The 48th

N48 30'.804
W122 54'.936

We get north of the 48th parallel by boat every year or two. We like it here but we don't necessarily like getting here. There's always fog to contend with and that's no fun in an express cruiser with no radar. The temperatures are cooler here and while we might complain about the heat on Lake Washington, it's better than complaining about wearing a sweatshirt and jeans in August.

And something always goes wrong. It's not saltwater, per se, that our boat seems to be allergic to. We do fine south of the 48th. But every time we get north of that line, there's a repair bill involved. So far, repairs are expected to be minimal. Our VHF antenna is shaking loose of its bracket - or whatever it is that attaches it to the radar arch. (Go figure, we have a radar arch and no radar.)

We also have a bilge pump that's convinced we have water in the bilge and won't stop pumping. There is a little water down there but it appears to be old water and not sure where it came from. (Had an impeller changed out a short while ago and some work on the drives when the boat was pulled a couple weeks ago.) It wasn't pumping before we crossed the 48 and now it won't quit.

As any pilot knows to do, we hit the cancel button or, in this case, we unplugged it. There's a backup pump down there so as long as we don't take on a lot of water at any point during the week we should be fine.

Speaking of pilots, I just looked up to see a float plane tying to the dock. (Kenmore Air) Cool.

We'll be up here through Thursday, I think. Then we'll head south of the 48th for a couple days in the Puget Sound area, and then we'll end up back on the lake for the weekend. We should have cool evenings and sunny afternoons. Fog in the mornings. And, hopefully, small repair bills.

I'll let you know if we pass any webcams.