I started looking on line for articles about EVs and found this: Edmunds compares Kona vs. Bolt

Two "motor heads" were joyously driving the Kona.  The Kona sparked my curiosity.  I had to take a test drive. 

During one of those very hot for Vermont August days I drove my old Volvo to the Hyundai dealer and found parking spot.  With a big smile, I walked into the dealer and asked to test drive a Kona.  The next thing I knew I was shaking hands with a friendly, energetic 20-something young man.   Following a brief introduction and a bit of chit-chat we were outside with a new Kona, dealer plates and a test drive.   It was really a lot of fun to drive and has some very kewl technology.  It has a locator for finding nearby charging stations.   I was impressed.  

Back at the dealer there was more chit-chat and hand shaking.  I'd ask my husband to take it for a test drive.

Skip to the good part.  He loved the car too.  This was comforting, buying a car is a big decision and agreement was a must.  I choose the style and colors and the dealer was on the hunt, they would try to find one for me.  Two weeks later there was a Ceramic Blue Hyunai Kona in our garage.

With a 250 + miles of range after a charge, my few trips to the gym, grocery store and galleries where I sell my art doesn't deplete the battery significantly.

My Brother lives about 185 miles away in NH (`370 miles round trip) and if we wanted to drive the EV we'd be looking for possible charging stations.    I first learned there are three levels of charging for EVs.  Level 1 plugs into the standard household outlet and connects to the vehicle.  This is very slow, kind of like a trickle charge.  A 50 mile refill takes about 8 - 9 hours.  The charger comes with the car.  Not going to work for a weekend visit to NH.

Level 2 charging requires a special adapter (supplied here in VT by our local electric company, GMP) and installed by an electrician.  (Installation to happen soon)........  about 6X's faster.  So 50 miles worth of charge will take about an hour to replenish.  My Brother doesn't have one and a full recharge would take a couple of days using a level 1 charger.

Level 3 or DC combo will recharge a fully depleted battery in about 75 min.    This online is helpful for more detail https://www.evsolutions.com/

There are apps and support for charging in Vermont, so long distance trips require some planning.  Oh, and did I mention Tesla uses different chargers.

The elusive trip to NH would work out OK if we could find a level3 charging station near my Brother's home.  My first thought was to look for a Hyundai dealer in NH.  (Certainly they would let me charge my car there!)  Within a few miles was one of those strips of highway with car dealership after dealership (? I always wondered about this....cheap land??  anyway...)   and one of those searches yielded the Hyundai dealers phone number.    I called....The phone call and conversation was funny... it went something like this :  " Hello, yes we are in NH, no we don't have any electric cars or chargers, New Hampshire isn't a Green State and we don't allow those here..."  

"humm" I mused, simultaneously on the phone and computer, I was looking at the map of charger locations and I could see one at the Chevy dealer right down the road from her location.... speaking in one of the sweetest, calmest voices I could use without bursting out laughing, I persevered.

"I wonder if you could elaborate a bit on what a 'Green State' is, I've never really heard that applied to a specific State and what they allowed or would prohibit, I'm just trying to visit my Brother and I'm looking for a place to charge my new Hyundai"...  

she softened, "I don't really know."

"Well", I said..."I can see the Chevy dealer right down the road from you has a level 3 charger, I wondered if you had one too".

"Oh ya, they would have one, you need to go there, they might let you use it.  No we don't have one." 

We chatted a bit more and she recommended a sandwich shop down the road from them for the hour to recharge and other fun activities in the area.

She may not think NH is green, but is sure is a fun place to visit. 

Next, a call to the near by Chevy dealer.  In both calls, I've explained the different charging levels. 

I spoke to another young woman at the Chevy dealer.  I explained my travel plans and lack of chargers in NH and after she consulted with someone else she confirmed it would be ok, we could use the charger...  pleasant surprise.

I've driven the car for a month now and I am smitten.  We took it to Montgomery Center on rte 108, even in "ECO" mode, the handling was always right where I wanted it to be.  

If you get a chance, test drive an EV, you will be pleasantly surprised.

PS  Drove the car to Montgomery center again in "SPORT" mode.  In the '70s I had an Oldsmobile Cutlass supreme, 350, 4 barrel, front end would lift off the ground if you stepped on the gas.  I named it Bernard.    In the late '80s I had a 5 speed Jetta that was super fun to drive, named it Ziggy.  We bond with our vehicles.  Well, some of us do.  They are not living things, but the new Kona has guts, great handling and we are bonding.   My husband wants to call it "Sparky".  I like "Snowflake."      

The recent American Experience show on PBS  Rachel Carson.  provided a good look at our folly of using DDT in the 1950's and 1960's. Then considered a boon to eliminate insects, realities dark side reared its' ugly head in her book Silent Spring. 

Another show on PBS's   Nova : Search for the Super Battery is one of those fun to watch science docu-videos with perspective on examples of how battery technology is evolving.  Take that leap of faith : our every day choices make a difference.  Educating ourselves is where we really get hip and smart to what is coming in terms of how the technology we live and deal with every day is going to affect us now and in the long run.  Some may accept self-driving cars, they sort of scare me a little bit.  But driving an electric car could be something that would be a move in the right direction, supporting a cleaner healthier planet. 

Some of my exercise buddies sparked up when I asked them what they thought of electric cars.  Faces alert and eyes just a little brighter, they all opened up with thoughts and questions.  "Can folks hear the cars coming if they have impairment issues?" http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/16/13651106/electric-car-noise-nhtsa-rule-blind-pedestrian-safety  "How long does it take to re-charge the batteries?" (I just found a link that says 20 minutes)...  

It's so "big picture" great to see, in the midst of so many frightening stories,  such as thousands of acres in Utah of federal land sold off for mining and oil drilling  - that we really are so past big oil and coal.... come on, it really is so yesterday.  Scrolling thru facebook feed seeing friends commenting on their belief in truth and what is right, I am reminded there are just as many people with different beliefs and how much that seems to be like the opinions of people on different side of the DDT issue.    

So, shop with conscience, remember life is short and that what really counts are the people and animals in our lives that we love and share time with.   And yes,  I think in the near future, I'll test drive an electric car.

Week 26.  Julian stops in Over The Moon Cafe to pick up coffee for himself and Olivia and sees

an old friend, Marcus.  Marcus and Julian go way back to days at music school.  Julian tells Marcus

about what has happened to Gretchen and invites him to play his cello with them in the hospital

garden.  Marcus is free that evening and accepts.  Julian gets two mocha-lowfat-halfcaff-latte's on

his way to pick up Olivia for a night of dancing.  Olivia is just finishing up a flower arrangement when

Julian arrives.

more of their story can be told. The first image is of Julian and Olivia dancing at a local club.  When the image was created, they didn't have names and it never seemed like it would be come a weekly

illustration.  These started from some of the usual art doodles and have turned

into one of the fun things to work on each week.