Farewell!
June 21, 2024
It’s time for our last aloha of the trip, and we’re feeling bittersweet!
On day 11, we woke up early and took a nice drive to our hike spot in Waimea Canyon, known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” With our guide Sarah, we headed down to Waipo’o Falls for the day. When we got to the falls, Alexa and Juju were the first to jump into the water with no hesitation, and soon the whole group joined in! We then enjoyed PB&J and turkey wraps for lunch with a beautiful view. On the way back up the trail, Mimi kept us entertained with fun stories that made the challenging hike a little easier. We ended the day with a yummy pasta dinner at camp and then hopped in the van for another surprise. We were going for another ice cream run at JoJo’s, everyone’s favorite shaved ice/ice cream spot. Once we got back to camp, we had another great moonup by the beach before heading to bed for some rest before surfing.
On day 12, we woke up and headed back to Hanalei Bay for another day of surfing! Merrill and Mimi surfed tandem, catching a wave together on the same board! Madeleine also got every wave on her own without any help from the instructors. Kate turned into our vlogger, making everyone laugh with her hilarious commentary. We all wished we could listen to her vlog all day. After surfing, we went back to camp to hang out and shower before our banquet dinner. We ate at Kalypso, near our surf spot. Ainsley started some great conversations at the table. Our final van ride was filled with sappy music, with Rees as DJ, knowing every word to every song.
To start our morning for our final day, Hayes and Grace cooked us a delicious pancake breakfast while Julianne took charge of packing up the tents and making sure everything was ready to go for us. We are so lucky to have girls that are so eager to help in any way they can! We spent our last afternoon at Kumu camp, enjoying hot dogs and PB&J for lunch. We then hung out around camp for a few hours to soak in some sun and make memories for our last day at camp. We then drove to our final Moonup at a nearby beach, it was emotional and sappy as we said our goodbyes before sending everyone off at the airport.
How lucky are we to have people that make saying goodbye so hard. We are so glad to have been a part of these girls lives for the last two weeks. If our girls are reading this, please know that each and every one of your personalities are so radiant and we cannot wait to see where life takes you 🤍 Stay in touch!
Signing off with love,
Gretchen and Avery
Making Waves in Hawaii!
June 18, 2024
Aloha!!!
On day 7, we started the day by packing up camp and saying our goodbyes to our temporary home. The drive to Kona was filled with sappy music, making our last scenic ride there bittersweet. We then flew to Lihue and got settled into our new camp. A quick trip to the laundromat was much needed before dinner! For dinner, we had a delicious breakfast-for-dinner with bacon, sausage, eggs, and peppers, making sandwiches and burritos. Alexa quickly made friends with the camp dog, Diamond, continuing to make friends with every dog we meet. Clay, the Moondance photographer, joined us and got to know our group, who he’d be spending the next two days with.
On day 8, we woke up early and took a scenic drive to our kayak on the Na Pali coastline. Kayaking was incredible, and we even got so close to dolphins! Madeleine and Ainsley were the fastest paddlers, leading the way. We took a break to snorkel, and Mimi spotted two sea turtles that we followed underwater! After kayaking, we treated ourselves to amazing shaved ice at Jojo’s. We then made a quick dinner at camp and had some Naan pizzas that were so yummy. Rees, one of our leaders of the day, pretended to fall, then surprised us by revealing a big piece of paper that said “NUG JUG,” leaving us all laughing. Our group’s creativity never ceases to make us laugh.
We started day 9 with pancakes for breakfast before heading out to snorkel at Tunnels, known for being where Bethany Hamilton surfed! After a quick lunch, we went zip lining on this beautiful land surrounded by jungle and farm land with cows all over. Kate was opening everyone’s imaginations by reinacting Jurassic park for us and had us all laughing. On the first zip line we were able to go upside down like spider man which was something none of us had done before. Between our zip lines was a swimming hole with a waterfall. Julianne was super eager to get it in and was one of the first to jump in. After zip lining, we returned to Kumu camp and made fresh poke bowls for dinner and had another great moonup to finish the evening.
We woke up early for day 10 for our surf session!!! Alexa and Juju caught lots of waves together, while Grace and Hayes impressively caught every wave they had come their way. We then had our favorite açaí bowls and got a free sample of Noni, a fruit known as the “vomit fruit.” Despite the nickname, Merrill bravely tried it, and we all cheered her on while laughing about how bad it smelled. We then headed back to Hanalei Bay to do some shopping and hanging out which was so much fun. After our afternoon there, we went back to camp to make Hawaiian kalua pork sandwiches for dinner which everyone loved. Our trip continues to be filled with unforgettable moments. These girls have been so amazing and we have heard each of them say how thankful they are to be on this trip. We cannot wait to have an awesome last few days with them!
Signing off,
Gretchen and Avery
ALOHA!!
June 14, 2024
Today we had our first SIX arrivals at 3:30. We picked up and went to a local beach by the 4 seasons. It was beautiful and we played some games. We r hen got our next arrivals and learned more about each other. We grabbed pizza from our favorite local spot called Kai. It was so yum! This group is going to be good and can tell they are feeling very comfortable laughing and being themselves already ! Kate and Ainsley were chosen to be Leaders of the day for the next day at our first moonup where we shared stories and reflections from the day.
On day 2, we had an early morning for our first scuba diving day!!! We ate breakfast and headed to Jack’s diving locker to meet meet Simone, Toby, and Brad, our instructors! We put together some gear and had some yummy Turkey sandwiches for lunch before hopping in the water to learn some new pool skills. Once we finished at Jack’s, we explored Kona for about an hour. We got street tacos for an early dinner then headed to Mauna Kea which was a surprise activity for them! It felt like we were on Mars up there above the clouds and everyone said this trip was worth the drive and one of the coolest things they had ever seen.
On day 3, we had another early start for our second day of scuba diving! After a hearty breakfast, we headed back to Jack’s Diving Locker to continue practicing our scuba pool skills. Once we wrapped up our training, we took a break and snorkeled at a nearby beach, enjoying the crystal-clear waters. After a fun day in the water, we returned to camp to cook Mediterranean bowls for dinner, a meal everyone has been raving about!
Day 4 is shore dive day! On todays dive in the ocean, we got to see lots of fish and so much coral reef. Grace was so enthusiastic about it that it really kept the group together for the day. During the shore dive, Kate, Ainsley, and Avery went for a challenging but rewarding hike. After everyone finished at Jacks, we headed back to camp for a chill afternoon. Merrill & Julianne went for a walk around our campsite and discovered good sunset spots. We went to one later and a local let us go down on his land to get the best view possible! His dog Rodger joined us to watch the sunset. We then headed back to camp to cook quesadillas for dinner. Alexa helped take orders for what people wanted in their quesadillas then madeleine helped Gretchen cook them and prepare each order. We had another great moonup and got ready for our big scuba dives coming the next day!
Day 5 is certification day!!! The Girls went on 2 ocean dives today to complete their certification. Hayes saw a tiger shark from really far away and got to show her whole group about how awesome it was! Once we got off the boat, we snacked and hung out at the harbour until we got ready for our manta ray snorkel and scuba for the evening. The boat ride out to our dive site was beautiful and right at sunset. We then hopped in the water and both the snorkel and scuba groups got to see SO many manta rays. It was so unreal. Ended with a sleepy ride back to camp and another moonup to end the day. Rees came up with the BEST nug jug story that had everyone fooled.
Today we got to sleep in quite a bit and then ate breakfast sandwiches and local Hawaiian banana bread to start our morning. We then headed out for our Polulu hike that had a black sand beach and everyone described this view as a windows background! We then went back to camp after to make lunch and then hopped in the van for our cooking class for dinner. Once we arrived, we had a tour of the gardens that grew so many kinds of fruit and vegetables. We got to feed the cows on the land as well which was so fun. We then begun our cooking class by the garden by learning how to chop vegetables. Everything we chopped went into our starter which was a salad and our braised beef veggie bowl. We then had a chocolate banana mango dessert to finish off the meal. It was so delicious and we had a wonderful view of the ocean the whole time. On the way back from camp, Julianne (Juju) led a hype DJ jam in the back of the van that had everyone singing and dancing. Once we got back to camp we made s’mores, played games, and finished with a sappy moonup about our last night on Kona. Mimi came up with an silly quote that everyone loved and another nug jug story that fooled us all.
We have been having a BLAST and cannot wait for what is to come. Here are some shoutouts below:
Mimi: Aloha! Having so much fun and can’t wait to tell y’all all about it
Madeleine: Aloha family, having a great time! Say hey to Dolly, all of the random dogs here are making me miss her. Miss y’all too I guess 😉
Ainsley: Aloha!! Happy early Birthday Mom and happy early Fathers Day Dad, you both are so awesome. Thank you so much for this opportunity I am having the best time ever, I love and miss you and will see you soon! Tell everyone (even Brady) that I say hi ❤️
Merrill: Hey mom!!!! I’m having so so much fun and can’t wait to tell you all about it. Tell Nathan I said heyyy and that I’m having so much fun and I miss him so much. See y’all so soon! Love you!!!!!
Julianne Malatesta: Hey fam!! Miss y’all!!I’m having so so much fun and have already made some really good friends. Tell everyone I can’t wait to see them in Michigan. Don’t worry I won’t be burnt for pictures. Hugs and kisses from Hawaii!!!
Kate Kirkland: hey! If my mom is reading this: love u so much and miss u so much. Wish u were here fr the sunsets are gorgeous. Please tell Mimi and coley and poppy that I miss them please give poppy a forehead kiss. Happy Father’s Day Russell!And for Laine, I miss u so much and as much as I love Hawaii, I can’t wait to see u the second I get back 😉
Alexa: hi fam!! Hi mom! I’m having a great time in Hawaii but I miss u and poppy so much. Give her kisses for me please. Hawaii is the coolest EVER and you’d love it. See you in a week!!!Juju: Hey mom and dad, I’m having sooo much fun here doing all the adventures and making new friends! We’ve been scuba diving and got super close to manta rays last night!! Tomorrow we go to the next island, miss y’all ❤️ Happy Father’s Day dad! Love you guys
Grace: Hey mom and dad and Ben!! I’m having sooo much fun, we’ve been doing the coolest things. I love the girls I’m with and my counselors! I love and miss you guys❤️(happy Father’s Day dad!!)
Rees: Hey mom dad and hale!! I am having so much fun everyone is amazing ! Thank you so much for this trip! I am so grateful! I will see you guys soon. Love you guys and Happy Father’s Day! Tell Bonnie and Peyton I said hi❤️❤️
Safe Arrival in Hawaii!
June 9, 2024
Hello Hawaiian Island Families!
We heard from our leaders last night that the group has landed safely in Hawaii and is headed to their first campsite! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure!
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!
