Intro and Criteria

Almost everywhere I go, I need to use the ladies room. This maddening need began in my early 30s when I was pregnant with my two youngest daughters who are 19 months apart. Knowing where the ladies rooms were and what conditions to expect from each one became useful, if not essential. My need for public restrooms continued during potty training, a bout with irritable bladder syndrome and the onset of middle age symptoms of sudden frequent urination and slight occasional incontinence. I used to make light of it by saying that I knew every public ladies room in southeastern Connecticut and beyond. For the past year or so in an attempt to keep my spirits up and not get down on myself for having to make a pit stop almost everywhere I go I started making mental evaluations and comparisons of all the ladies rooms that I visited. One day I was thinking about how much the area relies on tourism for economic success and thought that I could share my knowledge with women who aren't as familiar with the area as I am. The condition of a ladies room or a lack of adequate facilities can definitely play a role in whether I choose to patronize a particular place or take my business somewhere else. It's rare that I would refuse to go somewhere without facilities or because of a bad experience using their facilities, but it has happened.

There are certain criteria that I use to judge each place:

Cleanliness
Hand soap (I prefer the foam)
How many stalls (One seater, two seater or multiple seater)
Hand dryer (I prefer the Xcelerator) or paper towels
Privacy (functioning locks on doors)
Flushers (self or automatic) I hate the push button flushers!
Paper seat covers or not
Hook on the door for coat, handbag, etc.
Design and decor
Location
Baby Changing Station (I obviously won't expect these in a bar) 

Now we're ready to visit our first restroom!