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Before you know it, summer will be here and what better time to drive up the Maine coast? Plan your trip very carefully. Hunt down places to charge and check the kW of the available chargers (woefully few are truly fast chargers).
Earlier this week, I hunted for a hotel or inn or B&B w/courtesy charger so I could plug in overnight to "fill 'er up." I contacted a number of places and all chambers of commerce between Brunswick and Camden (i.e., southern to mid-coast). Every last place replied nicely, sorry no. Except one: the Craignair Inn in the lovely village of Spruce Head. Well, that made my choice easy--I stayed at the Craignair.
Quite a nice place, the Craignair Inn. The location is wonderful and that area is just lovely and pristine. It's a great little Maine village as is its neighbors, Port Clyde and Tenants Harbor.
See photo below. The innkeeper has a BMW EV. He finished up charging, then I plugged in around 8pm and my Bolt was charged at 4am when I went out to photograph the sunrise. All good.
P.S., I wrote an email to the Hospitality Maine organization, a business group for hotels, inns, etc in Maine. I explained the serious lack of lodging with an EV charger and urged them to spread the word to their members. I also explained a concept that I think most non-EV owners aren't familiar with: how slow most public chargers are. For example, if I'm on a road trip and looking for lodging w/charging, it doesn't do me any good to hear a motel owner say "Hey around 5 miles away at the Town Hall parking lot there's a charger." That charger is probably Level 2 and I'm not going to park there and kill time for 5+ hours while my car recharges. I need a place where I can plug in overnight, then walk out in the morning and go. (Ugh, so many Level 2 chargers. What's the point? No one wants to plug in for 4-6 hours so they can refill their battery. What the heck are you going to do for 4-6 hours?)
P.S.#2, please note that I'm talking about hunting for lodging-w-charging between Brunswick and Camden. I didn't check any places in the southern coast (Kittery to Brunswick), nor Down East (north of Camden). So there might well be more lodging establishments with a charger.
P.S. #3, if you're in the Portland area and want a kick-ass fast charger (350 kW), go to the Walmart in Scarborough. I don't know of any other 350kW charger in the state.
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Earlier this week, I hunted for a hotel or inn or B&B w/courtesy charger so I could plug in overnight to "fill 'er up." I contacted a number of places and all chambers of commerce between Brunswick and Camden (i.e., southern to mid-coast). Every last place replied nicely, sorry no. Except one: the Craignair Inn in the lovely village of Spruce Head. Well, that made my choice easy--I stayed at the Craignair.
Quite a nice place, the Craignair Inn. The location is wonderful and that area is just lovely and pristine. It's a great little Maine village as is its neighbors, Port Clyde and Tenants Harbor.
See photo below. The innkeeper has a BMW EV. He finished up charging, then I plugged in around 8pm and my Bolt was charged at 4am when I went out to photograph the sunrise. All good.
P.S., I wrote an email to the Hospitality Maine organization, a business group for hotels, inns, etc in Maine. I explained the serious lack of lodging with an EV charger and urged them to spread the word to their members. I also explained a concept that I think most non-EV owners aren't familiar with: how slow most public chargers are. For example, if I'm on a road trip and looking for lodging w/charging, it doesn't do me any good to hear a motel owner say "Hey around 5 miles away at the Town Hall parking lot there's a charger." That charger is probably Level 2 and I'm not going to park there and kill time for 5+ hours while my car recharges. I need a place where I can plug in overnight, then walk out in the morning and go. (Ugh, so many Level 2 chargers. What's the point? No one wants to plug in for 4-6 hours so they can refill their battery. What the heck are you going to do for 4-6 hours?)
P.S.#2, please note that I'm talking about hunting for lodging-w-charging between Brunswick and Camden. I didn't check any places in the southern coast (Kittery to Brunswick), nor Down East (north of Camden). So there might well be more lodging establishments with a charger.
P.S. #3, if you're in the Portland area and want a kick-ass fast charger (350 kW), go to the Walmart in Scarborough. I don't know of any other 350kW charger in the state.
