Anyone who travels the open road knows there are stops that must be made along the way. And since two of my children chose to live quite a distance from home, while visiting them over the past few weeks, hubby and I made our fair share, all of which ate into our arrival time.

Nonetheless, we had to make stops to refuel and then there were the stops made to grab a bite to eat. And then of course, there were those darn bathroom breaks — the real culprits that impeded the schedule.

Now some of you may be wondering why I wouldn’t have taken advantage of the fuel and food stops; I did. But unfortunately, when you reach a certain age, the bladder just doesn’t hold like it used to.

But while being relegated to stopping at gas stations, fast food eateries and roadside rest areas, it occurred to me that if I ever decide to pivot and leave my job at The Post, I could become a nomad bathroom critic. You know? Like a food writer. But instead of giving a thumbs up or down to an eatery and its cuisine, I could rate restrooms.

And if I did decide to take such a job, first on my list would be to size up the facility itself. Does it have good curb appeal? Is the landscaping neat and tidy? These two elements can be reviewed, be it a fast food restaurant, roadside rest area or a convenience store.

And for the convenience stores I would also rate the number of fueling bays, and determine if all the pumps are working. There is nothing more frustrating than edging up to a pump, getting out of the car and finding out it’s not working. I would also score them on their squeegee stations and assess the garbage can situation.

Next, I would assess the facilities’ interiors. Are the floors sticky? Sticky just grosses me out.

I worry that whatever I am stepping in will travel back to the car with me. I also hate it when the bathrooms are down a long hallway where you have to pass by stringy mops propped in buckets of dirty water.

Now to the bathroom itself. First impressions would definitely be a determining factor. Does the door look good and solid, or does it appear that at some point someone knocked it in? Sometimes there is evidence of an unwarranted entry when you see splintering at the bottom. Bathrooms that don’t have doors, just long entryways to the toilets — you know, like the ones you would find at a Buc-ee’s restaurant? Most of these would fare well in this category.

Now, once in the bathroom or stall – whichever it may be – that’s where the rubber really meets the pavement. And where I would be the harshest critic.

Getting passing marks would be absolutely non-negotiable if the bathroom was not clean and did not smell good.

I don’t care how good all the other marks may have been. For a favorable review, this is where cleanliness is next to godliness.

Good marks would also be added on if toilet paper is easily accessible and if there is plenty of soap and paper towels to wash and dry your hands.

Also, to receive a good recommendation, it is essential – and I mean essential – for the lady’s room to have a place to hang a purse. For the life of me, I cannot understand when a bathroom assigned to women has no place for a purse. I guess the establishment just assumes we are all giraffes and looping it around our necks would be no problem. Well, it is a problem.

Take for instance my stop at a Wendy’s on the way to visit baby girl. The bathrooms were marked “family,” so I jumped in one. Well, it was definitely set up for a family. There was the toilet and sink, a baby changing station and even a nasty urinal!  But guess what I couldn’t find after spending valuable time scoping out the space — yep, a place to put my purse. I was incensed.

All I can say is that if I had been a bathroom critic, this one would have  received a negative review.

Terri Cowart Frazier writes features for The Vicksburg Post. She can be reached at terri.fazier@vicksburgpost.com.