Burrito Tale #2

On October 26, Bob and I went to Qdoba in Rocky River, OH to enjoy a free burrito because it was a birthday perk from the restaurant's E-club. As it turns out, both burritos were free because I had earned a free entree with my Qdoba Card which I have had for awhile. (It's like a Frequent Flier card for restaurants.) The burritos were tasty.

After lunch, we went to Crocker Park in nearby Westlake. We bought nothing at the lifestyle center. It's no big deal since browsing is one of our favorite activities.

Since we were in the area, and I had a Dillard's/American Express bill to pay, we decided to patronize Ruby Tuesday near Great Northern Mall and Plaza in North Olmsted for dinner. Originally, the plan was to patronize the Ruby Tuesday in Seven Hills (on Broadview Road). (Coincidentally, Qdoba is across the street.) We could have hit both restaurants in one simple trip, but the area is not interesting enough to spend the time between meals there. Also, it's a one bus trip from our house if you go at the right time.

To get to Great Northern, first, we took a bus to the Westgate Transit Center in Fairview Park. We were then going to take a short bus trip on West 210th St. to Lorain Road in North Olmsted, so we could take another bus to Great Northern. I discovered that we had some time to kill due to RTA service cutbacks, so we walked down to Westgate in Fairview Park (partially in Rocky River) to do some browsing. After browsing, we crossed the street to catch our bus. While waiting for our next bus, two RTA school buses chose not to pick us up, although these buses are supposed to be available for regular passengers. Fortunately, our bus was coming soon.

Three buses after we started, we finally made it to Great Northern. It would have been a lot simpler a month earlier because the trip from Crocker Park to Great Northern was a one bus trip. Surprisingly, the trip back to Westgate Transit Center on the same bus would have been longer than the route we used to go back since the bus took a wide loop through North Olmsted and Fairview Park that we won't discuss at this time. There was a second bus to go back to the Transit Center with two separate loops (One went through Bay Village (too complicated to discuss), and the other one, which was simpler, mostly used Detroit Road (We went back on Detroit Road on this trip.) to go back to the Transit Center. (This route still exists for the most part, but the bus has changed. The route has also been simplified.) (There is still a second route from the Westgate Transit Center to Crocker Park. It uses Center Ridge Road as this bus did before, but instead of ending at St. John West Shore Hospital, it goes all the way to Crocker Park. (The bus that used to go to Great Northern from Crocker Park also went to this hospital and then to Crocker Park the exact same way that the current bus does now. The current bus now begins and ends at the Transit Center instead of going to Triskett Rapid Station in Cleveland.))

To make a long story short, buses similar to Airport/Hotel/Rental Car shuttles were eliminated by RTA due to budget cuts. Crocker Park is now served by regular buses (Regular buses went to Crocker Park in the past, but mostly in Rush Hour.) Crocker Park to Great Northern is more complicated, but since we don't do it often, we can live with the hassle.

After finally making it to Great Northern, I paid my Credit Card bill. We then did some browsing. Believe it or not, we actually bought something. It was hairball relief for Katie (our "earth tone colored" cat.). This purchase came from Petsmart. Originally, it was a prescription, but since she enjoyed it, we decided to buy some more after we found similar stuff over the counter. Our black cat, Morgan, enjoyed it, too, but it wasn't meant for her. Both cats receive cat treats after Katie's "medication". I guess the cats are living the high life.

After Petsmart, we finally went to Ruby Tuesday. I had a birthday perk from my E-club membership of a free burger. We enjoyed our burgers. I paid the bill. There was a delay because the pen to sign the credit card slip didn't work. I used the pen from the front area. We then took many RTA buses and the Rapid (Not in that order!) to eventually reach State and Natchez and then walked home (We took a slightly longer walk than normal home, since our regular bus's frequency declines after 7:00 p.m.) (There was a moment of "panic" at Great Northern, but I have confused you enough for one post.). It was a long but memorable day.

Until next time, stay safe.