John Harvey Photo

August 2015

Go to Slide Show Smaller Images And some clever quip...


Terra Nova Adventure Play Environment

Nara Really Climbing Trees Nara Walking Along Log Jumble
We had an appointment at 11am to have Dim Sum with family.  In that kind of scenario, you want tired out kids in advance so they are nice and quite when you want to have an actual conversation.  Terra Nova Adventure Playground is a great way to achieve that goal!

Mom And Claira Climbing Net

The park has a wide variety of climbing you don't find in other small playgrounds.  Nara's favorite at the moment is the beach style log jumble, but climbind trees and nets is also high on the list of fun activities.

Claira Climbing Log JumbleClaira Climbing RocksClaira Smiling With Mom
 
The kids like everything, but really their favorite is the ziplines.  There are two so the line-up is often really short.  The zipline is definitly moving slower than the start of the summer - perhaps the equipitment is wearing in or perhaps they tuned it down - I don't really know.  The kids still enjoyed it.

Nara On The Zip LineClaira On The Zip Line

Picnic at VanDusen

The kids really enjoy a picnic.  If dinner happens to be portable, nothing beats a little Al Fresco dining.  We have a favorite spot near the Cypress Pond where the kids can watch the dragonflies and turtles do summer afternoon things.

Picnic At Vandusen  Looking Into Cypress PondKids Running Through Van Dusen

Locarno Beach

Claira Splashing With Her Bucket Nara Using Sand As Lotion
Vancouver has lots of beaches so we decided to try out a new beach - Locarno Beach!  I have a soft spot for the Spanish Bank - long beaches with warm sand and a view of the city and freighters in the background. This is the first time I've stopped this far east of the beaches - the bank doesn't go out as far but the beach has fewer rocks here.


We really lucked out with the timing - the sand bank was already exposed and the tide was going out farther.  Nara likes to start with a swim and then do sand castles.  Claira tries to do whatever her sister is doing.
 
  Claira Point Out To NaraNara With Handfull Of Soft SandStanding In The Sand At Locarno Beach

It's amazing how fast time flies when you are at the beach - it didn't take much and an hour and half had already gone by.  Claira had a good nap that day!

Graffiti Photo Walk

Cocaine Cowboy
Photography Master Bob runs the photo club at work and he sometimes does field trips to impart gifts of his knowledge.  Bob picked "graffiti" as the theme for this months' photowalk and he had a whole evening in mind starting with the artist collective at 1000 Parker Place.


1000 Parker place is a little overwhelming - lots of walls are covered with murals.  As you get further from the artist building the murals turn to more tagging with less form.

Check It Out

After the easy introduction, we went downtown to experience grafitti in the downtown east side.  We chose to walk around gastown.  Gastown has a really strong juxtaposition - water street is full of tourists and stores - one block North is rail line, one block South is a very smelly alley.

Stop Writing On This Wall  Tags In Gastown

Also Tagged Bulk CarrierTagged Bulk Car

Micro Tags On WallNico And His Back TattooRollerblade Stormtropper Girl

Claira's Gymnastics Class

Claira Doing A Crab Walk
Claira has been in gymnastics class over the summer and she quite enjoys it.  The second to last class is photo day so I brought my camera to record some of her skills.  They set the gym up in a circuit and Claira moves station to station doing each activity independently or with supervision.  She is getting quite good at the upper body stations - she can hold on to rings and bars for quite a while.  Her favorite is still the trampoline.



Claira Dropping Off RingsClaira Flying High On TrampolineClaira Swinging On Lower RingsClimbing Up To Do Coconut

Spanish Banks (Again)

Claira Using Seaweed For Her Bucket Nara Standing In The Ocean
Helen's coworkers organized a beach potluck picnic and the timing worked that we could go between gymnastics classes.  Of course you can't take the kids to a lunch at the beach and not go in the water!  It was a brief trip but the kids still had fun - they have figured out if you mix sea weed in with the sand when you make sand castles, the castles stand up much better!

Nara Pushing ALog Up The Beach
 
A nice lunch and we off again - I was dropped off the Nara and Claira went home with Mom to get a much needed nap in. 

Members Morning at VanDusen

Honeybee Looking In Flowers Chickadee Looking For Sunflower Seeds
VanDusen sent an e-mail reminder of their Member morning - early admission at 7am for members.  I had never been to one so decided to get up early on Sunday to go while the rest of the family enjoyed a sleep in.  I was hoping to see birds that you don't normally see because of the crowd or perhaps take advantage of the morning light to get a landscape shot that doesn't normally have punch.


There were a few surprises.  I arrived at 6:50 and there was already a photoclub there waiting to get in.  Turns out they invited all of the people that like to find the birds in the park so we all rushed in to find something unique and headed to the exact same places. 

Great Blue Heron Hunting In The LilliesFall Colours With GBHTwo Pink Flowers Stacked

The lighting wasn't bad, but the tall trees and sunrise being more than an hour early made the golden light a little elusive.  That said, the quite was a real treat - the city noise was nearly gone and we were spread out enough you usually had some time alone.  Another surprise - when you did see people, everyone said hello.  I guess everyone was local and if you are interested enough to get up early to see a garden you have already seen a dozen times, you are probably there because you want to be.  It was a good morning!

Nara's Gymnastics Class

Nara Coconut On The Low Bar
Nara is also in Gymanastics (same gym as Claira, four hours later on the same day).  Unlike Claira's class, Nara's class is drop off - no parenting help required.  The window to take photos is much smaller - on the last days we got about 5 minutes to take photos before the class broke up.  Turns out that was all we needed for Nara to show me some of her favorite things to do in the gym.


Claira's favorite activity is jumping - she spends the most time on the trampoline.  Nara seems to really enjoy the upper body stuff - I couldn't get her on the trampoline even when it was free.  Nara isn't built light so I'm pretty impressed she has the strength to pull herself up on bars and rings.

Mickey Mouse Rings On High RingsNara Coconut On High BarNara On The Parallel BarsSwinging On Low Rings
 
 
 


 


Micro Tags On Wall
Altitude: 4m (13 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: graffiti
Picnic At Vandusen
Person: Claira, Helen, Nara
Tags: picnic, VanDusen
Kids Running Through Van Dusen
Tags: bridge, motion blur, rock, running, VanDusen
Stop Writing On This Wall
Altitude: 28m (91 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: graffiti
Nara Using Sand As Lotion
Person: Nara
Altitude: 14m (45 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: beach, bucket, Vancouver
Claira Using Seaweed For Her Bucket
Person: Claira
Altitude: 6m (19 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: beach
Fall Colours With GBH
Altitude: 79m (259 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: VanDusen
Chickadee Looking For Sunflower Seeds
Species: Poecile atricapillus (Black-capped Chickadee)
Altitude: 104m (341 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: VanDusen
Nara On The Zip Line
Person: Nara
Location: Go To...
Tags: Terra Nova Adventure Play Environment, zipline
Looking Into Cypress Pond
Climbing Up To Do Coconut
Person: Claira
Tags: gymnastics
Nara Walking Along Log Jumble
Person: Nara
Altitude: 9m (29 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Terra Nova Adventure Play Environment
Nara Coconut On The Low Bar
Person: Nara
Tags: gymnastics, upside down
Nara On The Parallel Bars
Person: Nara
Tags: gymnastics
Claira Swinging On Lower Rings
Person: Claira
Tags: gymnastics
Claira On The Zip Line
Person: Claira
Altitude: 1m (3 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Terra Nova Adventure Play Environment, zipline
Nara Really Climbing Trees
Person: Claira, Nara
Altitude: 1m (3 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: climbing, Terra Nova Adventure Play Environment, tree
Cocaine Cowboy
Altitude: 16m (52 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: graffiti
Claira Climbing Rocks
Person: Claira
Altitude: 3m (9 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Terra Nova Adventure Play Environment
Swinging On Low Rings
Person: Nara
Tags: gymnastics
Claira Doing A Crab Walk
Person: Claira
Tags: gymnastics
Mom And Claira Climbing Net
Person: Claira, Helen
Altitude: 2m (6 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Terra Nova Adventure Play Environment
Nara With Handfull Of Soft Sand
Person: Nara
Altitude: 7m (22 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: beach, sand
Claira Climbing Log Jumble
Person: Claira
Altitude: 1m (3 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Terra Nova Adventure Play Environment
Claira Smiling With Mom
Altitude: 3m (9 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Terra Nova Adventure Play Environment
Claira Flying High On Trampoline
Person: Claira
Tags: gymnastics, trampoline
Nara Coconut On High Bar
Person: Nara
Tags: gymnastics, upside down
Nico And His Back Tattoo
Altitude: 29m (95 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: graffiti
Claira Dropping Off Rings
Person: Claira
Tags: gymnastics
Tagged Bulk Car
Altitude: 18m (59 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: graffiti
Nara Standing In The Ocean
Person: Nara
Altitude: 2m (6 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: beach, swimming, Vancouver
Great Blue Heron Hunting In The Lillies
Species: Ardea herodias (Great Blue Heron)
Altitude: 79m (259 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: VanDusen
Two Pink Flowers Stacked
Tags: VanDusen
Standing In The Sand At Locarno Beach
Altitude: 5m (16 feet)
Location: Go To...
Honeybee Looking In Flowers
Altitude: 82m (269 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: VanDusen
Nara Pushing ALog Up The Beach
Altitude: 2m (6 feet)
Location: Go To...
Check It Out
Altitude: 34m (111 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: graffiti
Also Tagged Bulk Carrier
Altitude: 3m (9 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: graffiti
Mickey Mouse Rings On High Rings
Person: Nara
Tags: gymnastics
Claira Point Out To Nara
Person: Claira, Janet
Altitude: 4m (13 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: beach, Vancouver
Tags In Gastown
Altitude: 20m (65 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Gastown, graffiti
Rollerblade Stormtropper Girl
Altitude: 11m (36 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: graffiti
Claira Splashing With Her Bucket
Person: Claira
Altitude: 4m (13 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: beach, bucket
Tags: gymnastics(10), graffiti(9), Terra Nova Adventure Play Environment(8), VanDusen(7), beach(6), Vancouver(3)
People: Claira(14), Nara(12), Helen(2), Janet(1)
From: John Harvey Photo > Blogs for 2023 to 2005 > August 2015

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