Doc and Dave's Big Weekend Adventure

It's real dark, plenty of stars in the sky as we roll out of Williams Lake at exactly 4:00AM. We stop at Tims and fuel up with extra large coffees for the road.

There's nobody out here but us this morning. I narrowly miss a couple of deer on the highway. We're not going fast, but they can be hard to see. Damn! Scares me, but Dave has his eyes closed and misses them altogether. Just as well, I guess!

We're heading for Kamloops Airport, where Big Dave will catch a flight out to Windsor, Ontario- via Vancouver and Toronto. A long day, for sure! Dave is to perform as part of the band for Holger Petersen's induction into the Blues Hall of Fame. We would not have done this crazy run for anybody else!

Wild sculpture, eh? We're here! And on time.
I bid Big Dave good-bye, and then head into town to look for breakfast. It's getting brighter out, but I feel like a bag of dirt. I'll be picking Dave up at Calgary airport on Tuesday. Meanwhile the Tour continues on the ground.

I love these humpy, little hills- I guess mountains- around Kamloops. I get a great breakfast at a downtown joint near the library, and then I head up the mountain to take care of some banking, do a little family history research, and then sleep in the car for a couple of hours. It's gotten rather warm, so I open the windows and park in the old cemetery. I do Starbucks for the wifi, and then it's off to work again.

Long and McQuade's new location in Kamloops is closer to downtown and much bigger. There is a large turn out for today's guitar clinic, and the workshop actually runs past closing time! It's a nicely designed store with a really good stock of instruments. There is a left handed Yamaha in the acoustic section- one of the loudest lefty guitars I've ever played. Good sounding, too. But I've got to go to the gig...

I elect to hump the Tour PA into the club, rather than use their in-house gear. It's not too difficult to do. A modern Yorkville Sound PA is easily carried and sounds great. Not too long ago it would of taken a van full of heavy gear to do the same show. Five trips to the car and I'm in with all my gear and instruments. I'm set up in 20 minutes and ready for a pre-show bowl of soup!

It's an early start and an early finish in this gallery/cafe/performance space. The staff are very friendly and keep me stocked with plenty of hot tea. I slip next door for a shot of scotch between sets! There are a few old friends in the audience tonight, including Kamloops based Brent Zwicker. He's the man behind the syndicated blues show "At the Crossroads," and does much to keep the blues alive in the BC interior.

Post show with "At the Crossroads" host and producer Brent Zwicker. A local cable station came down to do an arts segment, and I had a great time doing the interview- just one of those fun, easy sessions. After the shoot these nice folks help me pack my gear out to the Lincoln. Amazing! It's been a really long day, so I drive two blocks to the Travelodge. That's it, I don't even care how much the room is tonight. Done.

Williams Lake, BC

We're on the road and cruising for coffee.

It takes a while, but we find a spot.

Big Dave engages in handicraft projects as we drive. Genuine "Doc 'n Dave" rocks anyone?

We drop by the Billy Barker Casino in Quesnel to have breakfast. We played here a couple of years back, so we know about the secret, all day breakfast. I can always find this place because of the name of the street...

Dave likes it, too.

Before leaving town we do the rounds of thrift shops and pawn joints. The internet has pretty much eliminated amazing, miracle finds, but we live in hope and wander through the isles. Some pretty nice leather jackets in pawn, if you need that kind of thing. Lots of power tools. Lots of budget guitars... We buy nothing, and move on out of town.

We could be panning ourselves at today's prices!

It's a pretty nice run down route 97 to Williams Lake. We are in town early, so we do the local Sally Ann, and check out the music store. Our poster is up on the wall there, which we take as a good sign.

Here's a cool mural nearby the Williams Lake Library.

It is to be a house concert/dinner combo tonight. We are not sure if it will be held outside or inside. There is a big tent out in the back, and a firepit. It is also quite a bit warmer here than it was in Prince George. So outdoors ought to work. Do we need to set up the PA? We'll wait and see. Dave relaxes in the driveway with a woodcarving project.

Our host, resident chef and promoter Martin, is doing his thing in the kitchen, so we know whatever happens we'll be well fed. He's prepping for about 50 people, and we're hoping that they are going to show!

Dave and I elect to play inside for ease of presentation. We've got a great bunch of folks here, and we have a blast playing.

Good night Williams Lake. We'll catch a little shut-eye, but not too much. We need to be on the road by 4:00 AM in order to get Big Dave to Kamloops Airport on time for his morning flight. I'll tell you all about that tomorrow! Meanwhile, I think there is some desert left over... and a little red wine. Dave's giving guitar lessons again, hey, we gotta wrap- it's after midnight.