Road Tripping and Other Things
We’ve been properly racking up the miles on the new Model Y as well as taking advantage of the 30-day free trial of Full Self Driving these past few weeks. Our first road trip was to Redwing, Minnesota—the home of one of my favorite products, Red Wing Boots.
After living with the new car for a couple of weeks I have to say that FSD is a lot better on this 2026 Model Y than I was on my 2022 Model 3. The Y has the updated computer and cameras (HW4) making the autonomous driving feature much more capable.
The car no longer nags you every few minutes to grab the steering wheel and you do feel more like a passenger in a train than a driver of a car. It’s so much more relaxing to be able to watch the scenery go by instead of worrying if the car next to you will drift into your lane or if the car in front of you will slam its brakes on. Almost every FSD drive now is done flawlessly, without intervention.
Here's a quick video of the car's Smart Summons feature. This allows you to summon the car from a parking spot or your garage. This particular feature is still slow and can be a little glitchy at times but, once it's perfected, I can see it becoming very useful in bad weather and for those with mobility issues.
While in Redwing we stopped at the Redwing Boots headquarters and I immediately found the staircase down to the outlet in the basement for the deals. Most of the boots and shoes being sold in the outlet are 25%-50% less than retail price. The footwear in the outlet is all seconds, meaning they aren’t perfect, but most of the imperfections are very minor. A lot of Redwing Boots fans are jealous of us who live in close proximity to the headquarters because the deals can be pretty insane. This is one thing I’ll truly miss if we end up moving out of state.
We finished the day with a late lunch at the restaurant in the historic St. James Hotel. One of the employees in the shoe store recommended this place to us and it didn’t disappoint. I had a Mediterranean bowl with salmon and it was absolutely delicious.
A few days later we hopped in the car, typed the destination into the Model Y's navigation and FSD drove us to another historic Minnesota town, Stillwater. Stillwater, founded in 1848, was the birthplace of Minnesota. It was a city before Minnesota was even a State.
Stillwater is on the west bank of the Saint Croix River and has a wonderful vibe. They’ve done an amazing job preserving the history of the city while making it a top regional destination for good food, shopping, and live music.
Other Things
My brother just got back from Kona, Hawaii and while he was there on a family vacation he picked up a bag of this local coffee for me.
My go-to coffee always used to be dark roast but over the last few years I've gravitated more towards medium/light roasts. However, this Medium-Dark roast from Kona is some of the best coffee I've ever tasted. The volcanic soil it's grown in gives the beans a lower acidity and that results in a very smooth and flavorful brew. I'm going to be sad when this is gone because there's no way I'll pay what they're charging to ship it here.
All for now. Thanks so much for reading.
Model Y's Full Self Driving feature seems to be interesting. It is great to just relax and enjoy the journey 😉
It's pretty safe to say it's perfected now. All we have to do is wait for the US government to approve autonomous driving, which will be a high hurdle.
Haha what a historic road trip!
I worked for a company out of Iowa a few years and always flew into msp and drove down. So many great memories though i never visited Stillwater.
Love that you are taking advantage of a new car to get out there and have a little extra fun. Sounds like the new model is solid.
We're so lucky that each of these two cities are within thirty minutes of us. It might be a little dangerous that Redwing is this close to us now. : ) I see my boot collection growing. If you drove down HWY 52 you probably passed within just a few blocks of where we live. I'd highly recommend Stillwater if you ever find yourself here again.
The '26 is so far ahead of the '22 I had in terms of tech and overall build quality but it came out of the Fremont, CA factory, which is known for minor fitment issues. So far I've had the lift gate realigned (the panel gaps on either side were uneven) and I'm getting water in my front trunk during car washes. I still have to get that leak fixed. I had the same minor issues to fix with my Model 3 and once everything was addressed it was good after that. The Austin built cars, from what I've heard, don't have these issues.
That's pretty cool with the smart summon. I really like the potential there. We have a Red Wing dealer near where I live, but it has been forever since I have been in there. The boots are always so expensive. I know they last a long time though. I've been kind of a fiend for Mediterranean bowls since we had Cava out in Colorado a couple years ago. I actually just had a homemade shawarma chicken bowl with rice, roasted red pepper hummus, pickled onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce the other night and then the leftovers for lunch yesterday. So delicious!
Yes, Smart Summon will be really useful. It's really nice to be able to pull the car out of the tight garage space without having to worry about banging the doors while getting in. I have a few pairs of Redwings, my oldest pair is 15 years old now. They definitely pay for themselves if you take care of them. Most of the styles can be had for $50 to $75 off in the outlet, which is still a lot but it makes it a little easier to justify.
Oh I love shawarma! If I were to have to choose one kind of food to eat the rest of my life it would be Mediterranean.
I'd probably go with Mexican if I had to choose just one, but I know that Mediterranean is likely healthier for me :) The clearance discounts sound amazing! I love getting a good deal!
Interesting, I never heard of Red Wing Shoe Company. The shoes I normally wear are Ecco, Cole Haan and Brooks.
I heard Kona coffee is pretty good, I don't drink coffee but my wife enjoyed it. It is kind of pricey as a standard small bag runs around $40 for 100% Kona...
I would have loved to see more photos, especially of the shoes and the food!! Redwing, Minnesota looks amazing. I’m a fan of dark coffee too, although in recent years I’ve had to switch to other kinds as well. Oh, and the car is perfect. What kind of music do you listen to while you’re on the road? Best wishes, Eric
What a great adventure you had with your full self drive Model Y. It must feel really good to just relax and let the car do It's thing.... so comforting 😌 ☺️
Hello, dear friend @ericvancewalton, good afternoon.
It's great that you're thoroughly testing your new vehicle and appreciating the differences compared to your old one. It's wonderful that you've experienced driving without having to touch the steering wheel.
The boots are truly beautiful; it's fantastic that you were able to get them at such a great price, with significant discounts.
Your brother's gift was excellent; enjoy a delicious cup of coffee.
Have a wonderful afternoon.