2022 Hawaiian Islands 3A

Last check in from Hawaii!

July 28, 2022

As our trip concludes, we wanted to share some of the highlights from our last few days together!

HIKE – July 22

Today we had an action packed day filled with a new, physically demanding adventure! We woke up this morning and were briefed on the activities of the day during morning huddle by our ready-to-go LODs, Jackson and Bradley, while we enjoyed some granola, yogurt, fruit, and cereal. We headed off towards the Waimea Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the pacific, and were amazed by the stunning views while driving up the mountain. We hiked 3.75 miles towards our lunch location where we enjoyed a beautiful view of the interior of the canyon as well as the famous Na Pali Coast! During the hike, we played some games to entertain ourselves – Jackson, Liv, Cornelia, and Molly played multiple alphabet inspired games while Nate, Parker, Patrick, and the other boys did a mock draft of the best male athletes of our generation. We all had positive attitudes during the descent to our lunch spot, and were fired up for the uphill challenge on the way back. Liv led the group on the way back and was the first to finish – she enjoyed the uphill portion more than the downhill and set a positive example for the rest of the group. She was truly a go getter today! After we finished the hike, we stopped in the state park gift store to enjoy some candy, gatorades, and cold ice water before heading back in the van towards a beach. Parker was generous and shared some of his ice cream dibs with others, and Janie bought a cute white sweatshirt in the shop. Next, we drove towards our campsite and stopped at a beach where we were able to relax and read or play in the waves. Bradley, Janie, and Bradley all settled in with their books while Evan checked out the water. It was a lot of fun and also beautiful as we watched the sun set on the beach. We then drove to some local food trucks and got some tacos and Thai food for dinner which was delicious! We drove into the campsite as it was getting darker and ended the night with a relaxing Moon Up led by Jackson and Bradley.

July 23- Surf and Zip Line

Our group had our last full day of activities ahead of us, and it sure was a great daily itinerary to end the trip off with. Our LODs Hayden and George started us out with an agenda rundown, letting the group know what we had planned for the day. They told the group to expect a full of excitement because we had morning surf lessons followed by an afternoon of zip lining. We all enjoyed breakfast and then loaded up the vans and headed to the infamous Hanalei Bay for our surf lessons. We met up with our surf instructors and got geared up with our boards and surf shirts and then were read to surf some waves. Sutton impressed everyone with her surfing skills when she learned how to change the direction she was facing while surfing a wave. Liv joined in on the fun surfing skills as they attempted to jump to each others boards and tandem surf the waves together. George and Parker referred to the big waves as ‘monkeys’ and the surf instructors loved it and it caught on amongst all of us. Our instructor helped Janie ‘princess’ surf as he pushed her into wave after wave and she would ride them like a champ. Once we all had enough sun rays and salt water we rinsed off and packed up to leave the beach. Our group headed to a local spot in Princeville to grab traditional Hawaiian lunches. The area we stopped at had an assortment of açaí bowls, avocado toast, island sandwiches and bbq and much more that everyone could choose from. Molly and Gracie both think this açaí bowl restaurant is one of the best Kauai has to offer. Bradley shared that her panini was hands down one of the best sandwiches she’d ever had. After everyone was well satisfied we headed off to zip-lining. Once arriving to zip lining we got a safety briefing and gear preparation and then load open side trucks for a scenic ride to our Zip-line courses. Bradley fearlessly went first and then everyone followed in excitement. The second Zipline was even more thrilling because it allowed for the option of zipping upside down! We all cheered on Jackson as he rose the whole thing upside down. We road down in pairs of two and everyone giggled and laughed the whole way down. Our zip line tour included the opportunity to swim in a naturally made pool that was developed from a sunken lava tube. The kids were able to ride a handle bar zipline that dropped into the water, as well as jump from a platform. Everyone took turns making splash after splash and sharing so many memorable memories on the water zipline. Next came the biggest zipline in Hawaii! In pairs of town everyone fearlessly laid down Superman style and zipped the minute and a half down. After ziplining our LODs came up with the plan to head back to camp to regroup and freshen up before we had dinner. After changing and getting ready for the evening, us leaders surprised the group with a night out for dinner at a famous burger joint. We headed into town to Babbas Burgers and it sure did not disappoint one bit! Everyone munched on burgers, chicken, pickles, fries, salads and milkshakes and we all left with full belly’s and smiling faces. Once returning to camp we concluded our day with our last Moonup under the stairs at camp. Hayden and George guided the group through reflections on wonderful moments we had shard together over the course of our trip. Each and every student has truly grow so close to one another and us leaders have bittersweet feelings about watching this trip come to a closer.

July 24

We woke up this morning ready to enjoy our last day together. We had a delicious breakfast and started packing up camp. Vaughn and Hayden were such a big help taking down the tents. Jackson and George did a great job cleaning up all of our dish ware. Sutton and Bradley helped with cleaning out our cooler and bins. We finished up packing camp and went into town to have our banquet lunch. Liv ordered a delicious salad and most of the group got the restaurants famous burger. After lunch we went to a beach to have our final moonup. It was touching and sad at the same time being our last moonup together. After moonup some of the group got snow cones and the rest of us followed Patrick in the ocean and took one last swim. We all headed to the airport and sadly said our goodbyes as everyone got ready to board their flight. It’s been an incredible 2 weeks and we all had the time of our life!

Mahalo!

Gracie, Nate and Molly

Seas-ing the Day!

July 22, 2022

Aloha from the islands! We’ve been up to some crazy fun and are so excited to share it all with you!

Day 7 Sea Kayaking:

This morning we awoke before the break of dawn but were fired up for our day of sea kayaking! We all got out of our tents and hopped in the car and jammed out to some hyper music early this morning – George requested a Scrillex song which definitely woke us all up. When we got to our destination, we hopped out with all of our gear ready, met our guides, packed our dry packs to keep things dry, and put sunscreen on for the day. Vaughan and Parker continuously sang the lyrics of “I miss you” by Blink 82 to keep us all entertained as we hopped in the boats. We started our journey and quickly got used to how to use the paddle, steer, and be a good partner to our buddies which made the rest of the trip smooth sailing! Janie and Vaughan were a particularly good kayak pair and we could hear them encouraging others from across the expanses between us, and we’re also excited about pushing forward when we considered turning around. We loved the views we were able to see of the Na Pali Coast and we got to see some wildlife – a large group of dolphins – and Bradley even saw an Eagle Ray in the water! We kayaked about five miles to our lunch destination, and landed on the beach ready to sit in the shade after being on the sea for several hours. The guides pulled out some juices, turkey and roast beef sandwiches, chips, pineapple, and cookies which were delicious and fueled us up for the kayak back. On the way back, there were lots of waves that pushed us in the direction we were going, but they caused us to have some turbulence in the ocean. Hayden and Patrick ended up flipping over twice but quickly got up and laughed about it like champs! We were so proud of everyone for keeping their head up throughout the entire day and enduring this challenging experience! After the sea kayak, we stopped at a local chocolate and ice cream store and got a sweet treat as a reward for the kids. We drove back to camp, enjoyed a filling dinner of pasta, meatballs, and salad which was well deserved. We ended the day with a long Moon Up where we were able to reflect on the day led by the leaders of the day, Cornelia and Jackson.

Day 8 Surfing:

We woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise on the beach and got ready for a morning of surfing. We had a great breakfast and hopped in the van to head to famous Hanalei Bay. We got there and witnessed the most vibrant and perfect rainbow any of us had ever seen. Group one got in the ocean and immediately started catching waves. Jackson was a natural and was catching waves left and right. Cornelia was riding waves all the way in and didn’t want to get out of the water after our session. Group two got in after and had a blast. Janie and Liv impressed everyone by catching a wave on the same board! After surfing we explored the town of Hanalei and checked out some super cool stores. Parker found some really funny shirts and Evan enjoyed a slice of pizza. We came back to the beach and relaxed by swimming, reading, and tanning. Vaughn and George had a great time jumping off the pier into the water. We came back to camp and enjoyed a delicious taco dinner. We finished the night out with music and dancing on the beach and a touching moonup lead by our LODs, Patrick and Sutton.

Day 9 Service Day:

The group woke up to a beautiful morning here in Kauai. We had breakfast and got ready for our service day at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens. We hopped in the van and headed there listening to some great tunes put on by Sutton and Liv. Our activity for the day was spreading mulch throughout a large patch of the Allerton Garden. The group did an amazing job! George and Jackson were beasts in manning the wheelbarrow transporting mulch nonstop. Vaughn and Patrick did a killer job spreading the mulch. After working in the morning, we braked for lunch where Hayden and Janie prepped everything for the meal. After lunch we had a guided tour of the beautiful gardens. Parker put his photography skills to use and snapped some amazing pictures on his camera. Evan built a spoon completely out of natural clay from the garden. Cornelia was fascinated by the natural waterfall we saw at the end of our tour. We left the garden and indulged in some well-deserved ice cream! We came back to camp and most of the group relaxed while cook crew was preparing dinner. Bradley sat on the beach and continued reading her book that she says is the best novel she’s ever read. We had a delicious dinner and wrapped the night up with a great moonup on the beach.

We cannot thank you enough for sharing this awesome crew with us! We are having an absolute BLAST.

Mahalo,

Gracie, Molly and Nathan

Group Shoutouts!!

July 19, 2022

Surprise! We’ve got some shoutouts from everyone in the group!!

Jackson- hey mamma thank you so much for sending on this trip charge my brother shout out to Ryan hope he’s feeling better! Miss you

Parker- hey mommy! miss you all so much. I’m having such a fun time scuba diving. pet Junny for me!

Patrick – hey mom dad and Ryan miss you guys! Hope your all doing well, ps. I am wearing my sunscreen.

Evan – hey mom and dad I’m having a great time in Hawaii!! I’m sleeping in my Eno every night, hope yall are doing well! How is Sylvester?

Vaughan – what’s up mom and dad I hope you and Greg had fun in NYC. Miss y’all see you soon, ps. enjoy some good wine for me!

Bradley – hey mom I miss you!! Can’t wait for you to see me, I’m a whole new girl

George – Hello mother hope your past few days have been going well. Dad can’t wait to see you along with Gin and Sarah, and I guess Edward. Tell Layla & Bella I said hi!

Hayden- hello parents I hope your having fun, I’m having a great time. Tell Goose & Ford I say hi!

Janie: hey mom & dad, I’m having A really great time, I’m really glad that I’m not in ‘discusta’. I’ve made some great friends can’t wait to see y’all, give Millie and Lizzie a kiss for me.

Liv: hi mom, This trip is absolutely amazing and I’m having such a fun time i miss u so much and Lexi and the dogs. Love you!

Sutton: Hey mom, dad, and colter! I love you all so much, and I just wanted to let you know I am having a really fun time!! Tell Pippa and Lulu I say hi :))

Cornelia: Aloha McD Family! How are things? Was Wilson’s orientation fun? How are Bear and Shep?? I am having the best time in Hawaii. There are so many cool things we’ve done and have yet to do. Halfway through! Hope everything is going well on the other half of the states. Give Shep and Bear a kiss for me and maybe take a few for yourselves, love Née Née Mac

Mahalo,

Gracie, Nate, and Molly

Diving into the Islands!

July 19, 2022

Hello our dear friends and families!

We have been quite busy here on the islands and are so excited to give you a day by day of what’s been happening!

Day 5 PADI

Our group had an eventful day ahead of them when they woke up bright and early this morning to pack up camp and get prepared for our official PADI scuba diving boat dive day. Our LODs Parker and Sutton briefed everyone on what to expect during the day. The boys and girls worked together to get ensure all the tents and bags were loaded and we left our campsite clean. Once arriving to the Harbor we worked on our final surface skills for the certification and got a briefing on the dives and skills they would be doing today. Our first dive site was called the eel garden, named after all the garden eels that lined the sandy bottom below the reef. Everyone broke into their dive teams and off we went exploring the reef. Once returning to the surface everyone shared what they saw with such excitement and enthusiasm. Janie, Patrick, Hayden and Cornelia were all in a group together and were so pumped to tell everyone about how they followed a little octopus all around the reef watching him swim around to different corals for so long! They watched as he changed from red to cameo to blend in with the coral. George and Evan even saw a super big morel eel all cuddled up in the coral with his head pocking super far out. They told us about how the eel moved his mouth open and shut grabbing food. Bradley and Liv swam alongside of one of Hawaii’s most infamous underwater wonders, a 10-foot Manta Ray! They swam with the Ray alongside of the reef until it reached the rest of the group and the Manta circled around everyone showing us the beautiful way they fly through the water with its giant pectoral fins. Everyone felt so lucky to have witnessed something so rare and beautiful together. We all shared about how hard it was to contain our smiles and giggles underwater we were so excited. After our two dives everyone enjoyed a nice relaxing boat ride back to the harbor. After returning to the dive shop everyone to to dive their first official dive and receive their official PADI certification. Post scuba diving we made our way to a local park and beach on the other side of the island to watch the huge waves come to break on the shore. Due to the big swells created by the hurricane passing far out in the ocean we had to move our camp location. We were all local enough to get the opportunity to stay in the most perfect hostel. Our hostel had a whole living room hang out room privately for us connected to our own two bunch rooms. The rec room was full of tables and chairs covered in floral print and comfortable coaches for us to hang out in. Then we had an all-boy bunk room and an all-girl bunk room, it was perfect. We spent the night playing cards, board games, reading and journaling. Janie and Vaughn lead us through a meaningful Moonup in our new home and we all headed off to bed.

Day 6 – Green sands beach

Our group had a much needed relaxing day today. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and our LODs Vaughn and Janie were the first ones awake to get the group going! We visited an open-air market in downtown Kona and had such a good time exploring the street vendors. Even got a ukulele that he is going to learn how to play and Bradley loved shopping around at the different shops. After the market we went to the beach to lounge. Cornelia read her book and Liv pointed out a beautiful sea turtle right off the shore. We came back to camp where Jackson and Patrick had various intense games of chess with each other. We cooked dinner with George being our iron chef for the night while listening to some great tunes put on by Parker. We finished the night with a touching moonup.

Day 7 – We’re so Fly

Our day started off with our last morning in our favorite little Hawaiian hostel, we all enjoyed breakfast together and cleaned up our belongings to leave the place looking properly put together. Then we headed of to the airport for our departure for the Big island and to begin the second half of our trip in Kauai! Parker expressed his excitement about getting to Kauai because of what he had heard about the beautiful greenery of the ‘Garden island.’ Vaughn and Liv were both looking forward to their opportunity to surf at Hanalei bay. The flight went smoothly finishing with a round of applause from our Moondance group. Our fellow Moondance leader Garrett came to pick up our group from the airport and we jammed out to fan favorite tunes. We hung out in a little shopping center grassy area as we did our Laundry and went grocery shopping. While we hung out here Sutton encouraged everyone to play silly games with her that had everyone laughing so hard. Parker got the group going on a game of ninja. We had quite a bit of time to kill before our campsite would be easy for us to check in so everyone enjoyed a day of relaxation and bonding. We took the group to Walmart to allow them to do some shopping – the girls picked out matching pajamas and the boys all got some sweet treats. We made our way to our new campsite and the group was so thrilled to see the beautiful setup we had for the next week. Evan set up his eno and the tent groups popped up their tents in no time. Liv and Bradley prepared an amazing and nutritious stir-fry dish with Molly for dinner. After dinner Hayden lead us graciously with a smile through Moonup.

Mahalo,

Gracie, Nate and Molly

A Nice Recap!

July 17, 2022

Day 1

Arrival day is finally here, and we could not be more excited for the arrival of our group. Nate, Molly, and I headed to our beach front campsite to setup all the tents and organize the gear in efforts to prepare for the weeks ahead of us. Next, we went shopping for nutritious food and yummy goodies for our meals that we would be preparing. Then finally we headed to the airport! We set up shop with snacks and music as we awaited their arrival. Our first three to join us were Hayden, Georgie and Parker and they brought the energy and great spirit right away. They all shared stories about the food that they were served on the plane. Soon after Patrick made his way to us and fit right in. The next plane to land had Janie, Vaughn, Jackson, and Evan all aboard. Our group was now coming together, and we could feel the excitement. I could already see the great potential our group had to make new great bonds of friendship. The group all munched on pizza after their long travel day. As we waited for our last four, George and Parker introduced us to a game that had us all cracking up and trying our hardest to hold back laughter (the objective of the game). Cornelia, Bradley, Liv, and Sutton all landed, and our group was finally complete. All the girls had bright smiles on their faces and were already sharing laughter together. Everyone loaded up the vans and we drove off to camp. Once we got to camp, we gave the group a run down on how to set up their sleep stuff in their tents, where the washrooms were and our overall night routine. We concluded our first night with a Moonup circle giving everyone the opportunity to share why they were on this trip, what they wished to gain and what they were most excited about. We could not be more excited to embark on this journey with this group and know we have so many memories ahead of us.

Day 2

Today was our first full day at Moondance in Hawaii – and our first full day of scuba! We started out the day with a delicious breakfast of granola, yogurt, and cereal before getting all packed up for the day ahead with our sunscreen, bathing suits, and towels. We headed to our Scuba Diving Outfitter and had a short classroom session before heading into the pool to practice the skills ourselves. Some of our already certified divers, Hayden, Vaughan, Evan, and Jackson, knew the skills and were able to help their friends who were scuba diving for the first time today. After a couple hours, we hopped out and grabbed our premade lunch of a turkey sandwich, chips, orange slices, and shortbread cookies and enjoyed a picnic next to some palm trees with a great view of the light blue ocean just across the street. We got back in the pool and were ready to complete our last few skills for day 1 of our PADI certification, like helping a diver who has a cramp and learning new hand signals to communicate underwater. Everyone enjoyed the first day of scuba, but we were all excited to head back to camp and explore the nearby ocean! On our way home, we stopped at a local fruit stand that had some unique offerings of local Hawaiian fruit. Jackson bought a bag of rambutan which she shared with everyone, Vaughan got a strange looking (but delicious) guanabana fruit, Liv got a fresh mango, and pretty much everyone else got smoothies. Everything was delicious – we were all glad for the opportunity to try something new on our first full day! We then drove back to camp and had a group meeting going over some Moondance rules and expectations and then all hopped in the water to boogie board and swim in the salt water! For dinner, our cook crew, Janie, Hayden, and Parker, cooked up a healthy dinner of chicken, rice, green beans, potatoes, and salad which was delicious and hearty. We all got to hang out for a bit before the sun went down, then rounded out the night with our first full Moon Up where we continued to get to know each other. Everyone was tired from their first day in Hawaii and can’t wait to see what’s in store for us tomorrow!

Day 3:

The group woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the beach and had a delicious breakfast to start the day. The crew piled into the van and headed to finish up the pool scuba training. The group did so well that we finished by lunch! We had lunch and cooled off by getting some Kona shaved ice and ice cream. Then we headed to the pier to do some free diving in the coral reef with our scuba outfitters. Everyone saw such beautiful sea life and George & Cornelia swam with one of the scuba instructors that taught them all the names of the fish we were witnessing. After free diving we went to Honokohau beach known for its many sea turtles! Parker, Vaughn, and Hayden got some great pictures swimming next to some beautiful sea turtles in the water. We came back to camp and had burgers and Mac n cheese for dinner that Evan and Liz did a great job preparing. We had a candle lit dinner on the beach listening to music, looking at the sunset, and watching Sutton and Janie show us some dance moves! We ended the night with a touching moonup led by our LODs, Bradley and Patrick.

Day 4:

This morning we woke up and had our usual breakfast of granola, yogurt, cereal, and fruit and got mentally prepared for the day ahead – our first scuba diving excursion in the ocean. Our LODs, Liv and George, led us through morning huddle and told us what the day had in store for us and what we should be packing. After we got all set, we loaded in the van and drove to our diving spot in the town of Kona where we met our diving instructors. We were briefed on the general plan for the morning and got excited after seeing pictures of the cool fish we could potentially see. The first dove went smoothly, and we were lucky to see a snake eel, yellow tang fish, teardrop butterfly fish, the starfish called the crown of thorns, the Moorish Idol fish, and many others. The diving instructors were so impressed with the group’s focus and enthusiasm! After about 40 minutes, we got out and ate our lunch in the hot sun while sitting on the sidewalk with a beautiful view of the ocean and some palm trees. We talked about the fish we saw and what we’re looking forward to seeing for the next dive. We did our second dive and completed more skills for scuba certification and were tired after a long morning of activity. Next, we recorded our dives in our new log notebooks at the dive shop and returned/cleaned our gear.

We then had the chance to see more of town and enjoy the volleyball and corn hole area in the center. After standing on the hot sun of the sand volleyball court, Evan and Patrick played corn hole against George and Parker so that they could stand in the grass instead. We got some awesome action shots that we can’t wait to see when the camera pictures come back! After spending some time hanging out, we went shopping around town and got to see even more of the town and were able to buy some Knick knacks to bring home! The fan favorite of the day was Parker’s new ukulele, which he so generously shared with other members of the group and let Molly and Cornelia try it out. After shopping, we all waited in line at a street taco vendor and ordered dinner together before our exciting Manta Ray snorkel night. The tacos were delicious and very authentic – and were everyone’s favorite meal so far!

Next, we drove to the harbor to get on our boat for our night snorkel – we all suited up in wetsuits to stay warm as the sun went down. Everyone thought night snorkel was one of the coolest things we will do in our lives – we were able to see the Manta rays swim below us and got to see a monk seal. Monk seals are an endangered species and there are only five that live on this island! We felt so fortunate to see something so rare – our snorkel guides were blown away by seeing it and emphasized how special it is that we got the opportunity to see one.

We then took our boat ride back to the marina and got in the van to head back to camp, where we were led in a meaningful moon up by Liv and George.

Mahalo