Cali is Having Fun and Soaking Up Sun!
June 12, 2025
What a blast we have had so far! After we picked up the kids from the airport, we had a little drive to the Olema Campground. We got to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge! It was so much bigger than we all anticipated. We drove through San Francisco on the way to Olema. We picked up pizza on the way and spent the night getting to know each other and introducing concepts of Moondance. One special moment that happens each night is something called ‘Moonup.’ During this time, the Leaders of the Day (LODs) lead the group in conversation, including funny memories from the day (Nug jug), a silly and deeper question, and introduce the next day’s LODs. In the morning, we got up and drove to a lighthouse outside of San Francisco on the coast. It was super foggy, but that just made the experience even cooler. We walked down 313 steps to get to the lighthouse. Even with the fog, there was still an amazing view of the water. George even spotted some seals down on the water! In addition to that, he also spotted an elk! After the lighthouse, we went to a beach on the coast. Parker and Sadie practiced their hackey sack skills while we were hanging out on the sand. We kept on driving over to Lake Tahoe after the beach stop. The views of the lake made the kids super excited to be able to get into the water! Once we got to the campsite, we made a ton of nachos. Liles (one of our LODs) and the rest of the cook crew led the charge on crafting up the nachos! The next day we headed out on the water to kayak! Zack, our guide, led the kids on the kayaking route and we stopped to do a relay race. The kids also sat with people that they didn’t know as well and Zack challenged them to find out new facts about their kayaking partner. We made it a competition, and the winning group listed off around 15 new facts that they learned about their kayaking partner. During the activity, we also stopped at a park/beach to eat lunch and hang out. We found a volleyball court and Piper rounded up the group for many rounds of volleyball with the whole crew! After kayaking, we made a stop at a local bakery for the kids to get a well-deserved treat. We drove to a hike at Maggie’s Peaks. This hike was a bit of an uphill challenge, but Riley, Lulu, and Maggie lead the charge up the trail. We stopped at the lookouts and enjoyed the vast and gorgeous views of Lake Tahoe. Once we got back to camp, Kent grilled up some hotdogs while the kids all played spike ball tournaments. The next day, after eating some breakfast sammies, we went back to the lake to paddle board. This was a more laid-back activity that everyone loved. The brisk water of Lake Tahoe definitely woke everyone up instantly. Jack, Thompson, and Rhodes cannot seem to get enough of the football- throwing it while paddling, at the beach, and during lunchtime! Of course, we had to go back for round 2 at the volleyball court. This day we also spent a couple of hours exploring Tahoe city! The boys splurged and each got silly sunglasses, while Maggie, Lulu, Riley, and Liles got matching ‘bear feet’ slippers. I am honestly obsessed, maybe I need to purchase. A quick ice cream stop at Poppy’s in town was a hit! The dole whip and cherry sorbet were a popular pick. Sadie, Parker, and Mimi were huge fans of the boba and mochi toppings, even asking for individual cups of just the topping! The rest of the day was full of spikeball and rock skipping. Lots of people beat their rock skipping PR! Pesto pasta with chicken was our dinner for the night, which was a big hit! Lots of kids found out that pesto is actually really good! While Gray was helping lead the cook team, we all had a pre-dinner dance party. This was such a blast and truly a special moment of bonding. Right now, we headed to our rafting section of the trip. It already feels like the trip is flying by! With many more activities, meals, and moonups- we are so excited to continue connecting throughout the trip and inspiring the kids to live in the moment.
Here’s to California Dreaming!
Mimi, Kent, and Gray
The Adventure Begins!
June 8, 2025
Hello California Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely in San Francisco! The trip is off to a great start, and we are so excited to hear more stories as they begin their adventure.
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! 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
