I don't know enough about Vancouver to answer your transportation questions; however, if you decide to stay in North Vancouver I can recommend an excellent B&B, the Thistle Down House. http://www.thistle-down.com/mainpage.htm It is fabulous in every regard, and also quite close (a couple blocks) to a village-like downtown area with a few nice restaurants. Might make it easier not to have to go into Vancouver proper for all meals. Unfortunately we didn't have much time for sight-seeing, but the neighborhood was quite lovely. You can read a bit more about the Thistle Down in my Alaska travelogue from this summer (#34245).

Have a good trip, Cindy Harrisonburg, VA