California Goodbyes!

July 7, 2024

Hey everyone! Writing to you from the San Francisco airport with heavy hearts as all of our kiddos are en route home to you! We truly had the most amazing time over the past two weeks and it would not have been the same without each and every one of your children.

Last time we checked in, we were headed to Tahoe where we were greeted with blue skies and good vibes! We had a quick surprise stop for In n Out along the way before we pulled up to our campsite on Emerald Bay. Our first night was spent down at the beach in order to check off our body of water for the day. Our group made a challenge to jump into whatever body of water we were at that day and we successfully completed it!! The next morning we were up and at ’em for our first full day on the beautiful blue lake. We met our guide Eric and loaded into our tandem kayaks before heading out onto the water. Millie kept everyone laughing on the water as we paddled along the coast and learned about the history of the lake. After some well deserved lunch in our boats and a quick dip, we headed back to land for the rest of the afternoon. Our crew made a stop in Tahoe City for some ice cream and paraphernalia before we headed to a local spot for pizza! We shared a super special Moonup and Eloise spotted a bear right after, which got the whole group excited! We zipped into our sleeping bags for a much needed night of rest after a long day in the sun.

The next morning all of the kids eagerly woke up to celebrate the Fourth of July!! We made a full American breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and colorful fruits to start off the day. We packed up some lunches and our campsite before heading back around the lake to paddle board. Everyone paddled out to enjoy the beautiful views while we sang the national anthem for everyone on the water. Maddie kept the entire group excited as we paddled together over the clear water. We headed in and packed up our van, Martha, in order to get on the road to head to our final destination. Overall, our group had an outstanding time in Lake Tahoe and made memories that will last a lifetime!

Hours worth of patriotic music and a couple hundred miles later we made it back to Half Moon Bay, where we began our trip! We grilled out on the beach and watched the dense fog roll in over the water. We munched on watermelon, burger, hot dogs, and Mac n cheese which only felt appropriate for the holiday. With full stomachs, we headed to our campsite. After a long day of paddle boarding and time spent in the car, we pitched camp and headed to bed before having a bit of a dance party before hitting the hay.

The following day we had a lazy morning and cooked up breakfast sandwiches before heading up Pacifica for one more day of surfing. It was a sunny day and the waves were great! Campbell showed everyone how to hang ten and Sam and Michael caught a party wave at the end of the day! We headed back to our beachside campsite and held a draft for Iron Chef. Our LODs choose their teams, food, and supplies, and headed to their respective tables to begin cooking. We were served appetizers, entrees, and dessert all of which were delicious. Caroline led her team as the head chef with May as her sous chef and Hudson as our dessert master! All around we had a great time cooking up some quite interesting and yummy concoctions. Following our cook off we had a watermelon eating competition with the other two California groups. Although we did not take first place, our group had a great time and won the participation award.

Our last day together was one to remember. We began the day with a yummy breakfast and some housekeeping tasks before we headed out on our last adventure as a group! Our first stop was Baker Beach to have lunch and complete our final body of water task before we headed to Sausalito for some coffee and ice cream. After our pick me up we met Captain Rod and headed out on a sailboat for a couple of hours. Seth and Hudson stood up front and did the “titanic” as we passed under the Golden Gate Bridge! It was such a great time and the perfect last activity to share as a group. We piled into Martha and began driving south when Kate queued “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore as we pulled up to a thrift store in Pacifica. All of the kids ran in to find silly outfits to wear to banquet. Shaw dressed in all pink with a silk bomber jacket that was sure to impress others at the restaurant. Our final stop was an Italian spot in Half Moon Bay to eat some pasta and share our favorite memories from the past two weeks. With full bellies and hearts we headed back to the campsite one final time. We zipped our duffles and circled up for Moonup for the last time where we all shared our last nugs and what we would be carrying with us from this trip. Jasper showed off his incredible guitar and singing abilities to close out our final Moonup. With sleepy eyes we headed off to bed for a few hours of sleep.

Quickly after, it was time to rise and shine in the wee hours of the morning for departure day. Sleepwalking, we loaded the U-Haul one last time and headed for the San Francisco airport. We exchanged hugs and phone numbers as groups headed for their gates. We cannot express how special your children are and how lucky we are to have spent the past two weeks with them. It has been an honor to lead your kids through California and we can’t wait to continue to watch them grow as leaders! Here’s to “see you laters” instead of “goodbyes”!!

All the love,

Kate, Cass, and Sam

Reaching New Heights

July 2, 2024

Greetings everyone! We are writing to you with our amazing time in Yosemite behind us and our exciting adventures at Lake Tahoe in front of us! The past few days in this beautiful national park have definitely been days to remember.

Since we last checked in with you, we completed our drive to Yosemite and set up at a beautiful campsite! As the sun was setting, the LODs suggested we eat out at a restaurant we passed on the way in, so, excitedly the group headed out for a slice of pizza before ending our night with Moonup and an early bedtime. Our first full day in Yosemite was one to remember! We headed into the valley excited to see all the park had to offer. We were greeted by El Capitan, which we could not believe just how big it is in real life! We packed our day packs up full of snacks and plenty of water and headed out on a hike to the top of a waterfall. Our group had such great attitudes and were eager to see what the view looked like from the top. May kept the vibes high all day and provided encouragement for the rest of the group. Everyone felt so rewarded when we made it and celebrated with a much deserved lunch and dip in a lake we found up there. We proudly headed down and grabbed a snack before heading back to camp for the night. Caroline sang for us in the car as we watched the mountains pass us by. We cooked up a Mexican themed feast full of guacamole, beans, corn, and much more. Maddie and Campbell stepped up as leaders by encouraging the rest of the cleaning crew and leading by example. After a long day, we shared Moonup under the sky and watched for shooting stars before heading off to bed.

The following day we headed back into Yosemite to meet our guides for the first day of rock climbing! Everyone geared up and we hiked up to our spot for the day. We started with rappelling down the face in order to set up the ropes to climb back up. Eloise conquered her fear with the biggest smile and showed the rest of the group that they could do it too! We scarfed down lunch before learning how to belay one another and tie into the wall. Michael was our fearless climber who successfully made it to the top of all four ropes! We headed back out of the park after an amazing day and all jumped in June Lake to end the day! We made a warm dinner which was much leaded after the lake plunge and watched as some deer wandered through our campsite as we made s’mores. The stars were incredible, as was our Moonup where we shared challenges we’ve overcome in the past. Everyone was fast asleep right after Moonup, resting up for our second day of climbing.

Our third day in Yosemite started with oatmeal and fruit before entering the park for our final hours in the mountains. We hiked up to a spot above the trees and quickly geared up to begin climbing. We learned more about climbing techniques and learned how to crack climb where the routes are a little trickier and the climber uses the crevices as footholds. Hudson and Millie were fantastic on the belay devices and always encouraged their friends up the wall. Seth was speedy up rock face and posed for some great photos at the top! We pushed our limits and tried new ways of climbing, while surrounded by the most beautiful views. We said goodbye to our amazing guides and our new favorite park for the final time to head back to camp. Jasper, our LOD for the day, helped Sam get ice and gas before we surprised the crew with an ice cream stop in town. Elated, the group cooled down with a cone, or two, before heading down to the lake for a quick dip. We had a laid back evening and began preparing for our time in Tahoe. For dinner we cooked up some pasta with red sauce and chicken before breaking out into a dance party. Shaw showed off his great dance skills as the rest of the group joined in. We capped off the night with some rice crispy treats and Moonup before zipping into our sleeping bags for one last slumber in Yosemite.

This morning began with everyone fueling up on chocolate chip pancakes and bananas as we packed up our campsite. We bid Yosemite farewell and are off to spend the next couple of days in Lake Tahoe! This group is so special and we are so lucky to watch them grow closer everyday! We can’t wait to spend more time together during our next activities and we truly can’t believe it is already day 9 of this trip! It has flown by!

Until next time,

Kate, Sam and Cass

Shaw – Hi Mom and Dad! I can’t wait to see you and tell you all about camp! Love you!

May – Hey Mom & Dad! Camp is so much fun and I’m having a BLAST! I already can’t wait to come back next year! Love y’all!

Campbell – Hey Mom! I love you so much and I am so lucky for this opportunity!

Caroline – Hey Mom and Dad! I love y’all so much! I am already ready to come back next year. I love every camper and I love Cass, Kate, and Sam. I can’t wait to hug and kiss you. I miss my bed, shower, lemonade and you!! I can’t wait to tell you all of my stories. Love y’all!

Jasper – Hello mother! I am having a great time! Miss you!

Michael – Hi Mom and Dad! I am having so much fun!

Seth – Hi Mom and Dad, I am having so much fun! Love you

Eloise – Hey Mom and Dad, I am having so much fun at camp! I have met a lot of really nice new friends! I miss you so so much and I can’t wait to see you next week. I love and miss you.

Millie – Hi Mom and Dad I hope all is well. I miss y’all so much! Love you!

Maddie – Hey Mom! Hi Dad! How are y’all? I love and miss you guys so much! I hope the red white and boom was fun! Say hi to everyone for me!

Hudson – Wassup! I’m having fun and can’t wait to see y’all! Love you!

An AMAZING first week in California!

June 29, 2024

Hi everyone!! Kate, Cass and Sam here reporting with the long awaited first trip update! We have had a packed first few days out here in sunny California! Opening day ran extremely smoothly and we were over the moon to finally have our group together! Once everyone made it safely to the San Francisco airport, we were on our way to our first campsite. Everyone piled into the van, named Martha, with big smiles after meeting their new friends! We spent our first night together exchanging hometowns and favorite ice cream flavors after learning how to successfully pitch our tents. We surprised the kids with pizza, a Moondance tradition for the first night, and bonded around the campfire. We had a special first Moonup where Sam introduced the “Nug Jug” which is a meaningful part of Moonup every night where we encourage the group to share compliments and positive things that have happened that day!

Our first morning together, we cooked chocolate chip pancakes and fruit as we continued to learn more about one another. Everyone was so excited to learn about how to cook at our campsites and even more eager to help clean up the kitchen as a group! After we packed up camp, we headed over to Point Reyes to explore the national seashore for the day! Our first stop was an elephant seal overlook where everyone made the best seal noise they could come up with. Next, we headed over to the lighthouse where we were able to see Drake Bay and the Pacific Ocean! A quick lunch at the top and we were back in the van and onto our next adventure!!

We headed over to Half Moon Bay and the kids were elated to see the beach! After successfully pitching camp again, we eagerly headed down to the beach. Michael was the first one to polar plunge and everyone followed him into the water. Jasper found an American flag on the beach and ran down the shoreline sporting his patriotism. A warm dinner of Alfredo pasta and steak warmed everyone up before we had Moonup and shared our biggest aspirations.

Our second full day together began with Shaw waking up with excitement to help everyone duffle shuffle, which is where we get everything out of the U-Haul to pack and get organized for our day’s activities. We headed down the coast to Pacifica where we met our awesome surfing guides. Everyone jumped into their wetsuits before learning the basics of surfing. You should have seen Caroline out there, she was shredding! The group headed out with great enthusiasm and caught some gnarly waves. The Leaders of the Day (LODs) decided we could use a reward for all of our hard work and we got freezes from the most scenic Taco Bell in the United States, which is right on the beach! How cool! Campbell, one of the LODs, did a great job surprising the crew and they were so excited for what was to come. After a few brain freezes and many smiles, we headed to the American River to white water raft. In the car, Seth showed off his rapping skills and kept everyone laughing.

Once we arrived at Camp Lotus, everyone jumped in the river to cool off after speedily setting up camp. We made a yummy dinner full of chicken and cheese quesadillas, guacamole, and salad. We ended the day with some cookies and a meaningful Moonup before zipping into our sleeping bags to dream of our full first day of rafting. May and Miles led the next day as our LODs and made sure the vibes were high at all times. Our first day on the American River was full of class two and three rapids, boat games, and paddle high fives! Maddie showed off their leadership skills on the boat by keeping our paddling in sync throughout the rapids. Once we returned to camp worn out, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of steak, chicken, pasta, and brownies cooked by our rafting guides. Campbell displayed great leadership by being the first to offer our guides help with cleaning up our dinner. Hudson gathered a group to shower in the river, which the other boys were very excited about. After a game of 20 questions, it was time for Moonup and a snooze under the stars!

Our second day of rafting was an early morning, but we were greeted with the most delicious breakfast from our guides before heading out for our second day. Today, Millie was the captain of the boat and Eloise showed her kindness by helping out others on the raft. We had an amazing second day on the upper half of the river before bidding our guides farewell to head on to our next adventure.

We are off to spend the next few days in Yosemite and are so excited to continue to watch this group grow closer. We are so grateful to be able to spend this time together and for you sharing your extraordinary kids with us!

Signing off for now!

Kate, Cass and Sam

Safe arrival in San Francisco!

June 24, 2024

Hello California Families!

We heard from our leaders last night that the group has landed safely in San Francisco and is headed to their first campsite! The group is excited to finally be together, and we are so excited to hear more about their adventures over the next couple weeks!

Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next two weeks! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!

-Moondance HQ