Last hello from Maui!
July 26, 2022
Aloha!
It is with heavy hearts that we write to you on our last day here in beautiful Maui. We have had so much fun getting to know these kiddos, and we are incredibly grateful for our time spent together!
Our 10th day was spent over in Lahaina for our submarine tour! Everyone was so excited to board the Atlantis and dive down to 130ft below sea level. Russell even spotted some sharks! We opted for a town day after our sub tour and let the kids shop around. Kate came back with some great t-shirts and other awesome finds. Skip also had some great luck shopping! Our evening was spent battling it out with the other Maui groups for the champion title at the Olympics. While we did not prevail, we did have some rockstar athletes. Helen dominated the soccer field per usual, and Alison had our basketball buzzer beater shot in double over time! After some fun games, we feasted on burgers and hotdogs. We even surprised Mary Lyon and her twin sister with a birthday cake despite it not being their birthday.
Our next day was an early morning, but totally worth it. We headed back to Kalama Beach to catch some waves! While we weren’t able to stand up paddle board because of wind conditions, our guides let us surf instead. Boots and Jack were able to catch some awesome swells. Ben even had some great runs too! They were all so fearless on the water. Our guides loved it! After surfing, we decided to have a rematch of volleyball at a nearby park. The girls came out on top and beat the boys by 2 points!
Our final full day in Maui was spent with Redline Rafting. We headed out to Molokini Crater to snorkel with some of the most beautiful fish we’ve ever seen. Gia and Bevin dove right in and we’re quick to take some really cool pictures on Bevin’s GoPro. We can’t wait to see how they turn out! Our redline guides did an awesome job of making sure to take us to some great turtle spots. They even let the kids pick out some songs to play on our ride! We finished out our day with a banquet dinner in Paia of delicious pizza. Everyone loaded back into the van, and we made our way to the top of Haleakala for a phenomenal sunset. We even squeezed in our final moonup atop the dormant volcano!
As this session comes to a close, we can’t help but feel grateful for time spent with such awesome kids. A note to our peeps – We love each and every one of you, and we know you are all destined to do big things in life. Keep in touch!
Signing off one last time with all of the Moondance love,
Kate + Sarah Paden + Harry
Canyoneering & Cliff jumping
July 22, 2022
Aloha Maui 3A families and friends!
Wow, time sure does fly when you’re having fun. It’s hard to believe we are basically halfway through our session! The laughs and adventures have been nonstop, and we can’t wait to fill you in.
Day 6 consisted of rainforest canyon rappelling. Our group piled into the van and drove down the famous Road to Hana on our way to the Garden of Eden where we met our fabulous rappel guides! Everyone suited up in their gear, complete with silly nicknames written on our helmets, and began the hike down to our first rappelling spot. Ben and Kate were naturals and conquered the course with ease. Our Leaders of the Day (LODs) Skip and Mary Lyon then led us on a walking tour of the Garden of Eden. The group absolutely loved the amazing lookout points and many peacocks that roamed the garden. We finished out the day with our local food stop at Paia Fish Market!
The next day, we made our way over to Kapalua for some awesome cliff jumping. Everyone had such a blast in the water! Alison won the award for coolest jumping videos and Boots spotted some of the biggest turtles the group has seen. We then made our way over to Baldwin Beach for some fun in the sun. Football, swimming, and Harry’s hackie sack kept the group entertained for the afternoon. We then made our way back to camp where LOD’s Russell and Helen helped prepare salmon & chicken teriyaki rice bowls – which were a huge hit!
The next day we got up bright and early and headed to Makena Beach for a morning of sea kayaking and snorkeling. May and Gia spotted a number of colorful and unique fish that are endemic to Hawaii. On our drive back to camp for lunch, Bevin was hard at work making friendship bracelets for the leaders. After eating we settled on spending our afternoon with a hike. We headed up the road to Hana and found a scenic nature trail which the group completed in no time. It was quite hot by that point in a day and when the group stumbled upon a waterfall swimming hole, we knew we had to jump in. Jack even found a cool rope swing for the group.
We have had so much fun and cannot believe how fast the days are flying by. We are so thankful for the chance to get to spend this time with your kids and know these memories will last a lifetime.
Talk soon,
Sarah Paden + Kate + Harry
A word from the kids:
May- Hey mom and dad! Thank you so much for sending me here! I’m having so much fun! Miss you
Mary Lyon – Hey mom and dad! Thank you for sending me here, I’m having so much fun!
Alison – heyyy mom and dad, big thank you for letting me come to maui, it’s so pretty. missing y’all lots, see you soon :))
Bevin – Hi mom and dad! Thank you so much for sending me on this trip. I’m having so much fun and I’m so grateful that I am able to go to places like this! I love you and miss you and tell Dec I miss him and give Tucker a hug for me!
Gia- hi mom and dad. Thank you so much for sending me on this trip. It’s been super fun and I’m excited to tell y’all all about it when I come home. I love you
Russell – hey everybody I’m missing you guys a lot Thank you so much for sending me here I’m having a great time. Love you all so much
Boots- hey thanks for sending me here. I miss y’all so much and am havin the best time. Love y’all
Helen- hey mom and dad, I’m having a great time! Thanks for giving me this opportunity! I miss and love y’all sm!
Kate- hey guys I’m having so so much fun!! Thank you so much for sending me on this trip. Love y’all so much. Aloha
Ben- Hey y’all! I am having so much fun! Miss y’all so much and am so excited to tell y’all about all of it! Thank you so much for sending me on moondance! Love y’all so much! Ben
Jack- hi mom and dad! Thank you very much for letting me go to this trip. I am having a lot of fun and making new friends. I miss you all so much and can’t wait to see you soon! Love y’all
All's SWELL!
July 19, 2022
Hello Maui 3A families!
Life has been good on Maui! Saturday, we spent our morning giving back and learning about plants that are sacred to the island at Maui Cultural Lands. Boots and Skip put their strength to the test by using a weed wrench to uproot invasive species! Kate and Mary Lyon were also amazing helpers with clearing some trails. Later in the day we headed to the Nakalele Blowhole and boy was the group excited!! Maui and the other Hawaiian Islands have been experiencing a historic swell which made for some massive waves! The group enjoyed watching them from afar at Nakalele.
Due to the swell we had to reschedule our activity for Sunday, but we sure made the most of it! We started off with a big breakfast of bacon, eggs, waffles, and fruit. Bevin was an awesome helper in the kitchen! Then we headed over to Maui Golf & Sports for some friendly rounds of putt-putt. Helen took a win for the girls with an impressive score of 47 while Ben proved to be the champion for the boys’ group. However, May and Gia also had some great strokes! Afterwards, the girls cooled down with some yummy shaved ice while the boys played another round.
Once both groups finished their rounds, we went back to camp for a yummy late lunch of chicken quesadillas. By then the temperature had started to drop and the group decided a beach sunset would be the perfect way to end our impromptu island day. When we got to Baldwin Beach Harry and Russell wasted no time hopping in the water for a quick swim. Meanwhile Alison and Jack recruited some of the others to get a game of taps going.
We can’t wait for all of the fun the rest of the week has in store for us,
Sarah Paden + Kate + Harry
A word from your kids:
Alison: Hi mom and dad! Having fun miss y’all! Hey friends, hope vball camp was fun :)Thank you for sending me here.
Bevin: Hi mom and dad, I’m having fun but I miss you guys! Tell Tucker and Declan I love them.
Gia: Hey mom and dad, I miss and love y’all. Having so much fun though!
Helen: hi mom and dad! I miss y’all and I’m having a great time! Happy early birthday dad! Love y’all sm! Tell yates i miss him too.
Kate: Hey mom and dad I’m having so much fun i miss and love y’all lots. Tell Willy and Nelson I miss them!!
May: Hi mom and dad I’m having so much fun! Miss y’all so much. Tell Hershey and lily I say hi! Hey Elizabeth, Abby, Vivi, and Susanna!
Mary Lyon: Hey mom and dad. I’m having fun and I miss you!
Skip: Hi mom and dad, I love y’all. Tell Percy I miss him!
Russell: Hey everybody, I miss you guys so much. I hope everyone’s doing well. Love you guys so much. I hope Meredith is planning my perfect day already. Tell everyone I love them and pet Marty and coco a lot while saying my name. See ya!
Boots: Hi mom and dad, having a great time. Miss y’all!
Ben: Hey y’all, missing you but having a lot of fun!
Jack: Hey mom and dad! I’m having a lot of fun but I miss y’all
Aloha!
July 17, 2022
Aloha Maui 3A families!
Our trip has been off to a great start! After a seamless airport day, the group headed to our campsite and wasted no time in getting a spike ball tournament going. Laughs began to fill the air and bonds began to form. Russell decided that we all needed nicknames, so we spent dinner going around the table giggling and brainstorming.
We got up bright and early the next morning and headed to the beach for our first day of surfing lessons. We got lucky and had some big waves coming in thanks to the full moon. This didn’t deter our group for a minute as everyone dove right in without hesitation. Boots was a natural on the board and almost instantly started catching waves on his own. Ben and May were also fearless and had some great swells! After a fun-filled morning we headed back to camp for lunch where our leaders of the day, Kate and Russell, whipped up a delicious lunch of bacon grilled cheeses for the group. It was then time for an afternoon of sustainability education and service. The group got to harvest some fruits and vegetables and end with a dip in the pond. Skip won MVP of the afternoon for rescuing Alison’s GoPro from the bottom of the pond!
The next day, it was time for our second day of surf lessons and the improvement was obvious. Gia and Bevin both got up with excellent form and confidence and Helen had some fun learning to tandem surf. The park we were at had sand volleyball courts and it was quickly decided that we needed to acquire a volleyball and play some matches. Jack and Alison impressed us all with some pretty great serves. Alison even showed us her strong jump-serve skills!
After getting sandy and sweaty, we decided the best way to cool down and rinse off was a trip to one of our favorite beaches on the island. Harry led all the kids throughout the water in search of cool sea life. Mary Lyon was excited to see multiple eels and colorful fish.
We wrapped up the day with a taco dinner, a great moon-up, and a lot of excitement for what’s in store the next few days!
All the Moondance love
Sarah Paden + Kate + Harry
Aloha to Maui!
July 14, 2022
Hello Maui Families!
We heard from our leaders late yesterday evening that the group has landed safely in Maui. The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure.
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips but we will be posting up to three trip updates throughout the next couple of weeks! This will allow you to follow along with the trip and the students will also give a special shout out mid-way through! You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to this summer!
-Moondance HQ
