Winter Weekend Wrap-up

Last weekend (before we got all this snow) I headed out with my camera to grab a few shots.

First up was the former Ontario store on N. Ridge that I had blogged about (now the home of Lorain County Jobs and Family Services). Why? Because one of that post's comments reminded me of that whole 'big ball' controversy that I had forgotten about. If I remember correctly, there were several mounted at various places around the outside of the building.

Strangely enough, I drove all around the whole complex and only found one still there at the far west end facing N. Ridge. It looked a little battered, and was even partially obscured with a sign.

Thinking back, it was a funny controversy, and hard to talk about without generating snickers. I sympathize with the architect, who was trying to do something memorable and different.

Good thing my favorite TV show – ABC's Wipeout (with its well-known big balls competition feature) wasn't on the air at the time!

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Since I had mentioned Hot Waters a little more than a week ago, I headed down there yesterday to see what it looked like after the mini-blizzard on Friday. There were a few cars, and a few Canadian geese hanging around as well.

If you're an out-of-towner, click on each photo for that 'you're back in Lorain' feeling.

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Lastly, yesterday was my birthday, and we usually celebrate it with dinner out someplace. Although I was going to spend the whole week blogging about Midway Oh Boy, and it would have been a nice way to cap off the week with a birthday dinner there, I was asked earlier in the week to come up with something different for a change. 

So early last week, I thought of a place in Vermilion at which I had never eaten before, but had driven by a million times. It was such an old and interesting-looking place that I was surprised that I had never made it a priority to eat there before.

If you read today's paper, then you know the name of the place that I had strongly considered: the Elberta Inn.  

It burned down yesterday, which you can read about here.

Actually the real name of the place was Alize at Elberta. By the end of the week I had changed my mind and decided to go to Salvatore's  (also in Vermilion) instead. They do a baked cod in butter dish that is out of this world (it tastes like lobster), and I had a strong hankering for it – so the Elberta Inn would have to wait for another day.

Unfortunately that day will never come. 

Here's the scene at dusk on Saturday night, the day it burned down.

And here is the view from Route 6 from today (Sunday). At first glance, the damage doesn't look so bad until you realize that the building now resembles a false front found on a movie set. The front and sign survived, but there is nothing behind it but charred rubble.