Aloha Again!
July 7, 2025
The last few days of our trip have been magical and we are all sad to have to part with each other. We’ve spent our final days connecting, swimming, and laughing together. We started off day 9 of our trip with a very early morning for a boat day! We got to cruise around, go to Molokini Crater and snorkel, and we even got to experience natures version of an elevator in the water! Brooks even did some tricks and flips off of the side of the boat for us. We saw lots of coral, fish, deep blue sea, and even got to see some turtles! After we drove around the island we got back to shore and headed to have our town day!! Everyone was pretty tired from the boat so we had a nap in the car before we arrived at Paia to do some shopping. We got to shop around for a couple of hours and then we hopped back in the car and back to camp! We planned on making dinner there but then we made a quick group decision to grab all of our cooking supplies and make Mac and cheese at the beach! And our LOD Henry made the whole thing! We all played in the water and walked on the beach until it was time to eat our Mac and cheese with chicken. We had Moonup on the beach and listened to the waves as we all laughed and shared with each other.
Day 10 of the trip started with a short drive across the street to Kipuka Olowalu for a conservation activity. We learned about the history of Olowalu, played a name game, and got to work! Our job was to help remove invasive plants and water the new plants that are native to Maui. Henry got to work cutting down low hanging branches from trees to prevent fires and Cole was brave enough to work with the plants with the biggest thorns! Cole cut them all down even after everyone was done working. After some hard work we got a small tour and tried some of the fruit that they grow like Bread Fruit and Lilikoi! Wesley found her new favorite fruit with the Bread fruit! On our way out we stopped a cute pie shop and convenience store to get some snacks and pies for the beach! We got beach toys, chocolate and banana pies, and took off for the kids favorite beach. Haven tried her best to build a sand castle but when that failed we all played card games, ate candy, Bobby played with his new ball in the ocean, and we all buried each other in the sand! A few hours at the beach and we were packing up for dinner. We told the kids we were cooking but once we got in the car we surprised them with a local food stop in Paia!! We got flatbread at a small restaurant in town and the restaurant brought us paper and crayons to draw on! Margaret and Ahna laughed with each other about how bad their drawings were and then we left to get ice cream! With everyone’s bellies full we drove home, did Moonup, and went to bed!
Day 11 was 4th of July!! We woke up to Fourth of July donuts, fun cereal, and yogurt for breakfast. We hopped in the car and immediately played every American themed song we could think of and we hit the beach! We spent the whole morning and part of the afternoon there just enjoying each others company, the views, and the hot sand and water. After we had our fill of the beach we washed off, changed, and went to Walmart to get supplies for our Olympic Games against the other Maui groups!! Our team color was blue so got everything blue we could find and lots of red, white, and blue accessories. We found a local park and we got to work on decorating our shirts, braiding hair, and making bead necklaces and bracelets! We met up with team A and B and the games began! We played knockout, don’t touch my rock, a relay race and birdie on a perch! Kat and Lila teamed up for birdie on a perch and ended up winning against every other student for our team!! We ended up losing to team red but we won in our hearts! We all said goodnight and got ready for our last full day together. 😭
Our final full day of the trip would be one to remember! We woke up early for a quick breakfast of cereal before getting out on the water for an amazing morning of standup paddle boarding! Our guide Brandon from South Pacific Kayaks lead us on a beautiful trip around the Mākena Landing cove on the south side of Maui, paddle boarding through aqua blue waters and green sea turtles! After we put up our paddle boards we headed back to our favorite beach spot, Maluaka Beach to grill hotdogs for lunch and have a fun afternoon in the waves. We then headed to Goodwill where we were assigned partners to pick out crazy outfits for the Banquet. Cole definitely won best costume with his princess outfit fit, with Marge being close second with her Hawai’i basketball jersey! Before heading off to the banquet we took the group to one final ice cream stop at Baskin Robbins. To close our last full day in Maui, for our Banquet, the Hawaii Hula company provided traditional hula dancing and ukulele playing + singing while all three Moondance Maui groups dined on a catered traditional Hawaiian luau for dinner! There was no better way to close out the trip than having all three groups bond and share experiences from their time in Maui. Before leaving the Banquet we had one final surprise for the students, as two fire dancers and drummers gave us a jaw dropping performance as the sunset over the West Maui mountains. To close out the day we returned home to Camp Olowalu, where we had one final great discussion in Moonup and went to sleep.
Our last morning spent together was lots of packing and moving but we had fun anyways because we did it together! We had our last meal together and then we arrived at the airport. This group has been so beyond amazing and we will miss each and every one of them. Thank you for sharing your children with us this summer! We hope to hear from them and hopefully see them next summer!
Mahalo and Aloha 🤙🌈
Aubrey + Gianna + Cater
Magic on Maui
July 3, 2025
Maui has been so fun so far with this amazing group of kids! We started off our 5th day with an early morning to go surfing!! The waves were small so they were perfect for all of us to learn on. Not all of us were pros at the start but by the end of the morning almost all of us had mastered it. Chloe took advantage of every wave we had before we had to surf in for our next activity. After being worn out by the water we changed into dry clothes and hopped in the car for our next destination, Surfing Goat Dairy Farms!! We got a tour of the farm, got to try fresh goat cheese, feed the goats, and we even got a goat cheese flight! Brooks and Lila tried every cheese and ranked each flavor. After our relaxing afternoon we took a group trip to Costco! We split up into two group and our LODS each had a list of what groceries we needed for the week. Whoever finished their list and made it to checkout first without running won! There was some good natured foul play between Bobby and Henry who stole out of each other’s carts to sabotage their chances of winning! After a busy day we went home and made burgers for dinner! Cole showed off his amazing cooking skills and cooked all the burgers to perfection for us with a delicious side of fries.
Day 6 started out on the water again with sea kayaking! We got up bright and early and headed to Makena Landing for what would be the absolute best weather of the summer for kayaking, making the Pacific Ocean seem like a lake! Former Moondance leader and now 20 year seasoned kayak guide Griff Dempsey treated our group to an unforgettable morning paddling through crystal clear aqua ocean, and providing insight on Maui and what we were seeing. In addition to kayaking, we got snorkels and fins to check out White Rock, a famous Maui coral reef location for marine life sighting. Kat was the first person to spot the days first turtle and we would be treated to 7 total Hawaii green sea turtle sightings on the day, in addition to numerous other tropical fish species. After a special day on the water, we headed over to Waipulani Beach to rest up and eat lunch before our afternoon activity of hula dancing. Our instructor Malia taught our group and rehearsed a full hula song called Pearly Shells, as well the importance of hula to Hawaiian culture! In a Boys vs Girls showdown, Haven and Wesley shined in leading the girls team to victory in the hula rehearsal. Before the day ended, we headed over to the town of Kiehei Hawai’i to take in the sunset and cook dinner away from our campsite. Brooks lead the effort in cheffing up some great tasting chicken quesadillas. We finished the incredible day having Moonup on the beach, debriefing the day next to the moonlight tide!
On day 7 we got to try a new skill, windsurfing! No one in our group had tried it but everyone was enthusiastic and ready to try their hardest. It took a while at first but everyone ended up getting up and surfing around. After lots of tried with the instructors guiding us we got to try it on our own and everyone did so well! We had some free time and lunch in a park nearby after windsurfing and then we headed off to our next activity. Pono Grown Farms, a local farm in Maui let us visit and learn more about how our food is made. We got a tour of the farm and then our assignment which was to harvest carrots from the ground! No one in our group had ever harvested plants but we did it in record speed. Margaret kept us entertained the whole time especially when she randomly picked up the biggest frog any of us have ever seen! We continued our carrot harvesting and then we made an assembly line for cleaning them. At the end of all our hard work we got to try the carrots and then we got a special surprise from Evan, the owner. A waterslide!! We all went down screaming and laughing and after awhile we just ended up playing a movie guessing game in the pool at the bottom of the slide. We ended the day with a failed attempt at making dinner 😅 that resulted in us all getting to have pizza! We queued everyone’s favorite songs on the way home and went to bed to rest for our next day!
Day 8 was such a fun day and we started it out with surfing again! The waves were much bigger this time and we were all so happy about it! We went a little farther out this time and all got to try and perfect our surfing skills!! 🏄♀️ Wesley got so good she switched to a smaller board so she could try to have more control over her movements. Margaret and Ahna also got very good at it and held hands while going down a wave together!! After surfing we went back to our van and decorated the windows with Chalk paint! Everyone traced their hand and signed their name so that we can have our van look cooler than all the other vans on the island. 😎 We had lots of free time between that and our next activity so we did a very needed chore and went to a laundromat for some clean clothing! After that we went to the park for a little to play around and then we set off our a final activity of the day, a cooking class! We got to take a tour of a local regenerative farm, learn about how Maui gets all of their food, and harvest some food for our dinner. We got to cook beef tacos with a side of pineapple and jalapeño slaw and a guava slaw! For a dessert we were surprised with a banana ice cream with Mac nuts to top it.
Now time to hear from the group!
Wesley-Dear mom and dad, thank y’all sooo much for letting me go to moondance. It had been such an amazing trip for me and I have met so many new friends. I miss y’all so much and can’t wait to see y’all!! love y’all!
Haven- Dear mom and dad, Thank you so much for sending me on the trip! It has been a blast! I have met so many new people and learned so much! The activities were so fun! I miss y’all so much and can’t wait to see you soon! Love you the most! Love,Haven
Lila-Dear Mom and Dad, Thank you guys for all of the things you do for me and this trip has been a real eye opener. Thank you guys for letting me do moondance these past two years I have been so fortunate for this opportunity it has been an amazing experience. I have met so many new friends and I have made so many new memories. I miss you guys so much and I can’t wait to see you guys soon. Love you guys tell the dogs I love them too!
Kat-Dear mom and dad, thank you guys for this trip!!! Moondance was so so amazing and I love Maui so so much! These past 2 weeks have been the best and the activities were so much fun! I love and miss y’all so much and I can’t wait to see y’all!! 🙂
Margaret-Dear mom and dad, I am so grateful that you sent me on moondance!!! I have had so so so much fun and have made lots of new friends! this trip has been so amazing and I love all of the activities. Thanks and love you guys!!
Ahna-Dear mom and dad,I miss y’all sooo much and can’t wait to see you soon! These past 2 weeks have been so much fun and I’m so thankful for you guys and for you letting me go on this trip. i have made so many new friends and all the activities have been amazing!
Brooks-Dear Christine and Jeff, This trip was a momentous joy, I experienced unique adventures. I’m so grateful for this opportunity. I miss you guys a lot and am excited to see you.
Cole- Dear, mom and dad Thank you so much for letting me go on this trip. I had such a great time doing various activities and meeting new people. I had so much fun at the beach and doing all of the different adventures on the itinerary. I really appreciate everything you do for me and thank you again for letting me go on this trip.Love, Cole
Bobby-Dear Mom and Dad,this moondance camp has been helpful in a lot of ways and I’m really grateful for you spending all this money to send me here, dad ill see you soon.
Good Vibes in Hawaii!
June 28, 2025
Aloha from Maui!
We have all arrived safely at Kahului airport, and we have begun our trip! Bobby and Henry were the first to arrive, and they immediately jumped into a game of hacky sack that later became a game of death sack. Their foot-eye coordination is extremely impressive, and they both started to get better than some of the Maui leaders who were teaching them! After a few hours at the airport, we all got on the road to end our night with some Costco pizza. We ended our night with pizza and our first Moonup of the trip!
Our second day started off strong with some earlier risers not yet used to the time change. We used the early morning to our advantage, and we made a game plan for breakfast. Margaret immediately volunteered to help cook the pancakes while Brooks cooked the eggs and sausage. The two were a powerful duo in the kitchen, and they were eager to teach others how to cook as well. After our hearty breakfast, we packed up for the day and headed out for our first activity of the trip! We got to visit Maui Cultural Lands in Honokowai Valley for some conservation work. The guides taught us about the valley, plants native to Hawaii, their mission, and why our help matters! Our job as a group for the day was to help get rid of all the invasive plants in this one patch of the valley. Chloe spearheaded the work and picked weeds and invasive plants without one complaint! After our morning of hard work, we hiked up out of the valley and went to the beach. The beaches here are so beautiful, but the waves are the best part! Ahna started a game of chicken fight for everyone to play in the ocean, and only made harder by the crashing of the waves. We played in the ocean for a few hours before we loaded into the van and drove back to our campsite. Our dinner for the night was a group effort, and we all got to enjoy burrito bowls before our second Moonup under the beautiful stars!
On day three, we rappelled through canyons and waterfalls and had the best time! Cole was immediately a pro, scaling down the cliffs in no time! We got to jump into the swimming hole below after each rappel, and it was so much fun! Wesley smiled the whole way down while Kat and Lila cheered her on. With each rappel, everyone got better and better! After, we headed to the beach for a pre-dinner swim. The surf was big, and the waves were so much fun! Brooks showed us his awesome body surfing skills while we all swam and jumped through the waves. We saw the most amazing sunset on the ride home and sang and laughed the whole way home.
Today we ziplined!! It was raining, but that made it all the more fun. We joked around with our guides, danced around in the rain, and enjoyed the amazing views as the bad weather subsided. We got back to camp early and started on our dinner of Hibachi fried rice with vegetables and chicken! Everyone worked together to cook, and we sat and ate together and talked about our favorite parts of the day. Haven then took the lead on dish washing and motivated everyone to make the boring task entertaining and fun. Then we had moonup on the beach and had a meaningful close to a great day.
This group has become so close already, and we can’t wait to see them thrive and grow even more as we continue to conquer each awesome activity in this beautiful place!
Lots of love,
Gianna, Aubrey, and Cater
Ahna- hiii mom and dad I miss y’all so much and can’t wait to see y’all again. Thank y’all sm for letting me come. We helped pick weeds from the ground the first day and then the next we went rappelling down waterfalls and it was so fun. It is so beautiful here and I am are having sm fun! I miss you guys so much and tell Layla I miss her so much to!!🫶🫶🫶
Margaret- HEYY LQ and dad and LO and MC I miss y’all so much. Today we are zip lines and yesterday we climbed in a waterfall it was so fun! It is so pretty here and the weather is amazingggg. My group is so fire also and thank you for sending me!!! Mom I hope you are having fun in California and dad I hope you are having fun in Savanah!! And Andy hopefully you are ok with out golfing and your guitars. Love and miss all of y’all!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Brooks: I hope Hayes is doing well in soccer. I’m having a lot of fun swimming and repelling. It is very pretty but very windy. The sunsets are very orange. Tell Caroline I miss her as well. Love you guys and hope you guys are doing well. See you soon.
Bobby-hey dad sorry I have to miss your birthday and I miss you so much, I hope your doing well mom I miss you a lot, graiden hope your calling your girlfriend as much and give all the dogs some pets for me.
Henry: Hey Dad and mom, I miss you guys. I hope that y’all are having a great time at the lake, and you are all well. I hope David is enjoying work, and that Braden gets a good result on his ACT. Much love, HenBo
Cole- hey mom, dad, and kate. I hope y’all are doing good and staying safe. I miss both of y’all so much. I’m having a pretty fun time and we get to shower everyday so it is really great. I love you guys so much. Love, Cole.
Haven- Hi mom, dad, Amalie, Larken and Tripp!! I am having so much fun! It is so beautiful in Maui! I have met so many new amazing people and we are doing so many new and fun activities! I hope y’all are having so much fun in Hilton Head! I miss you guys so much and can’t wait to see you when I get back! Love you so much!! Love, Haven
Lila- Heyyy mom and dad thank you so so much for sending me to Maui I am having so much fun and making so many new memories I miss you guys SOOO much and I am so excited to see you guys soon I love y’all so much 💗💗💗💗💗💗
Kat-Hi mom and dad!! I miss you guys so so much but I’m having the best time! Today I went zip lining with my group and we have also been going to the beach which is so nice and yesterday we went rappelling on a waterfall! Please tell Quinn and Sutton I said hi and that I miss them and give Finn and kiss for me! I can’t wait to see y’all soon! Love yall! 💗😊:)
Chloe – Hey Mom and Dad! I miss y’all so much and I can’t wait to see y’all! Maui is so beautiful and the ocean is so blue! Thank you so much for sending me here! Tell Arlo that I say hi! Love you xoxo!
Wesley- Hey mom dad Graydon and Sutton!! I miss y’all so much but I am having sooo much fun here! It’s so gorgeous because the water is so clear and blue and the sunsets with the mountains are gorgeous! I am meeting very fun people and I looove my group that we are with and the activities that we do! So far we have gone repelling by waterfalls, done conservation work, gone to pretty beaches, and we are about to go zip lining!I hope y’all are having fun vacations too! Miss y’all and love yall!!
The Adventure Begins!
June 25, 2025
Hello Maui Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning that the group has landed safely in Maui! 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
