Bittersweet Goodbye's!

July 25, 2023

We can’t believe the session has ended. We had so much fun these past two weeks and we were so sad to say goodbye this morning. Thank you for sharing your kids with us.

We wrapped up the trip in style. We woke up early at Brennan Lake and packed up camp super quickly. We had an early ferry to catch to head back to Squamish! We made a stop at Tim Horton’s and enjoyed experiencing a Canada classic. Full of breakfast sandwiches and coffee we headed to the ferry. The wind on the boat was crazy! Tommy, Hill, and Jackson took turns running against it up on the top of the boat. We docked in Squamish and went straight to meet our white-water rafting guides. We packed our overnight bags and put on some wetsuits-something we’re used to by now! We loaded onto the bus and headed to our out-in spot on the Elaho River. The girls’ boat was legendary, and the boys’ boat was rowdy. We had so much fun going through the rapids. We were naturals so our guide let Pickett steer us through a rapid! She and Bridget took turns in the guide’s seat, using the massive paddles to steer. We made it through the rapids and landed at the coast of our personal island. Our guides had set out crackers and cheese and fruit. We made ourselves acquainted with the island, walking through the sand trails and throwing rocks in the river. Dan hosted a rock-finding competition. The kid with the coolest rock won a prize! Warren pulled out the win with a space rock that was super smooth to the touch. Once we found the perfect spot to sleep we pulled out our sleeping bags and set them up for another night of cowboy camping! Our guides cooked us a perfect dinner of steak, mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, and chocolate cake. It was so good. Best meal of the trip by far. We did Moonup, led by Kacky and Jackson, with our guides and talked about all of the ways that this trip has influenced us. We went to bed under the stars in the valley between glacier capped mountains. Everyone was on the lookup for shooting stars. The girls counted five. It was such a beautiful night and we all were in awe of our surroundings.

Our guides woke us up the next morning to an awesome breakfast of French toast, bacon, fruit, and cereal. We packed up camp and polar plunged before getting in our rafts for the morning float back out of the river. We enjoyed a leisurely float, lying in the sun and taking in the views of the mountains all morning. We approached a waterfall that was falling from the glacier above. All of the boys opted to go under it, and Kacky, Pickett, and Liz followed. We loaded up the boats and went back to the rafting headquarters where we said goodbye to our guides and headed into Squamish. We stopped at Nestor’s Market for a snack before heading to our next big activity-hiking the Chief!!! The Stawamus Chief is the massive granite rock that sits above the town of Squamish. Your kids killed. that. hike. It is a steep incline for 2 miles, making it particularly challenging and intimidating. We were sad that Liz couldn’t join because of her injury, but we said goodbye to her and Meghan at the bottom and headed up. Joe and Leslie were particularly quick heading up the mountain, excited to reach the summit. We all encouraged one another and were jumping up and down when we reached the top. We had snacks and took pictures and took in the views. Reid even took a nap. It was a special moment to be up there together. We all headed back down and were greeted by Meghan and Liz who were cheering and waving Canadian flags. When we got in the van, we revealed the plan for dinner-a girls vs. boys iron chef competition! Each team had to make a meal out of the ingredients they could find in the Uhaul and two ingredients from the store. Once we purchased their ingredients, we went to camp to starting cheffing it up! The boys made chili cheese hotdogs, nachos, and Nutella covered Oreos. The girls made mac and cheese and grilled chicken with pancakes for dessert. It was a close call but the boys pulled out with the win!! We had Moonup on the beach by the Squamish river where Tommy and Bridget asked us about our favorite activities and most memorable moments so far. It’s hard to believe how quickly this session has gone by. We. Have had so much fun. We crawled in our tents, sad that the next day would be our last full one together.

We woke up early and packed up camp and our duffels. We made a first pit stop at the car wash and split up into our cleaning crews. After cleaning out Winnie and washing some dishes we headed to Walmart to pick out some funny outfits for our last day. The girls opted for massive night gowns and the boys went for pajama pants. We headed to A&W all dressed up ready to experience another Canadian classic-real root beer floats from the source. We sipped those down with our lunch before hitting the road to head back toward the states. We crossed back into America and were excited to be home. We enjoyed our last road trip together, making friendship bracelets and jamming to some Zach Bryan and Taylor Swift. We headed straight for our banquet restaurant – BBQ Pete’s!! We enjoyed a much-deserved BBQ dinner with unlimited soft serve ice cream for dessert. Tommy once again won the prize for most ice cream eaten. We loaded back in the van to head to our campsite at Saltwater State Park. The kids spent some time writing letters to themselves and reflecting on the trip before heading down to the beach of the lake to watch the sunset. It was such a fun night that ended in lots of laughter and hugs.

Thank you again for sending your awesome kids on this trip. We had so much fun!

Caroline, Meghan, and Charlie

Climbing in Comox!

July 22, 2023

Heyyyyy from Nanaimo!!!!!!

We woke up a few days ago and said a very sad goodbye to Tofino. It will definitely be remembered as one of the highlights of our trip. We loaded up in Winnie and headed to Lake Comox in Cumberland on the other side of Vancouver Island. On the way we were in a bit of traffic, waiting for the one way road out of Tofino to open. We played Ninja – ask your kids about it at home! It is such a fun game that we’ve picked up. Then, we had a karaoke dance party in the van. Pickett sang Moana and High School Musical especially loud. Once the traffic started rolling we were on our way. When we made it to our campsite, we beelined for the lake. Everyone quickly splashed in the water. For the rest of the afternoon we played on the beach and enjoyed some ice cream before taking some warm showers before dinner. It was taco night!! We ate up some beef tacos and chips and salsa and guac. Cook crew killed it with the chopping-especially Blythe who diced an onion without shedding a tear. We finished the day with an awesome MoonUp led by Liz and Reid which ended with another game of Ninja. Jackson won this round. We crawled into our tents and hammocks excited for the next day.

We woke up early and ate a good breakfast of eggs, fruit, and sausage-our fav to fuel us for our full day of rock climbing! We met our guides in the parking lot of our campsite and hiked up to the crag right above our temporary home. Pickett and Hill demonstrated how to tie the perfect figure 8 knot, and the guides gave us some more instructions. The kids were awesome rock climbers. They scrambled up the walls, belaying each other and even rappelling down a cliff. Tommy, Blythe, Reid, and Pickett even rappelled twice. We ate lunch up at the climb and then made our way back down to the campsite after a few more routes each. When we got back, we quickly changed into our swim suits and bolted to the lake to wash off the dirt and sweat. We played in the water and relaxed in the sun before loading into Winny for ice cream! We went to Love’s in town and each scarfed down a cone. It was super refreshing. We made our way back to camp and set up our next surprise… Tie Dye!!!! We are especially excited to see how Warren’s turns out as he went for the free-hand method, spraying the die onto the shirt with no plan. We’re thinking it’ll be the best one. Cook crew then got dinner going. Kacky and Bridget diced some tomatoes and cucumbers for our gyro-bowl night ! The tatziki sauce, hummus, feta, chicken, chick peas, and veggies made for an awesome Mediterranean dinner. We made our way to a little secret cove at the end of the beach for Moonup. We went to bed tired and happy.

The next morning consisted of English muffins with Nutella and oatmeal with protein peanut butter before rock climbing again! We hiked up to our morning crag, which had three top rope climbs set up. Everyone was quick to get on the wall and tie in to belay their friends. Meanwhile, the group went in groups of three to do a 25 meter rappel down a cliff!! Everyone killed it. Leslie was especially fast, hopping down as she went. We ate lunch and then began the hike up to Devil’s Ladder, the final climbing and rappelling ultimate destination. Everyone faced their fears and attempted the full 100 foot repel and climb. Hill was the first boy to go and Pickett started off the girls. Everyone rotated through, cheering each other on and playing games. Dan is the one to beat in Chess and Joe is the king of Gin Rumy. It was a fun day full of facing fears and conquering lots of new challenges. We hiked back down to camp and headed back to the lake to cool off. We enjoyed ice cream and other snacks before showering and hanging in our Enos. We then ate a yummy dinner of pulled pork sandwiches, mac and cheese, and beans. We headed down to the beach for Moonup. We broke out glow sticks, forming words in the air and taking turns making different glowing jewelry. Pickett and Kacky decided to make a long “snake”, attaching all of the glow sticks together. We had an awesome Moonup led by Leslie and Reid (our LODs) under the stars. We finished the night with a game of mafia (of course) and went to bed.

This morning was pancake breakfast!!! We slept in. We had chocolate chip and funfetti pancakes before packing up camp and leaving Cumberland Lake Campground. We drove a short ways to Strathcona Provincial Park for a hike! It was a relatively flat nice hike through lightly forested meadows. It smelled sweet like wildflowers and it led us to a lake with a small dock. We went out on the dock to take a break, playing another group game, Poison Dart Frog. Joe was “it” at the end and made everyone hunch over with laughter. We made our way back to the van for lunch where we had caesar salad wraps and chips. We got back in the car and drove to Nanaimo. We explored the marina area a bit, wandering into some shops and enjoying another awesome ice cream stop. Full and refreshed we headed to our new campsite. We ate a yummy dinner of pasta with red sauce, played on the playground, and packed up for our rafting trip that starts tomorrow! We are so excited!!! Our LODs, Liz and Warren, led our Moonup and we all crawled into our sleeping bags!!

Hey Mom and Dad,Thank you for sending me on Moondance. I’m having a lot of fun. – Tommy

Yo!I miss y’all so much! I want to say thanks you for amazing experience and for letting me leave the country by myself and taking on my own adventure! I love you! – Joe

Hello mom and dadI am having fun and thank you for sending me to Moondance. I like this cus it’s fun. Ya boy, hill

Hi mom and dad,Thank you for sending me on Moondance. I am very grateful be on this trip. I’m having a lot of fun. See you soon! Love, Jackson

Hi mom and dad,Thank you soooo much for sending me to moondance because I am having a great time. Love y’all. – Reid

Hi mom and dad,Thank you for sending me on Moondance. I am very grateful to be on this trip. I love and miss y’all so much. Love, warren

Hey mom and dad!I’m having the best time on this trip and I am so grateful to be here and would love to do this again! Please make sure to add money to my account if you haven’t already please. Love and miss y’all! – Leslie

Hey mom and dad!!I am having so much fun here! Thanks so much for sending me on this trip! I love y’all and miss y’all! Also I found my shorts. Blythe

Heyy Mama and Daddy! IM HAVING A BLAST!! I’m so excited for all of these friends I have made! I have done some CRAZY FUN things that I can’t wait to tell y’all all about it!! Thank y’all SO MUCH for sending me on this awesome Moondance! Love y’all :))- Pickett

Hey mom and dad,I’m having so much fun and have made so many new friends. Thank you for sending me on this trip. Love y’all and can’t wait to tell y’all everything! – Bridget

Hey mom and dad!I’m having the best time on Moondance! Thank you so so much for giving me the opportunity to meet new people and try new things! I’m so grateful for everything! Love and miss y’all!! – Kacky

Hey mom and dad!!I’m having such an amazing time here! I’ve done some super cool things that were really fun!! Thank you so so much for letting me go on this trip! It’s been the best experience! Love and miss y’all! – Liz

Terrific Times in Tofino!!

July 18, 2023

Howdy from Tofino!

We woke up in Squamish well rested after sleeping in our mega-tents and hammocks. We enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, and English muffins with peanut butter and Nutella. Everyone said it was the best meal so far! Once we were full and well awake we said our goodbyes to the Chief and headed to Horseshoe Bay for our ferry. We walked around the town and explored some shops, enjoying some refreshing drinks, gluten free treats, and ice cream. Hill and Jackson continued to throw the football, of course, and the girls made use of the slides on the playground! After a quick lunch at the park, we headed to the ferry. We pulled onto the boat, commenting on how massive it is and how none of us understand how it could possibly float. Once aboard our ship we went to the sun deck and took in the views. We could see Mount Baker and Vancouver from the ship which were 101 miles away! Leslie and Blythe played Titanic, standing like Rose and Jack at the front of the boat, wind blowing in their faces. We explored the boat for the rest of the ride and found a spot in the shade where we rested and chatted until we made it to port in Nanaimo! From there, we started our drive to Tofino. It was definitely a long one, but the kids were great sports, singing karaoke with a makeshift microphone. Warren’s performance of “I Bet You Think About Me” by Taylor Swift was a crowd favorite, leading the rest of the boys to join in on more Taylor songs too! Once the songs wore us out we took some well deserved naps before arriving at our campsite on Mckinsey Beach! It was a crazy site with gorgeous, massive trees with branches that built canopies. Our cook crew, Warren, Liz, Pickett, and Joe, killed it making our spaghetti dinner. We ate quickly and ran to the beach where some beach football and Spike Ball broke out. Before Moonup, the boys took a polar plunge, running toward the cold ocean! We could hear their laughs all the way back at the campsite. Cold, but happy and feeling alive, we returned to camp, changed into some warm clothes and crawled into bed with the sound of the waves crashing in the background.

We woke up the next morning and made some yummy pancakes with M&Ms, strawberries, and blueberries. We then got dressed up and geared up for a busy day! We walked down the beach from our campsite to meet our stand up paddle boarding guides. We got fitted up in our wet suits and life jackets and headed out into the water. We tried our hand at paddle board yoga. Kacky proved to be the best at headstands on the water. After some laughs and a lot of falls, we made it to a kelp Forest out by an island right off the beach. The guides taught us all about the different kinds and the ways that they store gasses within the leaves. They told us it was popular for the locals to harvest it to eat. We all took some bites while Hill stuffed a whole leaf in his mouth! We even found some crabs within the kelp and held them. As we got closer to the island, we saw star fish on the rocks that were orange and purple! We left the island to play some games in the open water and see some other beaches. Pickett took some spills and the rest of us jumped in after her, laughing the whole time. We made it made to shore with enough time to thank our guides before walking back to our campsite. We made some Mac and cheese to fuel up for our busy afternoon. Full and excited, we drove to meet our surfing guides! We surfed some awesome waves on Cox Bay. Everyone got up at least once! The sun was out and the vibes were good. This definitely seemed to be the best activity yet. Everyone was super stoked to be there. Once we were surfed out, we headed back to the van. We said thank you to the guides and headed to the town of Tofino to explore! We walked around and bought some Tofino swag before going to a burger joint for dinner! The local food stop was definitely one for the books. We went back to camp and played on the beach before Moonup. Reid, Tommy, Jackson, and Hill threw the football yet again. Bridget and Jackson, our LODs, led an awesome MoonUp. Then we had some hot chocolate and night time tea before bed. It was a busy day that was definitely one of our best so far!

We got to sleep in the next day! Yay for a slow morning! We cooked a scrumptious breakfast of eggs, sausage, and hash browns before heading back to Cox Bay for another few hours of surfing. The kids KILLED IT!! The guides said we were the best group that they’ve seen yet. Everyone was out catching the green waves, cheering each other on and paddling hard. Jackson caught one wave in particular that was sick. One of our instructors was whistling and yelling because he was so excited. One everyone caught their last wave in, we said our goodbyes and headed back to the campsite for lunch. We enjoyed ramen and goldfish for lunch and walked over to our paddle boarding activity. We suited back up and headed for the water. We played games and explored the rock islands off of the beach. For one of the games we lined up all of the boards and took turns running across them. Everyone made it and was cheering each other on. We finished up with a game of sharks and minnows before paddling back to shore. We hung out on the beach for a while, playing games and chatting before dinner. We had personal pizzas! Tommy’s taco method was definitely a winner. After dinner, we headed to the beach for some volleyball! We played an intense game with the boys pulling out the win against the girls. Then we combined forces and won an awesome game against BCO C. It was fun to cheer each other on and play in the sand. We finished the evening while watching the sunset on the beach and Mooning up to the sound of the waves, led by Blythe and Tommy. It was an awesome day, and we are sad to leave Tofino tomorrow, but we are stoked for what the next few have in store!

Caroline, Meghan, Dan

Shoutouts!!!

Hey,

I’m having tons of fun and can’t wait to see you! I love you all so much!

Joe

Hi,

Moondance has been really fun and thank you for signing me up! Love you,

Reid

Hey,

I’ve been having lots of fun and the time is flying bye. Miss you!

Tommy

Mom, and Dad

I bought a Paul Pierce jersey.

Your boy, Hil

Mom and dad,

Hey guys. I don’t know where my wallet is 🌞🗣️‼️😩💯

Warren

Mom, Dad

I’ve had a lot of fun. Can’t wait to see you soon.

-Jackson

Hey!!

I’m having the best time ever and miss y’all but I need some more money in my account please. Love y’all also my hokas are kinda really dirty now

Leslie

Hey mom and dad!!!!

I miss y’all and don’t worry I am having a lot of fun. I might or might not have lost my shorts but it’s ok. I haven’t spent all my money yet but I might need more. Love y’all.

Blythe

Hey mom and dad!

I miss y’all a lot, but I am having a lot of fun! Will one of you download The Summer I Turned Pretty for me to watch on the plane? Can’t wait to see y’all in a week!! Give Scooter a pet for me!

Liz

Heyyy Mama, and Daddy, Sister, and Webby

I’m having THE BEST TIME in Americas hat! I’ve met so many new friends! Can’t wait to tell y’all all the fun mems I’ve made! Don’t worry, I’ve kept up with all my stuff so far, yay! Tell my grandparents and friends I said bonjour! Kk! love yall! byeeee!

Pickett!

Hey mom and dad

I’m having so much fun and have made great friends. Check Taylor’s swifts surprise songs please. Tell Connor and the pigs I miss them. Love y’all byeeee

Bridget

Hey mom and dad

I am having a ton of fun and have so many new friends!! Do you think you could text fosters parents about the beach? Thanks! Love y’all so much

Kacky

We are having a blast!

July 15, 2023

Greetings from British Columbia!!! We have had so much fun and can’t believe we are already on day four of our adventure. We’ve made so many awesome memories already!

Once we all arrived at the airport, we jumped in our van, Winnie, and sped away from the SEATAC. With some awesome music, suggested by Warren and Hill, we were off to our first campsite in Bay View State Park. We grabbed some yummy pizza on the way. Once we arrived at camp, we chowed down after our long day with travel. Once we were full and happy, we all gathered for a game of capture the flag. Each team took one dub, and we finished with a tie. Once we were sufficiently sweaty from our chasing, Tommy was quick to ask if we could swim in the bay right next to our campsite. We all quickly were on board with this idea and made our way to the beach for our first polar plunge of the trip! We were all shocked by the saltiness of the water, and we felt super refreshed and awake. We rinsed off and gathered back up on the beach for our first Moonup. We had a beautiful view of the sunset and reflected on how happy and grateful we all feel to be here. To top it off, we enjoyed some super sweet ice cream sundaes for dessert before winding down for bed! Such an awesome first day.

We woke up early the next day to some yogurt and granola with fruit before heading to our first activity, canyoning! We started driving north, eagerly awaiting our first views of Canada. We made it across the border smoothly and met up with our guides who were waiting for us with a van full of wetsuits, harnesses, helmets, and a ton of other gear. We were super stoked to get suited up and head into the river. We made some sandwiches, strapped into our suits, and started our first repel, led by Jackson and Kacky who went first! We all followed before sliding into our first swimming pool of the day. The water was crystal green and was flowing beautifully. We all commented on how it was so beautiful that it looked fake all day. We repelled down two more waterfalls and then stopped for lunch by a majestic swimming pool. We chowed down on some snacks and our sandwiches. After our much-deserved lunch break, we slid down into some more beautiful pools. Once, all 12 kids were holding onto each other while floating down the river in one big blob! We finished off our time in the river with a long zip line into our final swimming pool! All the kids rocked it and were cheering each other on as they slid down the waterfall. Once we had all successfully made it down the zipline, we hiked back up to the van. We changed into some warm clothes, thanked our guides, and said goodbye, and headed toward our next destination, Squamish! The drive on the Sea to Sky highway never disappoints with incredible views of the ocean and the surrounding mountains. Leslie, Pickett, and Blythe used the time to practice their braiding skills which have proved to be an incredible asset to the group. We danced and sang our way along until we reached our campsite. Upon arrival, we set up camp. The girls and boys each made their own “mega tent”-they pitched their tent so closely together that when the doors are opened it feels like one big tent! Once those were up and ready to go, we started dinner! Bridget, Blythe, and Liz helped us chef it up in the kitchen. This night was taco bowl night! We enjoyed some chips and guac with salsa as an appetizer before gobbling up some taco bowls. We cleaned up and broke out the football and Spike Ball. Reid and Jackson make quite the pairing! Tired from playing, we gathered for Moonup, led by our Leaders of the Day, Pickett and Joe. After sharing some laughs and stories, we all headed towards bed.

We woke up the next morning to yummy oatmeal with peanut butter and fruit. The van was decked out for Leslie’s birthday with signs and beaded necklaces! We love our birthday girl! We got in and sped off to meet our kayaking guides! We were super lucky with the weather-sun was shining and wind was minimal! We were out in our boats in no time, paddling down the channel in front of the Chief Mountain Range that runs along the town of Squamish. We gave Leslie a pair of pink, sparkly birthday sunglasses that she rocked while we were out in the sun! The water was bright blue and calm, making for an awesome morning of paddling. We made it to the base of Shannon Falls, a massive waterfall that flows from a glacier all the way down to the ocean! We went even farther, stopping at a beach to drink some water and eat some snacks. We enjoyed our break to refuel, taking pictures and staring at the gorgeous views of the massive granite rock above us on the side of the mountains. We got back in our boats and headed back, led by Joe and Kacky, who were natural kayakers! Them, Reid, Hill, and Warren even tried to catch some waves off of the guides’ motorboat that was leading us! It was fun to get some speed! We continued making our way back to the dock, chatting, a little relieved the current was working with us. When we got back, we rinsed off in their awesome hot showers and enjoyed a dip in the hot tub, which felt good on our sore muscles. Once we were sufficiently relaxed, we dried off and headed back to camp for lunch where we enjoyed a scrumptious meal of grilled cheese and tomato soup! Another game of spike ball broke out and everyone was excited to watch the competition. Once Warren and Hill won a nail biter, we loaded up in the van and headed to Alice Lake. We brought our swimsuits and ran straight for the water. We played “Silence” on the docks-Jackson was quick in the water. We splashed around some more before returning to the beach where the boys continued to toss the football around-they love that thing! The girls chatted on our towels and dried off in the sun! After soaking up some rays, we gathered in the shade for some snacks. Once we were laked out, we headed back to the campsite to take some showers! Once we were clean and refreshed, we enjoyed some burgers for dinner! We then returned to our favorite field for some more spike ball and football. A cartwheel and handstand competition soon broke out, with Kacky and Bridget showing us their perfect form. We all ended up on the ground cackling with laughter. Then, it was time for our birthday party! We sang Leslie “Happy Birthday” and watched her blow out her candles before gobbling up her chocolate cake! It was so fun to celebrate her! Then Kacky and Hill, our LODs, led us into an awesome Moonup that ended in more laughter-a common theme so far in this trip! This group is hilarious! We all made our way back to bed, excited for what tomorrow will bring!

See y’all soon!

Caroline, Meghan and Dan

British Columbia 3A Has Officially Begun!

July 12, 2023

Hello British Columbia Families!

We heard from our leaders and the group has landed safely in Seattle with all of their luggage! 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