mrs. kudzu and I just returned from a week in new england, celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. It's the first genuine vacation we've taken with just the two of us since we went on our honeymoon.
we chose new england because it's a part of the these fifty nifty united states we'd never seen. we flew in to hartford, connecticut, and rented a car from enterprise at the airport there.
that's where we met jasmine. smiling, she welcomed us to enterprise and to hartford. she asked us conversational questions and answered ours. she wished us a happy anniversary, told us her favorite things to do in our new vacation destination, and she convinced us we needed come back and visit new york city at christmas. her family does it every year, and it's a highlight of her holiday. her kindness, enthusiasm, helpful hints and the overall joy she exuded was just what we needed at the start of a visit to an unfamiliar place.
jasmine told us we would receive a survey where we could rate our experience. i told her we'd do her one better. I told her I'd do her one better, and asked her to take a picture with me.
"let me get my chapstick," she said.
then, with freshly moistened lips, she smile her broad smile and flashed a peace sign as I fumbled with taking our photo together -- something i have yet to master.
we are not travelers. it's rare that we fly on an airplane or even rent a car. navigating airports and new places inspires anxiety. on top of that, we were in connecticut. everybody know that connecticut yankees are rude and can't hold a candle to the southern hospitality we take for granted here in georgia. to that, i say hogwash.
jasmine was the first of a series of kind, helpful, friendly, hospitable new englanders that we met on our trip. it occurs to me now that i should have made a note of more names. dang, i wish i had. kenny and travis, our airbnb hosts, were equally friendly. honestly, i think lisa texted kenny so often for tips and giving them updates on our comings and goings, that i think they may keep texting now that we're back home.
we encountered tons of other friendly faces as we visited new hampshire, maine, massachusetts, vermont and new york, and I trace everyone back to jasmine. first impressions are huge, and it was jasmine who said, in her own way, "you don't need to worry. we new englanders will take care of you." they absolutely did.
so, enterprise rent-a-car, please make sure jasmine gets your top customer service award. we loved the jeep we rented. we loved how it helped us navigate six states in a week, but more importantly, we loved jasmine. she set the stage for a tremendous experience we won't seen forget.
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