steveprattfamily.com The adventures of the Pratt family in Vancouver - Steve, Lisa, Cedar, Dawson, and Sandy (the dog).

Craig Nakamoto, very good friend and very avid photographer, is in town with Sara and Sage for a few days before heading off to Hawaii (bastards!).  Having both recently got new cameras, we decided to take off for a few hours in the sun to snap some pics of Vancouver.  First, the nice stuff: cherry blossoms and Stanley Park.  Second, the industrial crud: back-alleys in Gastown.  Here’s a few samples, with the nice stuff here, the industrial here here, and Craig’s stuff here.

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Posted under Vancouver

This is the most depressing winter I’ve ever spent in Vancouver.  Usually by this time of year, we’ve had a couple weeks of gorgeous spring weather and I’m rubbing it in the face of everyone I know back East, emailing photos of tulips and cherry blossoms glowing in the sun. Not this year.

I heard on the radio yesterday, in an extended story on our miserable weather and the likelihood of floods and mudslides across the area, that March alone has already had 20 days of rain.  We’re on track to break the record for monthly rainfall. In the last two days, we’ve apparently had over 100 mm of rain and are due for another 40-50 before the weekend is over.  The Fraser river might overflow and flood huge areas, and communities in North and West Vancouver are likely to be hit with more mudslides.  Who knows, maybe we’ll even end up with undrinkable water for another week! (All this is in addition to December and January’s INSANE snow and windstorms that resulted in huge damage to Stanley Park and us having to get a tree removed from our yard before it fell into our kitchen.)

Stats and weather predictions aside, week after week of staying inside with two small children and an antsy dog are a surefire recipe for insanity.  Lisa and I put some of last year’s tax return money into an RRSP and now we’re kicking ourselves for not making some sort of vacation fund to escape this lunacy.

Now there are some things that keep Vancouverites going during times like these - tricks of surviving these extended deluges.  Generally, it’s the thought of August and spectacular beach weather, boating and swimming in the ocean and kids playing in the sand.  I’m beginning to question whether the one month of inspiration is enough to last the rest of the year.  (But also asking the question that brought us out here - is there anywhere else in Canada that’s better?)

Posted under Vancouver

ANOTHER giant snowstorm slammed into Vancouver this week, dumping a ton of snow (for Vancouver) and toppling more trees all over the Lower Mainland.  While shooting a story on the damage in Stanley Park, a CBC TV crew got caught in a wind storm and witnessed trees falling all over the place, including one that slammed into the back of their satellite truck on the way out of the park, apparently totalling it.

Posted under Vancouver

Weeks after the huge wind storm and snow storms passed through Vancouver and tore apart Stanley Park, the majority of the seawall is now open.  I went for a walk in the park today and at first thought the damage wasn’t that bad.  On the way out of the park, we drove by Prospect Point and the devastation there blew me away.  Huge swaths of trees were downed and where there had been dense forest previously, there are now large, unobstructed views of the ocean.

The Globe and Mail had a full page ad in today’s paper about the park and it mentioned that 3,000 trees were felled and that they were contributing 10 new trees to the reconstruction effort.  I’m sure the trees cost a lot of money, but 10 trees SOUNDS pretty lame.  I’m happy they’re contributing, but if you were writing a full page ad in your own paper to toot your own horn about helping out, doesn’t 10 trees seem insignificant?  I mean, if trees are that expensive, most people are probably sitting at home saying, “If the Globe can only afford 10 trees, I guess maybe Barbara and I will contribute a branch or two.”

Posted under Vancouver

My friend Aron has done an annual Polar Bear dip for years and invited me along this year.  For those who haven’t heard of it, it’s a tradition of swimming in the icy water of the nearest ocean, lake, river, etc to ring in the New Year.   The conditions - about 5 degrees Celcius and steady rain.  With a cheering section including both our families, we raced into the ocean, screamed, ran out.
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The whole thing took about 30 frigid seconds and it was EXTREMELY ‘envigorating’.   Thanks, Aron - a unique start to 2007!

Posted under Vancouver

Here’s a positive way that the City of Vancouver is helping to ring in the New Year - by having Animal Control staff at public beaches making sure that dogs are all on-leash.  What a complete waste of time!  We were out at Kits Beach the other day and were accosted by a woman from Animal Control about Sandy being off her leash.  Okay, in the summer, I get it - people on the beach swimming and sunbathing don’t want to have to contend with dogs.  But these are pictures of the beach minutes after she scolded us…

We watched as she wandered down the COMPLETELY DESERTED beach looking for more dog owners to harass.  God forbid a 13 pound eskipoo is let loose on the unsuspecting sand!  Hey Animal Control - lay off in the winter and go do something useful and productive.  Go euthanize a few pitbulls!  Or better yet, grab a big plastic bag and a shovel and help clean up the dog turds left in the parks.

Posted under Rant, Sandy The Dog, Vancouver

FINALLY, some sun out here today!  We took the kids and the dog to Jericho Beach for a long walk and got some great year-end pics of Cedar and Dawson.

Posted under Children, Family, Vancouver

Well the snow was fun the first day.  Day two, not so much.  I was due to fly to Toronto first thing Monday morning, so I let the dog out at 6am and discovered that several big branches on the tree beside our deck had snapped in the night due to the weight of the wet snow.  One large branch was sitting on our power wires, so I soon found myself balanced on a snow covered deck chair with a hack saw, lopping off branches to keep our power on while I was out of town.

The flight was not much better.  Two hours of sitting on the tarmac waiting for de-icing.  Ugh.  I decided on my way to the airport to use one of my two ‘free passes’ to business class that have come with all my frequent flyer points and MAN was it worth it.  Over 7 1/2 hours in a row on a plane and that little bit of legroom made all the difference in the world.

When I landed in Toronto, I called Lisa, who told me that the tree with the snapped limbs was now at a 45 degree angle, threatening to uproot and fall into our kitchen.  So an emergency call to an arborist was made and $600 later, most of the tree is gone.

The snow giveth (joy to children and pets) and the snow taketh away (money for tree removal).

Posted under Vancouver

After being forced to boil water for two weeks and having had days that have dumped over 100mm of rain, Vancouver is now in the midst of a two day snowstorm the likes of which I’ve never seen here.  It’s been snowing for over 24 straight hours and at Queen Elizebeth park, where we went tobogganing today, there’s easily a foot and a half of snow on the ground.  In Vancouver!!!

Highlights included Sandy leaping up in the air to catch snowballs, Dawson and Cedar playing the snow, and gorgeous trees all over the place covered in the heavy white stuff.  LOTS of great pics on Flickr…

Posted under Children, Sandy The Dog, Vancouver

We went to the beach this weekend and saw clear evidence of the worst sailor ever.  Captain Jackass was calmly buffing the side of his boat as if it was his grand plan to beach the thing for several hours, ignoring the crowds of beachgoers snapping photos of his poor seamanship. 

Posted under Humour, Vancouver