10 and 1/2

As a runner I always found water fountains very important. I never like to run around carrying water and I don't like to buy it. And New York City water is just fine. But not all water fountains are created equal. Well maybe they were created equal but they don't become equal over a period of time. I was actually interviewed a long time ago about what what a fountains might be my favorite. I didn't realize how much thought I had given it until they got me talking. 

I don't know how I came up with the idea but I got my kids into water fountains. And with twins I wanted them to talk to each other. So I kind of made up a subject something they can talk about and have their own opinion. And I got them to realize that their opinion could be different than other people's opinion. I encouraged them to rate water fountains. I encourage them to come up with their own ideas about why one was good and to appreciate the fact that other people could appreciate different things. Sometimes it's important to have a good cold thick stream of water. But other times you like a button that you could press. When we would go out on a Daddy Daycamp trips we would approach our water fountain with our eyes open.And without using the words I think I got them to learn about subjective and objective opinions. I hope I did good.I got them to agree on the fact that a broken water fountain sitting in the middle of a pool of sewage got a low score. And a functioning fountain that had cold water got a high score. But they were able to calmly discuss whether or not a great water fountain was at 8 or 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Sydney Australia. My primary reason to visit was to run the marathon. But I was also there to see what a parallel universe looked like. One of the things going on over there was the fact that the city was full of drinking fountains. They were all over the parks and many other public places. They all worked.

So when we were in Sydney we took a day trip to the Blue Mountains. So much to say..  But that's not what I'm here to talk about but I do have to mention we went to a park that had two trams to go across a gigantic gorge and one cog railway to go into it. And when we got into the gorge we were there about an hour just wondering around and I had a minor panic attack. I knew the last railway ride back up to the top was it about 5:00 and suddenly I felt it was getting dark and that we were going to miss the train. I looked at my watch and realized it was 2:00 p.m.. I had never been under the canopy of a rainforest before, sunlight doesn't get down there it was dim. My friends and I took some pictures but honestly go Google them. Or actually go there yourself it was amazing. But I did learn that the Blue Mountains aren't actually blue. But they are a forest of eucalyptus trees and the eucalyptus trees emit in oil that Changes the visible prism so things just look blue. And it's okay to spend a little extra money once you get there to pay for the entry to Scenic World

after our trip to Scenic world we had to get back to town to catch the train back to Sydney. We had the luxury of a train running every hour and really didn't care which one we took so we meandered around Katoomba looking for a place to relax and eat dinner. Luckily we bounced into the Katoomba Brewing Company this late lunch turned into one of my top 10 meals of my life. Everything went right. We walked in and asked them if they were serving dinner and they said we had to order quickly because the kitchen was closing in 15 minutes. That was great news because we were hungry. I took a big leap and ordered Kangaroo as an appetizer. I like to try new things and I figured it would be fresh here I ordered it back home in the United States it would be frozen. After I ordered it I asked the waiter if only tourist order it or if locals actually eat it, not sure if he was telling the truth but he said he eats it all

the time. After having it I realize that I would have it all the time. It was like a nice piece of steak. The food was great the service were great and it was great to sit with my friends and relax after wandering around the rainforest. I enjoyed the meal so much I decided to ask the bartenders if I could buy one of the hoodies they were all wearing that said the name of the restaurant. They told me sure go up to the hotel they have a whole gift shop. We had no idea there was a hotel it was just up the driveway and it was 150-year-old building that we all assume that Winston Churchill onece smoked a cigar in.The one Souvenir I paid for in Australia was the hoodie that I brought back from that hotel.

I just forgot this post is supposed to be about drinking fountains. After the 3-hour trip to Katoomba I had to get off the train and pee. In my rush to the bathroom I glanced over and saw this amazing looking water found. I came out and tried it out. 

Because what the hell is that. Is it a work of art or a functioning water fountain. Yes. The stream was thick and cold the handle was usable by my broken hand and it tasted great. I found it I found the perfect water fountain. I rate this a 10.5. I would actually give it 11 points except when you use it you get a free hand wash.

One of the top 10 meals on one of the best days I ever had a water fountain that was so good it went off the scale. And that whole day I didn't have to think about the marathon I had to run in 3 days