Westward Expansion

St. Louis, the Gateway to the West, was a great place for us to launch our own westward expansion.
The arch, symbolizing the historic voyage of Lewis and Clark, was as impressive by day.....

as it was by night!

We stayed at the Drury Plaza Inn, only yards from this amazing landmark. The hotel itself  turned out to be a historic building, once the hub of the fur trade in St. Louis.

Check out those large windows, which offered particularly good light for viewing the beaver furs that were traded here up until the 1950s. More on this fascinating history (with a cameo role by French Canadians!) here:
http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/1997/02/beavers-and-boomtown-remembering-st-louis-fur-trade?page=0,0

A diorama featuring Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea, commemorated their historic voyage in the hotel lobby:

Perhaps emboldened by the help we had been receiving from our GPS, 

Leo was sure he could help with directions....

 

The hotel offered free snacks and drinks at their "kickback" hour. When we arrived around 5:00 p.m. on Thursday night, the lobby was a hotbed of activity with what seemed like hundreds of hungry Cardinals fans milling around, all wearing the same shirt with the name of some guy named Pujols on the back. Everyone was waiting to see if the game would be on or be rained out. It looked like it would be off....it was pouring with rain. But we decided to venture out anyway to visit the Arch.

Although it's hard to believe from looking at it, you can actually travel up to the top and enjoy a spectacular view of the city. We checked in on the game; turns out, they were playing ball after all....

Stay tuned as we explore the Core of St. Louis, the City Garden and the City Museum, all in the shadow of the magnificent Gateway Arch.