While my husband and I were off on our Hawaii adventure, one of the first things we noticed, beyond the heart stopping scenery, was how a server at a restaurant or a tour leader could make your day with their attitude. When they share a bit of themselves they go beyond the stock phrases and scripts that they’ve had to learn and connect with the people who are right in front of them. It’s such a gift to a traveler to be treated so warmly.
At the Manoa Craft Chocolate Factory tasting, our lovely tour leader admitted she was going without her note cards for the first time. My stomach clutched for her, but she continued and when she stumbled, was so friendly and casual asking a co-worker a question, who gladly stepped over and offered his expertise, that it almost made you wish it was your job. Can you imagine if your day job was helping people taste incredible chocolates? Retirement, schmirement…(https://manoachocolate.com) And yes, they do ship to the mainland!
We experienced this welcome again when we went on two different whale watching outings. In both cases the crew members were informative and friendly, but on the first one we learned about their background as marine biologists and were given a glimpse into their lives when they mentioned it was how they met. Now we saw amazing whales on both trips, but that one stuck with us much, much more. (https://www.ultimatewhalewatch.com/) Here a mother whale is teaching her calf how to use their pectoral fins. The mother/baby/escort groups were fascinating!
