[plinko]

Thanks for the comments all. Since we didn't stay downtown, we ended up driving through it multiple times (along with a trip on the ferry + skytrain) and I feel like we didn't see nearly enough. I didn't get to explore many individual buildings either as I like to. Traffic in a city without freeways and limited train service (especially coming from Southern California) was frustrating. For the record, that was our own fault for staying on the other side of Vancouver Harbour.

The setting of the city is absolutely stunning and the moody weather made for some great quick 'let's duck in here' discoveries.

We definitely were not prepared for the snow at Sea to Sky. It was all clouded in and raining and 2,900ft is not a regular snow level for California. My kids totally dug it though and played in the snow till their hands were beet red.

One other note for anyone thinking of doing it: Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle is not a train. Nowhere on the website or on your ticket does it say this, but there is no train. It's a bus. We were quite disappointed as my kids really wanted to ride a train other than a subway or lite rail.