The first thing to assure yourself of is that you are welcome in Hawaii, wherever you go. The people who live here are friendly to a fault (to the point of slowing down for merging traffic while driving on freeways). We all realize that you visitors are our bread and butter. Besides, we have discovered that you are nice people and fun to be with. We'll happily engage in conversation with you, take photos for you and give you directions when asked.

But there are some things that annoy us. For some reason, we think aloha shirts and muu muu that match are silly - not because they identify their wearers as tourists; just because we think they're silly. Many visitors pronounce our capital city as "HAnalulu." It's "HOnolulu." It bothers us when you mispronounce it. Most of us arrogantly resent your telling us "facts" about our islands. We think we know everything, and your input generally will be disdained. We tend to make fun of each other's ethnicity in conversation, and some local comedians do it; but for some reason we don't like it when visitors do so. Must be a family sort of thing.

When it comes to dining, don't hesitate to explore. The resorts and larger hotels usually house excellent restaurants, but there are "hidden" treasures on all the islands worth discovering. Ask around. Ask other guests who may have made discoveries of their own. Ask a desk clerk, a store attendant or a cop. If you know someone who lives on the island you're visiting, make a list of his or her recommendations and get a description of each. The health standards statewide are high. You don't have to worry about wandering into a place where you might catch something. Local publications - especially the dailies on Wednesdays - often have restaurant reviews that yield good advice. (The visitor publications carry "reviews" of many, many restaurants, all of whom provide their own copy.)

There are 376 bays in Hawaii, 319 beaches, 99 waterfalls, 141 islands (not counting the six main ones), 72 lakes, 63 forests, 718 valleys and 561 streams. (Note the absence of rivers.) Not all are considered "landmarks" or "tourist attractions," but most of them are worth seeing. Guided tours are informative about such things, and you have the opportunity to ask "What's that?" as often as you like. If you simply rent a car and drive around, you'll surely see a lot of wonderful things, but you won't know what it is you've seen. (No real advice to offer here; just something for you to keep in mind.)

When you talk to a Hawaii-Aloha agent, tell him or her what you like to do and what you're interested in. When you're dealing with someone who knows the territory, it's easy to plan your visit in a way that will fill your needs ... and dreams.