Instead it was a wildfire-induced apocalypse with oppressive smells, feelings, and colors to match. So our plan instead was to go out to get breakfast and bring it back to the room as fast as possible, then leave Carmel. Although some places had outdoor dining at breakfast, we knew from yesterday back in Petaluma we should avoid outdoor dining as much as possible.

Fortunately the charging at Carmel Mission Inn executed perfectly, giving us a full charge, despite the ash accumulated on my car. We had plenty for our journey once we check out.

My original itinerary had us all set to drive down Highway 1 for a scenic drive should we cut our Carmel visit short. We would stay on Highway 1 for as long as we had time to drive it, improvising when we might break off and use Highway 101.

However, when I investigated the fires the previous night, and confirmed it the morning of the drive, I discovered that the Dolan fire blocked that route from Big Sur to Ragged Point and was burning the Santa Lucia mountain range. So that scenic drive was unavailable. After checking further online for all the ongoing fires in California, I found we had to use highway 101 to get to San Luis Obispo, and only after that we were free to use any route home we wanted. There was even a fire near the grapevine on I-5. Therefore the fires told us our route was: Escape Northern California and get home.

When I punched in the navigation it told me we needed only one Supercharging stop to get home, with two three-hour segments of driving. We knew we humans could not last three hours, only about two hours between stops instead. That means we knew we would stop sooner than the car's need for charge, but we had the flexibility to decide exactly where at the last minute to stop because Tesla provided so many good Supercharging locations, some of which I have been before.

Once we had breakfast, checked out (top picture), and started our journey, we could still smell the smoke and ash get into the car. Tesla gave us a way to address that too: Bioweapon Defense Mode This feature, built into my Model S, like other more recent Model S & X, which I can turn on with a press on the touchscreen, scrubs the air with HEPA filters and creates positive pressure inside the cabin to prevent any contaminants from entering from any other access point.

Within a minute of turning it on, the smoke and smells from the fire were gone. Tesla talks about surviving downtown Beijing and a "military grade bio attack", but here we have a real-world natural disaster generating harmful and uncomfortable particulates, and my Tesla made it possible for my family to literally breathe easy in the hours it took to escape some of the largest fires in California history.

Time Event Range Remaining 10:14 am Departed Carmel 312 12:11 pm Arrived Atascadero Supercharger 149 Range/Distance ratio: 1.24 Conditions: Ash and smoke, Bioweapon defense mode on There was no way we could stand eating outside with this smoke and ash in the air, lit by an orange sun. Cost to Charge: $0

We stopped at the Atascadero Supercharger because, to varying degrees, we all needed to use the restroom. We picked the Denny's and ordered a few drinks to help pay for it, but their requiring us to wait outside was uncomfortable. Another Tesla driver asked about the smoke because he said he was headed north for a drive, but we told him it was much worse to the north, so go only if you really have to go north, otherwise turn back. We were set on getting home.

My wife drove the next leg of our journey. The smoke and ash continued to Shell Beach and beyond. We could again confirm that Tesla's Bioweapon Defense Mode made a difference. With it off we could smell the ash from outside, but with it on the air in the car was clear. It was not until we passed Carpinteria when the ash and smoke let up enough to think about moving about outside the safety of Tesla's Bioweapon Defense Mode, so we picked Oxnard for our meal stop, a place we had been before five years ago. Wow, five years? Have I really been driving long-distance all-electric trips for over five years? Yes. Have you?

Time Event Range Remaining 4:19 pm Departed Oxnard 306 6:13 pm Arrived Home 197 Range/Distance ratio: 1.2 Conditions: Traffic, Up to 104°F The orange sun, although not as bad as in Carmel, followed us home.

Of course we all needed the restrooms when we got home. After we unloaded the car for the final time on this trip, I spoke to some of my neighbors, and they all had no idea how bad it was in Northern California. We began to tell the story of our trip...