Some days go as planned, some do not.  That is the wonder of this job.  You most often wake to a day completely different than the one previous.  I expected to wake up this morning parked behind the theatre in Wenatchee, Washington.  Instead I woke to the sound of our most excellent driver JP, and multi talented stage manager Brit, struggling outside the bus with what sounded like shackles.  This was too curious a sound to doze through, so I stumbled to the front of the bus where practically the full cast and crew were gathered a blank faced malaise that can only mean all is not well and the drive is way behind schedule.

As I slept through our slated 5am departure, JP discovered that snow in the mountains meant that we should wait out the storm to avoid the tedious and sketchy job of putting chains on the tires and driving through inclement winter weather with a 45 foot bus and an 18 foot trailer loaded to the roof with heavy audio, lights, and instruments.   Hour after hour we tried to wait it out, but the forecast was not our friend and alas we had to bolt.  Sure enough at the top of the hills there were snowdrifts and warning signs that the road ahead was not passable to trucks and busses without chains.

So I wake to JP and Brit sounding like the Ghosts of Christmas past just outside the wall by my bunk.  They applied the chains and we made our way through the mountains at a snails pace, but safe and sound.  Our delay meant for a mountain pit stop that resulted in the inevitable Canadian Boys will be Boys activity. [Click for video!]

When the world hands you lemons, you make snowballs.

You can see the missing fender from when the bus blew a tire a few nights back.  Hard times in Bus Land.

As I type we are about four hours behind schedule and will be lucky to get the gear in the theatre and set up on time for the curtain call.  No sweat to the boys.  I bet the show starts on time and without incident.

The interesting news is that out route to Edmonds for the show tomorrow night takes us right back through these hills.  The forecast call for snow.  Jaysus.

No two days the same.  Gotta like it.

Cheers,
Alan