And That's A Wrap!
July 14, 2022
Hello from Venice!!
We woke up on Monday full of excitement for our last day of activity and our day in Croatia! We headed to the ocean and hopped in kayaks to explore. No surprise, but Lucy was our kayaking queen, leading the pack the entire time! We paddled to a nearby cave, got out of our kayaks and explored. We swam into the cave, where Adair was sure to capture some epic underwater pics. We found lots of baby jellyfish (don’t worry, the kind that can’t sting us) and fish swimming around us. We then continued the fun and did what we do best, jumped off a nearby cliff. The entire group made the leap into the water, and it was well worth it for sure! We then embarked on the paddle back to shore where we were greeted with some delicious watermelon and dried fruit. YUM! Then… it was time for our best surprise yet. The kids got 30 minutes on the blow up obstacle course on the water and man was it a hit! Everyone was slipping and sliding everywhere, Annie even managed to flip off the blob. It was hilarious! After the obstacle course, we headed to a local farm for a delicious lunch. Jackson and Jed took on the tall task of a steak for lunch, but said it was well worth it. We then headed to a nearby cliff jumping spot for the ultimate test of a jump and the entire group absolutely crushed it! Brown took the duty of being the first to jump in after Phil, encouraging the rest of the group to do the same. Big smiles were radiating all around! We then headed back to camp where we ate a delicious meal cooked on the grilled by our very own Grill Master Phil. With full bellies, we ran to the ocean for a jaw-dropping sunset Moonup and then laid our heads down to prepare for our early morning heading to Venice.
Yesterday, we hopped in the car early to Venice but it was well worth it! We spent the morning traveling to our hostel, excited to jump on a water bus and see the city. We headed to the most delicious Italian lunch to start off our day of exploring. Pizzas all around received high reviews, but not as high as Luke’s scrumptious pasta! After lunch, we explored Venice with a gondola ride. This was certainly a hit; Anna Sloan was beaming! We then decided it was time to treat ourselves to some gelato before we shopped around to buy souvenirs for our loved ones (and matching shirts for the girls, obviously!). We hopped in and out of a lot of shops, but the proclaimed best by Emmy was the handmade bookmark and journal shop! After we were shopped out, we shared a delicious last banquet dinner and headed back to pack up before our final Moonup. Our final Moonup was bittersweet as we reflected on the trip, what we learned about ourselves, and ended by creating appreciation sheets, inspired by our own Giles.
We just said our goodbyes to your fantastic kids. We couldn’t love them more and are so happy we got to know them these past two weeks!!! We miss them already and thanks for everything!! Stay cool, SLO 2A. We love you all to pieces!!
Keep in touch,
Phil and May May
Zipping, Cooking, Rafting Galore!
July 11, 2022
Dober dan!!
The past couple days in Soča Valley have been incredible!! In the adventure capital of Slovenia, we surely took advantage of all the activities. We woke up on Saturday and immediately threw on the wetsuits and headed to the river. The crystal-clear water and the mountain surrounding made for the most beautiful view. There were plenty of opportunities for swimming along the way. Anna Sloan learned the hard way to always be on your toes because you never know when a raft war is going to break out and you might get pushed in! We stopped along the way and created a raft slide, where everyone got to show off some style and slide down. A couple more rapids down the river, and then our morning of rafting was finished! Jackson left the river beaming, certainly giving rafting and our guide, Tarzan, stellar reviews. We rewarded ourselves with a yummy lunch, then explored town for a bit before canyoning. Everyone in the group bought matching bracelets! We then headed to canyoning, which was certainly, a fan favorite! Canyoning consisted of lots of slides and jumps down different sized waterfalls. Our grand finale was being rappelled down part of the biggest waterfall yet, then dropped for the other 3/4 of it. It was SO. AWESOME. The biggest smiles were on everyone’s faces the entire way. After canyoning, we headed to camp for a delicious meal prepared by our favorite Chef George, had a lovely Moonup, then hit the hay to prepare for the day ahead!
Yesterday was a BIG DAY because it was our Luke’s BIRTHDAY!!!!! The group woke up extra early, to surprise Luke with music, signs, and kazoos, when we woke him up for the day. The morale was extra high yesterday; it was certainly a day to remember! We began the day going to the most beautiful waterfall we’d ever seen. The vibrant green colors were impeccable! Per usual, Giles led the train in being the first to jump in the water! Everyone made the plunge into the water; we snapped a lot of pics with the incredible waterfall and swam around for a bit. Afterwards, we shared a quick lunch and headed to ziplining. We ziplined 10 lines over and inside of canyons. The views were unimaginable. Our ziplining queen, Emmy, looked like she was having the time of her life with the biggest smile on her face! Even our friends afraid of heights thought it was epic. After ziplining, our real birthday celebrations began for Luke! We enjoyed a lovely cookout where we grilled a variety of meats, sautéed veggies, made a salad, and ate delicious fruit we picked up at a local stand. I think it’s safe to say that Brown was the grill master of the group, and Jed made us the most amazing bonfire to accompany our scrumptious meal. At the end, we obviously had to surprise Luke with a cake and sing him happy birthday again!! After dinner, the fun wasn’t over yet. Everyone performed skits that had the leaders belly laughing, especially Lucy, who was a natural actress! We then switched gears and shared a heartfelt Moonup before we went to bed.
Today, we woke up and hopped in the car to head to our cooking class and Croatia. We stopped along the way to checkout a nearby town and try some local fast food as an appetizer for the cooking class. We then continued to our class at the most beautiful villa you’d ever seen! All hands were on deck, preparing a four-course meal. We sat under grape vines at a long, beautiful table. We began with a delicious potato and veggie soup before we continued our courses with Adair and Annie’s homemade pasta. Words don’t even do it justice, it was indescribable. Next, we had mashed potatoes, turkey, and zucchini. We then finished off our meal with an apricot, graham cracker, and cream dessert. Unbelievable. Now, we are headed to Croatia and excited for the adventures on the coast to come!!!
Until next time,
Phil and May May
Annie- Thank you so much mom and Alex for sending me on this incredible trip. I’m having such a blastexploring the different countries and can’t wait to tell you all about it!! 🙂
Giles – Mom and Dad, thank you so much for sending me on this trip!! Slovenia was incredible, and Ican’t wait to explore Croatia and Venice! Love you so much!! – Giles
Luke- Hey Mom and Dad I just wanted to thank you for sending me on such a wonderful trip. I am havingso much fun exploring Europe and it’s many activities
Adair- hey mom and dad! Thank you so much for sending me to Slovenia- it is such an incredible experience with such amazing people. I am excited to see y’all soon and love y’all a lot
Sloan- Hi mom and dad! Thank you so much for letting me go on this trip! I’ve had such a fun timeand I can’t wait to see y’all soon.
Jackson- Thank you so much for allowing me to go on this trip, I’m having the best time trying new foods and doing fun activities. Love you
brown- thank you so much for sending me to Slovenia. I’ll never be able to experience something as incredible as this ever again. Love y’all
Emmy- thank you so much for sending me on this trip!! I’ve been having so much fun and been able to experience so many new activities. Love you guys!!
Lucy – thanks so much for sending me to Slovenia!!! Its the coolest place ever and now we’re at Croatia!It’s so salty I can float. Love y’all!!!
Jed – Hey mom and dad, I am having a ton of fun and really appreciate you sending me. Can’t wait to tellyou all about it!
Taking in the views!
July 4, 2022
Zdravo from Slovenia!!!!
We kicked off this trip with lots of smiles and excitement in the Venice airport!! The jet lag was there, but the thrill and anticipations of the adventures to come outweighed the exhaustion. We played a quick name game, then hopped in the van and headed to Slovenia.
Jed ensured one van stayed awake with the games he had up his sleeve, and Lucy’s umbrella riddle stumped us all right off the bat. We made a pit stop at a nearby lake, showing the group the beautiful clear water of Slovenia. We ate lots of burgers, chicken sandwiches, and salads. We then continued on to our first mountain hut with jaw dropping views. The group was greeted with a beautiful pink sunset reflecting on the nearby mountains, making the first Moonup a memorable one. After Moonup, the kids finally laid their sleepy heads down for a good night’s sleep.
Yesterday, we woke up well rested and ready for the day. The trail talk was flowing, as we embarked on our “warm up” hike up to a beautiful nearby peak. Anna Sloan flew up the mountain like it was nothing! With lots of beautiful view spots along the way, Brown was sure to crush the photo game especially with some posed jumping photos. Finally, we made it to the top of the peak, and the view absolutely did not disappoint! Right below us was the intersection of three borders, and there were mountains as far as we could see. After we snapped a few pics at the top, we took some well-deserved rest in a pasture right below the peak while we discussed music and ate granola bars.
After our hike, we shared a delicious lunch and Jackson led the train on some of the boys taking down a big plate of ribs! YUM! We then headed to the nearby lake, and did a couple polar plunges in the cold, but beautiful water. Giles didn’t hesitate to jump right in and set the tone for the group by jumping off every dock possible! Lots of GoPro footage was taken, and the boys even managed to swim across part of the lake! After our quick dip, we headed back to our mountain hut to regroup and for dinner. After we ensured our bellies were full, we decided to end the day with a small hike up to a nearby grass patch on the top of one of the mountain peaks. We were graciously greeted by LOTS of sheep, who let everyone, but especially Luke, pet them and snap a few pics. Talk about a good view up there, too! Finally, we had a lovely Moonup to close the night and prepared for today’s activities.
Today, we woke up with a whole new level of excitement for the 4th of July!! We jammed to some of our favorite America songs on the way to our new hostel and sea kayaking. The crystal-clear waters were a treat for everyone, as we kayaked across a lake and down the river. Annie especially impressed us with her kayaking skills, leading the group the entire way down the river! We took a quick pit stop along the way at a cliff, to jump into the beautiful water. Adair didn’t hesitate a bit to jump off, showing everyone how it was done! We then continued down the river for the rest of the morning and rewarded ourselves with a delicious pizza lunch. After lunch, we took some well-deserved rest before rock climbing. We then headed to the rock looking over the beautiful lake, and everyone absolutely crushed all the routes! Emmy especially was a quiet rock-climbing queen! After rock climbing, we ended our day with a proper 4th of July dinner of hotdogs, chips, and watermelon then had a killer moonup. We’re currently packing our packs and getting ready for our four days of trekking ahead!! Talk to y’all on the flip side!!
Until next time,
Phil and May May
Giles
Hi Mom and Dad (and Kenzie)! I am having so much fun, we just finished trekking and I am exhausted but so excited for the rest of the trip! Thank you and Love you so much!! – Giles
Jackson
Hey mom and dad, I’m having a really great time trekking in the mountains and hanging out with everyone. We’ve been having sausage and barley soup a lot and lots of strudels. Miss you and tell Ali I miss her too. -Jackson
Adair
Hey mom, dad, reston, and adelaide! we just finished trekking and it was tiring, but super fun and I am excited for the rest of the trip coming up. We are white water rafting and canyoneering tomorrow. Love y’all so much <3 Adair
Lucy
Hey mom and dad!! I’m having sooo much fun and can’t wait to tell y’all all about it. Love and miss y’all (but miss gus and hank more). ps trekking downhill makes you trip. <3 Lucy
Annie
Hey mom and Alex! We are now over half way done and I’m having a blast. This has been a great experience and I’m so excited for the rest. We finished trekking and the rest of the trip will be full of fun activities you’ll love to hear about. Love and miss you 🙂 Annie
Anna Sloan
Hey mom and dad! Slovenia is awesome and I’m happy to say that I survived trekking. I can’t wait to see y’all soon and tell you all about it. Love and miss y’all! Tell Mia I miss her too! – Anna Sloan 🙂
Jed
Hey Mom and Dad. We are just reaching the halfway point of the the trip and it has been a ton of fun. We started off with trekking and river kayaking and now we are off to canyoneering, rafting and Zip-lining. I miss you and can’t wait to tell you about it. – Jed
Emmy
Hey mom and dad!! I’m having so much fun! We just finished trekking and the views were amazing. Im super excited to white water raft and zip-line soon. We’ve been trying so many different foods and they are all so good. I hope y’all had fun in Boston and Asheville. Love and miss you guys!!!
Emmy
Brown
What’s up Mom and Dad😎😎 I’m having a blast here in Slovenia and loving the local food. The views while trekking were unbelievable and even better I didn’t get any blisters. Tell Charles, Virginia, and Blue I miss them a ton. I also heard about the Baker Mayfield trade, which is so sick. Love and miss you guys! Deuces.
Luke
Hey Mom and Dad this two week trip is going great so far. The people, food, and activities are some of the best and the views are out of this world. I have made some new friends on the trip and I feel as if I am getting along nicely with everyone. I still have many fun activities left to do. Thanks for sending me on this trip!
Luke
Landed Safely!
July 2, 2022
Hello Slovenia Families!
The whole group arrived safely in Venice early today and are on their way to their way to Slovenia. We have heard from our leaders that 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
