Brews and 'Ques: That's Unusually Dank, Roscoe

The downtown-located Coshocton Clerk of Courts Building

After our jaunt for antiques in downtown Coshocton at the Coshocton Antique Mall and some fine German brews at the very appealing Wooly Pig Farmhouse Brewery, we figured it was time to grab some food for lunch. And in less time than it takes to tell, we found something quite unusual down the road that did the trick.

Unusual Junction would fit right in along the famed Route 66, where the lore of the road trip and automobile mix with a sense of nostalgia and occasionally just a touch of cheesy goodness.  As it stands, this attraction resides along Ohio's US 36 as if it were dropped from the sky. Drivers can thank the McKenna family from Cleveland, whose patriarch Jerry purchased this farmland in the early 1970s.

Bagels and Locks (Pt. 2): The Welland Canal Lock 3 Centre and On The Front Cafe (Ontario, Canada)

The mighty Niagara Falls provides a huge roadblock to all forms of floating transport (save maybe for a random barrel or two) between the lakes of Erie and Ontario. Lesser known in the States than the Soo Locks, the 27-mile-long Welland Canal in Canada, with eight total boat locks, has acted as the main safe passageway for commercial boat traffic to negotiate the more than 300-foot-drop between these two lakes since its completion in 1829.

Some of the sights at the Welland Canal Centre at Lock 3

My dad is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and we figured seeing ships up close again would be a fun experience for both him and my mom. Located a half-hour out of Niagara Falls, the Welland Canal Lock 3 Visitor Centre in St. Catharines provides visitors with an intimate view of the ship-raising and -lowering process through these locks via a viewing platform, similar to what we found at the Soo Locks. In addition, the Centre details the development of the canal and Great Lakes shipping in a similar fashion with various displays spread throughout the grounds.

The Puffin receives a lift on its way to Lake Erie

The Lock 3 Centre has only one lock at this location (versus three at the Soo Locks facility); however, the speed by which boats are raised and lowered here at Lock 3 is much faster than its Soo counterpart. Interestingly, we found out later as we were about to leave that the operators of the facility were going to test-run a new anchoring system that would use powerful suction cups to steady a boat as it was raised and lowered. This system would lessen the need for rope anchoring and further lower the processing time for boats through this single-lock system.

This facility has a few more unique features that raises its attraction level for the typical visitor. The St. Catharines Museum is one of the better of its kind we've encountered, and it's not afraid to feature more lighthearted topics. At the time of our visit, these included a display detailing the favorite museum artifacts and memorabilia of various staff members, as well as a section featuring the beloved holiday movie "A Christmas Story." Filming for school-related scenes of the movie, detailing the quest of a young boy (played by Peter Billingsley) for a Red Rider BB gun as his Christmas gift, took place at Victoria Public School in St. Catharines.

You won't shoot your eye out at this "A Christmas Story" museum display

These displays are balanced by those featuring more "serious" history of the city and the region, including one that gave the Canadian perspective on the War of 1812 between the British and the United States, as well as the Niagara region's role in the Underground Railroad and the role that the African-Canadian settlers played in the region.

Lest you think you got more than your money's worth (technically, everything here at the Centre and Museum is free, but a donation is suggested for those who actually enter the Museum itself,) visitors to this facility can discover the role that lacrosse has played in Canada and specifically the province of Ontario by dropping by the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum at this same location. Even those absolutely unfamiliar with the sport can find enough here to perk their interest, including a display explaining the sport's origins as a Native American game (the sheer scope of their games are fascinating reading on their own) as well as a netted cage where visitors can try their hand at handling a lacrosse stick and scoring a goal. I gave it a shot myself and I can assure it is not an easy task.

The Lacrosse Museum and other Historical Displays from the the St. Catharines Museum

As far as the "bagels" mentioned in the subject line, we found out based on our research that there doesn't seem to be much in Niagara Falls rising above the Starbucks level of coffee. Jonesing for something a little better on this morning, we ventured out to the quaint town of Thorold prior to our visit to the Lock 3 Centre to visit what looked to be a promising candidate for such,

As we discovered, On The Front has a vibe something like a MoJoe Lounge or Cup O' Joe stores in Columbus, albeit on a smaller scale. The interior has a select space that invites you to hang out awhile, replete with comfy couches, a TV and a gas fireplace, as well as free wi-fi.

Their menu offers house-made pastries, a couple of hot breakfast items, fair-trade coffee ($1.50 for a small cup of joe to $4.50 for a large fancy drink; all prices listed CDN) and lunch sandwiches, five of which were created in consort with the culinary staff of Ravine Vineyard Winery in nearby St. Davids.

We all ordered coffee and a mix of either breakfast sandwiches ($3.50) and pastries ($2). No complaints - the food was solid, the coffee was tasty, and the staff at the store quite friendly and accommodating. If a place like this was in my neighborhood, I'd probably hang out here every so often myself.

As we were leaving, we noticed the business next door, The Pie Man, had a sandwich board with a list of pies of the day. A little post-trip research showed they had a rather interesting collection of both sweet and savory pies; perhaps a return trip to visit both places might be in order down the road.

2017 Update: From all indications, On The Front Cafe & Eatery has closed as of late 2016.

Welland Canals Centre at Lock 3
St. Catharines Museum
and Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum
1932 Welland Canals Parkway (Google Maps)
Saint Catharines, ON  L2R 7K6
Canada
(905) 984-8880
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On The Front Cafe and Eatery
30 Front St S (Google Maps)
Thorold, ON  L2V 1W9
Canada
(905) 397-4734
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Bagels and Locks (Pt. 1): The Soo Locks and Cup of the Day

A tour boat gets a rise from the locks, sandwiched
around views from the Soo Locks viewing platform

The quaint Sault Sainte Marie (referred by locals as "The Soo") is the oldest city in the state of Michigan, having been a gathering place for native peoples for many years before French missionaries Claude Dablon and Jacques Marquette set up a mission in the area in 1668,

This area proved of prime importance due to its location; the St. Mary's River, the one and only connection between the greatest of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior, and neighboring Lake Huron, flows through this area. The rapids of the river, by which the city name received its origin, consisted of a 21 feet drop over hard sandstone in a short ¾-mile-long stretch (the original pathway of the rapids can still be seen on overhead pictures.)

These rapids made larger trade vessel navigation through this area impossible and forced traders to portage their loads past this obstruction (Portage Road, which runs through downtown Soo, marks the original portage path which traders used to transport their goods.)

The foundation for the modern-day Soo Locks, which drew us up to these northern climes on our recent Michigan trip, began in 1797, when a lock was created on the north shore of the river to handle trade canoe traffic. Currently, a parallel set of four locks (three of which are operational) run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and a small lock run by the Canadian government on the northern shore of the river.

The Soo Locks Visitor Center has various informative displays about the development of the locks, including a interactive display of boat traffic and expected arrival times along the lakes. The latter is important, as it is the processing of these vessels through the engineering marvels that provide the main attraction for visitors to the area.

The multi-level viewing platform at the visitor center provides the perfect venue for watching ships both big and small creep into the lock. All manner of spectators were here this day, from old salts long retired from their seafaring days down to the goggle-eyed children, staring in awe as a big lakes freighter demonstrated Archimedes' Principle in real life before their very eyes.

Like the processing of ships through the locks, the general speed of life in Soo seems to be slow and deliberate. This feeling was not too different within Cup of the Day, one of the town's few places to hangout and grab a cup of java, Whatever morning rush may have been there had long gone by the time we stopped by for a quick bite.

Cup of the Day features a pretty typical selection of breakfast and lunch standards at relatively inexpensive prices (there are only a couple items on the menu that break the $7 barrier,) The coffee featured is from a Michigan based roaster (Paramount Coffee out of Lansing) and the bagel sandwich and coffee (the small cup goes for exactly $1) we ordered did a perfectly acceptable job of waking us up and giving us some quick morning nourishment.

Perhaps the most unique thing about Cup of the Day is the novel mixing of businesses and philosophies. This may be my first and only visit to a combination coffee house/beauty salon (the space is shared with the owner's business partner's Judy and Company salon and spa) with a focus on "high quality natural food", an/anti-crap-coffee credo (they include a definition for a "McCRAPpuccino" in their webpage Coffee & Espresso terminology section) and a conservative political bent (not surprising for red-leaning Chippewa County.)

2019 Update: Social media links have been updated for Cup of the Day

Soo Locks Visitor Center and Park
(Visitor Center open Seasonally; Park open year-round)
312 W. Portage Avenue (Google Maps)
Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783
(906) 253-9290
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Cup of the Day
406 Ashmun St. (Google Maps)
Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783
(906) 635-7272
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