Although I was not able to join my clan in Tampa, I had chosen the location and made most of the preliminary plans. The intrusion of virtually every winter bug that appeared in the Chicago area, snared my entire family with a series of ailments that totally disrupted our plans. Happily, my kids managed to make the trip and had a fantastic time which they will cover in a separate “user' review. However, I certainly have enough information from them to offer a bystanders opinion.
In an allegorical approach, the process and experience reminds me of a true tale I was told by a fascinating, charismatic professor I worked for many years ago. In an operating room at a well known NE hospital a neurosurgeon was working on the exposed grey matter of a conscious patient, and was taking the opportunity to explore the patients reactions to some brain stimuli he could apply with some delicate electrodes. As he probed an area of the cortex, he found one location that caused the patient to raise his arm and exclaim “Do it again!”. Now curious, the surgeon stimulated the site again, and observed the exact same response. Excitedly he repeated the process several times and obtain the identical responses. The doctor proudly announced to the staff and observers present that he believed he had found the “pleasure site” of the patient, a significant discovery which could advance the knowledge of neuro-anatomy. However, one of the interns involved in the procedure, a former philosophy student pursuing a medical degree, frowned skeptically. “Not so fast please, I think what we may have found is not the pleasure center, but simply the “do it again” center.
The experience of visiting Maria's place encapsulates elements of the allegory. Firstly, the home and its amenities easily qualified as a pleasure site – actually among the best I have ever rented. Additionally, as the stay approached its conclusion, the “do it again” sensation emerged. Before the departure, all of us involved were committing to plan a return visit.
The hostess, Maria was, and is, exceedingly helpful and accommodating which permitted us to work around our disrupted travel arrangements and totally enjoy the experience. No matter what satisfaction metric we apply to the visit, the satisfaction rating gets absolutely top marks.