July 7, 2025
One last time… aloha families!!!
Before we begin this trip update we would like to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for sending your children with us for two weeks. They have been nothing but a joy to be around and we have truly enjoyed every single moment we shared together. We laughed until our stomachs hurt, sang our favorite songs at the top of our lungs, and became a big family by the end of the two weeks.
From where we last left off, our LODs Cole and Lucy brought us the energy to begin the last stretch of our time together. We had surfing this morning and they got everyone excited through an awesome morning huddle and singing hype up songs on the way to the activity. Once we were in the waters, everyone was ready to shred the waves. We felt confident heading into the day from the practice of our first day and we were ready to elevate our skills. Davis learned how to steer in different directions on the board, Reagan was attempting headstands on the board, and Lucy and Lottie were able to hold hands while catching a wave. Maggie was ambitious and got a 9-inch board for the day and she crushed it!! After surfing, we walked over to a food truck spot that blew everyone’s minds away. We ate some delicious acai while sitting around a picnic table enjoying each other’s company. Lottie decided to be bold and eat some salt and vinegar fries (which were absolutely a hit amongst the group)! We decided to head over to the other side of the island that day to hit Blackrock Beach which is famous for their cliff jumping. The group had so much fun in this activity – everyone jumped until they were exhausted. Reagan and Van held hands while jumping, and Stone and Molly high fived. Joe, Stone, Cole, and George all ran a quadruple jump. The group went back to the van saying it was one of their favorite activities we had done thus far. Team one was George, Lottie, Maggie, Lilly, Cole and Molly. Team two was Stone, Davis, Quinn, Reagan, Van and Lucy. Both teams did an excellent job with their meals, and we had to make a tough decision…. Team one came out on top!! We ended the night with moonup and elected Lilly and Quinn for LODs the following day!
The fourth of July had everyone buzzing with excitement in the morning and for our activities in the day. Kate, Caroline, and Joe surprised the group with cinnamon rolls, croissants, and fruit to start the morning before we headed to our second day of conservation. Everyone was chatting in the van while singing Party in the USA, Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue, and a few other staple fourth hits. Once we arrived, we learned about the culture of the community we were working with and a quick safety brief. Maui is filled with invasive species, so our work for the day consisted of removing these invasives by utilizing non-pesticide forms of killing them. Molly removed the tree barks to perfection and Stone blew us away by his speed of work. Davis and Joe hit the branches and they knocked out a good chunk of land in a short amount of time. We were so proud of our students for working hard and having such an uplifting attitude! To finish out our time, we made a huge assembly line across the river with Lilly holding down the front and Cole holding down the back. This process made everything move with ease (and fun)!!! We had the group stop at our favorite restaurant, Leoda’s Pie Shop, for an afternoon treat and reward for our group. We all agreed that they had the BEST pie we have ever had and we ate every last crumb of it. Once we finished up at Leoda’s, we piled back into the van to our campsite to begin a well-anticipated event of the trip…. Olympics. We got the group red paint, t-shirts, and silly string to decorate prior to the event. The girls all decided to match their shirts and Caroline worked on braiding all the girls’ hair. We looked AWESOME and we were ready to sweep the gold medal in the Olympics. On the way, we decided to stop at a gas station to get ourselves fueled and ready to go, and before we knew it we were hitting the Olympic field. In the beginning, we were down a bit, but that did not stop the team from winning the gold. To paint the picture: it was our last event, a 6 course relay race. The tension was high and we were tied up with the other teams. We started off in last place, but Stone hit a three pointer at the end and the group rushed to make a team pyramid. We came out on top!! RED FOR VICTORY!!! Everyone was cheering with excitement and we ended the night dreaming of the picture perfect fourth of July.
Our final full day together was filled with adventure and our incredible LODs, Van and Davis leading us throughout the day. We had our Redline Snorkel Tour, which was arguably the most anticipated activity among the group. We were up before the sun rose, and we were ready to tackle the day. Once we arrived at our destination, we loaded up the big red boat and set out for the adventure of the day! At our first snorkel stop, Molly and Reagan ambitiously jumped in first. Kate was rapidly firing some INCREDIBLE photos of our students jumping in the water. We were greeted in the water by a large array of fish, some turtles, and the beautiful coral reef in Maui. They took us to a few snorkeling spots, including the leader’s favorite of the elevator. After a bit of snorkeling, Cole and Quinn encouraged the group to go for a boat ride through the waves, and our incredible captain gave us an adventure!! Water was splashing and everyone was laughing!! As we ended the tour, Lottie saw a boat with a slide in the distance… and the captain let us all go down. We had the best time and loved every second of it. After Redline, we packed up to go to the beach for the afternoon before our banquet ceremony. George swam right beside a turtle – it was our closest encounter yet! For our banquet ceremony, we did the Moondance tradition by heading to Goodwill to find some attire to wear for the evening. We picked our Hawaiian shirts, suits, and George purchased his first pair of jean shorts (jorts)! The banquet was incredible as we were greeted with a luau!! What a special memory to be a part of Hawaiian culture and experience such a night. The fire dancers were incredible, we hula danced away with the singers, and ate delicious Hawaiian barbeque. We declared Van and Maggie as our best hula dancers and they showed us all their awesome dance skills!! It was so fun celebrating an incredible two weeks shared together. We ended the night with an ice cream run and having our last moonup as a family.
Our last morning together was quite bittersweet… we are so proud of our students and we will miss them so dearly!! We packed up camp that morning, and Cole and Joe cooked us a delicious breakfast. We decided Cole was a master chef at cooking bacon… and it is quite true!! We stopped for lunch on the way to the airport and enjoyed our last meal as a family. After lunch, we headed back to the airport and said goodbye to one another. Once again, thank you families. We are so proud and honored to be your child’ s leader and we cannot emphasize enough the joy we had together!!
A hui hou kakou, until we meet again!!!
July 3, 2025
Trip Update 2
Aloha and Mahalo families!
It’s hard to believe we are already halfway through the trip! We were lucky to be able to sleep in a little bit, and Quinn and Joe made French toast for everyone! Our Hula dancing outfitter came to us at Pono and started off by making flowers for our hair! Then we put on our pa’u (skirts) and started our lesson! Everyone loved learning and embracing Hawaiian culture in a fun way! Van and Reagan impressed us with their speedy learning and confident dancing! The boys really put on a show and even did a solo dance for us 🙂 After our lesson, we loaded up the van for a day in Pa’ia!! After lunch, we shopped around and let everyone get a few souvenirs- and ended the afternoon with shaved ice!!! After a fun-filled afternoon, we headed back to Pono to cook an early dinner of Mac and Cheese!!! We surprised the kids with a trip up to Lavender Farms to watch the sunset post-dinner. Frolicking in the fields under a pink sky was one of the biggest highlights thus far. Davis brought out his camera during the sunset and captured some awesome photos of the group! We ended the night with a local ice cream stop and moonup to follow. Cole and Lucy were picked as LODs for the next day!!!
We started the day with a little bit of hashbrowns and bacon before setting out to Cove Beach Park for our first day of surf lessons! When we got to the beach, we got suited up and as we set out with Cole and Quinn ripping 9-foot boards, confident about their surfing background. The ocean blessed us with some decent waves, which led to Reagan throwing a headstand on the wave while Lucy, Lottie, and George were determined to get a “Party Wave” and shred all together. Everybody got up! We had a blast on the ocean and even got to see some turtles popping their heads up. We then headed over to a beach nearby and ate some packed lunches in between spikeball (Reagan and Joe crushed Kate and George) and jumping around in crystal clear water! We also started getting our mid-trip check-ins going, so we got to pull everyone aside and have some chats while scoping out wildlife in the rock pools. There was also a little girl by the beach who Lottie, Lilly, and Reagan were all super excited to hang out with. After a very hot beach day, we headed over to La’Kahea for our cooking class! Jakke and Winsome showed us around their farm, where they have taken over some old sugar cane land and are trying to restore it. We then split into teams and started cooking up some tacos! Reagan, Lottie, and Stone crushed some papaya coleslaw while Cole, Quinn, and Maggie blended a bit of sauce for the greens. Competition was fierce, but everyone left a winner when Jakke (the owner) decided everyone was a winner 🙂 And we walked away with some fancy macadamia nuts before coming back to the camp for some moonup and bed with George and Lottie being elected as LODs
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Joe would like to take this time to announce this trip’s nicknames! Stone- Ham, Davis- Kodak, Lottie- Jay Rock, Lucy- Jibbit, Quinn- 20 mil, Van- Houdini, Lilly- Cannon, Maggie- Stanky, Molly- T Step, George- Jorje/Gaura, Cole – GTA, Reagan- Pocket, Kate- K Man, Caroline- Snick, Joe- Jochacho/Mojo Flowjo. Joe is also working on getting everybody a unique handshake 🙂
This morning, the whole crew woke up when the roosters started crowing and replaced everyone’s snoring. Caroline was already up, excited to make some bagels with cream cheese. As the sun got higher, everyone was in a great mood, especially since we were heading to the beach. Stand Up Paddle Boarding was on the schedule, and when we got there, Quinn shouted, “I knew it! I’m psychic!” The ocean was calm and the sky was clear, so Lucy and Molly broke out into a song. Our guides were super fun, told some spooky stories, and Davis paddled around the group like a pro. We all got together for a group photo, and somehow Joe, Quinn, George, Lilly, and Cole ended up balancing on one board—chaotic, but awesome. Then the splash war started, and only Van, Stone, and Reagan managed to keep their boards from flipping over. On the way back to Pono, everyone was craving hot dogs—except Cole, who had already eaten two before most of us had even woken up. Lunch hit the spot, and our campsite was peaceful and full of little sounds: chickens clucking, kids laughing, and sunshine everywhere. Luckily, our next activity didn’t need any travel—we stayed at the farm to help out and pick fruit. Van, Lucy, Reagan, and Joe picked tomatoes, while Davis, George, and Lottie planted cucumbers. It felt good to work the land and see what we could grow. Then Evan surprised us by pulling out a giant water slide! Van and Reagan jumped on right away and had the time of their lives. As the day ended and the stars came out, we lay in the grass under the night sky, proud of the farm we helped care for. Our LODs picked Reagan and Davis for the following day!
Davis and Reagan kicked off the day by getting everyone together for morning check-in. The weather wasn’t great—it was drizzling with just a little bit of sun peeking through. Everyone quickly scarfed down some French toast made by Chef Cole before heading out for a zipline adventure. On the way there, Van and Maggie showed off their knowledge of The Greatest Showman songs, and Reagan introduced us to the Descendants soundtrack. The vibes were high as we climbed up the mountain, with amazing views of La’Haina all around us. We pushed past some fears, screamed a lot (some joyful, some terrified), and soaked in the adrenaline. Just when we thought things were settling down, we headed to Black Rock for some epic cliff jumping. Cole led the charge, climbing up and jumping over and over again, with Davis and Molly right behind him. They hit the water with full energy, jumping nonstop until we all agreed the ocean probably needed a break. We stopped by Tin Roof for some local Hawaiian food of chicken, rice, noodles, pork, shrimp, and everything in between. While waiting for our food, we danced, had push-up contests, and played some hacky sack. After our stomachs were full, we headed back to Pono and had moonup where Molly and Stone were picked as tomorrow’s LODs!
On behalf of our leader team, we want to thank you so much for sharing your sweet kids with us this summer. It truly has been a blessing to get to know each and every one of them, and we hope that they will remember their time in Maui forever. But as for now, we still have four more days…LETS DO THIS!!
Kate, Caroline, and Joe
Lottie- We having a lit time thanks for sending me. We are super excited for the rest of the trip!🌊
Lucy- hey guys I miss y’all soooo much but I’m having so so much fun here in Maui! I stood up in surfing and we just paddle boarded ! Love u guys: hi Izzy!
Van- Thanks for sending me to Maui! I am having such a fun time! I have made so many new friends! I miss y’all so so much. So much fun here!!!🥭✌️🏄♀️👙💕
Reagan- Hey brothas! I miss y’all soooo much! I’m having sooo much fun and surfing was so fun, the next day we go surfing I’m going to do a headstand while surfing a wave! Also for stand up paddle boarding I did a couple headstands and I won a free hat!! Well I miss you guys and can’t wait to see y’all!!!! XOXO❤️💕🔥
Molly – Hi guys! We’ve done so much and we’re a little over a week, and we have so little time left. I’ve been connecting with everyone in order to make the most of everything and I’m loving it!! Tell Alice I miss her so much! See yall soon! Love yall ❤️
Stone- Hello family! I’ve had so much fun! Thank you for letting me come to this! The people here are so so nice! Also tell Turner I said happy birthday if I haven’t said it already! I’ve bought food, and two shirts, one of them is for Turner! All of the activities have been pretty fire! Also the people I’m out group want to meet up somehow! I’ve also been journaling with Joe and Davis a lot! Love yall! Give Saylor extra love for me please!! THANK YOU!
Davis- Greetings Greene Team, it’s so much fun here; Much better than other camps. I love everyone here and sack is so much fun. Mojo flow joe is a dog and I miss y’all so much and love you. Morning journaling sessions are so much fun. Please work on Deerfield! See you later and love you!
Lilly- Aloha! Maui has been great, but I can’t wait to be home! Since the last update we have been doing surfing, hula dancing, paddle boarding, and conservation. Surfing was so cool! Love you guys soo much!!
Maggie- Aloha family! Today we went ziplining. It was so fun! I really hope the Polaris is still home when I get back😁. It has been wonderful here but my bed and seeing yall is really calling my name! I love y’all so much and can’t wait to see y’all!💕
Cole- Hey mom and dad I am having so much fun still I miss y’all so much I finally got to go surfing and it was cool and I am going to go Ziplining now I miss duke and gamey a lot and I love yall so much see you soon.
Quinn – What’s up mom and dad, hope all is well at home. Having a lot of fun and meeting new people is cool. We did a lot of activities, surfing etc. tell dad I bought a contender box, haven’t opened yet though. See you guys soon.
George – Hey mom and dad I’m having a lot of fun. I really like surfing and wind surfing. Love you guys, see you in a week.
June 29, 2025
Aloha families!!
We have arrived safely in Maui, and we are so excited to get the next two weeks started! George was our first arrival at the airport, and he came in with nothing but high energy. Joe taught him hacky sack lessons 101, and before we knew it, he was able to stall a hacky sack!! Kate and Caroline watched in awe as he mastered the skills they had been trying to learn from Joe. Our next arrival was Stone, who jumped into all the group games being played with enthusiasm and excitement. As the rest of the group started rolling in, we played a variety of name games and group games to begin to meet one another. Before we knew it, we were heading into the van – which had decorated windows – to go to our campsite for the first time. Of course on the way back, we had to stop and pick up some pizza for dinner!! Once we made it back to camp, we enjoyed our first meal together as a Moondance family. Van impressed us all by mastering everyone’s names and how to remember them first (ex: George (like King George), Caroline (like the song Sweet Caroline), etc.). After dinner, everyone unloaded their belongings into their tents and we got ready for our very first moonup! We had moonup under the beautiful Maui stars and we selected Lilly and George as our first leaders of the day (LODs)!!
The next morning started bright and early with a bit of jet lag having the group up right as the sun rose. We enjoyed the nice weather of the morning by throwing the football, playing hacky sack, and chatting with one another under the tent. Goerge and Lilly led the group in our first morning huddle which got the group ready for our very first activity…. rappelling!!! With a later start, Joe got started on cooking some delicious chocolate chip pancakes, while Davis was photographing pictures of the group. Shoutout Davis for his talent with the camera!! Once we got in the van, we had a bit more time so we decided to surprise the group with a coffee run in Paia town. We all got varieties of matcha, coffee, and acai bowls which got us ready for our big day ahead. Caroline, Cole, Quinn, and George all made their way into a surf store to buy matching tank tops. We of course had to get some photos in our matching shirts and then we headed down the Road to Hana to make our way to rappelling in The Garden of Eden. We soaked up the beautiful views on the Road to Hana before we made it to our destination!! After a quick safety brief from our outfitters, we found ourselves ready to hit repels. Reagan was the first down the repels, and she looked like a pro! The waterfalls looked absolutely stunning due some rain the night before! We all agreed that our favorite one was the second repel with an 8 foot hanging drop into a lake of water. After we finished up the activity, we loaded back into the van and headed back to our campsite for a picture perfect kind of evening. Lilly and Maggie helped Caroline and Kate get started on our first dinner (tacos!!), while George and Cole led the group in a game. When the tacos were ready, we all sat in a circle together outside and saw the most beautiful sunset. We shared our most embarrassing stories and all had plenty of laughs at dinner. Stone led a group in a game of volleyball, while another group played a game of jackpot. Once the sun had set, we played a game of man hunt (with a pink team victory), before our LODs led us through moonup. We elected Maggie and Stone as our next LODs!!! Before the night closed, we all listened to Lucy’s hilarious stories that were so entertaining to listen to!
The next morning, Joe woke up before everyone and selflessly made breakfast burrito bowls! We were so thankful when we woke up. We then headed out for Kanaha park to windsurf!!! The guides taught us how to correctly read the wind which set us up for success on the water. George won the award for quickest learner, and didn’t want to quit even when the lesson was over. Stone also impressed us, being from Wilmington he has it in his nature!! After a few hours of fun on the water, we sat by the beach and ate our lunches together before heading to the Waihee Ridge trail head!! We stocked up on water and started our two mile hike of pure beauty. All of the kids agreed that this was the prettiest hike that they had ever been on. You can see the entire island from the top!! Joe, Cole, and Stone decided to run to the top to get a little more exercise. They completed it, and even came back down to hike the rest of the trail with the group! After a game of hacky sack at the top, we started our much shorter descent. The views continued to wow us!!! Back at the campsite, Griff came by to give everyone a Hawaiian history lesson and fresh mango taste test from his tree!! We had stir fry for dinner, which was a huge hit!! Maggie even tried it for the first time! During moonup our LODs today elected Quinn and Reagan to lead us through our day tomorrow!!
We woke up today for a fun morning of conservation at Maui Cultural Lands! Our guide, Ekolu, taught us a native song before letting us into the sacred lands. Lahaina was badly damaged by the wildfires. Seeing the fancy resorts still standing next to burned grass really made the kids think. It hit even harder when they talked to someone who’s spent their whole life taking care of the land. Hearing his story helped the kids understand how serious the fire was and how much the land means to the people who live there. Molly and Davis in particular really put their nose down and got to work. Pulling weeds isn’t the most fun activity in the world but everyone did their share and had a lot of fun learning from the guides about their culture. By the time we were done, it was a little overcast so we decided to take everyone to Leoda’s Pies, the best pies is Maui!! The fan favorite was the coconut creme! Afterwards, we loaded up and headed to the famous Ho’okipa beach. The girls sat by the beach and took naps while the boys used our new boogieboard in the water! Joe also made a huge rock tower which was incredible. We drove back to Pono to start cooking our baked potato bar for dinner! Our LOD’s elected Molly and Cole to be our leaders for the next day!
This morning we woke up with the sun and got ready for a well-anticipated activity… sea kayaking!! We had breakfast to-go in the van to meet Griff, a Moondance leader alumni, at our beach for the day. In the van, we played some remixes that got everyone awake and ready to conquer the water. We split the group into teams of two to be in the kayaks together and before we knew it we were out on the water. Our LODs for the day, Molly and Cole, absolutely CRUSHED it in sea kayaking and were flying ahead of the group. George and Quinn decided to team up and miraculously flipped Joe’s kayak! After kayaking for a good bit, we stopped and Griff led us to a fabulous snorkeling spot. Reagan was the first in and found a turtle for the rest of the group to see. Molly quickly joined her and they spotted an eel!! We had so much fun on the water and even taught Maggie a quick “How to snorkel!” lesson. Lucy was the group photographer and made sure everyone got a picture with an ocean creature underwater. After snorkeling, we paddled back to our initial starting point and loaded up the van to head to Foodland – a Hawaiian favorite spot. We let the group pick out lunch, which even included delicious poke bowls, chicken, and our favorite assortments of chips. We took the food to-go and headed to the beach. Stone brought his volleyball (which has been a group favorite), and began teaching Caroline, Kate, and Quinn how to spike the ball over the net. This lesson quickly turned into a volleyball rally where Lilly joined the team. Meanwhile, Joe led the group to the ocean where they played Marco Polo among the beautiful Hawaiian waters. Molly did her first backflip in the ocean! Everyone had an incredible time and before we knew it, we headed back to our campsite to cook the group favorite nacho bar. Molly absolutely crushed it, chopping up the lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, while we taught Cole how to cook ground beef. We laid out the tinfoil, and everyone gathered around for a family meal. Afterwards, we discussed how fabulous the dinner was, while Joe and George went chip-for-chip to try and finish the leftovers. We ended the night with moonup where we elected Davis and Van for our LODs!!
Families, we have enjoyed getting to know your children so much and we can’t wait to continue our journey as a group. We have loved and cherished every moment SO much and everyday with them just keeps getting better. Mahalo, mahalo, mahalo! Until we chat again 🙂
Lilly- Aloha family! I can’t wait to see you but I’m having the best time here. So far we have done repelling, hiking, kayaking, conservation, and snorkeling. My favorite thing has been snorkeling because we saw SO many turtles. Love yall so much! 💕💕💕💕
Maggie- Hey fam jam! I’m soon excited to see y’all soon! It’s awesome here! We have repelled hiked and snorkeled… I’m awful at snorkeling but it was fun. Everyone here is so fun! I love yall so much see yall in Macon!😘🏄♀️✌️
Reagan- Hi padre and madre I miss you guys so much!! Maui is so so soooo fun! So far snorkeling has been my favorite thing. I am so excited to do more snorkeling and go surfing. I hope you guys are having a good time in Asheville. Also, I got to swim next to a turtle today and it was beautiful and it’s like my new favorite creature!!
Lucy- Hey queen mama and dad! I’m living to the fullest here in Maui. I have loved the activities- you guys don’t get to know yet. Let sugar know I miss her so much. Let Izzy know I’m having fun and I hope Wells misses me. The weather is superb and I’m not a sunburnt dad! My group is elite and fire🔥. My counselors are really funny and nice 👍! The fruit is bussin and yummy. Google plex! Don’t think I would forget! I love you so much. I have new besties too!
Lottie – hi we’re having a lit time and I’ll tell you about the stuff we did later. It is really pretty here and text Addison on snap that I miss her🥀. I hope Henley and Brahm are having a good time without me.
Van- Hey!! I am having an absolute blast in Maui. It is so pretty. Love you so much. My group is amazing! Have so many slay people. I have done so many cool things! There are chickens everywhere! Tell Mac and Julian I said hello and I miss you. Also say hi to Cricket and Betsy. Love them! Well byyy!!! going to a rodeo!❤️😘🤪🌊☀️👙🏝️🐚
Quinn- What’s up crew were all having a good time and chilling, activities were a ton of fun and everyone’s cool. Miss you guys, tell poppy I said what’s up. No phone is pretty cool as well.
Davis- Hi mom and dad, I am having a great time and it’s so fun here. The weather is absolutely hype (it’s beautiful)🏝️. I shouldn’t have followed the packing list because shirts go by quick, Sorry dad for the purchases… I hope everyone is having fun in Charlotte and I miss y’all so much. I absolutely LOVE the mangos 🥭 here and all the food is amazing. I’ve made lots of life long friends and memories. Before I say bye and I’m back, dad what’s the plan after? We hiked the 2nd biggest mountain here. I forgot what it’s called but I remember it’s 8000ft⛰️. I miss y’all (including buggy🐩) and see you soon!
George- love you guys see you in a week.
Cole- Hey mom and dad i miss yall so much I am having so much fun it doesn’t smell like pineapples😂 but tell duke I miss him a lot and tell gamey I love her and I love yall so much Caroline and Kate are epic and joechocho is a my dog. the views are sick. miss yall so much love you I miss duke.
Stone- Hello family…. It’s been so much fun so far and the people are soooo nice, amazing, Also please tell Syd Syd that I, happy for them!! I miss Saylor so much!! And I got Turner a shirt for his birthday…. Okie love yall!
Molly- Hi guys! We’ve done so much stuff I’ve never done before. I haven’t used my card yet but I’ve used cash to buy a permanent bracelet with all the girls here! We all fit so well together and these guys and girls are so perfect for me like something I could never find at home. These days are flying by and I already know I’m not gonna be able to leave the last day, but do I miss y’all! Love you so so much! Tell Alice I miss her! ❤️
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