Update from Croatia!
July 7, 2024
07/3/2024
Bok again! We said our goodbyes to Zavižan mountain hut before making our way to Paklenica National Park! We had a fun car ride to our climbing spot with Ella N on aux! We arrived just in time to get our harnesses on and climb on! Eli was our one of our first climbers and even got Reid to time him up the most challenging route! Amelia was shortly behind and impressed the entire group! Carleton and Linus went up together, shortly followed by Ella G and Molly! Soon we were tired out and ready for lunch! We found an awesome pizza spot on the shore and indulged in plenty of slices! It wasn’t long before we were back on the road and ready to head towards Omish! Baldwin, today’a LOD, decided to take the scenic route to our campsite! After a few naps and car sing along, we finally arrived and set up camp! We all had some time to swim at our campsite right along the coast! Lyla and Amelia had scouted out a jumping spot and had already been in the water! We had a ton of laughs and eventually we were all ready to shower! Before we knew it, it was dinner time and we even got a guitar and mandolin performance! The musicians sang some American classics like “Yellow Submarine” and “Country Roads.” George sang loud and proud and even started dancing at the table! We all had our laughs and eventually were ready to end our day with a Moonup by the sea!
7/4/2024
Happy fourth from Croatia! We got up bright and early this morning to have a big breakfast before heading into town and ziplining! We arrived just on time to the zip line site, hopped in vans and drove to our first spot! After a brief safety talk and trial run, we were ready to really zip line! Linus was our first zipliner today and sped down the first one with a smile on his face! We went down a total of 8 zip lines that spanned the coast of the stunning town of Omish! Violet and Catherine even got to tag team a zip line and ride down together! Everyone really enjoyed the zip lines and some even said it was the highlight of their trip! We were driven back to the zip line headquarters and had some time to spare before lunch. We headed to one of Reid and Carter’s favorite gelato stops and everyone got two scoops! We eventually got to lunch and everyone loved their American styled meals! After, we headed to our campsite and had some time before checking in! Geoffrey had the idea to hop on the inflatable bouncy castle in the water and everyone was immediately on board! They played king of the hill and really enjoyed themselves out there! Eventually we were able to check in and Carleton made sure to film a room tour vlog of their place for the night featuring everyone! We had an awesome dinner of ćevapi , chicken nuggets, and fries! Then our our second to last Moonup on the beach with a beautiful view! To end Moonup the LODs had us play a game of “Down by the Riverside.” The group loved hearing the different remediations of the game, especially from Lyla and Catherine! Some of the workers at the campsite were putting on fun evening activities and we were all in! We played a few rounds of Bingo and did some Karaoke! Ella N and Molly performed a beautiful version of our group’s favorite song, “Tennessee Orange.” Next up, Carter and Violet sang along to “Breaking Free” from “Highschool Musical.” Then they played a music trivia game, which Geoffrey got really into and always was the first to guess! We had so much fun tonight and can’t wait for our full day tomorrow!
7/5/2024
It is our last full day and we spent it exploring Dubrovnik! We got up and left Camp Galeb but not before trying a traditional Croatian pastry, bokek, for breakfast! We loaded the vans and made the drive down the coast with stunning views of the Adriatic! George was in charge of six and played some awesome classics we all enjoyed! We stopped to get lunch at a grocery store on the way. Everyone had about 12 € to spend and the kids truly impressed us with what they were able to get! We checked out with a watermelon, lots of sandwich supplies, baguettes, and Eli even accidentally bought an entire chicken! We continued our drive and finally arrived at our hotel! We set out stuff down and then immediately went to Old Town to explore! We loved walking around and found some awesome shops to get souvenirs from! Baldwin was set on finding some awesome gifts for his family members and found the perfect Christmas store! We got some amazing gelato and even ran into the other Moondance group and caught up with them! We had our final banquet dinner at an awesome spot off Main Street where everyone had pizzas, pastas, and salads! We got to sing happy birthday and eat cheesecake for Carter’s birthday. We made our way back to the hotel after a very long day and had our final Moonup!
We had the absolute best time with this group and can’t wait to hear about all of their reunions and how they keep in touch!
Carter and Reid
Mountains to Sea
July 3, 2024
6/27/2024
Hello from Croatia!
It’s Violet’s birthday!!! The group planned on waking her up by singing Happy Birthday, but we were all shocked to find out that she had already left her room to begin getting ready for the day by the time we got there! After a delicious breakfast where Molly and Ella G were introduced to the Croatian version of Nutella–Lino Lada–we gathered our things and hopped in our vans to make our way to the next location, Rab Island. George took advantage of our long car ride and managed to squeeze a nap in! We arrived shortly after noon and made our way to a restaurant on the water with gorgeous views. Violet nearly cried tears of joy when she saw Carbonara on the menu, and the rest of the group took advantage of our lovely stop to fill themselves up on pizza. After lunch, we walked back to our campsite along the water to set up our tents before spending the rest of the afternoon on the beach. Carleton helped the crew set up their tents, and once everyone was done we made our way to a nearby beach for some relaxation. Amelia was so excited to see how high the UV was. She was very generous with her sunscreen and shared with everyone! Reid, Geoffrey, and Eli played a few games of volleyball before the group gathered to get to know each other a bit better. Ella G made sure to get plenty of Go Pro footage for everyone! We got showered and ready for dinner! We ate at Del Mar and got to pick from several food options! Ella N was pumped to see a Caesar salad on the menu and immediately had others wanting to order it as well. Baldwin got everyone hooked on the restaurant’s virgin frozen Pina Coladas and half the table got one! We had a delicious cake to celebrate Violet’s birthday before Lyla and Eli led us in our first Moonup on Rab Island and we ended it with a game of ninja!
6/28/2024
Everyone was up bright and early with the sun this morning! Our LODs, Ella N and Baldwin, helped get everyone up and ready for breakfast! We even got to have Oreo croissants for breakfast! For today’s activity of sea kayaking, we cruised on the beautiful waters of the Adriatic Sea. Carleton came up with some games to play while kayaking to keep us all entertained! Meanwhile Linus took advantage of the sunshine and lounged out on the kayak, adopting his own style of kayaking! Amelia and Carter were leading from the back and showing off their skills! It wasn’t long before we took a pit stop on our own private beach for lunch! We indulged in our peanut butter + Nutella sandwiches and enjoyed some improvised adventures. Catherine went scouting for spots to jump off but because everything was too shallow we adjusted our plans. Eli started skipping rocks and got everyone really into trying it out! Geoffrey had some creative ideas to keep us entertained and challenged! Meanwhile Baldwin was practicing his photography skills to capture the moment! We played a Moondance classic game called “Don’t touch my rock” in which the goal is to be the last one standing with your rock. Lyla won the game as everyone was cheering her on! Molly kayaked with Carter on the way back and they discussed favorite concerts they have been to. We got back to the kayaking base, got changed and headed back to camp! We had some time in the afternoon for some casual hanging out curated by George and Reid before heading to dinner at a nearby restaurant. Catherine told Carter all about Sea Island and their shared passions! Carleton, Linus, George, and Violet all tried ćevapi, a traditional Croatian dish, for the first time and really enjoyed it. We stopped to get ice cream before we headed back. Molly was excited to get two cones, each with a single scoop of mango! We walked back and got ready for Moonup while watching the sunset. Ella N had the idea to play Duck Duck Goose, which believe it or not got competitive really quickly! Catherine was one of the finalists before nearly running into one of the tents and making all of us laugh alongside her! Our night of friendly competition came to an end watching Geoffrey and Linus go head to head in a veggie off.
6/29/2024
Everyone was relieved to sleep in this morning. We had a late breakfast, made our to-go sandwiches, and were on our way into Rab Island’s Old City! Our first stop was into the grocery market to grab some snacks. Ella G has gotten everyone hooked on Limoncella sparkling waters! We shopped around in some of the souvenir shops that lined the streets! Amelia and Lyla got beautiful jewelry that they instantly put on to show everyone. We continued walking around, admiring the scenic architecture and views of the Adriatic Sea. Baldwin got awesome footage and pictures of the group, making us chuckle with his commentary. We stopped at a beautiful park atop the city for our picnic lunch. Ella G led the group down a path that took us alongside the Sea. It was a hot day so it didn’t take long for all of us to be ready to head back. But not before Reid and Carter surprised the group with ice cream! Ella N and Molly found some awesome jewelry to get before we left for our campsite for freetime. Catherine and Amelia were ready to go to the dock to jump off and swim! The rest of the group joined then everyone headed to the beach for the remainder of the afternoon! After a few hours of soaking in the sun, everyone got showered and ready for dinner! We met our guide, Ana, at dinner and indulged in our meals while talking about soccer. After dinner, Geoffrey insisted we go play with some of the locals that were playing soccer. The kids became instant friends with the locals. Eli and Linus showed off their soccer skills and it was obvious early on that they were some of our key players. Meanwhile, Carleton was making friends with the locals and asking them questions about where they were from. Baldwin scored our first goal for our team and Lyla blocked numerous scoring attempts as our goalkeeper! After playing for a while, everyone was pretty tired and we left to have Moonup by the water, led by Ella G and George.
6/30/2024
We had a slow last morning on Rab Island today. Everyone was up early and started to pack up before breakfast. Everyone got their last showers in before we headed to the mountains for the next three days! After a two and a half hour windy commute we made it to Zavižan Mountain Hut in Northern Velebit National Park! We were greeted by our host, Ivan, and settled in quickly. Geoffrey had the idea to explore the nearby peak and took some photos with a 360 degree view of the Adriatic Sea! We played an intense card game of spoons that Catherine notoriously won! Soon it was time for us to start cooking dinner. Violet was quick to volunteer to help cook and started preparing our dinner of Spaghetti Bolognese with Catherine. Everyone was especially appreciative and left dinner feeling full. Amelia cleaned all the dishes impressively fast with the help of Lyla who was the designated dish dryer. We sat outside to watch the sunset and admire the nearby herd of horses. We took photos and sang along to some of our favorite songs. Eli impressed us by singing all six minutes of “American Pie.” Soon after, Reid brought out the guitar and had everyone requesting songs. We sang for a long time before we were ready for Moonup led by our LODs, Amelia and Linus! Our daily game today was “Murder in the Dark” and everyone got really into it! Our first round, Ella G was our detective and through her questioning she discovered the murderer was George! Our second round was a little trickier and Carter had a hard time as the detective. There were only three people left at the end of the round. Carter was convinced it was Carleton but to her dismay Molly had been cunning and had everyone in shock! We were all laughing hysterically and were off the bed shortly after.
7/1/2024
It was our first morning up in the mountains and Carter, Reid, and Ana were up early preparing breakfast! Everyone got their coffee and eggs, both fried and scrambled! We lathered up in sunscreen, filled our water bottles, and laced up our hiking boots! Ella N was extremely helpful with our morning cleaning crew, ensuring everything was clean before we left! Once we were ready we began our trek for the day! We keep ourselves entertained by playing all sorts of categories and guessing games to pass the time. We got to even climb and scale some rocks to get to the peak where we ate our lunches. We made our descent back down the way we came and up to the hut. We quickly took off our boots upon arrival and rested up, playing cards and listening to music. Carleton and Catherine ended our night with Moonup and our new favorite game of Murder in the Dark! Baldwin nearly fooled everyone and had us believing it wasn’t him but Eli was the detective and got him using his clever questioning skills! We love our nights together and especially cherish them as we near the end of our trip!
7/2/2024
We got to sleep in a bit today which had everyone excited! When we looked out our windows we couldn’t see anything because we were in the clouds. Because of the poor visibility, we weren’t able to hike today but we made the most of it starting with Lyla, Amelia, and Carter dancing in the clouds. We woke everyone up and began preparing breakfast courtesy of Violet! Ella N and Molly were especially helpful in cleaning up our dishes and being on clean up crew! Now that we have the day off from hiking we started brainstorming things to do. We started off with a bit of a spa day. Carter did all the girls’ eyebrows, with Ella G as her first customer! Ella N had fun perfecting Eli’s eyebrows and curling Carleton’s eyelashes. Linus then had the idea to play a thrilling and intense game of hide and seek! Shortly after, we started on our dinner of tacos! Linus was our head cleaner in the kitchen afterwards and was excited to rep matching sweatshirts with Carter. Lyla was also a huge help in the kitchen! We had our last Moonup at Zavižan led by our LOD, Violet! As our final activity of Moonup, we ran to the top of the nearby peak and watched the sunset. Eli wanted us to time him to see how fast he could get to the top. Everyone was really impressed by his speed! Geoffrey loved being on top of the mountain even as gusts of wind came from every direction!
It was such an awesome last night in the mountains! While we are sad we only have a few days left of our trip, we are looking forward to the next few days and continuing to grow as a group!
Carter and Reid
Bok from Croatia!
June 27, 2024
Bok (hello) from Croatia!
All the kids arrived safe and sound today! We are so excited to have everyone here after their long days of travel. Amelia was our first arrival and hung out with Reid and Carter in the terminal so we could get to know each other. Geoffrey and Ella G arrived next with big smiles on their faces despite Geoffrey having to wait an extra day for his bag. The rest of our group arrived shortly after, and we loaded up the vans and headed out of the airport. We had a two-hour van ride to our first campsite at Camp Borje. Once we arrived, we set up our tents and headed to the grocery store to get some snacks. Eli found a plate that could be used as a makeshift frisbee and bought it for the group. We headed back to camp and decided it would be a great idea to play death sack, a fun hacky sack game. We could all tell that Catherine was a soccer player based on her natural skills for the game. Carleton ended up winning and getting bragging rights. We also kicked around the soccer ball, and George showed us some of his tricks. We had an awesome dinner where most of us got spaghetti bolognese and bread. We got back to camp, settled in, and got ready for our first Moonup. We had a lot of laughs, handed out some Moondance swag, and ended the night by electing Violet and Carleton as our first LODs.
6/25/2024 It was an early morning here at Camp Borje! We packed up and headed to breakfast. Linus enjoyed drinking his cappuccino and loved Carter’s olive oil dish. After everyone enjoyed breakfast, we got back to our tents and packed up the vans to make the journey to the entrance of Plitvice. Our guide, Ana, led us on a hiking trail around Plitvice, which is Croatia’s largest National Park, covering almost 74,132 acres. Plitvice is under the protection of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). We got to see all 16 lakes, and Lyla was especially impressed by how blue and clear the water was. We had fun doing some riddles on the hike, and George led us in some games. Baldwin figured out one of the hardest riddles especially fast. We took a ferry to the other side of the lake to see the upper lakes and ended our day at Plitvice. We headed back to camp and had some free time where the kids played card games and shopped at the campsite market. We then got to eat a big dinner of chicken and fries. We ended the night by electing the next day’s LODs, which were Molly and Geoffrey.
4/26/2024 It was another great morning waking up at Camp Korona! We got a bit of rain overnight, so everyone slept pretty soundly. We headed to our buffet breakfast where we indulged in scrambled eggs, toast, roasted veggies, cereal, and bacon. Linus and Carleton loved trying out the coffee machine and attempted to make the best kind. We made our way to our cabins and got ready for river kayaking. Once we arrived, we were greeted by our guide Andrea and two of the company’s cute dogs. We were given a safety briefing, got our equipment, and headed to the river. The crystal-clear blue water impressed everyone. The kids were also excited to hear that there were six waterfalls, three rapids, and a cliff-jumping spot. Eli and Violet were our fearless leaders of the group, leading everyone down the first waterfall. Soon we got to our cliff-jumping spot, and nearly everyone in the group went off the highest possible spot. Although hesitant at first, we were so proud to see Lyla take a chance and jump into the water. A few waterfalls later, we took a picnic break and then switched kayaking partners. Ella G and Molly were smiling and eating their lunches despite shivering from the cold temperatures of the water. Ella N and Carter led the group down the next set of waterfalls and asked the group some get-to-know-you questions. We arrived at the biggest waterfall and were told to elect one kayak partner to go down the waterfall in the kayak while the other one either jumps into the water or walks down. Amelia was our only person to jump into the water, and everyone cheered her on. Ella N stayed in the kayak and went down the waterfall. We ended the river on one last waterfall to the end. Catherine especially loved the surprise of the waterfall and was laughing while trying to avoid flipping. We dried off, changed clothes, said our goodbyes, and headed back to camp for some free time. The kids loved checking out the marketplace and playing card games. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We filled up on bread, burgers, and fries, but not before a storm came in. Baldwin played a funny prank on us that had us all laughing. We hung out in our cabins until it was safe for us to have our Moonup. We ended up having the most perfect weather, and it was a great way to end our night before the rain came. It’s early in the trip, but Reid and I can tell that this is a very special group! We are so excited to continue getting to know them!
Violet- Hey mom and dad! Having fun in Croatia! Have fun in France!
Ella-hi mom and dad!! Having so much fun in Croatia and can’t wait to see you here.
Molly- hey mom dad and Harrison!!! I am having so much fun!! I can’t wait to see y’all!
Carleton – Hey mom and dad! Im having a great time, tell Mac and Robert I said hi, and hope y’all have fun in England!
Baldwin – Hi mom and dad! I’m doing well everything is really fun and the country is pretty. Love y’all see you in ten days!
Linus – Hi mom dad grey and Addie! Everything is going great and I’m having a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to tell you about it. Love y’all and see y’all soon!
Ella n- Hey mom and dad! I am having so much fun and it is so pretty! We went kayaking yesterday and it was sooo much fun! Tell my friends that I miss them and can’t wait to see them soon. Love you!
Geoffrey- Hey mom and dad what’s popping. I’m having a great time and have met lots of new friends! Love you!
Catherine- hey mom and dad! Miss you guys so much! How’s ssi? It’s been raining a lot here but it’s so pretty ! I’ve met so many new people and I can’t wait to tell yall about it in Idaho ! Love and miss y’all so much.
George- hello mom and dad how are you doing. I am having a blast and am learning a lot. Love you!
Eli- hi mom and dad, I’m having lots of fun and doing a bunch of new stuff. We are going to the ocean today so that will be awesome. See you soon, love you, and say hi to the dogs for me.❤️
Lyla- Hi Mom and Dad! (And Michael and Jackson) Croatia is so pretty and I’m having such a fun time! We went kayaking on waterfalls yesterday and I jumped off a cliff. I love you guys and miss you so much! Can’t wait to tell you more.
Amelia- Hey mom and dad! The trip is amazing and the land scape is incredible. I love everyone on the trip and I’m having the best time. Hope y’all are doing good. Miss you guys and say hi to Tessa and the boys for me. Where on the way to the ocean atm. Love you guys so much, see you soon. Love you.
Safe Arrival in Croatia!
June 24, 2024
Hello Croatia Families!
All students have landed safely in Dubrovnik! The trip is off to a great start and we can’t wait to share updates from their adventure!
-Moondance HQ
