The drive to SFO was mostly uneventful. I couldn’t figure out how to get the car to go into cruise control for quite a while before I finally noticed the cruise control symbol to the right of the “D” on the gear selector – I hoped that nudging the selector would turn on cruise control instead of putting the car into neutral, and I was right.

The car did brake on its own once for no reason that I could detect; fortunately, it obeyed when I hit the accelerator. And when we got to Hertz, I couldn’t figure out how to see the mileage to write it down on the return form, so we had to wait for an attendant. It’s on the “Software” menu – what could be more obvious?

I’m writing this post from the United Polaris lounge, where we had a very pleasant small dinner. I was pleasantly surprised by their “Local Beets” salad – it was good, and I say that as someone who has a lifetime record of hating beets. The lamb kebab was also quite nice, and the chocolate chip skillet cookie was excellent, even if it wasn’t quite halachically kosher for Passover. I also really enjoyed the wine (The Prisoner, a very pleasant red blend). I’m not sure that the Polaris Lounge is quite up to the standard of the BA Concorde Lounge in Heathrow, but it’s the best lounge I’ve ever experienced while flying on a US airline, and it’s far more attainable (the Concorde Lounge is only available if you’re flying First through Heathrow).

Onward to Sydney!

We usually rent a car from Hertz when we’re flying out of SFO; we can walk to the nearby location, seeing wonderful flowers on the way; it’s fairly cheap (thanks, IBM!); and we don’t have to sit in close quarters with a stranger on the trip to the airport (that will come soon enough on the plane!).

Today was no exception, but they had a surprise for us – a Tesla Model 3, even though we’d reserved a cheap class C car.

They gave me a five-minute crash course in Tesla and turned me loose. The driving experience has been OK so far, though I find the regenerative breaking rather aggressive compared to our Priuses, and I’m not a fan of having to look to my right to see the speedometer instead of having in front of me, like every other car I’ve ever driven (including the electric Nissan and Hyundai we test-drove a few weeks ago).

Where I wish I’d paid more attention was after we got the car home – I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off! It turns out that you don’t actually have to turn off a Tesla; it figures out that you’ve left it alone and goes to sleep. But then it surprised me again when we went out for a walk and I noticed the A/C running; I guess that’s normal behavior, but it was still alarming.

It’ll be interesting driving it to SFO. And then it’ll be Hertz’s problem, not mine.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate it; it’ll be Monday when we touch down in Sydney.