"You’re Taking the EV to Seattle?!"
Spoiler: We weren’t sleepless or stranded—just fully charged and loving it.
By Matt Schaeffer
“I hope you get there OK.”
“Are you sure you should take the EV?”
When we told people we were driving our Chevy Bolt EUV (affectionately named “The Grey Ghost”) from Portland to Seattle to celebrate my daughter’s birthday, the reactions were somewhere between concerned aunt and disaster movie trailer. And honestly? I kind of get it. Even I had a flash of doubt—and I work in the EV charging industry.
But we decided to roll the dice. My wife, our three kids, and I piled into our little electric chariot (with a max range of 259 miles), armed with snacks, Apple Music (via Apple Carplay), a healthy understanding of the strategic bathroom stops on the way, and questionable optimism. Would we make it? Would we be stranded on the side of I-5, asking ChatGPT where to find the “nearest tow truck for an EV”?
Spoiler alert: I don’t know where the nearest tow truck for an EV is.
Here’s what actually went down: We cruised up to the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue. Well, cruised might be a strong word, as anyone who’s done the Olympia to Seattle stretch will know (but, in an EV, it’s kind of fun to watch your range INCREASE as you sit in traffic). First things first, we plugged in at the hotel overnight. Full battery by morning. Cost? $16.
We zipped all over the city on Saturday - from Capital Hill to UW to Freemont to SODO to Seattle Center and back to Bellevue. Didn’t even bother plugging in that second night.
Next morning, we drove back into the city and plugged in at Pike Place Market. We were the second EV to get there, but when we left, all the EV parking spots were occupied and chargers were delivering juice. We grabbed a birthday breakfast for my daughter, coffee for my wife, dried flowers, cookies from The Bite Society, played on the waterfront playground, and rode The Seattle Great Wheel (what amazing views!). I was tracking our charge on my “myChevrolet” app and after 3-hours, knew we were loading back into the Grey Ghost with another full charge. Cost? $3.
When we pulled up to the house, after all that driving, we still had 70 miles to spare (and I cooked it the last 20 miles of the drive. If you’ve road tripped with kids, you know).
“So this summer, if you’re wondering whether to take the EV: Do it. Embrace the strategic bathroom stops, the charger selfies, the $3 fill-ups.”
So that’s over 400 miles of family road-tripping for twenty bucks.
Twenty. Two-zero. That’s four cents a mile—just a bit less than our family van would cost at its abysmal 17 mpgs. Quick math says the trip would have cost us about $100 in gas alone with that hog, and we would have emitted 450 lbs more CO2 (that’s a lot of birthday cake). We call that having our cake and eating it too in our house!
Was I a hero? No. Was it complicated? Not even a little.
Did I feel like a smug sustainability warrior pulling into my driveway? You bet I did.
Look, I know the EV world isn’t perfect—there are still kinks to work out, chargers to build, perceptions to shift. But this trip? This was a reminder that it’s working. The tech is there. The infrastructure is getting there. And the future? It’s already pulling out of the driveway.
So this summer, if you’re wondering whether to take the EV: Do it. Embrace the strategic bathroom stops, the charger selfies, the $3 fill-ups.
Be the person who proves the doubters wrong—and gets home with battery (and dignity) intact.
The EV road trip isn’t just possible. It’s kind of amazing.
About Matt Schaeffer
Matt Schaeffer is a strategic product marketing leader and longtime advocate for smarter, simpler EV adoption. As Go To Market Marketing Manager at EV Connect, and previously with ChargePoint, he’s helped shape how public sector leaders and facilities approach electrification. With deep experience across go-to-market strategy, customer engagement, and clean tech growth, Matt brings clarity, empathy, and energy to the evolving EV space. Whether launching new products or guiding cities through their first charging deployment, he’s all about making the journey easier—and a lot more fun. Off the clock, you’ll find him road-tripping with his family (usually in an EV), proving one charge at a time that the future is electric.