Cabot, 21, is from Nashville, TN, and is a junior at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, majoring in Finance. Cabot joined Moondance as a student on the Pacific Northwest trip in 2018, and that experience left a lasting impact on him. He is excited to return as a leader this summer, eager to pass down the same life-changing experience his leaders gave him. Cabot’s enthusiasm for the outdoors and his passion for leading others will undoubtedly create a memorable experience for his students.
Maggie, 22, is from Charlotte, North Carolina, and recently graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a degree in Neuroscience. Though new to Moondance, Maggie brings a wide range of experiences that showcase her leadership, compassion, and adventurous spirit. She is EMT certified, played on UNC’s club soccer team, and volunteered as a youth soccer coach. Maggie also studied abroad in both Florence, Italy, and Dublin, Ireland, expanding her love for travel and cultural connections. We’re excited to welcome Maggie to her first summer with Moondance!
Springer, 21, is a junior at Texas Christian University studying Strategic Communication and hails from Columbus, Georgia. A proud Moondance alum, Springer took part in the Hawaiian Islands trip in 2021 and the Kenya + Zanzibar trip in 2022—both of which deepened her love for adventure and connection. She’s served on summer staff at a YoungLife camp and recently studied abroad in Innsbruck, Austria, further fueling her passion for travel and working with others. Springer’s energy, warmth, and enthusiasm make her a perfect fit to return to Moondance—this time as a leader!
June 28, 2025
Hey Mom and Dad! I miss y’all so much and can’t wait to see you soon. We’ve been on the Big Island camping and scuba diving. Stock and I with the leaders have been doing some amazing dives while the rest of the group is getting certified, and it’s been so fun and rewarding. Y’all would love it!!!! I love and miss you and the boys so much! -Kennedy
Hey mom and dad the first couple of days of the trip have been great. Kennedy and I are the only certified divers on the trip so far so we have been doing fun dives with the leaders. Hawaii is awesome. Love yall a lot! -Stock
Hey mom and dad. It hasn’t even been a week and I think this has been my best summer yet. I am officially scuba certified!!! Haven’t bonded quicker with Kids my age! Have a bunch a photos and videos on my go pro and can’t wait to show you guys and tell you everything about it. Love ya- Carlo
Mom, Dad, Olivia, Zoe, I love and miss y’all. It’s been a great experience so far doing scuba, camping, hiking, and swimming. Looking forward to surfing on the next island. Be ready for a headstand picture on the board. Again, love y’all and see you soon! Excited to hear what you’ve been up to! -Owen
Aloha everyone, Hawai’i is spectacular! Scuba diving is amazing and the island could not be more spectacular. I couldn’t be happier enjoying Hawaii. -Wrenn
Hi mom and dad, I miss you so much. I snorkeled today and saw a big pufferfish. Excited to show you guys pictures. Luv -Sadie
Aloha mom and dad! Hawaii has been such a great trip that yall signed me up for. I am almost finished with my diving certification. We are going to the next island in a few days. I miss you and will see you soon. -Joshua
Hi mom, dad, and vaeda!! Miss you guys so much. I’m having so much fun and my group is great. Scuba diving is so fun and the water here is so nice and clear. The weather is so nice and I’ve been wearing sunscreen. Hope the lake and Bernard are good! Love you!! -Ruby
Hi mom and dad I am having so much fun and everyone here is so cool I have the best group and can’t wait to tell y’all about it. Hope you’re having fun back home and on your trips I’m never coming home. Evie
Hi mom and dad I’m having so much fun this place is soooo pretty!!! All the people are so cool and nice. We did scuba diving today for the first time in the ocean today and it was so cool. Can’t wait to see yall when I get back and hope yall are having fun in London -Caroline
Hey guys!! I am having so much fun trying new things with some really nice kids . Everyone gets along really well and we are already close. I am officially scuba certified today and we will complete our first fun dive tomorrow. We went down to 30 feet today and it was such a cool experience, would definitely like to do this again. We go to the next island in a few days, and we are going night swimming to see manta rays in a few hours which I can’t wait for. Tell Elizabeth, Nonni, and poppy that I love and miss them!! Can’t wait to see you guys in a little over a week. -Charlotte
What’s up guys! Hawaii has been super sick and the water is amazing here. Scuba diving is just as cool and fun as you guys said it would be and I’m honestly having a blast so far! Next up on the other island is surfing and zip lining and tonight we get to see a giant manta ray up close! Anyways I’m enjoying my time here and can’t wait to see everyone soon. – Seth
June 27, 2025
Aloha from Kona!
We have had an amazing few days getting to know one another and exploring the Island of Kona! Ruby and Caroline were the first arrivals, and we loved getting to know them while also making friendship bracelets! After welcoming everyone at the airport with a pizza party, we headed off to our first campsite! The next day, the kids woke us up bright and early, ready for some breakfast. We made sausages and chocolate chip pancakes. Stock and Carlo even made one giant pancake with the remaining batter and almost succeeded in flipping it. We hung out and got to know each other a little more and even played with the camp dog, which Owen has affectionately named Priscilla. After that, we headed to our first activity, which was a tour of the Kona Salt Farm. There, we learned about how all of the salt is made and manufactured in Kona. We even got to go into a hot house, and Seth bit into a giant salt ball. We were then taken to a taste test where we tried all the different flavors of salt on cucumbers, tomatoes, and even on pineapple. After that, we moved into the kitchen where Chef Christina taught us proper cutting skills, and we all made our own salads with the fresh vegetables we chopped. We even got to season the salad with a salt flavoring of our choice. After that, we ate our delicious salads and then were served braised beef with a side of Ualu potatoes. And for dessert, we had papaya and bananas topped with chocolate tahini. We said Mahalo to Chef Christina, who taught us that means thank you in Hawaiian, and headed to our next activity.
We drove over to hike the beautiful Pololu Trail, where we ended at a black sand beach at the bottom. Cabot took the boys to explore down the beach, and Springer and Maggie taught the girls how to play our favorite game, “Shake and Pop”. The girls loved it and invited the boys to play with them as well, and everyone had a good laugh. We then hiked back up to the van and drove back to camp, where we had a delicious meal of spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, and Caesar salad. We ended the night with moonup, where we all shared what we would want our B+ superpowers to be and what we were hoping to gain out of these next two weeks together.
The next morning, we were woken up by Stock again and ate some oatmeal for breakfast. We had a quick morning at camp and then headed straight to our first day of SCUBA! Springer, Maggie, and Sadie dropped off the rest of the crew at the pool and headed to the harbor to snorkel. They saw many schools of fish and even a giant turtle in the harbor. The open water group was hard at work starting the day with a review and then jumping straight into the pool. They worked on mask, regulator, and buoyancy skills, and they absolutely crushed it. The snorkel crew then met up with the scuba crew for some ice cream and shaved ice to celebrate their hard work.
We then headed to Mauna Kea. When we got there we had a picnic with some sandwiches and then headed on a short hike to the top of a little mountain to watch the sunset. We enjoyed some Oreos and each others company while shivering because of the cold and then headed back down. We had a nice long “jam sesh” on the way back to camp. We then ended the night with moonup where we talked about our favorite animals and people who have strongly impacted our lives.
After a great night’s rest, we went straight back to town to drop off Kennedy, Stock, and Springer for their first boat dives of the trip, while the rest of the group went on to finish up their pool dives! Out on their dive, they saw lots of fish and eels and even an octopus. They had a great time getting to know each other while watching the spinner dolphins on the boat in between dives! On the way. To the diving locker, Evie was able to score a perfect score on the PADI final examination, while Owen kept up on studying, which helped him obtain a perfect score as well! The kids were eager to finish up the pool dives so that they could finally get into the ocean tomorrow, but today’s pool dives were, of course, vital to becoming a certified diver. The divers experienced their first emergency situation underwater, where they each had to slowly breathe out until reaching the surface, which everyone passed with flying colors! Everyone learned how to control themselves with a malfunctioned regulator, put on their gear at the surface, as well as how to become buoyant of which they will utilize every dive in the ocean! Halfway through the day, we all enjoyed a quick lunch before getting back into the pool to finish up. Near the end of the dive day, the kids split into groups to perform their own simulated dive! After all of the pool skills were perfected, the group headed to the beach to hang out for a bit. On the way back to the van, Joshua found a sweet PGA tour hat and decided it would best fit him, which it did, of course. We headed back to camp and enjoyed a delicious dinner of chicken fajitas prepared by our wonderful leaders of the day, Wrenn and Charlotte! We have had an incredible experience getting to know each kid and can’t wait for what’s in store between this amazing group!
Signing off!
Cabot, Springer, and Maggie
June 24, 2025
Hello Hawaiian Islands Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning that the group has landed safely! 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 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
