getting into cambridge

this afternoon i rode my bike over to cambridge, a town that's only about 12 miles away. i wanted to be able to see something out of town after spending the majority of the weekend cooking and watching the olympics and this was close enough to go and come back in a short afternoon. overall, cambridge is a nice little town, with a lake/park in the middle with nice walking paths and lots of ducks. cambridge is known for its association with the horse industry. sort of like the lexington kentucky of new zealand. but without that pizza place in the old church. there's not a whole lot in cambridge to see beyond the lake. however, across from the i-site info center (or 'centre' as they misspell stuff here) is my mother's mecca: a structure called the Super Loo. a public bathroom of extraordinary magnitude. they have clean bathrooms. they have baby changing stations. they have showers. they have a woman working behind the reception desk. sure, you have to pay for it, but i mean, come in, it's the friggin' super loo.

one thing i've noticed in new zealand is that in general, the public toilets are a cut above what i've seen in other countries. one today (not the super loo) talks to you and when you lock the door, it tells you that you have 10 minutes and then provides muzak (i think they were playing was that awful 'what the world needs now, is love, sweet love...' song). other public bathrooms look on the outside to be historical structures, beautiful stone buildings with moss and lichens. if they didn't say 'toilet' you'd never suspect. mom's going to like it here.