On my last day in San Francisco, I was ranting about Brita pitchers and how unnecessary they are and how little they really do, but we think we're getting such huge benefits out of using them because of some corporate cultural sheep mentality. In fact, for the last several months, I drank water straight from the tap and it was perfectly good water. But, oig, when I tried New Jersey tap water, *bleah*. Out came the Brita pitcher and a ride to Walgreens in Fort Lee for a new filter. New York City has reportedly good tap water because they get it from the Adirondacks. If you ask for water at a New York restaurant, you're getting tap water and you'll hear no one complaining about it. New Jersey apparently gets it from the Hudson River.

July 3, 2004; 10:38 A.M. - Crossing the Mississippi River. Eleven years ago, there was flooding here and neighboring towns were in a state of emergency, including Davenport, Iowa. Looks the same to me. I had probably just told Carly that I wasn't going to stop in Chicago.


I think my bottom line is - try the tap water. If it tastes bad or doesn't feel right (hard water), then go for the filtration.