The twos have it. We had a couple here from California who booked 2 weeks with us. I was sure that as the time got closer, they would cancel out; they booked us in September 2011. They didn't cancel, but honestly I wondered how I would manage with the same guests for that long a period of time. Adding to the mix, they will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary come September, giving you a clue as to their ages.
They spent the day out, returning around 3 pm and hung out for a few hours. Then they went out again for dinner, returning a couple of hours later. This was all fine and good, just what you should be able to do at an accommodation, but these two were chatty. When they were here, they wanted to chat. Within the first 24 hours, I wasn't sure if I would need to check into a hotel or not. As it turned out, they were delightful, funny, and interesting people. Errol loved watching television shows with us in the evenings and Bonnie was content curling up on our new chair with a book in hand.
By the time they left, we felt like we would going to be exchanging Christmas presents. You know those family members that overstay their welcome and you wish they would turn into strangers for the future and forget your address? These two started as strangers and morphed into friends.
On their heels, we had a woman from the US who arrived on Friday afternoon and was leaving Sunday afternoon. She wanted a list of things to do in her 2 day stay. I have to admit, although she was in by 7pm the first night and 9 pm the second night, she did cram a bunch in.
In the other room, we had a couple arrive Saturday late afternoon and leave today, on Monday. They didn't fit as much in, but they did see enough for their satisfaction.
Today, we have another couple arriving at 7pm and they will only be here for 2 nights. It will be interesting to see how they maximize their time.
Just last week, I read an article about Americans and their compulsive need to not take long vacations. Well, first of all, many only get 2 weeks a year, but the article said that people who had accumulated time still feared taking time off. The general excuse is that they don't want to face the pile of work waiting for them when they return. What various studies have shown is that people are really fearful of being replaceable. They also examine the amount of time it takes to readjust your thinking. Generally, it takes 3 days to fully enter into vacation mode. Toward the end of the vacation, there is what Ron used to tell me I do is a "reentry mode" when you start thinking of all of the work waiting for you. If you slice those two periods of time off of a 2 week vacation, you are left with 1 week and 1 day if you are lucky.
The Europeans know the real importance of vacations being a stimulant for a better workforce.
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