Day 283, 13 April 2013, Whistler, B.C. - to Vancouver - via the Sea to Sky Highway - wow! We did indeed wake up to a magical kingdom this morning - must have been a huge dump of fresh snow on the mountains - easily 2 inches at our place in the village. Glorious blue sky, sunshine, glittery air and crunchy underfoot. A beautiful day to be alive. A terrible day to leave Whistler-Blackcomb. A bit like swimming against a strong tide - everyone with any sense was arriving into the village, not getting on a Greyhound bus and leaving it. But leave we did (pictured is a shot from the bus window as we left down through Whistler Creek). We didn't appreciate the stunning views of the Sea to Sky highway on the drive up - we were sound asleep after most of the night on a bus - but this time we saw it in all it's glory - mountains, ocean, waterfalls at the side of the road. Incredible. Made it into Vancouver around lunchtime and thankfully left our ski bag and gear bag at the station - no need for them until we return in a few days for the train to Seattle and Chicago. We walked to our Gastown hotel via Chinatown and stopped at a lunch place that was packed with folks enjoying weekend Dim Sum. Soldiered on. Discovered that Vancouver is in fact quite hilly when wheeling luggage for long distances... It was patently time for an afternoon kip once we finally arrived and we got out for a stroll around in the evening. Checked out Gastown (Vancouver's original "skid road"). Very snazzy and gentrified now. We discovered that all prior residents had just shuffled across a couple of blocks. Figured it out when we managed to walk smack through the worst part of town sandwiched between Gastown and Chinatown on our way back to the hotel. Right. Don't need to visit that part of town again. Ever. Tomorrow? hmmm - probably the pretty city that the Visitors Bureau recommends visiting - Granville Island, the Waterfront and Stanley Park.