July 21, 2024
ALOHA!!!! We are SO excited to share all that we have been up to lately! Last time we caught up we had been abruptly woken up by the rain and spent the morning preparing for our first lesson windsurfing. Since then, we have had a packed couple of days filled with adventures in the rainforest, water sports along the coast, breathtaking sunsets, and endless laughs throughout it all.
When we arrived at the beach park for windsurfing, the outfitters quickly got us suited up, taught us some beginner turns, and we were ready to tackle the waves within minutes. Pippa was a natural and impressed us all with how fast she mastered her balance on the board. Soon after, everyone was cruising along the water doing 360s with their sail. Gray wowed us with his skills and Warren and Chason took a 10-minute intermission to make a drip castle on the beach. After their masterpiece was finished, it was time to bring in the boards and they decided to stick together and ride tandem all the way back. As we sailed in, Wright raced us as he swam, ultimately beating most of the boards to the coast. With excitement levels high after leaving windsurfing, we made a quick sandwich lunch back at camp before meeting up with Evan, the owner of Pono Grown Farms. Here, we spent a few hours harvesting vegetables and picking out some weeds in order to prepare for the next round of crops being planted. Jack and Gavin excelled at eliminating the weeds, Lillie pulled out a sweet potato the size of a pineapple, and Pippa, Wright, Chason, and Emilia cleaned off all of the harvested plants while sneaking in a few hose sprays at each other. Safe to say we collectively put in a lot of hard work, which was rewarded with a lot of fun as we got to use Evan’s water slide! Everyone took many turns sliding down feet first, head first, and 2 at a time into the pond below where a belly flop showdown occurred. Chason took the gold medal for best flop and the group decided to take one last run down the slide altogether as a chain. When we got back to the campsite, our LODs, Sloane and Dean, cooked amazing chicken and shrimp tacos and led us in Moonup before going to bed. With a clear weather forecast ahead, the group was excited to cowboy camp again and sleep in before ziplining the next day.
After a restful night, Jack was up before the whole group and had already started tidying up cards and little pieces of trash that had been left out the night before. Next to awaken was Dean, who spent most of his morning trying to persuade us leaders to take him skydiving. Once everyone was up, we started cooking breakfast burritos, making sure to fuel up before our ziplining adventure. Once we arrived at the top of the course, Pippa, Gray, and Sloane started teaching our guides some Tik Tok dance moves while Dean decided to spend his waiting period singing. On one particular line, we were able to hold hands while going down— Coco and Lillie executed this perfectly. Right before the finale, we got to walk over the “Golden Gate Bridge of Maui”, which towers over a beautiful bamboo forest. While the bridge was intimidating, Lucy and Warren faced their fear of heights and we were all so proud of them for keeping up their positive attitudes. After our very fun excursion, we stopped in Makawao for a little shopping. Many bracelets and local prints were bought along with a hat Warren got for a friend but likes so much he might have to keep it for himself! Back at camp, Lucy and Gavin made Mac n Cheese served alongside steak which definitely became a group favorite meal.
The next morning we had another relaxed morning before we had to be at our next activity: rappelling! Gavin, Jack, and Wright were our early birds and we all enjoyed a game of Skip Bo before everyone else woke up. As we cooked breakfast, Lillie perfected her pancake flip, each one better than the previous. Jack paired the sweet chocolate chip pancakes with some savory sausage and eggs, giving us the best bfast combo. After we all filled up on the wide variety of options, Nelson drove us up the mountainous Road to Hana for waterfall rappelling. Shauna, one of our guides, and Dean shared their love for sarcastic humor right off the bat and continued cracking jokes to the rest of the group throughout the activity. Everyone successfully made it down the waterfalls, but Jack showed us up with the quickest dismount and even though Warren and Lillie had some nerves going into the day, they beautifully executed the rappel.
The exciting day wasn’t over just yet… After rappelling we had a cooking class with a local farm in Maui. Here, we walked through all of their produce and Gray and Chason even got to harvest papayas that we later used in a coleslaw for our tacos. Throughout the farm tour, we got to taste a few interesting fruits with Lucy taking a special liking to the finger limes. After hearing our instructor Jakke explain more about regenerative farming and how they sustainably produce organic crops, we hit it to the kitchen to start prepping our meal. Emilia and Warren worked very hard chopping carrots and lettuce for the side salad while Dean made a taro-feta appetizer for us to enjoy while cooking. Before eating dinner, we all indulged in fresh limeade while taking many photos on the kitchen rooftop. Once we made sure we got the perfect flick, we ate the delicious meal we prepared altogether. With stuffed bellies, we got back in the van to head back to camp. Emilia kept the energy up with the best singalong song requests which turned into a pre-Moonup dance party! If we hadn’t already had enough laughs for the day, Lillie and Jack asked the funniest Moonup question: What would the person to your right be famous for? Emilia said Gray would become a SoundCloud rapper and Dean told Chason he would be some type of hair model! We ended Moonup talking about those who inspire us and went to bed right after knowing we had a very early morning coming up the next day.
Even though it was still dark out when we woke up, watching the sunrise as we got ready to depart for our boating snorkel adventure brightened everyone’s moods. Soon we were on the boat, soaking in the sun, and munching on donuts and fruit. When we got to our first snorkel spot, Dean was the first one in the water and soon after everyone else had jumped in, each equally blown away by the colorful array of fish. Thanks to Wright, Lucy, and Lillie we got so much GoPro footage of all the aquatic life as well as fun videos riding on the boat. After a few hours cruising the waves, we anchored at our final snorkeling destination which happened to be the perfect place to spot turtles! Sloane, Pippa, and Chason jumped countless times off of the side while Wright and Dean locked into find the coolest fish. Overall, the morning was an 11/10! Even though we were exhausted leaving the boat, the group got to recharge with naps in the van, followed by chill time in the shade playing cards and reading books at camp. Once we got our energy back up, we made our way to Paia for some souvenirs and dinner! Many added a new t-shirt to their collection, Pippa and Emilia purchased matching earrings, and Dean got a Maui straw sun hat that he was adamant about wearing to surfing the following day. Our Paia excursion ended at Paia Fish Market, where we found food to fulfill everyone’s cravings! From buttered pasta noodles to a burger to fish tacos, everyone was happy with their meal and we were excited to go back and end our amazing day with Moonup. Chason and Gray lead us through the night asking about our “spirit foods” and areas we wish to grow in.
After a day break of cooking and cleaning, we jumped back into our early morning routine for surfing!! Almost everyone got up on the first try and even Lucy and Jack who had never surfed before became experts by the end. Pippa and Emilia challenged themselves by riding tandem on the surf board, which impressed us all. The group moral was high by the end of the session so we decided to treat ourselves to açaí bowls from a nearby foodtruck! This sweet treat topped our morning and got everyone amped up for our adventures ahead. We’re planning on catching an amazing sunset over the mountains tonight and cannot wait to share more in our next update!!
Huge MAHALO (thank you) to all of you friends and family!!! We have had the best time getting to know the group and are so grateful for the countless memories we have made. While we are sad we only have a few days left, we are so excited to touch base again!
With love, Helen, Coco, Nelson and the rest of MAU 3C <3
“Hey! I miss y’all and I’m having so much fun. Hope Eden’s trip was fun and west moving out went well! Tell Elisa I can’t wait to hear about Mexico. Love y’all and the dogs! <3” — Gray
“Hi fam! I miss y’all so much and am having so much fun. Love you guys <3” — Pippa
“Hi Mom, Dad, and CG! I am having so much fun at camp. CG I hope you are still having fun at Timberlake and I love you so much. Love you guys so much and miss y’all!” — Wright
“Hey fam, miss y’all. It’s so much fun! I am tan! Love y’all!” — Chason
“Hey! Imy Mom, Dad, Rids, MC, and Gumbo! HBD Mom! <3 y’all!!! I can’t wait to see you guys and tell you everything! (:” — Lillie
“Hi Mom, Dad, Pinky, Olivia, Thomas, Sugar, Reese, and Sutton <3 I miss you guys so much! I am having a blast here! Happy birthday to Tommy and tell Parks I say congrats!! I miss y’all and I will have surprises for y’all if you add more money to my greenlight…” — Lucy
“Hey Mom and Dad, I miss y’all! Hope the house alone has been nice. Love y’all” — Gavin
“Hey fam! I miss y’all so much and I’m so excited to tell y’all about my trip. I hope the Hamptons have been fun. I also hope Annabel had the best time on her Moondance. Can’t wait to see y’all!! Lots of love” — Mills
“Hey Mom and Dad, I’ve had so much fun and can’t wait to show you around Maui. I’ll tell you everything when you are in Hawaii!” — Dean
“Hey Mom and Dad! I miss you so much. I’m having so much fun. I hope you guys don’t mistreat Sunny. Love you!” — Warren
“Hi Mom and Dad! I love you guys! I’m having so much fun in Maui! I love my group and I think I’m getting tanner. I miss you guys, Love you! — Sloane
“Hey family! I really miss you guys! I’m having so much fun here and I can’t wait to see you guys soon! I love you guys!-Jack