I traveled to Maui over the weekend and rented a Nissan LEAF. I did a panel discussion at Maui College on Thursday and a local Maui TV spot Friday. Lots of fun! Renting the LEAF was an experience. Apparently the first LEAF for rent on Maui, from Bio-Beetle. Handy, they come pick you up at the airport and and you can leave the car in the airport parking lot and they will pick it up.
Usually we are used to our EVSE at home and pretty much follow the same routes that we know. Traveling is different. You don’t know where the charge stations are, you have lost your local EV Association support structure, hills on the route are unknown.

The first night I stayed at the Grand Wailea. An understatement would be: nice hotel. I asked the concierge to plug me in the 110V outlet overnight. He didn’t know how to do it, so you have to be very explicit with your instructions. How to get the charger out of the car, how to pop the lid, how to plug it in, and how to unplug it and put it away again. You also need to stress that it should be plugged in right away. Also another car had an issue – the charge port on the 2013 model has a lock with a switch on the steering wheel, which has to be switched off or you can’t unplug it. Not explaining this cost a 40 minute delay.

Then I moved to a B&B. Turned out to be no problem. There was a convenient plug quite close to the parking spot. So the 12 hour charge where you are staying turns out to be not much of an issue. I actually didm;t use a Level-II or Level-III charger the whole trip. Now, if you are traveling to a destination, such as Hana, or a scenic spot, then you need the Level-II or better Level-III charge.

So, the fact is, electricity is ubiquitous at this point, and for the most part a charge is available wherever you go.