Last Few Maui Moments
July 7, 2025
Aloha friends and family,
Day 10 of our trip began before the sun rose as we headed down to Kehei for our Redline Rafting Snorkel Tour. Thanks to Whitney’s request of The Box by Roddy Ricch, stoke levels were at an all time high on the van ride there. While snorkeling Molokini Crater, we had the incredible opportunity to immerse ourselves into some of the clearest waters not only in Hawaii, but the world. With humuhumunukunukuapua’a’s surrounding us (Hawaii’s state fish), Henry was in awe of these fish in the sea. When snorkeling, there is a crater with the name “The Elevator”, Heidi said she felt like she was in a dream because it looked so beautiful. We experienced this during a day where the swells were particularly gorgeous to look at. As we headed away from the crater, our captain decided to take us out further on an adventure. As we cruised the open ocean, we were able to see Tom Brady’s new house as well as the incredible lava formations at La Perouse Bay. This bay formed as a result of rapidly cooling volcanic basalt rock in the 1790s. Adorned with black sand beaches and lava fields, this area is a hidden gem on the south side of Maui. To close out our boat day, our Captain and first mate, both named Nick, guided us to the turtle spa. Along the coast, this inlet bay is a frequent visiting spot of green sea turtles who come to have cleaner fish remove barnacles from them while they feed and rest. While there, Brooks spotted a baby turtle no more than a year or two old. As our amazing morning came to an end, we cruised back to Makawao Town in upcountry for some much needed rest.
On Day 11, 4th of July fireworks weren’t the only thing shooting through the sky! Our zip-lining day began with Chef Davis’s famous breakfast burritos (Thank you sous chefs, Duncan and Jack L.) and a good-for-the-soul roadtrip, blasting our favorite songs like “Rather Be.” Every time we hop in the van, we pass around a music journal for song requests from everyone, always guaranteeing an unpredictable setlist that has something for all! Once we arrived at Kapalua Ziplines, we geared up and met our wonderful guides, Dylan and Natalie, who whisked us across six different ziplines throughout the afternoon. Before our last zipline, we walked across Hawaii’s largest suspended bridge, where Jack A let his fear of heights drop 1600 feet below. While waiting for half of the group to finish the course, Whitney, Alice, Jack A, Alex, Brooks, Duncan, and MC played “Shake and Pop,” a group-favorite dance game that’s way more fun than you would think. After a long day of zipping through the air, our group headed home for the most anticipated competition known to man: Maui Olympics. Maui A, B, and C pool together in a rare collaboration, adorned in group-coded faceprint, uniforms, and pride. Amelia and Jack L. dominated knock-out basketball; Whitney and Alex killed Birdie-on-a-Perch; Brooks, Alice, and Katie helped win “Dude, Don’t touch my Rock”; Gavin was robbed in the “Veggie Off.” If all of that sounds like gibberish to you, it probably still will after your kids explain it. Nevertheless, the tried-and-true Moondance games guarantee group fun, especially under a rainbow as perfect as the one that night. Keeping the spirit of the 4th alive, an unofficial hacky sack competition began at dinner, with Toby Keith and Zac Brown Band blasting in the background. To top off a day well-spent, we drove past fireworks to get a sweet treat at Sonic.
On Day 12, we ventured to Makena for sea kayaking with legendary Moondance leader and Maui-trip-designer, Griff Dempsey! Paddling in our kayaks across the sparkling water with the morning sun beaming on our faces was an end-of-trip gift. We snorkeled through the reefs, seeing some majestic sea turtles, something I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of! The sun finally came out and Alex, Whitney, Jack L, and Davis took a little siesta on their kayaks.
After a beautiful morning cruise, we made the executive decision to go to Canes, the most-requested Maui 2A lunch spot on the island. Brooks claimed that his time at Canes was the most LITMO (“Live in the Moment”) he’s felt all trip, but we’ll take it! Afterwards, we headed to our favorite beach on the island, Baldwin. Despite the -windy sand, Baldwin is an incredible spot. We love the waves, the shady tree cover, and the open space for activities! Henry and Duncan helped Davis wax up his new board and everyone got to take it for a spin. Finally, we went home to host the other groups for the 2nd ever Maui Banquet Luau, and it was perfect. We catered some phenomenal Hawaiian BBQ, wore our silly outfits (bought earlier that day), hula danced to live music, and watched with our jaws on the floor as our fire dancers gave us quite the show! It truly was the perfect way to close out the trip. We played games and had our final moonup under the stars. We laughed, we cried, ate ice cream, and stayed up to celebrate THE Gavin Macchio’s birthday!!!! What a night.
Our final day started later than usual, after most of the kids stayed up late talking. We made a full breakfast and cleaned the whole campsite and did a little paperwork. We then went back to our favorite pizza place, Flatbread, and sat by Ho’okipa beach to watch the surfers, one last time. We finally headed to the airport and played games to pass the time. The kids all went through security to eat dinner together and we all said our bittersweet goodbyes.
Session 2A will always have a special place in our hearts. Thank you for the endless laughs and constant support and entertainment.
Sincerely,
Mary Claire, Davis, and Parker
Tacos, Turtles + Thank Yous
July 4, 2025
Aloha again!
The trip has continued to be phenomenal. We have finally reached that point in our group dynamic where all we have to worry about is being too loud!
Day 6
We woke up to the rooster’s crow (literally, he was right next to our tents) and headed to the beautiful Makena Beach for stand-up paddleboarding! It was a hot and sunny day as we paddled around the reef, listening to our guide Brandon tell stories about Maui’s history and treasure hunting. Jack A., Henry, Brooks, and Davis couldn’t help but try to sabotage each other’s boards while the girls enjoyed the high UV.
We headed home to make some fire quesadillas and then went to one of our new activities: lei making! We used the beautiful plumeria flowers to celebrate Hawaiian culture and make a nice accessory for some pics by the beach.
The weather was nice, so we decided to stay a little longer and have a spikeball tournament! While waiting, the group played hacky sack and climbed trees. Shoutout to our winners, Gavin and Whitney!
We weren’t quite ready to head back to camp, so we drove to Sonic for a sweet treat while Davis grabbed some ingredients for dinner. The group voted on breakfast for dinner — bacon, sausage, eggs, and pancakes with various fruits — a huge hit!
We gathered for a starlit Moonup. Congrats to our new LODs, Jack Armstrong and Alice.
Day 7
We awoke to an incredible sunrise, a few chickens, and some good mornings from the local peacock. We headed to Kalama Park for our first surfing day, where Jack Lyle claimed the title of Big Kahuna. With the help of our incredible instructors, Iván and Virginia, we were ready to shred some gnar on our longboards.
While waiting for the wave of the summer, Heidi got up close and personal with a green sea turtle surfacing for air. With the biggest swells of the season so far, Duncan caught monster waves beyond the shore break — some instructors even started calling him Kelly Slater.
After our morning on the water, everyone agreed: nap time. With Heartache Medication by Jon Pardi playing, we cruised back to Upcountry.
After some much-needed rest and sandwich melts from Chef Davis, we headed off to hike the Waihe’e Ridge Trail. This four-mile in-and-out hike offers some of the most spectacular views of Maui. At one of our first stops, Jack Armstrong made sure to get a group photo and said, “I could look at this view for hours.”
Fueled by Gatorade powder, we powered through four different environments — from dry desert to a cloud forest shrouded in mist. With Alex and Whitney leading the way, we reached our incredible summit. We celebrated at the top with some pictures and a quick game of hacky sack led by Parker.
At the end of the hike, LODs Jack A. and Alice decided ice cream was well deserved — Sonic again! Our night ended with incredible skillet-top burgers and golden Oreos.
Day 8
We visited Kipuka Olowalu, our final community service destination. We spent the morning working hard under the sun, laughing together through the sweat. Shoutout to Amelia and Whitney for going the extra mile to clear invasive plants beyond the shade!
During our break, Duncan found a native Hawaiian gecko we dubbed “Gary,” who would’ve made it on a few Snapchat stories if given the chance. After spending a little too much time with Gary, we toured native vegetation and learned about medicinal plants like the stinky, superfood-cure-all Noni fruit, which Alex used to heal her bee sting.
To celebrate a morning well spent, we stopped at Leoda’s Pies on the way out and learned that apple was the group’s favorite! For lunch, we headed back to camp and had Italian subs — a step up from the usual turkey.
Afterward, everyone either played spikeball, laid out to tan, took a nap, or did all of the above. Once everyone was re-sunscreened and recharged, we drove to Baldwin Beach — windy but worth it for the glistening waves. Katie got out her iconic pink snorkeling goggles to explore the water between rounds of taps.
To top off the day, we headed to Ho’okipa to watch the sunset from above, surfers below, and our six pizzas disappear before our eyes. It was a day full of challenge, fun, and bonding.
Day 9
This was one of my favorites as a leader. We woke up early for another surf session at Kalama Beach. The waves were smaller, but the energy was just as strong. Brooks and Heidi got to know our new Argentinian surf guides, who shared their infinite wisdom on how to catch more waves. Duncan and Henry’s stoke levels were high — they continued to impress.
Back at camp, we ate lunch, chilled, tanned, napped, listened to music, and read. It was lovely.
Later, we roamed the streets of Paia to pick up some Hawaiian merch! Our last activity of the day was a cooking class at the amazing self-sustaining farm, La Kāhea (meaning “to call in the sun”). We picked our own fruits and vegetables and cheffed up AMAZING tacos, pico, and salad. Thanks to all of our chefs!
We returned to camp happy, full, and excited for the next day, led by Whitney and Jack Armstrong.
Sincerely, Davis, MC, and Parker
Notes from the Crew
Jack A: Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to do Maui! Love y’all.
Brooks: Thank you so much, parents, for giving me the chance to do this trip. I love you guys and will see you soon.
Heidi: As we were driving in the car, we passed some schools that were not as fortunate. It made me think of the B&G Club. I was thinking of bringing one here — until I saw one already existed. Thank you for blessing me with these opportunities. I’m so sorry about the purchases. I went a little overboard. Please forgive me.
Katie: Thank you so much for sending me to Moondance! I’ve been having a lot of fun. I love you guys so much and I’ll see you soon!
Alex: Hiiii! I miss everyone so much but still having lots of fun and I love my group so much. This is the best trip yet. I also love Maui — the water is nice. Tell Frances I say bye before she leaves for Croatia and tell Cam I can’t wait to see her! Can’t wait to see y’all, but also don’t want to leave :(.
Alice: Hiii! I miss y’all so, so much. I’m having so much fun and can’t believe it’s almost over :(. Everyone in my group is so nice and we are all having a blast! This is by far the best trip yet! Tell Scar, Fin, and Eliz I say hi in case I don’t see them before they leave. I’m so grateful that y’all sent me on this trip! Love + miss y’all tons.
Jack L.: Hey guys, thank you for letting me come to Maui. My group is very fun and I like it here. I’ll tell you all about it soon.
Whitney: Hey!!! I miss you all so much and I’m having sooo much fun still. Thank y’all for giving me the chance to come here! Tell everyone I said hi and tell Kappy I say goodbye before she leaves for camp. I got both of you a present, and most places don’t take cash, so sorry about all the purchases :(. Love y’all, see y’all soon.
Amelia: Hi!! I miss y’all so, so much, but I’m having so much fun and can’t wait to see y’all when I get home. Tell Max and Vivi I miss them. I love all of y’all so much and I’m so thankful for this experience.
Gavin: Hi Mom and Dad, I want to say thank you for this experience. I’m very grateful. The main thing I learned was LITMO (Live in the moment) and I tried to do this and take advantage of the opportunity that you gave me. I love and miss you guys.
Henry: Hey guys, I’m having a ton of fun and I’ve made lots of good friends. I miss y’all and can’t wait to see you soon! Thank y’all so much for this awesome experience — I’m forever grateful.
Duncan: I want to start by saying thank you for letting me go to this amazing camp and experience the most out of this summer. I miss y’all so much and can’t wait to see y’all. Much love,
Making Memories in Maui
June 29, 2025
Aloha friends and family,
Maui 2A has been a blast, and since we are unplugged and y’all aren’t here to fully understand it, we thought we’d send an update. (Warning: you might get a little FOMO) Kahului Airport arrival day went smoothly, all kids landed safely and on time into Maui! We sat in a nice courtyard with the other Maui groups with some good tunes and good snacks. Amelia and Katie were there first and without their constant energy and smiles, the day would not have gone by so quick. Everyone got to know each other while playing huge games of hackey sack and vroom vroom skirt. Henry and Duncan may have showed up later in the day, but their sack skills were quite visible. All Maui groups talked about what we were excited about for the trip. We gathered the troops and devoured some always tasty Costco pizza and settled into our new home for the next two weeks. We introduced ourselves and gathered under the stars for our very first moonup! Congrats to our new LODs, Amelia and Brooks!
Day 2 began like all great days do, with a beautiful sunrise and blueberry muffins. Today was a challenging day, starting off with Windsurfing lessons, but no one shied away from the challenge. At one point I even saw Alex and Whitney teaching MC! Meanwhile Alice and Heidi learned some sick 360 tricks on the board. We enjoyed a nice leisurely swim on the beach before we headed to our next activity at Pono Grown farm. Evan Ryan welcomed us into his fully self sustaining eco-friendly home/workplace/community in which our group learned, worked, and played. We got to get our hands dirty and everyone was able to plant an entire row of different vegetables, all grown through the process of regenerative farming. Duncan and Gavin loved meeting some new farmer friends, like Joe and Calder, planting cabbage and learning about each other’s lives. And finally, to celebrate our hard work, Evan suprised everyone with his homemade waterslide! Everyone got to cool off while also getting some pretty gnarly speed! We then headed home, ate some homemade chipotle bowls and burritos, and played mafia in the grass before our moonup, can’t wait to see what our new leaders, Whitney and Duncan have in store for us!
Day 3 invited us to Maui Cultural Lands, one of the most sacred and special places we get to visit. Ekulu and his beautiful family welcomed us with tangible aloha spirit onto their conservation, where we challenged ourselves to fighting every invasive plant that got in our path. Getting to listen and learn from the MCL crew about their invaluable restoration work inspired us to give it our all in service. MCL is one of those places you are better in heart and mind after visiting, and we are so grateful to their group for teaching us more about the rich Hawaiian culture! For the afternoon, we treated ourselves to some general store snacks and headed to Fleming Beach where legend has it the best hot dogs were grilled. Brooks tried a cold hot dog for the rest of us, who then decided not to give it a try! We had the best of times swimming in the ocean (shoutout Gavin and Amelia for winning Taps) and chilling under MC’s shibumi. On the way home, we took a certainly scenic route that took our breaths away (but left just enough to sing to Jack Johnson and eat ice cream sandwiches). Jack L and Whitney helped chef up some wonderful fettucini alfredo that refueled us all after a day of unforgettable adventures!
Day 4 challenged us a little bit when we woke up to some pretty serious rain, but that did not stop Maui 2A from enjoying every bit of what the day had to offer. We went down south to hide from the rain and found a really awesome hike called the Hoapili Trail, which took us through a breathtaking lava rock field along the coastline, formed around 1790. We hiked to Cape Hanamanioa to find some of the most blue water you’ve ever seen. We then had a lunch picnic while we decorated our van windows with colorful pens, who knew we had so many talented artists like Jack A. After lunch, our LODs thought we needed some celebratory ice cream, so we got some at the Maui mall and headed to our final activity for the day, a tour of Maui Tropical Plantation. Here we learned so much about Maui’s history, but also about the ecosystems and crops here in Maui. We all watched in awe as we learned how to properly open a coconut, it’s far more work than you’d expect. Finally, we headed home to enjoy some free time, Katie, Heidi, Amelia, MC, and Davis painted while the sun set in the background of the camp, while the boys had an intense spike ball match, Brooks and Gavin beat Parker, and I don’t think he’ll ever hear the end of it! We finished off the day with some amazing chicken stir fry, truly cooked and eaten by everyone. It was so good we had to make 2 batches! Shoutout tomorrow’s LODs, Henry and Heidi!
Day 5: Today was truly a day of transformation, more specifically facing fears! We got to sleep in a little so we decided to celebrate with some of Chef Davis’s breakfast burritos. We used that energy to carry use through the long scenic drive to one of my personal favorite places on the island, the garden of Eden. Here, we rappelled down a couple huge waterfalls and swam in the pools below them! Shoutout to Jack A, Whitney, Katie, and Amelia (and probably a few others, secretly) for facing their fear of heights head on! They flew down the cliff with no regrets and enjoyed the views! After our high stress morning, we got some lunch and spent some time catching rays on the beach, but few people sat on the sand… Gavin became our personal trainer, leading us in some sandy core workouts. The rest of the group played a very complicated game which I like to call, “see big wave, jump over big wave”, a source of endless entertainment! We settled into camp, played our favorite game “signs” and cooked some spaghetti. What an amazing day, closed out with our LOD’s for tomorrow, Katie and Gavin!
Aloha!
-Davis, Mary Claire, and Parker
Jack Lyle:hello mom and dad! I am having a lot of fun in Maui. Thanks for sending me here! Love you!
Duncan: hey mom and dad! I am having so much fun at Maui and I have met a lot of good people here. Say hi to my brothers for me! Love you!
Brooks: wassup hope you guys have a good 4th have a good time having fun!
Jack Armstrong: what’s up Shonkla and mom, hope y’all are doing good and the dogs are doing well. Maui is amazing and the people here are pretty cool. I’m glad I’m here.
Gavin: Hey Mom and Dad I’m having lots of fun and hope you guys are doing well. Love you guys. Also hi Bridget
Katie: Hi mom and dad I’m having an amazing time and Moondance is really fun. I miss you guys!
Heidi:Dear Mom and Dad and Hans, I miss you guys so much! so excited to see you soon! Definitely miss you guys so much! I know God has amazing plans for us! love you always and forever! -Heidi
Alice: Hi mom and dad, I’m having so much fun, miss yall!
Scarlett and Finley, I miss you guys so much and wish yall were here!
Victoria, I miss you so much and I hope you are having fun riding horses! I can’t wait to see you in 2 weeks!
Alex: hii mom and dad I am having soso much fun this is the best trip and I miss yall and Morgan and I hope yall have a great fourthhhhhh💕💕💕
Henry: Hey mom and dad this trip has been a ton of fun and I already made some good friends that I’ve been having a lot of fun at the beach and all the other stuff We’ve been doing. I love yall and can’t wait to see yall soon!
Whitney: Hey!!! I’m having so much fun here. Everyone is so so nice and the campsite is so perfect. We went windsurfing, repelling and on a really really pretty hike. I miss yall so much. Tell all my friends I mis them too. I’m having so much fun here and the food is so amazing! I have never consumed this much food in my life. I love you guys so much and can’t wait to see you all. I hope you guys are having the most fun in London and will see u all soon
Amelia: Hey mom and dad I have had so much fun and Maui is so pretty. I have made so many good friends and I can’t wait to see you when I get home. I love and miss you so much but I am having so much fun.
The Adventures Begins!
June 25, 2025
Hello Maui Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning that the group has landed safely on the island! The group is so excited to start their adventure together!
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
