Heading South for Winter… With a Little Hiccup
With my summer To Do List checked off and a few days chillin’ at the hotel, I left northern Illinois yesterday, heading south for winter.
But there was a teeny-weeny hiccup in my plan.
Leaving the hotel…
I packed everything up, headed to the van, and turned my Jackery on so I could plug the fridge in and get ‘er running.
But the Jackery was deader than a doornail.
My Jackery is a solar-powered battery that runs things when I’m off the grid or not hooked up to shore power at a campground. I love that it keeps my fridge running when I’m traveling.
No Jackery? No problem!…
I have a little RockPals battery as a backup. It doesn’t power as much as the Jackery but it comes in handy.
The bad news was… I forgot to charge the RockPals.
It only had 3 bars… meaning its small power bank was only about half full. That’s barely enough power to cool the fridge down, let alone keep it cool for the next 3 hours while I head to the next campground.
An “Oh crap!” moment…
I was heading to Walmart for a curbside pickup, with eggs and other groceries waiting for me.
The eggs would be risky to eat after sitting in the warm van for more than 2 hours. I figured I’d probably have to throw them out rather than risk eating possibly bacteria-laden eggs.
But I had to try…
I plugged the fridge into the RockPals and softly urged it to charge my fridge, keep it cool, and have a little juice (power) left over when I arrived at the campground.
By the time I got my Walmart pickup, the fridge was a safe 37 degrees.
But the 3 bars dropped all the way down to 1 bar.
I felt my egg fate was sealed. No way would it have enough juice to keep the fridge safely cool for another 2 1/2 hours.
Miscalculating the time…
With all the pit stops and a detour for coffee… my 3-hour drive turned into a 4-hour trip 😕
When I finally plugged in at the campground, the fridge was a safe temperature. Shockingly, the RockPals was still sitting at 1 bar.
I have no explanation for how my Pal defied the odds… I’m just going to believe it was my gentle encouragement 😅
All I know is my eggs are safe, I’m on my way south, and a dead Jackery didn’t ruin my day.
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
Connie 🌼
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Life Right Now
Whereabouts: Spending a couple days at a campground in central Illinois.
On The Horizon: Heading to my south Florida destination for the winter 🌴
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