Made it to Tahoe!
June 30, 2025
Day 1, June 25th – Today, we went to the airport and picked up the kids! We played Pictionary and cards in the airport with Hodges and Liza. We had Jersey Mike’s sandwiches for lunch and loaded up the van for Half Moon Bay. We are staying at Francis Beach. When we arrived, we did introductions and talked about Moondance! We learned about Leave No Trace, expedition behavior, and LITMO. Grady taught us how to set up tents. Tommy surprised us with pizza for dinner, and Ellie and Jude built a fire for s’mores. We enjoyed great food and played spikeball and hacky sack. We went down to the beach for our first Moonup. Our first LODs are Stephie and Roey. We all bundled up and got ready for bed! We can’t wait for tomorrow!
Day 2, June 26th – Today, we woke up and had M&M pancakes with eggs. What a great first breakfast! We played spikeball and The Rock Game. We loaded up in the van for surfing. Stephie and Roey led our first morning huddle and got us excited for the day. We ate lunch by the beach and saw the group Cal C! The guides got us suited up in our wetsuits. We learned about the tide, how to body surf, and how to pop up. The water was pretty rough, but we gave it our best shot. Blair and Jude were able to catch some good waves. We came back and had Caprisun and started a spikeball tournament. We made guacamole with tacos for dinner. Afterward, we grabbed some Oreos and headed to the beach for beach soccer and spikeball. We played in the World Cup, and Hodges and Grady were a great team. Blair and Stephie were great competitors. We sang “Riptide” with Ellie on the beach and had a great Moonup.
Day 3, June 27th – Today, we woke up and packed up camp. We had eggs in a nest with bacon for breakfast. Hodges and Jude couldn’t help but come back for seconds. Elizabeth and Myers were on the cleaning crew and did such a great job. Jude and Marley were super helpful on the cooking crew too! After packing up camp, we headed to Pacifica Beach for our second day of surfing. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day. Roey and Liza caught great waves. At the end of the session, we ran into the ocean for a swim. We then went to change. We took a quick stop at Taco Bell before hitting the road to Camp Lotus! We played games, sang music, and had fun in the car. We got to Camp Lotus and set up camp. We had chicken skewers and ramen for dinner. It was delicious! We went to bed ready for a day of rafting.
Day 4, June 28th – Today, we woke up and had yogurt, bananas, and muffins for breakfast. We got lots of fuel before our day on the river. We met our guides, Sophie and Rownan. We rafted the lower section of the river, The Gorge. It was full of Class II and III rapids. Stephie and Blair were great paddle leaders. We enjoyed the rapids and pulled over for lunch. We had wraps, sandwiches, and strawberry wafers. We got back on the river and headed for the Class III rapids. Both boats did a great job paddling. Roey and Jude attempted to pull Ellie into the water. Ellie then tried to take Tommy in and failed. We shared lots of laughs playing in the water and on the rafts. Afterward, we got off the river and enjoyed sparkling water. We headed back to camp to get showered up and ready for dinner. We played a spikeball tournament, cornhole, and Blaze O. Grady and Liza were great at Blaze O. Pearson and Jude won the first tournament, and Hodges and Grady won the second one. We had an amazing dinner with All Outdoors. We even got brownies with sprinkles for dessert. We sang “Wagon Wheel” with the guitar and had a great Moonup.
Day 5, June 29th – Today, we woke up to the smell of delicious breakfast cooked for us by All Outdoors. We had eggs, sausage, potatoes, fruit, and hot chocolate! We ate well and packed up camp before heading back to the river. We loaded up in the boat to drive to the put-in for the upper section of the river, Chili Bar. We got in our rafts with Sophia and Rownan and headed into the Class III rapids. Our favorites were the Triple Threat and Troublemaker. Roey and Jude had fun acting like news reporters on the river. After rafting, we enjoyed lunch with our guides. Rownan surprised us with Fudge Stripes cookies! We thanked our guides, changed out of our bathing suits, and loaded the van to head to Lake Tahoe! Everyone took a cat nap in the van. We woke up to the beautiful view of Tahoe. We got to our campsite, Tahoe SRA, and ran into Cal C! We set up camp and went down to Common Lake for a swim. There was a free concert going on, so we got to dance and swim! We headed back to camp and were surprised by snacks from Tommy. We enjoyed hummus and veggies while Ellie and Grady prepared Hibachi! It was a great evening with wonderful food. We finished with a Moonup and looking at the stars. What a great first evening in Tahoe!
Shoutouts-
Hodges: Hey Mom, Dad, AB, and Isabel. I am having a great time surfing, rafting, and much more. I love y’all.
Pearson: Hey Mom, Dad, Parker, and Jackson. I am having such a fun time! We have been surfing, rafting, and have done a lot of fun stuff. I love and miss yall!
Elizabeth: Hi Mom, Dad, and Anne! I am missing you guys so much, but you were right I am having the best time so far surfing and rafting and more! Love you all! xoxo Lizzie
Myers: Hey Mom, Dad, and MB! I miss yall so much! But I’m having soo much fun!! We went rafting today and I have a bunch of stories to tell. I love yall soooo much!!! I also miss my friends so much tell them I said hey! Xoxo mymy
Marley: This trip had been amazing and so fun we went surfing and white water rafting. Hi Mom, Dad, Ryder. And Rnxo I miss you guys. Shout out to whoever the Memphis Grizzlies got.
Liza: Hey Mom, Dad, Walker, and Ellie I miss yall a lot but it is so fun here. Make sure you love on purdy, rader, and I can’t spell the cats name. We play spikeball and other games. I’m going to miss you Ellie because I want to see you. Love y’all. Tell elizabeth, Caroline, and Coco I love them. Xoxo Liza
Stephie: Hello Mom, Dad, Sammy, Miley, and Jamey! I hope everything is going well in Charlotte! I miss you guys sooo much but I am really having a great time. We’ve done surfing, whitewater rafting and a ton of spikeball. It was all so fun! My group is great and surprisingly I have been loving the food, I really love and miss yall so much! Also pls tell all my friends I say hi! Okay bye si love yall and miss yall so much and I can’t wait to see yall! Love, Stephie
Blair- Hey Mom and Dad. I miss you guys so much! I really love it here ( including the food) and also really like my group. We have finished surfing and white water rafting which were both so fun. I hope yall are having fun in Switzerland. I love and miss you guys bye! Love Blair
Jude: Hi Mom, Dad, Sadie I hope everyone is doing well camp is good I miss y’all. I am having fun and have the best counselors. I love y’all!
Roey: Hello Mom, Dad, and Ella I am doing great and hope yall are too. So far we have surfed and white water rafted for 2 days. In our free time we play a LOT of spikeball, including 2 tournaments. Today we just arrived in Lake Tahoe. It’s so pretty. Things have been good and I hope y’all are doing well. Love you guys!
Ellie: Hey Mom, Dad, and Lee! I am having a blast with CAL 2B. We have played music and spikeball almost everyday. I am so lucky to be with these students, Tommy, and Grady. I love and miss you!
Grady: I’m so excited for the Fourth of July
Tommy: Hey Mom and Dad! I am loving this session so far. We have had so much fun rafting and surfing and I am so lucky to have this amazing group of people around me. I love and miss yall!
Safe Arrival in San Fran!
June 25, 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
