardwalk, which is very famous. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, a long-standing beachfront amusement park located in the city of Santa Cruz. Established in 1907, this is California's oldest surviving amusement park with a vibrant festival atmosphere all year round on Monterey Bay beach. Boardwalk is free to enter, suitable for families and groups of friends to have fun, enjoy food and enjoy the sea air. This is also a typical cultural and historical symbol of the West Coast of the United States, attracting millions of tourists each year.

Went early in the morning so it was still quite empty. When going to these places, you should go early to find a good place to park your car, but if you go a little late, it will be a long walk.

It was only 9 am so many stalls were not open yet. The weather that day was sunny and the beach was very beautiful. We planned to just visit a little and then move on, not participating in any of the games here because we didn't have enough time. But I will definitely come back because I really like this place.

Going out of the back of this park is straight to the beach.

Unlike Santa Monica, the sand here is much whiter and smoother. Although the sand is not as white and beautiful as Nha Trang, this place gives me a familiar and chill feeling, like the sea in Vietnam.

Many families come here to camp all day on the beach. If you're hungry, go to the park to buy food, if you're bored, play some thrilling games. If you love nature, just dive straight into the clear blue water to bathe. There is also a casino for those who love venture capital.

Everyone who comes here is well prepared for a picnic. I feel a bit regretful that I didn't spend more time here. Next time I come to Santa Cruz, I won't go around to many places but will definitely only focus on having a picnic here.

Even though it is a tourist area, I found souvenirs sold here are not expensive. In return, the designs are not too diverse, so it is difficult to buy things.

This donut is the biggest donut I have ever seen.

Just now I got a picture showing my face he he. It's miserable, the person who knows how to take pictures and has a camera is always the one with the least number of pictures :D Ready to introduce to you my younger brother, named Leon, a Shih Tzu breed, 5 years old this year. Leon is super obedient and smart, eats when he calls for food, stands when he stands, lies down when he lies down,... even knows how to close the door after entering the room. It can almost understand everything you or your lover wants.

I have been disappointed with the beaches in Santa Monica and Malibu, but with Santa Cruz it is a different story. It's just a pity that it's a bit far from where I live. Well, a small weakness in Santa Cruz is that there are very few genuine hotels, which are mainly inns (basic facilities and smaller rooms). Perhaps because this place was planned for early development, the surrounding facilities are now somewhat degraded.

Around 11 am, I was a little hungry so I stopped inside the Boardwalk to buy crepes for breakfast. The employee saw me taking pictures so he smiled brightly and cutely.

On the left is a savory crepe, filled with chicken and served with pesto sauce. On the right is a sweet crepe with strawberry filling. Each of these costs $12 and is delicious. Cheaper than the time I ate at the famous Bellagio hotel in Vegas, but the quality is not inferior.

Sitting on the cable car running along the coastline is also quite an interesting experience. Entrance tickets are free, but for these games you have to buy separate tickets, costing about 7 to 12 dollars depending on the game. If you want to play all day here and try all the games, you can buy a pass to play unlimited games, priced from 45 to 75 dollars.

And this is the Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster, a famous symbol, built in 1924. This is a roller coaster built of wood instead of metal, bringing thrills with sharp turns and steep slopes, attracting more than 66 million visitors to experience each year. Giant Dipper is recognized as an American national historical site, a game not to be missed for those who love thrilling games.

Leaving the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, I went to another famous place nearby called The Mysterry Spot. This place is famous for having an area of ​​unusual gravity.

Discovered in 1939, this place stands out with strange phenomena such as balls rolling from low places to high places, wheels that can roll uphill on their own, people standing at a high angle but not falling,...

Crowded, too crowded. I don't understand why it's crowded everywhere :D

Ticket prices are relatively cheap. Because it was so crowded, people said they had to wait 2 hours to get a spot. So we decided to visit again another time. The good thing is that the road here is winding and dangerous, going through the forest so it is very beautiful.

Continuing our journey, we will now drive to San Francisco to let our relatives visit the Golden Gate Bridge. As you can see, traffic jam continues. This place still has 4 lanes. After a while, when we get to the upper section, they close it all to build the road, leaving us with only 1 lane left. Enough to understand how slow it is going.

Nearing San Francisco, the battery was about 30% left, so I stopped somewhere to refill the battery. But getting into a crowded city is very difficult to find a place to charge. Luckily I found this place with the new version of the V4 charging station. This version is stronger, more beautiful and charges faster.

Go to San Francisco. Not unexpected: very crowded.

Have you heard the song "Chinatown" which is hot on the internet lately? The song is so suitable for this photo: "Come with me to the bottle na tao nayyy". San Francisco has an extremely developed and bustling Chinatown. There are many Chinese people in this area. They are the ones who contributed to building this city from the time it first began to develop. The Chinese also contributed greatly to building the railway system here.

This area has delicious food, but in return, parking is terrible. Always crowded. Eating in this area is not easy. Waiting time at restaurants is always about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Famous, highly rated restaurants have to wait even longer or have to book a table in advance.

Finally got to eat. I was so hungry that I took a photo before all the food was served. I couldn't wait. Food prices in this area are also very expensive. Usually dim sum dishes are only about 6-7 dollars, this place is up to 9-10 dollars. I thought it was already expensive to eat in Los Angeles, but it's even more expensive to eat in Northern California :D

I came to San Fran right on the occasion when the city was holding its annual marathon. Maybe that's why it's so jam-packed and crowded. I went to the familiar place to check in on the Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point. Because I couldn't find a parking space, I just let my relatives come down to take a quick photo and then continue on. Anyway, I've been here a lot. After wandering around a bit through the slopes here, we decided to move to the next city, and also marked the beginning of our journey back to Southern California.

Leaving San Francisco, I went to the city of San Luis Obispo. It is located roughly midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. This place will be a reasonable stop, because there are many interesting places to go nearby.

The next itinerary will be to go to Elephant Seal and Morro Rock. But before you go, you have to have breakfast first. The hotel I stayed at had a 10% discount program when eating at a nearby Denny's. So 3 people came in and quickly ate 3 plates of steak to warm their hearts.

Luckily there is a charging station 10 steps from Denny's. Ideally, this station would only have a capacity of 150kW. Slow charging allows me more time to enjoy my food. Anyway, at that time, people had a lot of breakfast and waited for a long time for their food. If the charger is too fast, I have to go out and unplug the charger before I finish eating, which is very annoying.

Overall, the place I live in is great. A whole hotel complex + Denny's + charging station + gas station. An ideal place to stop.

San Luis Obispo is a small, deserted city. But when you are here, you can feel its peace and relaxation. After the crowded hours in San Francisco, Santa Cruz and San Jose, this quiet is exactly what I need.

I noticed a lot of people riding bicycles to admire the scenery here. I like it so much. When I have money later, I will buy an SUV or pickup truck and take my bike with me to go for a walk like that.

There is no need to discuss the population expansion in America. Although it is a small and deserted city, this place is not lacking and still has all the basic services and amenities such as fast food, banks, hotels, and roads are also very well done. In addition, the climate here is also very beautiful, making the feeling of traveling on the road extremely comfortable.

The first place to go for the day is Morro Bay. This is a small but quite dynamic coastal city, which can be imagined like Phuoc Hai.

The tourist attraction in this city is Morro Rock. This is a giant stone placed right in the middle of the beach.

The sea here is also very clear and blue. The beach is long and gentle, with little wind and gentle waves, making it extremely suitable for swimming and other fun activities.

There are almost no shops or buildings around, making this beach very wild and suitable for those who love nature.

It looks small on the picture, but it's actually huge. If you look far away, you can see a lot of people gathering in the area near the foot of this rock. Because that place is sheltered from the wind and cool, swimming is great. This is also an ideal picnic area.

At some high times, it will rise up to cover the entire foot of Morro Rock, very beautiful. Unfortunately, when I went, the water was receding so that was all I could see.

Even though we didn't swim, the two of us took a very satisfying photo :D This beach is less than 300 kilometers from my house, like going from Saigon to Phan Thiet. So I've found a suitable beach to hang out, great.

When I got in the car, I saw the three red superhero brothers so beautiful that I took a photo :D

Continuing our journey, we drove slightly north to go to a place called Elephant Seal, about 60 km away. The correct name of this place is Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery.

As the name suggests, this place is a resting place for many elephant seals, the largest seal species in the pinniped order. Among the bunch lying here, some are up to 5-6 meters long. It is not easy to encounter these birds in the wild, outside of the areas where they nest. Along the West Coast of the United States, there are only about 4-5 locations where elephant seals can be observed. An exciting experience for the first time in my life.

The beach in this area is also super beautiful. Lush green, spreading across the horizon. The nature here is little affected by humans so it still retains its wildness. It's easy to understand, now if people go North - South, they will choose to take the I-5 or I-15 expressway for fast and spacious reasons, but few people choose to take expressway 1 or 101. These two expressways are too close to the coast, so the journey is much longer and longer. There aren't many amenities along the way, which is why few people choose to go there.

The squirrels at Elephant Seal are also very bold. Some children even wait right at the tourist's car door to beg for food. If you give it food, it will also reach out and take it as if it were real :D If you give them food, you should be careful, I see quite a few people get bitten while feeding, and have to bother getting vaccinated. It's still best not to feed animals in the wild.

Goodbye to those elephant seals with their sour smell of feces. Now I'll run back south to start back to Los Angeles.

On the way back, we cannot help but stop by Solvang, a beautiful city.

Solvang is called a Danish village right in America. This place has a bold Nordic architectural style, with a cold climate in the highlands that is extremely pleasant on summer days.

This is a quite popular tourist destination, so it is crowded almost all year round. This is my second time coming here. Usually, tourists come here mainly to stop to explore, eat, drink and take pictures for a bit and then move on. A few people stay over to explore more.

As for me, Solvang is like a short-term place to rest and eat sausages, so I usually don't spend too much time here. This city will be beautiful and sparkling during the Christmas season. At that time, this place will be brightly lit with lights at night, along with the cold highland air, giving it a very festive atmosphere.

This is a very delicious hot dog place that I accidentally found. I say it's delicious because it tastes good, but I'm not very familiar with this cuisine. When I read the menu, I have to say I was overwhelmed. They sell all kinds of sausages from all kinds of countries. The names of each type are confusing and difficult to remember. So every time I go out to eat European-style sausages, I always order them :D

This is the combo of 4 sausages they chose. These 4 trees cost about $26, along with $1 bread per loaf. If you can tell me which type is which, please tell me. In addition to being confused when choosing sausages, choosing sauce is also extremely complicated. They leave a dozen types of sauces somewhere on the table so everyone can eat whatever they want. I tried each one, and chose the two easiest to eat: sweet hot mustard and BBQ sauce.

This place is exactly the ideal place to recharge for the final route before returning to Los Angeles. Delicious food, beautiful scenery, happy vibe,... it helps me feel stronger before the 180 km journey home.

Not far from Solvang is Santa Barbara, a coastal city with outstandingly beautiful Mediterranean architecture.

When entering this city, the first thing you feel is... wealth. Houses here are very expensive, the planning is extremely organized and the facilities are very high-end. All create a feeling like stepping into an elite resort.

The average house price is $2 million, residents have one of the highest incomes in the US and are also highly educated.

In particular, the Montecito area in the picture is also home to many famous people such as Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, MC Ellen, Oprah Winfrey, etc. In general, having money to buy a house in this area is the top of the roof.

Even the cars parked here are mostly genuine cars with high prices. Enough to show how great the standard of living is in this area.

It was late, we started running home. It was already 8pm and the sky was still bright. Summer in America is so strange. When I first arrived, I was very surprised about this.

On the way home, I passed Tesla Diner, Elon Musk's sci-fi restaurant + charging station model. This place just opened so it's hot and too crowded. I was going to go in and film for you guys to see but it was too crowded so I went back. This was the second time I came here and it was too crowded so I left.

Finally arrived home. End the evening with Hawaiian food at a restaurant called Hawaii Ono BBQ. I like to eat here because they sell delicious grilled chicken rice that's not too expensive. So ended a very fun and interesting 3 days and 3 nights trip. Thanks to Tesla developing such a good charging infrastructure, traveling by electric vehicle is now much simpler. The total trip costs about $145 in electricity, which is about the same as gasoline for the same distance if traveling by Camry Hybrid. Charging time is comfortable, because charging stations are often located near plazas, malls or supermarkets, so waiting is not uncomfortable. Thank you for following this very long article. See you again on other trips. This time I went without a camera because I wanted to fully enjoy the trip. Next time I have the opportunity to go to Santa Cruz and Morro Bay, I will definitely bring a camera and flycam so you guys can enjoy the trip with me. Goodbye!