i love the beach

I've finally realized that my vacation days are over, and I won't be jet-setting away to another beach anytime soon (although Vegas is just over the horizon!). My recent two week Miami/Bahamas/Hawaii vacation has to rank among my best vacations ever. A month ago I never would have believed that a casual mini-trip (compared to my Asia and Europe excursions) could be so awesome.

Unfortunately, my beloved Nikon was stolen out of my checked luggage (shake a fist!), so I have no pictures of Miami and the Bahamas. The vacation consisted of largely relaxing with my parents, sisters and cousin, so there wasn't anything too exciting to take pictures of anyways. Here's the itinerary for the first trip with my parents, sisters and one cousin:

Day 1 - 2: South Beach, Miami
Day 3 - 6: Cruise in the Bahamas and Key West
Day 7: The Everglade National Park, Florida

I borrowed my dad's camera for the Hawaii trip, so the second half of my beach vacation was able to be documented. Compared to Miami/Bahamas, the vacation was much more filled with outdoor activities. Being the ninth wheel (four couples and me) among my closest high school friends and their significant others was not as bad as I thought it would be.

Itinerary (links to photosets)
Day 1: Arrive and hang at Nari's cousin's beach-mansion
Day 2: Road to Hana with Greg, Chris and Bo
Day 3: Bike ride down Haleakala Volcano
Day 4: Hike to snorkeling and the Old Lahaina Luau
Day 5: Fly to Big Island and relax
Day 6: Visit Kileuea Volcano Park and hike to lava flow
Day 7: Relax and shop for souvenirs
Day 8: Fly back to Los Angeles via Maui

Unfortunately, I came back with only a light tan after having slathered on the sunblock for two whole weeks (I've recently decided to avoid the premature skin aging you see all over Europe and Asia).