Using Supercharger in scenic Vermont, Montreal is hop, skip and jump from N.J.

If you own a Tesla Model S, live in New Jersey and are going to Montreal, one of the benefits of detouring to use a Supercharger in South Burlington, Vt., is driving over lightly traveled two-lane roads through farmland and small towns, with the state's Green Mountains in the distance.

Four Model S luxury hatchbacks stopped for big gulps of free juice on Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of Healthy Living Market in South Burlington, Vt.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

MONTREAL -- The opening of a Tesla Supercharger in Plattsburgh, N.Y., this month allows Model S owners in the New Jersey-New York metro area to reach Montreal in two relatively quick stops.

That's two stops without a detour into Vermont, which boasts winding roads through farmland, and Superchargers in the parking lot of a natural foods market.

Our destination was Montreal's International Jazz Festival, which began today and runs through July 9.

On Tuesday, we drove from northern New Jersey to a shopping center in Colonie, N.Y., where we charged our 2015 Tesla Model S 60 for free not far from a Whole Foods Market.

We spent about 40 minutes there, enjoying a bowl of Whole Foods soup and a cup of coffee, and sandwiches we brought from home.

We then set our navigation system for South Burlington, Vt., and the parking lot of Healthy Living, which like Whole Foods sells natural and organic food, and has a cafe offering prepared food, soup and coffee.

After 40 minutes there, we had enough range to easily reach Montreal about 90 miles away.

The French-Canadian island city boasts the biggest Tesla dealer in North America.

Besides Superchargers, the dealer offers Tesla merchandise that apparently costs less because of the U.S. dollar's favorable exchange rate.

Last year, I enjoyed an espresso in the customer lounge while charging my Model S for the trip home. 

Contrast all of this with travel on gasoline -- tearing into a highway service area, racing to the bathroom with a bursting bladder, downing crappy food and running back to the car to set another record for vacation travel.

And traveling to Canada in our Toyota Prius two years ago meant having to stop before the border to fill our tank so we could avoid the high price of gas in Montreal.

That final stop was in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

On Tuesday afternoon, customers were lining up inside Healthy Living Market in South Burlington, Vt., for the privilege of buying Heady Topper Beer, described as an American Double India Pale Ale that gives you "wave after wave of hoppy goodness on your palate."

Four pint cans of Heady Topper Beer were $12.99 plus tax.

One of the prepared dishes available for $9.75 a pound was Duck & White Bean Cassoulet, front.

Healthy Living Market is at 222 Dorset St. in South Burlington, Vt.

Even a veteran of New Jersey and New York City congestion like me found late Tuesday afternoon rush-hour traffic in South Burlington, Vt., a trying experience, despite the politeness shown by other drivers and the absence of angry horn blowing.

That's kilometers, not miles per hour, after we crossed the Canadian boarder.

Two lanes merging into one on a freeway near Montreal.

No waiting for a Tesla Supercharger at the Colonie Center mall in Colonie, N.Y.