There is a new Tesla charge station in Atascadero. Some of you may yawn, but others may understand what an awesome addition this is to our community. 
Besides enjoying the visual impact of these beautiful cars on El Camino Real, Atascadero has become a preferred place to stop along Hwy 101 for the drivers of these cars.
When Atascadero was designed by E. G. Lewis, he looked ahead as much as he could and understood that the automobile would be an important part of the community. He understood that Atascadero was an amazing location halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Tesla charge station, 
now called a Supercharger, is purposely placed in areas where the driver is walking distance to a coffee shop, stores, and restaurants that might be desired during the 30 minutes or so that it takes to charge the car batteries. The location in Atascadero is in the Rabobank parking lot. So the driver has all of those amenities very nearby.
This is such a huge change from our lifestyle of stopping at the gas station closest to the highway, filling the car up as quickly as possible and heading back down the road. It seems like owning a car like this, as high tech as it is, could actually take the owner back to a simpler time many years ago when people pulled into convenient towns and spent some time meandering around. By the way, when was the last time you meandered?
The Tesla Charge Station, or Supercharger,is walking distance to the movie theatre, the almost completely refurbished City Hall, the bank, an ice cream store, a number of places to eat, a coffee stop, a drug store and more.
Pretty!
Each station is GPS located by the driver, and each station has it’s own website so the driver can meander even further once the car is fully charged.
Atascadero is celebrating it’s 100th year anniversary this Summer. I think that this addition to the City, which will hopefully be accepted as a new way of moving people across the Country in a more efficient, clean way, is a perfect way to start the next 100 years in Atascadero! “Always Expect the Best!”
