Monday Morning Prius Diary - 9/14

This weekend my wife and I loaded up the dog and tailgating supplies to head to Athens, Georgia and the University of Georgia for the South Carolina/Georgia football game. We started out basically where we left off last weekend - 100 miles and 60 MPG into a tank. Our first stop was in Greenville, SC Friday night to drop off the dog at his grandparents house. Trip from Charlotte to Greenville: ~120 miles, 56 MPG. 4 MPG drop isn't bad for all interstate driving. The next morning my Dad and I gave my 2010 Prius a much-needed wash. It had been before our move back in July since it had been washed by something other than rain. Poor thing. With the Prius all gussied up and ready to go, my buddy showed up and we were ready to head to Athens for the football game. The 3 of us tossed our tailgating chairs and cooler into the back and we were off. It was hot and most of the trip was 75 MPH, so our MPG took another hit. Greenville, SC to Athens, GA: ~107 miles, 54 MPG. The game didn't exactly turn out the way we hoped it would, with my Gamecocks losing on a 4th and 4 play from the 7 yard line. Final score: Georgia 41, Carolina 37. The Prius is great for sitting in postgame football traffic. We ended up parked in a line to get out of a parking garage for about 35 minutes after the game. After about 10 minutes most people starting turning off their engines, but - hey - look at that! Mine was already off After a few more minutes I totally powered down the Prius to keep myself from being tempted to use the A/C since my battery was already down to 2 bars. We arrived home at 4am that night, and while the trip was long at least it included a Waffle House trip! Sunday afternoon we packed the car back up and headed home to Charlotte. Along the way we had to refuel. Totals for the tank: 501.2 miles 53.5 MPG. The remaining 60 miles we averaged 62 MPG - all interstate. This was my 10th tank of gas in my 2010 Prius. I've enjoyed every mile. Do you have any Prius stories from this weekend? Would you like to author the featured Monday Morning Diary next week or in future weeks? Just email me using the "Contact" link at the bottom of the page!