Our Last Days in Hawaii!
July 24, 2023
It is hard to believe that the girls are now on a plane heading home and our time all together in Hawaii is over. We seriously could not have asked for a better group of girls and we’re so thankful for each and every one of them!
Our last couple of days were filled with some amazing adventures! Starting off the end of our trip finishing up day 3 of scuba diving on the shore, we headed out for a manta ray night snorkel! Before heading out onto the boat, we had a delicious cookout with some chicken quesadillas and tacos by the ocean. After our dinner by the harbor, a boat had just returned with a gigantic swordfish that was very cool to see, and afterwards we headed out for the snorkel! The boat ride there was amazing, and we had an hour of extra time once we arrived at the snorkel site to hang out! During this time, we all hung out on the front of the boat and sang songs together. This was definitely one of our favorite moments on the trip. Grace, Frannie, Maggie, Lia, and Mia especially sang their hearts out when we sang Home on the front of the boat all together. This moment, where we had no speaker and only had our voices, was one of everyone’s favorite moments where everyone was happy with no extra musical accompaniment. We unfortunately did not see any mantas that night, but the boat ride there and back was filled with many wonderful moments. The girls especially loved the boat ride back when we sat up on the top of the boat, looked at the stars, and reminisced about how much fun the trip had been so far. Miriam and Blakely especially loved talking about their happiest and most peaceful moments during the trip.
During our last day of scuba, we were lucky enough to see a manta ray! Our guides took us to a beautiful spot where manta rays go during the day and they said it was likely that we would see one, and we did! As we were exploring the reef beneath us, a giant manta appeared from the deeper blue waters beyond the reef and swam around us for a while, and it was so incredible to be down under the water with it on our last day. For our second dive, the girls got the chance to plan and lead us! Elle especially took on a leadership role when she gave our instructor the debrief and plan for the dive, while Emma led us through our final checks before the descent and Anna pointed out all of the cool things that we saw underwater. Our guide was especially impressed with Elle as she took on both jobs and did so with determination to do it correctly. This second dive was especially beautiful, and it was so much fun to see the girls get the chance to truly enjoy and appreciate the dive without the extra task of practicing their skills. Frannie and Mia especially loved seeing the lava tunnels during this dive and later remarked how amazing it was to breathe underwater!
To celebrate the girl’s accomplishment, one of our scuba instructors bought us all ice cream for us to enjoy! Emma could not believe she actually was able to get certified and can’t wait to tell everyone back home! MJ and Anna especially enjoyed the boat ride on this day. Our captain Russell brought a speaker for us to use on the ride, and they loved the peaceful and stunning rides to both of our dive sites while we listened to our favorite songs. Lia was especially proud to get certified after pushing through a bit of sea sickness!
We spent our last day, after cleaning up camp, getting coffee at our favorite local spot, doing some thrift shopping, and eating a delicious meal in some silly outfits before dropping the girls off at the airport.
After some sad goodbyes and many hugs, we said goodbye to all of the girls and sent them through to their gates. It is hard to believe how much time has flown by these last two weeks, but we could not be more thankful for the memories we’ve made and the friendships that will last a lifetime!
With Love,
Mollie, Anna, and Laura
We island hopped!
July 23, 2023
Aloha! After the smoothest travel day of them all, we have successfully made it to the Big Island! We spent our first day exploring the town of Hilo, where we stopped by a little farmers market and the girls were able to stretch their legs before heading to Volcano National Park. Lia and MJ tried some fresh pineapple juice and expressed how they wished they could find something this good back at home! For lunch, we stopped for some delicious sandwiches at Safeway, which was a big hit! Miriam even said it was the best sandwich she had ever had! The girls made the long car ride even more enjoyable by helping Anna, Laura, and I with an intense game of “My Cows”, where we compete for collecting the greatest number of cows, by shouting “My Cows” when we see any on the side of the road! Anna and Lia were especially skilled at spotting all of the cows in the distance! Mia and Anna led us in our first moon-up on the Big Island and before long, it was time to go to sleep to prepare for our first day of scuba!
The girls woke up in high spirits and couldn’t wait to begin their scuba certification. Our first day we spent majority of the time in the pool, but after the girls wanted to explore the area around the dive shop, so we took them shopping around Kona! Grace and Miriam even found a parrot while walking around town and could not stop talking about their silly encounter! This group of girls has such an amazing ability to make everything fun, always cracking jokes and making the two pool days some of our funniest memories!
For our 2nd pool day, we decided to go to the beach after finishing up pretty early and found a beautiful beach on our way back to camp! When we got to the beach, Frannie saw a floating platform and decided to make the swim out there! Maggie, Anna, Blakely, Grace, and I were quickly behind her and we all decided to play King of the Hill! After a pretty intense game, Maggie came out the champion and then we all decided to relax on the platform before heading back in! On our way back to the beach, Anna and Blakely spotted a sea turtle and the girls were able to swim around with it, before the turtle went back down!
The beach happened to be next to some pretty nice showers and so after spending some more time on the beach, all of the girls were able to shower before finishing our drive back to camp! Our LOD’s Blakely and Elle then led us in an amazing moon-up under the stars, where many girls gave nugs to the showers at the beach! Emma and Grace said it was one of the best showers they have ever had!
We can’t believe today is our last day! All of the girls are absolutely killed getting their scuba certification! Elle expressed how she cannot wait to start scuba diving in the ocean!
Thank you all for sharing your amazing girls with us this summer!
Here are some shoutouts back home from the girls:
Grace: Hi my family! I miss y’all so much and can’t wait to see all of you guys. It’s a blast here…definitely a fam vacay for sure. Views are incredible and I’ve made so many lifelong friendships already. Tell nana I love her and miss her too. See y’all soon. Aloha🤙🤙🤙
Blakely: Aloha fam. Miss y’all so much but camilla more. I don’t want to leave but so excited to have a bed again and eat moms food. Love y’all see ya soon🤙
Lia: Hiiii guys, I miss you guys so so much and I need mom’s food right now. I don’t want to leave because I love the ocean, peacefulness, and my new friends, but I can’t wait to see you guys. Love you 🫶🏻 see you soon, and say hi to chupi for me!!! Wish you could see my ocean view right now🤙🤙
Mia: hey y’all! I’m having so much fun and can’t wait to share this place with y’all! Say hi to aspen and Havana for me 🙂 love y’all! 🤙☀️🌊
Emma: hey guys! I miss you so much but im having a lot of fun and its so pretty here. Love you and see you soon! 🤙
Frannie: hi guys!! Miss you guys so much but, I am having so so so much fun! Love you guys and am so excited to see you in three days!!
Elle: hi fam!!! i hope y’all are having a good time you know working and laying in ur bed (aka Kennedy) this has been such an amazing experience that tops anything i have ever done and i can’t wait to tell y’all about it!! i miss you guys (and ofc emme and mr. pee pee)
also – happy early bday kennedy!!!
Maggie: hey fam!! Miss y’all tons!! I’m having the best time of my life and don’t wanna come back😌 hope Tate is doing well and Emma’s having fun!! See y’all soon!🤙🤙
Miriam: hey guys I miss you and hope y’all had fun with your last week in Wyoming!! See you soon and love y’all! Aloha 🤙🤙🤙
MJ: hey guys I miss y’all a ton and can’t wait to see y’all! I’m having an awesome time and made some great friends. Tell Lawton and the fam I’m so excited to see them and will be home soon!!🤙🤙❤️
Anna: What up fam!!! I’m having a blast here and met some great people. I can’t wait to see y’all and I miss y’all, I have some great stories to share. It’s so fun and I’ve made a lot of great friends and learned many new things. See y’all soon! Shaka baby! 🤙❤️😚
Till next time!
Sincerely,
Mollie, Laura, and Anna
Second hello from Hawaii!
July 18, 2023
Aloha! It is hard to believe that we are already half-way through our trip! Time is truly flying, but we are so grateful for this time we have had together with these girls!
For Day 3, we had the opportunity to hike Nu’alolo Trail, which leads to one of the prettiest lookouts on the Na Pali coast! When we arrived at the trailhead, Lia led us all in a group stretch! During the hike, MJ and Anna led us in some group games to pass the time! Elle even shared a riddle, as she introduced “Around the World” to the rest of the group, which had many of us fooled! The girls were so positive and encouraging to each other, especially on the way back from the look-out, which is practically all uphill! Anna came up with the idea to sing some songs and before we knew it, all the girls successfully completed the tough hike 7.5-mile hike! Many of the girls said that it was one of the hardest things that they have done, but yet the most rewarding! We all celebrated and blasted some fun music from the van for an impromptu dance party! To continue to celebrate everyone’s accomplishment and hard work, we pulled over for ice-cream on the way back to camp! Grace even recognized one of the workers and realized she went to elementary school with her! We all were amazed and laughed as we talked about what a small world we live in! As we were leaving, Mia and Blakely spotted some puppies in a car outside of the ice-cream shop and all the girls eagerly ran over to pet them!
On Day 4, we woke up and headed off to our second day of surfing! Although the waves were not as big as our first day, the girls still made the most of it! Lia, Mia, Blakely, and Emma even got to sit down on the surfboard like a race car driver and all raced each other. Miriam gave a shot at being a “lazy surfer” and caught a wave laying down with her arms behind her head! She gave all of us a good laugh as she did this! Towards the end of our lesson, Frannie and Mia spotted something in the water near the beach that caught all of our attention, even the instructors! As all of us took a closer look once we got to the shore, we saw that it was a baby black tip reef shark! We all watched in awe as it swam past our group.
After surfing, we checked out some of the local surf shops in Hanalei to pick out some fun shirts, handmade Hawaiian jewelry, and souvenirs! On our way to camp, we decided to stop at a local acai bowl place, which was the perfect treat after surfing all morning. Back at camp, Mia, Elle, Emma, Lia, Anna, MJ, and Maggie all hopped in the water with boogie boards and caught some waves! We all hung out at the beach before it was time to make dinner! Blakely and Elle were our LOD’s and helped with cook-crew to make watermelon salad with chicken! They then led us in our first deep moonup, where all the girls took turns sharing some powerful moments they have had in their lives! Watching this group come together, has been such a blessing for all of us leaders, and we truly could not ask for anything more!
The next morning, we woke up bright and early to head out to Polihale Beach to complete our 10-mile sea kayaking down the infamous Na Pali coastline. We all enjoyed the breath-taking views of the 2,000 ft sea cliffs and we even got to explore a little sea cave along the way. We landed for lunch at Molili’i Beach where we all enjoyed some delicious sandwiches, cookies, chips, and of course, fresh Hawaiian pineapple. We all agreed that sandwiches always taste better on a beach! While some laid out on the beach and swam in the waves Miriam, Mia, Blakely, Grace, and Laura went on a walk with one of our guides to a freshwater stream where there were tons of fresh mint growing! After some free time, we hopped back into our kayaks and paddled our way back to Polihale. Elle and Anna kept us entertained by singing and mastering the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s 10-minute version of All Too Well! We were all so incredibly proud of our girls for completing this challenging journey and having the best attitudes while doing it! Our guides were so impressed with our group of girls! On our way back to camp, we of course had to stop by Jo Jo’s, the best shaved ice on Kauai, to celebrate this huge achievement! The surprises and celebrations didn’t end there. On our way to dinner, we saw the most stunning double rainbow that any of us had ever seen! Maggie gave us the idea to pull over and take some fun pictures!
We then got back into the van and surprised the girls with a dinner at a local favorite, at Chicken in a Barrel for a delicious BBQ dinner! There was a nice patch of grass where our LOD’s Grace and Maggie decided to do moonup before heading back to camp. Grace and Miriam led us all in a mini gymnastic class and it’s safe to say that the girls may all come back with some new tricks!
On our last full day in Kauai, we made the most of our day and headed out for some fun adventures! To begin the morning, we stopped by Queen’s Bath, a small hike with a local swimming hole! On our way down, Lia pointed out some sea turtles off of the coast! As we walked along the lava rocks on the coast, we arrived at this stunning crystal clear, blue swimming hole. The conditions were perfect that day for swimming, so we all climbed down and hopped in! Blakely and Grace were especially excited as they were the first ones to bravely jump. We all joked how felt like we were in some island off the coast of Greece! After leaving Queen’s Bath we headed to our next adventure on the South side of the island: Ziplining!! We all had an absolute blast on the 4 different sections of this tour soaring over the lush canopy of the Kauai rainforest. Grace came down the first line full of laughter and excitement, as she mentioned it was the first time she had ever ziplined! Elle even faced her fears and absolutely fell in love with the ziplines! We were all so proud of her!
All the ziplines had fun features like being able to go upside down, getting a swim break along the way in Bamboo Pond, and the grand finale which was a 4000 ft long line that we flew “superman style.” At Bamboo Pond, there was a 20ft jumping platform which Frannie and Anna eagerly took the first leap off into the refreshing water below, while Emma was the first one to try the zipline into the water! After swimming, we passed by some strawberry guava trees plentiful of ripe red ones! MJ was especially excited about this fresh local treat and became a pro at picking out which ones were the best. Afterwards we headed back to camp to enjoy our last night in Kauai on the beach at our campsite and having honey chicken and fried rice for dinner! Frannie and MJ led us in our final moonup on Kauai and it was the perfect end to the best week! We are so excited to fly to the Big Island and be safe and sound away from the incoming rain! We cannot wait to update you guys again soon!
Much Love,
Mollie, Laura, and Anna
Second hello from Hawaii!
July 18, 2023
Aloha! It is hard to believe that we are already half-way through our trip! Time is truly flying, but we are so grateful for this time we have had together with these girls!
For Day 3, we had the opportunity to hike Nu’alolo Trail, which leads to one of the prettiest lookouts on the Na Pali coast! When we arrived at the trailhead, Lia led us all in a group stretch! During the hike, MJ and Anna led us in some group games to pass the time! Elle even shared a riddle, as she introduced “Around the World” to the rest of the group, which had many of us fooled! The girls were so positive and encouraging to each other, especially on the way back from the look-out, which is practically all up-hill! Anna came up with the idea to sing some songs and before we knew it, all of the girls successfully completed the tough hike 7.5-mile hike! Many of the girls said that it was one of the hardest things that they have done, but yet the most rewarding! We all celebrated and blasted some fun music from the van for an impromptu dance party! To continue to celebrate everyone’s accomplishment and hard work, we pulled over for ice-cream on the way back to camp! Grace even recognized one of the workers and realized she went to elementary school with her! We all were amazed and laughed, as we talked about what a small world we live in! As we were leaving, Mia and Blakely spotted some puppies in a car outside of the ice-cream shop and all of the girls eagerly ran over to pet them!
On Day 4, we woke up and headed off to our second day of surfing! Although the waves were not as big as our first day, the girls still made the most of it! Lia, Mia, Blakely, and Emma even got to sit down on the surfboard like a race car driver and all race each other. Miriam gave a shot at being a “lazy surfer” and caught a wave laying down with her arms behind her head! She gave all of us a good laugh as she did this! Towards the end of our lesson, Frannie and Mia spotted something in the water near the beach that caught all of our attention, even the instructors! As all of us took a closer look once we got to the shore, we saw that it was a baby black tip reef shark! We all watched in awe as it swam past our group.
After surfing, we checked out some of the local surf shops in Hanalei to pick out some fun shirts, handmade Hawaiian jewelry, and souvenirs! On our way to camp, we decided to stop at a local acai bowl place, which was the perfect treat after surfing all morning. Back at camp, Mia, Elle, Emma, Lia, Anna, MJ, and Maggie all hopped in the water with boogie boards and caught some waves! We all hung out at the beach before it was time to make dinner! Blakely and Elle were our LOD’s and helped with cook-crew to make watermelon salad with chicken! They then led us in our first deep moonup, where all the girls took turns sharing some powerful moments they have had in their lives! Watching this group come together, has been such a blessing for all of us leaders, and we truly could not ask for anything more!
The next morning, we woke up bright and early to head out to Polihale Beach to complete our 10-mile sea kayaking down the infamous Na Pali coastline. We all enjoyed the breath-taking views of the 2,000 ft sea cliffs and we even got to explore a little sea cave along the way. We landed for lunch at Molili’i Beach where we all enjoyed some delicious sandwiches, cookies, chips, and of course, fresh Hawaiian pineapple. We all agreed that sandwiches always taste on a beach! While some laid out on the beach and swam in the waves Miriam, Mia, Blakely, Grace, and Laura went on a walk with one of our guides to a freshwater stream where there were tons of fresh mint growing! After some free time, we hopped back into our kayaks and paddled our way back to Polihale. Elle and Anna kept us entertained by singing and mastering the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s 10-minute version of All Too Well! We were all so incredibly proud of our girls for completing this challenging journey and having the best attitudes while doing it! Our guides were so impressed with our group of girls! On our way back to camp, we of course had to stop by Jo Jo’s, the best shaved ice on Kauai, to celebrate this huge achievement! The surprises and celebrations didn’t end there. On our way to dinner, we saw the most stunning double rainbow that any of us had ever seen! Maggie gave us to the idea to pull over and take some fun pictures!
We then got back into the van and surprised the girls with a dinner at a local favorite, at Chicken in a Barrel for a delicious BBQ dinner! There was a nice patch of grass where our LOD’s Grace and Maggie decided to do moonup before heading back to camp. Grace and Miriam led us all in a mini gymnastic class and it’s safe to say that the girls may all come back with some new tricks!
On our last full day in Kauai, we made the most of our day and headed out for some fun adventures! To begin the morning, we stopped by Queen’s Bath, a small hike with a local swimming hole! On our way down, Lia pointed out some sea turtles off of the coast! As we walked along the lava rocks on the coast, we arrived at this stunning crystal clear, blue swimming hole. The conditions were perfect that day for swimming, so we all climbed down and hopped in! Blakely and Grace were especially excited as they were the first ones to bravely jump. We all joked how felt like we were in some island off the coast of Greece! After leaving Queen’s Bath we headed to our next adventure on the South side of the island: Ziplining!! We all had an absolute blast on the 4 different sections of this tour soaring over the lush canopy of the Kauai rainforest. Grace came down the first line full of laughter and excitement, as she mentioned it was the first time she had ever ziplined! Elle even faced her fears and absolutely fell in love with the ziplines! We were all so proud of her!
All the ziplines had fun features like being able to go upside down, getting a swim break along the way in Bamboo Pond, and the grand finale which was a 4000 ft long line that we flew “superman style”. At Bamboo Pond, there was a 20ft jumping platform which Frannie and Anna eagerly took the first leap off into the refreshing water below, while Emma was the first one to try the zipline into the water! After swimming, we passed by some strawberry guava trees plentiful of ripe red ones! MJ was especially excited about this fresh local treat and became a pro at picking out which ones were the best. Afterwards we headed back to camp to enjoy our last night in Kauai on the beach at our campsite and having honey chicken and fried rice for dinner! Frannie and MJ led us in our final moonup on Kauai and it was the perfect end to best week! We are so excited to fly to the Big Island!
Sincerely,
Mollie, Anna, and Laura
Sunshine and Good Times in Hawaii
July 17, 2023
Aloha! After a long travel day, and some delicious pizza, once everyone arrived, we loaded the girls up into the van and headed towards our campsite on the beach! Once we arrived, they quickly got settled and split into their tent groups. MJ even had a portable air pump and so all of girls were able to take turns blowing up their ground pads. Before long, the girls were all off to bed and ready for the fun morning we had planned ahead.
We are so excited that everyone arrived in good spirits and ready for an adventure! Our group of girls are already all getting along so well that it sometimes is hard to forget they just recently all met, which makes me, and my co-leaders so excited for our time we have ahead!
On day 2, once we woke up the girls for our first activity, we ate a quick cereal breakfast and loaded up into the van to head to Hanalei Bay for surfing! Everyone was so excited to get into the ocean. Our first leaders of the day were Miriam and Lia who absolutely killed it at keeping up the positivity for the day! This group of girls are all practically naturals at surfing. After only needing assistance on the first wave by the instructors, Grace was off catching her own waves the rest of the time! And before we even knew it, Frannie and Maggie were catching waves all by themselves. Blakely, Miriam, and Lia kept us all smiling in between waves by impressing us with their crazy surfboard yoga skills, even the instructors were impressed!
After splitting into our surfing groups, the girls who were not surfing took turns to stop by the surf shop, where many of them bought some fun puka shell necklaces. On our way out of the Hawaii Surfing Adventures store, we ran into the owner Lynn, who is a group favorite, especially after she suggested we stop by the pier on our way out of Hanalei. When we pulled up the pier, the girls were surprised with how blue the water was and the insane view of the beach we had just surfed at. Mia described the view as “straight out of a movie”. All of the girls quickly ran and joined some locals who were jumping off of the pier into the water. While swimming, a sea turtle swam up right behind Anna and Emma and the girls who were on the pier tried their best to jump in before it swam away!
After spending some time at the pier, we loaded back up into the van and headed to Tunnels beach where we had some sandwiches and salad for lunch, before laying out and swimming around the beach! After staying at Tunnels beach for a while, we then loaded up the van to finally head back to camp to cook our first dinner! Before leaving, Mia, Elle, Frannie and Laura checked out Maniniholo Dry Cave that was across the street!
Back home, the girls got to experience cooking dinner all together for the first time! Miriam, Lia, Anna, and Grace were head of “cook crew” and helped us prepare our Mexican Bowls, which were delicious! The girls are already coming up with fun ideas for the rest of our meals! After constant laughs while cleaning up dinner, the girls were off to bed excited for what is to come!
Thank you all for sharing your wonderful girls with us this summer! We are so thankful for this group! These girls are all so special and each one of them truly brings something new to the group!
Till next time!
Mollie, Laura, and Anna
Aloha from Hawaii!
July 12, 2023
Hello Hawaiian Island Families!
We heard from our leaders and the group has landed safely in Hawaii! 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
