Farewell from Venice!
June 20, 2024
Today was a WOW moment for starters. To be in the loop with “Moondance lingo,” it involves making an “O” shape with your mouth and holding up your three middle fingers in the shape of a “W” on either side of your mouth. It spells out “WOW” for those at home who might still be confused. Our final day of official activities consisted of several hours of descending further and further into a water wonderland—canyoneering at Grotta di Pradis! After shimmying into our wetsuits, locking on our helmets, singing happy birthday to our sweet Mary Mac on her 16th birthday, and posing like Frozone for pictures, we headed on a 5-minute walk to our destination where we would begin canyoneering. Sander showed off his particularly special wetsuit that resembled a pair of farmer’s overalls. Very nice touch, Dolomite Mountain Outfitters.
Our alpine guides gave us our safety briefing, explained what each number of whistles meant, and led us down the crystal-clear water of the canyon. Our first stop was a waterfall that we would rappel down. Margaret led the crew on the first rappel as she disappeared into the splashing water from the waterfall and into the clear water below. It was a scene straight out of a movie. Gracie, despite being nervous about canyoneering, impressed us all as she ecstatically agreed to be the second one to rappel down. Mrs. Pelligreen, if you’re reading this, the cliff-jumping training with Gracie’s cousin really paid off—she crushed it! All in all, the canyoneering was a huge hit and was unlike anything we had done before.
Post-canyoneering, we took a trip to the nearby soccer field to get in a quick game before dinner. Marley proved her skills by scoring the game’s first goal for the SECOND day in a row! They don’t call her Marley “Ronaldo” Price for nothing. John’s competitive side came out as he ran up and down the field like it was his day job. We swear his Italian lemon tea was what gave him the necessary fuel. Shortly after, we devoured homemade pizza, pasta, and loads of bread at our birthday dinner for Mary Mac at Hotel Corona. This dinner is best explained in person, but we will say that it ended with a dance party with the hotel’s owner and Piper bopping to Dixieland Delight on an Italian balcony in front of a sparkly birthday sign.
We have reasonable suspicion to believe the kids woke up the next morning before us because of how excited they were for the long-awaited Venice day. We scarfed down breakfast before heading to our van drivers who would shuttle us a couple of hours to Venice. The van rides were filled with tunes and excitement as we approached the long bridge to enter Venice! We took the famous water bus to our hotel, Casa Accademia, which served as our home for the night. The students and leaders galloped around the town, over the bridges, and through the crowds. Quickly huddling around a small ice cream stand, we all enjoyed freshly made gelato to start our Venice excursion. Next, the group made their way through the many local shops and vendors that Venice had to offer, buying souvenirs and knickknacks that will serve as a totem of their trip in the Dolomites with Moondance Adventures. Bennett, Sander, and John got creative with their outfit choices, picking out the most unique combination of goofy hats, Italian aprons, bunny backpacks, and sunglasses to wear at our banquet dinner.
The banquet dinner, which is a special and memorable tradition amongst all Moondance trips, did not disappoint in Venice. We shared a total of 10 pizzas of all varieties that were enjoyed and savored alongside the Giudecca Canal. Mesmerized by all the boats passing by, this was a dinner no one could forget. No matter how much pizza we enjoyed, there is always room for more gelato. As it began, it was only proper to end the same. We indulged in gelato one more time before huddling up for our last Moonup of the trip. Josephine and Sander, as LODs (leaders of the day), led the charge on a bittersweet note for a Moonup that will never be taken for granted. After Moonup, the kids spent their night talking and soaking up the last hours together. As the morning quickly approached, Henry and Parker never turned down the opportunity to help us carry our Moondance gear bags, which did NOT go unnoticed! It was a huge help and we could not have appreciated it more on an early morning travel day.
Now, we send them back home to you. We thank each of you for giving us a glimpse of what it is like in daily life being with your children. They are incredible kids, and we know they will continue to be incredible in anything they aspire to do. The past two weeks have touched both of us, and we hope we have made a fraction of the impact on these 11 kids as they have made on us. Kids, if you’re reading this, don’t forget we are always a text or call away. We meant every word we said last night in Moonup—don’t forget it. We love you all and miss you already. Biggest, fattest, stankiest nugs to y’all, keep being awesome.
It’s a see you soon,
JMO and MG
Ciao Bella from the Beautiful Dolomites!
June 17, 2024
Climbing on in Italy!
After our unexpected but greatly appreciated snow day the group had a relaxing hike around the Cinque de Torri (The Five Towers). On the way back to Rifugio Averau, our home for the night, the sun popped out and created a glow around the mountains that made everyone’s jaw drop! The scenery was so spectacular that there was only one thing to do, PHOTO SHOOT! As we attempted to pause in the air for mid jump photos, hopped on each other’s backs, and laughed as most did not turn out as planned we all realized, just how special this place is. Closing out the day with an unforgettable moon up location we reminisced the day on the side of a mountain as the sun turned the sky into an orange hue.
We arose to a breakfast buffet filled with croissants, jams, meats, and fresh coffee to fuel us for the day ahead. The team had a short hike to ride down a ski lift as we all enjoyed summer views with the feeling of winter as we rode through the crispy mountain air. We made our way up a steep ski slope that, fun fact, was used for the women’s world championship slalom ski race. Arriving at our most challenging via Ferrata yet, we clipped in and started climbing this vertical rock face above the mountain town Cortina. Margaret stretched to reach each nook and cranny as she flew up the difficult climb. Mary Mac gave a big hoot and holler as we reached the summit and was able to see what we thought was all of Italy. Henry showed us how much he had learned in the two previous via ferrata days by leading his rope team down the tricky and sophisticated route to a nice and grassy lunch spot. After lunch, the group had a more easy-going via Ferrata clipping into a rock face that ascended well above the clouds. This one consisted of more walking, less climbing, but John made sure to keep MG open eared and amused the entire time. The stories really never stop with this group. As we made our way to our next home tucked away in the Dolomite mountains, Rifugio Dibona, we had a wonderful surprise visitor that joined us for dinner. Founder of Moondance, Hayes Hitchens, surprised and joined the group for the evening as we broke lots of bread, spilt plenty of olive oil, and shared stories at Moonup that will never be forgotten. Piper, Gracie, and Parker couldn’t let Hayes slip away before giggling while getting his autograph. They will all come home with memories and literal evidence of getting to meet the man who made this all possible! That night, we listened to each other, laughed, and reminisced on the special part of Moondance that is the rawness of being with a group of 11 strangers and becoming one by the end of the two weeks. This night reminded all of us why we are here.
Our next day we continued our trekking portion of the trip as we hiked to Passo Stulanza and met our guide, Loris, who would work alongside Michele and finish up our trekking with us. During the duration of our 8 mile trek, the Rubix cube, dubbed “the cube” was continuously passed between Henry, Bennett, Sander, Parker, and John as they cubed and walked their way up 2100 feet in elevation. For those reading along from home, we promise cubing and walking is safe! Everyone loved this day with Marley saying it was her favorite day of views and trekking so far. The general consensus was that this was a fan favorite day! The conversations on the trail were light hearted and ongoing, helping us reach our Refugio before we knew it. After some more down time for everyone to recharge, rest, do summer reading (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, parents) and have “dog” time, we engulfed our spaghetti Bolognese and pumpkin ravioli for dinner with ease. Piper and Josephine led their dinner table in fun conversations of “What type of fruit, Disney character, etc., that would everyone be” which left all of us breathless from laughing so hard. Before long, we were all nestled into our sleeping bag liners as we had a giant Refugio sleepover and awaited our next day of trekking.
The anticipation was over, we had reached our final push day of trekking that was going to be the most challenging, but also the most rewarding. We knew our Refugio sat on a mountain side at over 7300 ft of elevation, which had us all ecstatic for the day ahead. We did not yet know of the beauty that would be Refugio Tissi. After an initial sunny morning push, we trekked through a snowy mountain side before reaching our lunch spot that had us feeling like we had experienced all four seasons within the span of 4 hours. Beginning with a mountain crisp fall air, we moved into snow, then sunny summer skies, and ending our morning with beautiful spring weather at our lunch spot. It truly is difficult to explain the beauty that is the Dolomite Mountains, but the best way to do so is that you cannot grasp the beauty without a 360 degrees view. From one direction, you see an enormous wall that covers most of the sky, and with just a turn of the foot, you see a snowy mountain top off in the distance. At this lunch spot, we could see both of these things, and also our Refugio atop the last mountain in front of us. After eating our salami and cheese sammies and crunching our apples down to the core, we did our final 700 elevation foot push to Refugio Tissi. Before reaching our humble abode, we found the playground outside, which our group could not resist. Josephine, Marley, and Gracie hit the swings that overlooked the mountains while Mary Mac sat inside of the wooden carved heart that looked overtop it all. Henry worked on balancing the teeter-totter with Bennett and Sander on either side. We have collectively decided that growing up is not in the cards quite yet and that we will stay playing on playgrounds for as long as we’re allowed- it’s all about work and play! Our dinner was, yet again, full of laughs as the girls took charge in creating the words “Happy Father’s Day” out of spaghetti on a plate to give to Jmo and then taught one of our guides, Loris, pterodactyl. This is one of the group’s favorite games and leaves us all catching our breath from laughing by the end. After dinner, our LODs, Marley and John, led us to Moonup up a hill that overlooked miles upon miles of Italy. It is unanimous that this Moonup was the greatest group experience so far and ended with hugs and a later night than expected. We love this group’s ability to listen, care, and love one another- it truly is admirable.
Now, after a long downhill hike to our van, we find ourselves at our second to last home, Hotel Corona. It is hard to fathom these two weeks coming to an end so quickly, but we know that the next short few days with this group will be nothing short of unforgettable. Tomorrow’s activity consists of canyoneering and we KNOW that everyone is excited for this! They haven’t stopped asking about the clips they’ve seen about it since they first arrived. It will be incredible and we cannot wait to update all of you on how it goes.
Chat soon!
Jmo and MG
Margaret: Hey mom and dad and jojo!!! I am so thankful that you sent me on this trip and have literally had the BEST time ever!! I loveeeee my counselors they truly are the best!!! I love love my group so so much and never wanna leave!! Also, Happy Fathers Day dad!!! 🤪 Once again thank you for sending me in the coolest experience!! Can’t wait to see my people when I get back!
Josephine: Hello mother!! I am still having so much fun! My Rubiks cube journey/career is coming along and hoping to beat the world record of 4 seconds soon after I get back to my home country! I am forever grateful for all the continuous experiences you bless me with! I love you and can’t wait to tell you in great detail all about my trip when I return home!
Piper: Hey hey!! I am having the BEST time and this is the best trip ever!! I’m sososososo grateful for this amazing opportunity and I can’t wait to tell y’all ALL about it when I get home!! Italy is AMAZING and the people here are even more awesome! Sorry I missed Father’s Day, I am looking forward to celebrating when I get home! Happy early birthday mama! (I have some inside info that Brammy is having an amazing time on his trip too!) love and miss y’all! Thank you sooooo much for this trip I love y’all! Can’t wait to see all my fav people when I get back to ATL too! Love all y’all!😙😙
Mary Mac: Hey mom and dad! I am having so much fun. I am so thankful that I got to go on this trip! I have made lots of new friends and experienced some really cool things! We just finished our trekking, and we start canyoneering tomorrow. I miss y’all so much, and I can’t wait to tell you guys about my whole trip when I get home. Thank you so much and I love you!! Also happy late Father’s Day.
Sander: Hallo mummy and paps, I am having a delightful experience during my time in the Italian Dolomites. I would love express my gratitude for the opportunity you have granted me through sending me onto this trip. The tea and crumpets are quite different here; I hope my little fluffy beast, Piper, is doing swell. I would love to let you know the colorful puzzle known as the rubix cube has been conquered by none other than your youngest male offspring, Sander. I am overwhelmed with joy to come and see face to face with both of you in our home town, Manchester. Yours truly, Sander James Donohue.
John: Hi fam! Thanks for the opportunity to go on this trip! It’s been awesome, see you soon! Happy late Father’s Day dad!!
Henry: Hi Mom, Dad and Ella. Thank you so much for sending me on this trip. I am having so much fun and can’t wait to see y’all. I hope you had the best Father’s Day. Tell Red, Roux, and Winnie that I love them so much
Gracie: Helloooo mom and dad!!! Thank u very much for sending me on this trip!! Happy late fathers days dad! Thanks for everything I love u so much!! My leaders are the coolest and most amazing people I’ve ever met. Especially Mary Gray. I’ve met the best people and made the coolest and funniest mems!! Mommy pls prepare for 8am hot yoga on Friday! Bye bye love u!
Bennett: Hey mom and dad, I am having a lot of fun hiking up and down mountains and climbing up and down mountains. I have made many new friends and my leaders are the best leaders I have ever had and they are amazing loving parents. I do not wake up because of farts in the middle of the night. I am so very excited to come home and see you. Love ya.
Marley: Ello mom and dad and sibs. HAPPY LATE FATHERS DAY DADDD!! I am having the best time EVER. Can’t wait to meet Hazel and Dad in Venice and tell y’all all about it🥳🥳 please pack me good clothes for Venice. I love my leaders and my group and I thank u and Nana a million times for letting me do this it’s the coolest thing ever!!!Love y’all!!!!
Parker Ingui: Dear Mom, Dad, Sabrina, Rocco, and Buddy, Happy late Fathers Day dad! The Dolomites are incredible, we’ve been doing lots of trekking and a good bit of climbing. I finished the Thursday Murder Club 2 and am halfway through Sherlock Holmes reread. The group and our leaders are amazing and the mountains here are beautiful. Also, I taught most of the group how to solve my Rubik’s cube and everyone who’s learned is getting decently good. I hope you’re enjoying Peru Mom and Sabrina and I hope you had a fun Father’s Day with Rocco and Buddy Dad. See you all in a bit. Love, Parker Ingui
Ciao from Italy!
June 13, 2024
John Morgan and Mary Gray here. We are thrilled to share that our group hasn’t stopped telling stories, laughing, and enjoying the beautiful views since they stepped off the plane in Venice. Their instant camaraderie and ability to bond so quickly has blown us away. As we drove away from the Venice airport towards Alta Badia, a quaint town that lies within the Dolomites, we arrived at our first hotel and were greeted with a breathtaking view unlike anything we had ever seen. Piper immediately exclaimed, “This is… like… the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.” We couldn’t agree more, Piper. Not long after, we enjoyed a Michelin level three course dinner that left us all stuffed and ready for an early night, but not before our first Moonup. After reflecting on the multitude of reasons that brought us together in the Dolomites, in front of what Jmo calls “that giant rock,” we managed to fight off our jet lag, exchanged goodnights, and concluded our first day and Moonup of many to come.
Our first full day with each other was as exciting, if not more, than anyone’s expectations could have imagined. We were awoken with yet another incredible meal from our hotel consisting of enough cheese, meat, fruit, and bread to keep us full for days! As quickly as we exhaled our breakfast, we were greeted by our guide from our outfitter for the trip’s entirety, Michele. With harnesses in hand and helmets on heads, we headed to our first activity with Michele leading the way – a Via Ferrata! The steep trek up to the via ferrata location itself proved to be challenging, but Marley’s determination to make it to the top really set the tone for the rest of the group. Seeing a difficult goal set and achieved on the first full day showed us will-power not only from Marley, but also from the entire group as they all tried something they had never done before. The views from the mountainside and the top had all of us too stunned to speak. By taking just mere seconds to turn away from the mountain and face outwards towards Alta Badia, we were able to views that seemed to go on forever. The challenges were apparent, as was the reward. Margaret said that it was the coolest thing she had done in her whole life. Our trek down consisted of making friends with donkeys, talking about our favorite books, and enjoying lots and lots of “wow” moments (ask for a “wow” demonstration when they get back home). Shortly after, we were treated like princes and princesses as we had another three course dinner with arguably the most impressive gnocchi known to man. Henry made the brilliant discovery that the green gnocchi was dyed from spinach- this conversation went on longer than you’d expect. Our first LODs, Gracie and John, led us in a fantastic Moonup where we all got to talk about our favorite parts of the day, but also parts where we felt challenged. With full hearts and heavy eyes, we headed to bed with images of the Dolomite mountains dancing in our heads
On day two of our Italian expedition through the lovely Dolomites the group trekked to our home for the next two days. We woke up to a fresh breakfast of gourmet croissants, rich prosciutto, fruity jams, and many other items to fuel us for our big hike. Henry led the group along side our wonderful guides Michele and Claudia on our way to Rifugio Valprola. Hiking 5 miles while gaining over 2000 vertical feet the group pushed strong along the high peaks with an even higher attitude! The trail talk effect is as real as any with this group, not a moment of silence can be heard while the stories are shared, jokes are laughed about, riddles are solved, and questions are asked to fill our local Italian guides’ ears. Jaws were dropped as we approached our rifugio surrounded by peaks higher than the clouds and wider than football fields. The mountains and peaks are special here, no amount of pictures or words could capture the breathtaking views the Dolomites has to offer. As you try to fit all peaks in one picture you look beside you seeing yet another monstrous mountain top souring over 7,000 feet in the sky. We were greeted by friendly local staff and visitors that were smiling ear to ear while listening to the laughter of this energetic group. Sander and Bennett had channeled their inner Joey Chestnut by feasting on the local Italian hot dogs that were served to us for dinner, making sure no dog was left behind.
On our third full day we shot out of bed at Rifugio Valprola for a table filled with fresh bread, meats, juices, and jellies. Our guides took us on a detour from our snow covered via ferrata and took us through the historic tunnels used in WWI. Mary Mac decided to demonstrate her soccer skills in the beloved game many Moondancers know of and love, hacky sack. Mary Mac proves her years of soccer while juggling the sack with ease passing it to each student in the group. The students during free time have played outside in whipping winds, frigid temperatures, and light rain with smiles that can only be seen outdoors. During a break from the windy day Josephine lead the charge in the game known as M.A.S.H. S. Parker while on his break from the outdoors has shown his skill in rubix cubes, helping Henry and Bennett complete the frustrating cube for the first time. All in all, this group makes the most of their free time together, soaking up every second of time in Italy.
Our next couple of days flew by quicker than we could have imagined. Between climbing, a via ferrata in snow, make-shift sledding, snowball fights, chocolate bars, self boiled hard boiled eggs, riddles, lots of “cubing”, and slurping up spaghetti, we have not stopped laughing and making memories that are bound to make their ways into stories back home. We hope that this little glimpse into the first half of our trip has given you all some insight into how much fun this group is having. We wish words on a computer could do the past week justice, but just wait until you hear the stories and see the grins walking out of the airport. We cannot wait to see what the next week has in store for this group; knowing this group of 11 kids, it is bound to be special! Until then, here are some quick shoutouts that they all wanted to share with everyone back home!
Till next time, Jmo and MG
Henry: Hi Mom and Dad I love y’all and I’m having so much fun. Tell the dogs I love them. Can’t wait to see y’all soon.
John: Hi guys. This is awesome and really fun I love Italy.
Josephine: Hello mother, family, and friends! So far the trip has been sooo fun!! We’ve done lots of trekking and I am in the midst of learning how to solve a Rubik’s cube! Hope everyone’s doing well! (to mother- most of an Italian word)
Margaret: Hey fam and friends!!! I’m having the best time ever!! I love love love my group so much and I’m literally in the coolest and prettiest place ever!! My fav thing was trekking through the WW1 caves! Tell Jojo I miss her lots!
Sander: Hello parents, I hope Piper is holding up and is doing well. I am having so much fun hiking and exploring Italy. Love ya and see you soon.
Bennett: Hey mom and dad, I am having so much fun hiking and learning Rubik’s cube algorithms. I hope Olaf is not peeing all over the house. I love you and can’t wait to see you.
Mary Mac: Hello family, I am having lots of fun! I have been hiking a lot and I got to see a bunch of WW1 tunnels. Josephine has been helping me with all of the soccer workouts. Love you and miss you!!
Parker Ingui: Hey Mom, Dad, Sabrina, Rocco, and Buddy. Italy is super fun and the food here is great. The sandwich meats and breads are incredible and way better than home. We are doing a lot of trekking and hiking with some rock climbing and all the people in the group are normal (unlike last time). See you all soon. Love, Parker
Gracie: Hey mom and dad!!! Im having so much fun here! We’ve been hiking so much and we are so high up we’re in the clouds!! It’s a bit chilly and it snowed today! Say hiii to dawg and Mia and Yia Yia for me please thanks!! I love the food a lot and dw I have showered every night 🙂 miss and love y’all!!!
Piper: Hey guys!! Hope everything is great in Atlanta and you’re getting warm weather! It is snowing soooo much here and it’s so cool! I love everyone in my group and am having the best time!!! Can’t wait to see y’all when I get back! Love and miss u guys 😙😙
Marley: Hey mom and dad!! I miss y’all so so so much and I’m having fun. The hiking is hard but the views are worth it! Tell my friends I miss them so much and the sibs. I am excited to go to Venice with dad and Hazel. Also it snowed today! Miss youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!
Safe Arrival in Venice!
June 8, 2024
Ciao Dolomites Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning that the group has landed safely in Venice and is on their transfer to the Dolomites!!! Everyone is so excited to be together and we can’t wait to hear more about their adventure over the next couple of 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
