Benvenuto in Italia!
July 15, 2024
Ciao family and friends!
Reed and I are so excited to have your kids here with us in Italy for an incredible two week adventure! Everyone arrived safe and sound in Venice on Wednesday morning, and our adventures immediately began as we traveled away from the coast and up into the mountains. Everyone got some much needed nap and reading time on the 2 hour drive up to Cortina, our home for the next two nights. As we drove into the quaint ski town of Cortina, we could see an old Olympic ski jump from when the Games were hosted in Cortina in 1956! The 2026 Winter Games will also be in Cortina and we all can’t wait to watch them and be able to say “Hey! I’ve been there!!” We dropped our bags at our lovely hotel and made the short walk to the town center to get some fresh air, stretch our legs, and grab a snack! We headed to the grocery store in the town center so everyone could grab whatever snack or sandwich they pleased. Once we made it back to the hotel, we all showered and napped before heading back into town for our first official meal together! It would only be right for our first meal to be pizza and pasta! After enjoying dinner we of course had to stop for gelato! Our pizzas, pastas, and scoops of gelato were the perfect foreshadow into the delicious Italian meals we will be having for the next two weeks! Hailey brought out a special gelato cone with a candle for Marina to celebrate her birthday from the day before! Unfortunately buying birthday candles in Italy is harder than in America because we could never figure out how to light it! Instead, Marina blew out the flame on the lighter and we all sang happy birthday anyways! With full bellies, we headed back to our hotel for our first Moonup, a key part of each Moondance day where we grow closer as a group and get to know each other more and more each night. Bevin and Hicks were selected as our first LODs and we all went to bed eager to start our activities the next day!
Our first full day together was filled with bonding and adventuring as we hiked up to a gorgeous waterfall for a Via Ferrata. The Via Ferrata, also known as the Iron Road, are paths along the mountain ridges where we clip into cables and climbs up and down the mountain ridge! Henry M, who has been dubbed the nickname of Meatball, wowed us all when he pulled out his own climbing gear, a harness, helmets, shoes and all! Everyone loved the Via Ferrata and after another chill afternoon, we walked back into town for more pizza, pasta, and gelato! Bobby, Henry S, and Madison ordered the risotto for dinner, which turned out to be a bit interesting and unexpected, and Henry S learned the hard way that risotto is not a traditional pasta noodle. Needless, to say, the group has been joking about risotto ever since! The boys, EA (Elizabeth Ann), Reese, and Hannah played candy poker to end the night and we all went to bed early to rest up for our first day of trekking!
Our first day of trekking was not what we planned for due to some rain, but never less the group persisted and we all grew so much closer. After the first few hours of our trek, and a tough uphill stretch, we treated ourselves to warm cappuccinos and hot cocos at a mountain hut. Gia was in awe by the latte art and Hicks said that the cappuccino made all of the toxins leave his body. To put it simply, the group absolutely loved having mid-hike cappuccinos in a mountain hut in the Dolomites! Gia even had two! The group was all smiles as we hit the trail again to finish our trek. Unfortunately, the sky opened up after our break and we finished the rest of the hike in the pouring rain. The trail chats and conversations never stopped and the group stayed incredibly positive in the rain. We were rewarded with lunch inside some more hot coco once we made it to our mountain rifugio for the night! The girls discovered that their bathroom had heated floors and we all immediately sat down together on the bathroom floor to warm up. We brought out the friendship bracelet string and turned on music and had the best time chatting and making bracelets while being huddled up together on the warm floor! Gia and Bevin are the friendship bracelet masters and we all learned some new patterns from them! While most of the girls made bracelets, EA, Bobby, Henry S, Henry M, Hicks, and Crawford braved the rain to explore a nearby cave. We had the entire afternoon free, which we happily filled with card games, reading, journaling, and chatting. Hailey taught a group how to play the card game “Presidents” and it quickly became a group favorite game! Crawford and Reed played a little bit of guitar and Bevin, Marina, Gia, and Hannah all spent time reading their books. Bevin is our reading queen and already finished one of the books she brought! We were so excited to see sunshine later in the afternoon, and Hailey, EA, Madison, and Reese went out on a search for cows! The cows at this rifugio weren’t the friendliest, but we knew we would see many more cows over the next few days! Despite the rain during our trek, the group stayed positive and ended up having such a great day bonding and relaxing! This group is growing closer and closer by the day!
The weather cleared up for our second day of trekking and we had a wonderful day of trekking in the morning and swimming and relaxing in the afternoon! Most of the morning, we occupied our trail talk with countless riddles. Madison is a riddle wizard and solved all of the hardest ones on the first try! After another challenging uphill stretch of the trek, we were rewarded with lunch by a beautiful green lake. There is an unspoken rule on Moondance trips that if there is a body of water nearby, you have to get in! Although the water was freezing, the group was fearless and had no hesitation jumping in. The water was a bit chillier than we anticipated, but we were all so glad that we got in. We’re not sure how they did it, Gia and Reed even jumped in twice! We let the sun dry us off and we relaxed by the lake listening to music. On our way to the rifugio, we came across another herd of cows, and this time they were much more friendly! The group found a cow that Hailey remembered from earlier in the summer, and this cow acts like a giant dog! Her name is Mandy and she loves to be pet and nuzzle up against people. Crawford and Mandy had a real connection and he might just be a cow whisperer – all of the cows love him! We will definitely be going to find Many again in the fields before we depart to our next location. After making it to our rifugio, a mountain hut called Lavarella, we once again warmed up with hot coco, cappuccinos and a delicious dish called pasta in a pot! There has been no shortage of delicious drinks and snacks on this trip!
We woke up yesterday to another beautiful blue sky day in the Dolomites! We had a delicious breakfast with the highlights being the fresh honey from the bees at the rifugio! Although our day hike today was a bit challenging, it was incredibly rewarding to reach the top of the saddle that overlooked a whole new set of mountains and a town below. Our hike was filled with green hills spotted with wildflowers, endless mountain ranges, and many funny falls. EA and Henry S were our LODs and led the pack the entire hike. Hicks and Madison had the best spills of the day and provided entertainment on the trail! After making it back to our rifugio, we enjoyed more pasta in a pot, warm showers, and afternoon chats. Hailey, Crawford, and Hannah went on another cow search this afternoon, but they were unable to find their cow best friend, Mandy. They were successful in petting lots of new cow friends! The friendly cows at this rifugio have been a highlight for sure! We had a deep and meaningful Moonup another wonderful day in the Dolomites!
Today we are off to the highest rifugio in the Dolomites – Rifugio Lagazoui. Today also happens to be our amazing and goofy guide’s birthday! Our guide Marco has hilarious banter, especially with Hicks and EA (or as he pronounces their names, HEEEicks and HE Hay). We will be sure to celebrate big tonight with candles and singing! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful kiddos with us for this adventure! Reed and I have loved getting to know them, watching them come out of their shells, and seeing the friendships form. We can’t wait for the rest of our adventures and to see how much more this group will grow and come together! It has been an amazing few days. Until we talk again, we have a few words from our crew!
SHOUTOUTS:
Reese- Hey mom and dad, Moondance has been great so far! We’ve done and Via Ferrata and are in the middle of trekking the Dolomites rn! Miss y’all
Madison: Hi mom and dad! I love you and I miss you guys. I am having a great time and I have got to pet a lot of cows!
Hannah- Hi mom and dad, this Moondance is by far my favorite one so far. Seeing this side of Italy is amazing and I’m so excited to see more of it. Making lots of friends and getting to hear and meet some amazing people. Love you lots and can’t wait to see everyone again!
Gia- Hi mom and dad! This trip is so cool. I miss y’all so much. And tell Roc I miss him and I’m excited to come visit him in New York
Crawford- hello mom and dad. I am having a great time and am missing our cute and fat dogs. I miss you both but Hattie a little less. The people are very nice and a lot funnier than dad. Love yall, see you soon
Hicks – hello mom and dad. I am having a great time and hope you are enjoying not having kids at home. Happy birthday mom. Love yall, see you soon. Best, hicks – hicks
Henry Smith – hey mom and dad. It is a great trip and I hope you guys are having a fun time in la playing tennis. I also hope charlotte is having fun in Colorado.
Marina- hi mom and dad! I am having so much fun, Italy is so pretty. I miss you guys so much and I hope Taylor is feeling better . Also tell Caspar I miss him so much. Love you guys!
Bevin- Hey mom and dad! I miss u guys and America so much but I am having so much fun. Tell Declan and Tucker that I can’t wait to see them!
EA- hey Ann and stew I love yall I miss u guys Italy is pretty tell Sarah and Mae I miss them
Bobby- Hello Family. I hope that you are all doing well. I am doing pretty well myself. Cannot wait to see you all.
Henry Miller – Hey. I’m having a good time in the Dolomites. Excited for the TMB. Could you bring my approach shoes and if possible my camera. See you soon.
Safe Arrival in Venice!
July 10, 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
