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