Valerie and I arrive at the Tesla Delivery Center in Marina del Rey. This facility opened last year in anticipation of a significant increase in vehicle deliveries to customers in the Los Angeles area.

Their Culver City Service Center could only handle a few deliveries at a time...this location can handle dozens!

Tesla realized that the high number of day 1 reservations for their Model 3 would lead to production and eventually delivery bottlenecks

It's hard to believe that "day 1" was over two years ago...

...but that's how long it has been since I placed the $1,000 reservation to get one for Valerie!

Yes, we are now a Tesla family! Valerie and I have not driven cars from the same manufacturer since 2001 (the last time we both owned Hondas). This is the first time we will both be driving American cars...and both of our vehicles were produced in California at the same factory!

Feeling overwhelmed?

The Tesla Delivery Specialist helps Valerie configure her car. The touchscreen is a bit different than Model X's since it is the 3's ONLY display.

Now to fill out the paperwork...which really amounts to signing a few documents since we already paid online.

Like other Tesla facilities, you can learn more about Tesla's energy products here

Tesla acquired SolarCity...which has been our solar provider since 2010. Everyone who plans to charge an EV at home should have photovoltaic panels.

We are still considering Powerwall. The idea of going completely off the grid is VERY appealing.

This location has coffee and a full time barista just like the Tesla Supercharger in Kettleman City (which we first visited five days ago). If only we took delivery earlier in the day...it's just a little too late for a caffeine boost.

They have a red Model 3 and a white Model X on display. Valerie prefers the seats in this X over mine...because this one's middle row folds flat and the backs are no longer glossy

While Valerie watches the new owner presentation in the next room, I check out the Tesla merchandise. These mini-Supercharger replicas are functional phone chargers.

I so want this 1:18 scale die-cast Model X, but in white

This highly detailed model is only available directly from Tesla, but I am not willing to spend $250 to get it

All we need is to get someone to use our Tesla referral code to buy a new Model S or X...just one...and we could own this mini-Model S. A couple of years ago, I did actually get a colleague to do it...but, at that time, I needed to net two referrals before I would earn any prize.

I cannot fit in it, but Valerie can!

With her orientation complete, Valerie is ready to drive her car off the lot. We find it parked next to a brand new Model S, also in the Pearl White Multi-Coat.

It was a REAL gamble placing our reservation on March 31, 2016...before Musk's Model 3 presentation even began. At that time, I had not yet taken delivery of my Model X and Valerie had not yet test driven any Tesla. Though we were able to sit in a Model 3 at the Century City showroom earlier this year, this will be the first time either of us have actually driven one. I just hope she enjoys this car at least as much as she likes her MINI...since we plan to sell it.

I ask Valerie if we can make a couple of stops on our way home. Since the Tesla Delivery Center just happens to be located down the street from our first home, I convince her to follow me to its main entry gate.

We took delivery of Model X just over ten years after we left our Marina del Rey townhome. My NSX is the only car we still have from our time living here. I would have preferred snapping a photo in the lot where I have previously taken shots of our cars, but we obviously no longer have an entry remote for the complex gates.

I have wanted to introduce The Falcon to SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket since learning it has become a permanent fixture outside of their Hawthorne headquarters. Having our new arrival join us makes this moment even sweeter.