Well it didn’t take long for us to spot a sea turtle in Maui…it didn’t take us long to get sunburned either. On day seven, we decided to do something we haven’t really done yet on this trip…spend an entire day at the beach.

After another amazing breakfast buffet at Swan Court, we decided to gather our things, pack a cooler, and take a walk on the beach. As we left our resort grounds, we found a patch of grass on the shoreline in between the Hyatt and the neighboring resort. The view was phenomenal, the water was calm, and it was very quiet.

After dousing ourselves in SPF 55, we laid down and relaxed until the sun forced us into the Pacific. As soon as we got in, Blyth spotted a large shadowy figure coming right for us. As it raised its head we knew exactly what it was. A huge sea turtle was passing down the coastline no more than 15 feet from us. This was no ordinary sea turtle that you see at the aquarium, either… It’s shell alone was somewhere between 3 1/2 – 4 feet long. This thing was huge! Billy tried to grab his camera quickly to get a picture, but a passing (and well lubricated) tourist decided to swim after it…ultimately chasing it away. No wonder these guys are endangered!

After laying out at the shore for another 3 hours, we headed back to our pool. We would snack on some wings and fries before dipping in the pool for a good hour. Along our journey through the pool, we would stop at a bar in a cave to watch the basketball game, and continue through the kiddy pool to give the Lava Tube Slide a try. We might argue that this pool is even better than the pool in Kaua’i!

We would stay poolside for another 3 hours before heading up to our room to get ready for dinner. It was at this point that we both realized how sunburnt we were. Although we had avoided a burn throughout our entire stay, we now realize that we didn’t reapply well enough this time.

Reservations were at 8:00 at Longhi’s Restaurant in Lahaina town. We would quickly shower, watch the sunset from our room, and pile into the Mustang for the short drive. Upon arrival at Longhi’s our first impression was that it was as old as any restaurant was on the strip. Not only was the building set in its own nostalgic charm, but locals were saddled up at the bar over dinner and drinks with the owners family behind the bar. This place HAD to be good. Well it was outstanding. After we shared a plate of tomato cheese bread and jalapeño cheese bread, Blyth would enjoy the Shrimp Longhi Plate served over garlic bread. This was a staple of their menu that has been served ever since it was first opened in 1976 (and you could tell!). Billy had the Ahi Torino which was basically fresh Hawaiian tuna breaded with macadamia nuts and pan seared in butter to a medium rare temperature. It was even more amazing than it sounds, trust us!

Full on fresh seafood (and still sore from our sun burns) we decided to waddle down Front Street to kill some time. We would buy each other a few gifts before we would return back toward the car. On the way back, we decided to stop at Scoop’s for ice cream. Blyth would eat the Island Mix, and Billy would have the Vanilla Coconut Caramel Macadamia Nut scoop. Both were outstanding and made us briefly forget about our burns.

We would then stop at a convenience store for some Aloe before returning back to our room for the night. Overall, Maui has definitely given us some much needed relaxation…and we can’t wait to see what Maui has in store for us on Day 8…

Our view from the shoreline. It’s so nice to get away from the riff raff…