John Harvey Photo

January 2017

Go to Slide Show Smaller Images The days are still short



Birding at Jericho Beach

Flock Of Merganser With Freighter
Jericho beach isn't far from my house and has free parking in the winter.  If you are looking for a quick drive and see sea birds, for me it is closer and easier than Stanley Park.  There is a nice pier into the water and worst case, you can still see the bunnies hopping around.

Western GrebeCormorant Just Surfaced

There was a cormorant fishing in the shallow water the the pier.  The angle was such that you could see him under the water a lot of the time which made it fun to watch.  He did get a fish in the end but he surfaced with the fish further away.

Skating At Robson Square Ice Rink

Claira Squealing
Nara's grade one class is going skating.  Two years ago she decided she didn't want to do skating any more so she hasn't been on the ice for two years.  We wanted to be sure that Nara could get around a little on her own.  Claira hasn't really been on ice and was excited.  We packed the car on Sunday morning and went downtown to the skating rink.


Nara did really well.  Claira did really well. 

Nara Skating On Her OwnClaira Nara And Helen SkatingClaira Pushing Her Box

Nara gave up the box in a few minutes - she seemed to remember her earlier skating lessons.  Claira built a lot of confidence in an hour or two, but she needs more practice.

Boat Show

 Nara Claira Running To Kids Zone

We have been to the Boat Show for a few years and so far the kids have wanted to go back every year.  We start at Granville Island, touring the big boats at the dock.  We then ride the ferry (included with the Adult Admission) to BC Place and hit the kids zone.  Finally, if there is time, we go see a few boats. 


Nara In Boat
Favorite number one is the hand driven paddle boats.  Nara really has the hang of it, but Claira is coming along too.  After their re-oriented themselves with the operations, they did some bumper boat and some racing.

Bumping Boats


Nara And Claira With Bracelets

Next up is the crafts table.  Each year seam different.  Two years ago, it was make your own boat on a Styrofoam wedge.  Last year it was colouring, but the Vancouver Aquarium was there with their ocean touching program where you can feel skins and shells.  This year they had trays full of beads the kids made themselves some really nice brackets that they got to keep.

Doing Beads Together

Claira Steering The Boat

If that wasn't enough, they also got to bounce in the bouncy castle, at least until another kid had a pee accident.  New this year for us, we actually went on some of the boats and talked about pricing.  Nara gets sea sick looking at the ocean and I'm not much better so it's unlikely we will ever buy a boat, but the kids did enjoy learning about them.

Mom picks us up downtown and we go home in time for lunch.  Great day!


Mark is in Town

 Mark is in Japan working for EA.  EA had a global franchise get together in Burnaby so Mark flew for work.  We caught him on evening for dinner with his parents at Rocky Mountain Flatbread.

Mark In TownGirls Eating Dinner Together

We had four families (including Mark's) and filled a table.  We might have filled half the restaurant if everyone had been available.

Chinatown Parade

Waiting For The Parade To Start
There is a bit of joke about people in Vancouver only visiting Chinatown for the New Years parade.  Our kids have class in Chinatown so we visit pretty much every week, but we also like the parade!  The weather looked a little iffy but it wasn't actually raining so we decided to risk it and hope the crowds stayed away.


Flag Bearer Walking
Parking is a challenge so we parked a few blocks away and walked in.  We arrive early and watched while a lot of parade groups walked down the street to the staging area.  The lack of crowds made for nice views.

Van City Dragon Walking

There is an election coming up in BC (May) and there were a lot of famous people in the parade.  We spotted Gregor Robertson (Mayer), Christy Clark (Premier of BC) and Justin Trudeau (PM of Canada) within minutes of each other.  My kids were really happy with the red packets.  I was happy to see the dancing lions and dragons.

Green Lion Comes To VisitDragon And Lion Passing ByYellow Lion Dancing Close

Sadly, the rain got heavy, the kids got cold and we headed home early.  We still had a good time!
 
 


Bumping Boats
Tags: boat, paddle boat, Vancouver Boat Show
Waiting For The Parade To Start
Tags: Vancouver Chinatown
Doing Beads Together
Person: Claira, Nara
Dragon And Lion Passing By
Claira Steering The Boat
Tags: Vancouver Boat Show
Nara In Boat
Tags: boat, paddle boat, Vancouver Boat Show
Yellow Lion Dancing Close
Tags: lion dance, Vancouver Chinatown
Mark In Town
Person: Abby, Claira, David, Eric, Gabi, Haley, Helen, Jesse, Jin, Loren, Mark, Nara, Noelle, Xander
Nara Skating On Her Own
Person: Nara
Tags: Robson Square Skating Rink, skating
Nara Claira Running To Kids Zone
Tags: Vancouver Boat Show
Van City Dragon Walking
Tags: dragon, parade, Vancouver Chinatown
Claira Pushing Her Box
Person: Claira
Tags: Robson Square Skating Rink, skating
Western Grebe
Species: Aechmophorus occidentalis (Western Grebe)
Girls Eating Dinner Together
Person: Claira, Haley, Nara, Noelle
Cormorant Just Surfaced
Species: Phalacrocorax auritus (Double-crested Cormorant)
Flag Bearer Walking
Green Lion Comes To Visit
Tags: lion dance, parade, rain, Vancouver Chinatown
Flock Of Merganser With Freighter
Tags: freighter, ship
Claira Squealing
Person: Claira, Nara
Tags: Robson Square Skating Rink, skating
Claira Nara And Helen Skating
Person: Claira, Helen, Nara
Tags: Robson Square Skating Rink, skating
Nara And Claira With Bracelets
Tags: craft, Vancouver Boat Show
Tags: Vancouver Boat Show(5), Vancouver Chinatown(4), skating(4), Robson Square Skating Rink(4), lion dance(2), parade(2)
People: Claira(6), Nara(6), Haley(2), Noelle(2), Helen(2), David(1)
From: John Harvey Photo > Blogs for 2023 to 2005 > January 2017

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