Free baseball, a Riverboat Ride, and the Gateway Arch
Every so often we are fortunate enough to have a few days without plans and the ability to travel. For this particular weekend, we chose St. Louis, Missouri, as a weekend get-a-way.
Without having much knowledge of the city or what it has to offer, other than historically being known as the “Gateway to the West,” we picked up a rental car and began driving west on Interstate 70.
It is early-afternoon when we arrive to the city. Parking is not a challenge today. There is a convenient public garage just across the street from the hotel. We park the car and set out on foot to see some of the downtown area.
The Railway Exchange Building
Built in 1913, the structure was the tallest in the city when it opened in 1914. Although housing department stores for the majority of its existence, it has been vacant since 2013. The property can be found on the National Register of Historic Places.
After an hour or so of wandering some streets and getting familiar with the food scene, we walk back to the hotel. Check-in time at the hotel is the standard three o’clock. Since we have exploring on our mind, not a hotel room, we are not for a moment disappointed but ask the front desk agent if they could store our bags until we return later. When your rental car is on the fourth level of a public parking garage across the street and you have exploring on the mind, taking fifteen minutes to wander back to the car is certainly possible but not always favored.
“Would you be interested in two tickets to tonights ballgame?” asked the desk agent.
“For free?” I asked.
Long story short, the hotel secures so many tickets for such moments when they are unable to get guests checked-in in a timely manner. I am not known for being a baseball fanatic, but free tickets are free tickets and we had a wide-open schedule. To the baseball game we go.
Once the game was over we walked back to the hotel and checked in. Rooftop bar? Yes, please. More on that later.
Day 2
Waking up in a city I had not previously visited without any plans, one might think I would be at a loss for what to do. You would be wrong.
Modern technology. From the convenience of my smart phone, I have booked a morning riverboat ride on the Mississippi River and confirmed a time slot to be beamed up to the top of the Gateway Arch. Busy day ahead. We always try to involve some sort of boat ride into all of our trips and to get a view of the city from the river had been on our mental list of things to do.
All aboard. 
Looking north while floating south on the Mississippi River. 
One of several pieces of public artwork. 
Plenty of bridges to cruise beneath. 
A view of the Gateway Arch and city as seen from the riverboat. 
Once our time on the river had ended we had some lunch and moved towards the next item on our list: The Gateway Arch.
Sitting on the west side of the Mississippi River, the arch towers over you at a height of 630 feet. Construction began in 1963 and the monument, or attraction, opened to the public in 1967.
While waiting in line to board your pod that will take you and 4-5 others to the top, there are several displays and educational material that help you visualize the construction efforts