Happy Endings In Hawaii!
June 19, 2026
Hey Moondance Families!
Coming up on the final three days of our trip, we were in for a treat! We got the prettiest views of the entire trip by putting in a lot of work and hiking 8 miles! On the way to the lookout, Lane, Sarah and Mills played “wavelength” and a “guess the vibe game.” It had everyone laughing. Edmunds was at the front of the pack with the trail guide. When we reached the lookout, everyone was taken aback by the stunning overlook of the NaPali Coast. We were looking down at the ocean and valleys we had sea kayaked! Enjoying a lot of King’s Hawaiian sandwiches and GORP, we got to laugh and talk in the presence of such a wonder. The group pushed through the hike back, which had lots of uphills, but we all made it! Everyone was super positive throughout the entirety of the hike! Our guide said we were one of the most optimistic groups she had ever seen!
After the hike, Malcolm and Lane got a delicious cheeseburger from a small restaurant by the trail head. The hike had everyone drained, so we headed back to camp for some delicious Philly Cheesesteaks made by Riley, Sarah and Lane. Their chef skills were amazing!
On our final day as a group, we got the chance to give back to the land that has given us so much! We worked in a breadfruit regenerative garden. With pickaxes and shovels, everyone worked to get rid of all the guinea grass surrounding the breadfruit trees. Margot, Sarah, and Watkins teamed up to carry all of the buckets, while Malcolm and Camden worked to get the huge, tall pieces of Guinea grass. The NTBG leaders said we cleared the most Guinea grass a small group ever has! After a lot of hard work, we enjoyed a picnic under a gazebo. To finish our service work, we got to go on a short walk to a waterfall. On our way, we were within 4 feet of cows! Riley claimed the cows, yelling “My Cows!” as soon as she saw them. She’s collected nearly all the cows in Kauai.
After service, we enjoyed our final afternoon on the beach. Watkins, Malcolm, Edmunds, Camden, Paige and Mills had a huge spike ball tournament. Helen and Margot played in the sand, and everyone else just hung out and laughed. It was such an enjoyable afternoon together. For dinner, Camden, Sarah and Riley made us some hotdogs, fruit, and sweet Maui onion chips. It was delicious! Helen spent the evening giving everyone henna tattoos. We all got to hangout and enjoy our final night on the beach together recounting funny moments, times we felt accomplished, and overall expressing appreciation for the two weeks that brought everyone so close together.
As all good things must come to an end, we made the most of our travel day. Camden and Frances woke up early to make us a pancake breakfast! Everyone had breakfast in their pajamas and enjoyed one final morning on the beach. After packing up all of our belongings and leaving the campsite better than we found it, we headed off to banquet. Our first stop was at the thrift store where everyone was assigned one person to shop for. The outfits looked like they came straight off a runway. Camden was rocking blue flip-flops, while Helen was dressed head to toe like Barbie.
We then got to show off our outfits at a local Mexican restaurant. All 13 of us strutted in, before enjoying some delicious chips and queso, tacos, nachos, and so much more. We also decided that the trip would not have been complete without some delicious Hawaiian ice. Everybody enjoyed their final shaved ice, and Francis put everyone onto P.O.G.. With some full stomachs, we gathered in a circle and had our final Moonup.
This trip has been nothing short of amazing, and we are so grateful that everyone was here with us to enjoy it. We are sad to be parting ways, but more importantly, we are excited to stay in touch to continue laughing forever.
Thank Yous!
June 17, 2026
Malcolm: Thank you so much for paying for my trip and I’ve had such a good time!
Helen: Thank you Mom and Dad I’ve had the best time. I love you so much!
Francis: Thank you guys so much for this opportunity! I’m having so much fun love you!
Camden: Thank you guys for the opportunity to come to Hawaii! I love you guys, see you soon!
Sarah: Thank you Mom and Dad for letting me do Moondance. I’m having the best time I can’t wait to see y’all
Riley: Thank you Mom and Daniel for letting me do a Moondance. I’ve had so much fun and I can’t wait to see y’all!
Edmunds: Thank you Mom and Dad for supporting me and letting me go on this trip. I can’t wait to see you!
Lane: Thank you Mom and Dad it means so much to me. I’m having the best time. I love and miss y’all!
Watkins: Thank y’all so much for this. I cant wait to tell you guys all about it.
Margot: Thank you Mom and Dad for sending me on this trip! I cant wait to tell you all about it when I get home!
Keep Calm and Hawaii on!
June 16, 2026
Hello again! Except this time, from Kauai!!
We are having the best time. After our last trip update, we kept on scuba diving. We had an early morning and the squad is really getting the hang of getting ready to rock quickly in the mornings so we got to surprise them with a stop at the most adorable coffee shop! Kona coffee is homemade here on the island and is just the best. Afterwards, we all headed to the marina as a squad to go on our first boat dive. We were taken out by the captain and all got to have an amazing day seeing crabs, sharks, turtles, and lots of moray eels! Highlight of the day was the island honey dew at lunch. Malcom is a big fan of the Maui onion chips, and he might just have to fly with a bag of them home.
After a big day of diving, we sent postcards home! We can’t wait to tell you we love you and send a photo of our cool new home away from home. We then had a local food stop of Kona’s incredibly amazing Poke! Margot, one of our LODs, came into the store with us and got everyone spicy tuna bowls. We ate on the pier and then got ready for the manta ray snorkel. We had the best sunset boat ride and then got to see 3 mantas and a shark! Watkins sat at the front of the board and was our captain. Go Watkins! A perfect and awesome day!!
After an awesome scuba session, we packed up camp by having veggie offs between Edmunds and Lane to pick cleaning duties and an NFL draft to pick cleaning teams. After making more chocolate chips pancakes by Fran, we headed to Kauai!! Edmunds and Riley got to see Marga, their leader from last summer, and all the kids got to meet HWI 1B in the airport!
Our first day in Kauai, we were up and at em to hang 10 on the waves! Every single person got up on their board and loved it. Helen even did a headstand while riding a wave! Afterwards, Paige and Mills had an Olympic level spike ball tournament with Watkins and Camden. It was intense, but Mills and Watkins came out on top. Go team!
Sarah had mentioned how yummy and fun the Hawaiian shaved ice looked around town. After a beach picnic and a great day on the waves, we enjoyed some real Hawaiian shaved ice! Everyone had an awesome time getting to try a Hawaiian staple. After, we walked around in town and stumbled across a local business with a mission of emphasizing the importance of taking life slow and living in the moment. Fran and Paige got matching shirts at this cute little shop! Their motto, slow yourself down, has become a staple.
After town, we headed to camp to go swimming in the ocean at sunset. Riley started a game of mermaids for everyone. The boys even put on their best mermaid voices. For dinner we had a cookout with chef Lane making hotdogs!Edmunds and Mills had a hotdog eating contest, and for the first time in our lives we saw over half the group smother their hotdog in mayo.
The next morning we woke up before the sun did for a beautiful sunrise drive to the coast. Here we had an amazing time kayaking 10 miles along the coast! MVP of the day was Margo for pushing her partner along and being an amazing team player. After a quick pit stop at Costco for a pick me up ice cream, we headed to camp for Francis and Sarah to create Cava at camp for us. Their Greek pita pockets were a hit!
After a day of pushing ourselves and enjoying to views of the NaPali Coast, everyone got a second shot at surfing. Edmunds rode nearly every wave all the way to the shore, and Riley and Sarah did a duo surf and rode the same board! Everyone enjoyed the coast all morning before a nice beach picnic. Everyone agrees that Hawaiian rolls taste better in Hawaii. After an awesome morning of surfing, we headed around the island for a zip lining tour.
Our zipline tour guide said our group was fearless. Everyone did the 4,000 foot zipline. The guides said it is the longest Hawaiian zipline in the world, ha! But it really is the longest zipline in Hawaii. The views were spectacular, and we even got to zipline into a swimming hole! The entire afternoon was filled with facing fears, cheering each other on, and playing “my cows”. The day ended with a delicious makeshift dinner of chicken, veggies, and pita from Chef Camden and Chef Edmunds. Everyone scurried to bed to prepare for an early wake up. Even a little rain couldn’t stop us from preparing for an amazing next day ahead.
Living the Aloha Life!
June 11, 2026
Hi everyone! We are so excited to send our first trip update from HWI 1A!! They are perfect and awesome, and we have loved getting to know them more each and every day!!!
Airport day was a blast. Everyone arrived, and we immediately embarked on the journey of what to call us as a team. Options include: pod of dolphins, pack of goats, chillers, kids, and more. We will keep you posted with what sticks!
We had a parking lot pizza party in the airport with lots of get-to-know-you games. We then drove to our campsite, had our first Moonup, and headed to bed for our big day tomorrow! Edmunds was extra helpful in unloading the van and teaching the team the duffle shuffle!
We woke up in the morning to the most beautiful view of the garden’s campsite. We have awesome campsite mates, including cows, cute dogs, sheep, and goats. We made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast this morning to celebrate JUNE 7!!! 6/7 DAY!! Riley and Camden made us some awesome pancakes, and we learned about cooking on the Coleman and how to clean everything properly. Afterwards, Lane led us in a fun game of Mafia, and we played spikeball, football, and soccer until our cooking class!!! Watkins has an insane football spiral. QB1 inbound!
Christina and Larry, our campsite hosts, then hosted us for a lovely cooking class. We made salad with fresh veggies from the farm, had purple potato mash and short rib, and then a fun mango chocolate dessert. Larry gave us a tour of the gardens and let us try a fresh soursop! Malcom said it tasted like Starbursts, and everyone absolutely loved it. After, we headed out for an awesome beach day on Hāpuna Beach! The water was crystal blue. We went boogie boarding, played water games, read books, and played mermaids. Margo said the beach was one of the most beautiful she’s seen, and being in the water was her favorite part of the day!
We came back to camp to make chicken tacos for dinner, and Francis surprised everyone with cookies frosted with none other than “67” and sprinkles. We played the world’s most intense game of Ninja and ended the night with a hilarious and awesome Moonup.
This morning we woke up and had a jam session with the one and only best singer in the world… Watkins serenading us all the way to the dive shop. Everyone had a great first day in the pool, and the advanced open water kids got to spend some of their afternoon in town! Edmunds got an awesome shark tooth necklace that he can’t wait to bring home! Riley helped us pick up friendship bracelet string to surprise the group with at dinnertime!
For dinner tonight, our chefs Riley and Camden made chicken fried rice with a fried egg on top! Gordon Ramsay who??? Helen then embodied her inner Bob Ross and made us some insane drawings. We ended the day with an awesome Moonup from our Leaders of the Day, who are rocking an awesome Hawaiian hat! Everyone ended up ditching their tents and sleeping together under the stars <3!
This morning we hopped on over for our second day of diving!! Everyone did such an amazing job learning in the pool, and the advanced open water kids got to see dolphins during their first boat dive!! Watkins was named MVP by the diving instructors!! After a big day of learning and being so awesome and attentive, we surprised all the kids with an ice cream stop!!! We got gelato, walked around, and ended the night with a yummy pasta dinner cooked by Sarah!! We all slept in “Eno City,” a new village founded by one of our leaders, Mills, joined by our pack of goats at the campsite!!
This morning we were up and at ’em for our open water kids’ first day in the ocean!! Vibes were high with a country music party on the way to the dive shop. We went diving for the first time and had a fantastic time!! We saw tiger sharks, a huge eel, parrotfish, and lots of boxfish. Malcom says all the time in the pool was totally worth it!! We had an awesome day pushing past our nerves and accomplishing something amazing!!! Thanks so much for allowing us to do this!!!
We can’t wait for all the amazing things this trip has left to hold. We are making amazing new friends, laughing at everything, and marveling at the beauty that is the island of Hawaii!! Thanks, Moondance!!!
Here are a few notes from our pod of dolphins:
Hey guys!! I’m having the time of my life! Please water my flowers. Love y’all!! – Francis
Hey Mom and Dad. I’m having so much fun and made some of my best friends! Happy birthday, Sofia. I know I’m late, but ily!! – Lane
Hey Mom and Dad! I am having an absolutely amazing time. Love you guys! – Camden
Hey, I miss y’all so much. I love my group so much, and Riley is in it! – Edmunds
Hi Mom and Dad! I’m having the best time. We have been scuba diving, and it’s awesome! Johnny – I love you so much and miss you!! Mom, tell my friends I miss them! Love y’all! – Sarah
Hey fam! I just wanted to say that I miss y’all so much. Hawai’i is such a cool place. Thank you again for this trip!! I love and miss you!! – Watkins
I’m having so much fun! I am having a great time diving and really like my new squad! – Malcom
Hi Mom and Dad! I am having an awesome time. My counselors and friends are amazing. I am learning to surf!! Tell Luna hi and that I love her!! Love you guys!! – Helen
Hey Nellie, Peyton, Melis, Sofia, Cate, I miss y’all! I can’t wait to see you! I’m having so much fun! Love you! – Lane
Hi Mom, Daniel, Abby, Ava, Sloan, Lily, and Violet!! Hawaii is so much fun, and I love my group so much! I miss you all, and Abby, I hope you’re loving Sea Island, and Mom and Daniel, that you’re having fun. Happy early bday, Ava! I love you, and I’m thinking abt you! PS. I can’t wait for Taco Bell or Wingstop! – Riley
Hi Mom, Dad, and Marianne! I hope you all are doing well! Hawaii has been so much fun, and the views are stunning. So far, my group and I have done a cooking class, scuba diving, and the beach! I love you, and I’m excited to tell you all about it! – Margo
See you all soon!!! Love you guys!!! Our leaders are sending kisses to everyone back at home and are loving on our group here in Hawaii!!!
Safe Arrival
June 7, 2026
Hello Hawaiian Islands Families!
We heard from our leaders last night that the group has landed safely in Kona! Please remember that our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will post trip updates throughout the trip! This will allow you to follow along with their adventure. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
