Hello everyone! I just want to thank you so much for bearing with me while I go through a period of transition in my life. About a month ago, I was asked to join my old employer,
Moondance Adventures, for a second stint as the Admissions Director. Clark and I weighed the pros and cons and decided to pack our things and head back to Asheville, the city where we met and fell in love.
Me and Clark...in love, obvi...Moondance is an outdoor adventure program for middle and high school students, offering leadership-building trips around the country (and a few scattered throughout the globe), using the wilderness as a classroom and a platform for students to grow and learn with one another in the purest of settings. I participated in two Moondance trips when I was in high school back in '01 and '02, traveling to the San Juan Mountains in Colorado for my first trip and exploring the Pacific Northwest (and summiting Mt. Rainier all the while) on my second trip. As soon as I wrapped up my first Moondance adventure, I couldn't wait to turn 21 to become a leader and to share such life-changing experiences with the amazing kids that seem to sign up year after year for our trips.
A few students cool off in Ross Lake, located in Washington StateAfter I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, I nailed down my 80 hour Wilderness First Responder course and bagged my first magical summer as a Moondance instructor. So many of my students remain close friends of mine as we laughed and cried through the most fun (but sometimes most strenuous!) of days hiking, rafting, climbing and sea kayaking. Over the years, I've had the pleasure of leading 4 Moondance trips and making 43 new best friends (that's 40 students and 3 different co-leaders). I'm proud and excited to be back in the office as well as touring high schools, sharing my Moondance story to anyone who will listen!
Student Robey (on my right) and my co-leader Tyler (on my left) and I attempt to cross a particularly rushing and freezing river in the Wind River Range, WyomingWith that said, Clark and I have been shuffling back and forth from Atlanta...moving boxes, looking for apartments, maybe drinking a little champagne to celebrate my new salary...but alas, as you can see, I've been neglecting the blog.
I promise you, dear readers, I'll be back in the saddle as soon as possible...though regular efforts and reports will likely start after the holidays. Until then, keep up with my quick 100andSouth snippets a la Twitter by
following me at @100andSouth. I thank you so much for your patience, but ultimately, I thank you so dearly for your support. You're the reason why I do what I do when it comes to the blog, just like the smiles on these kids faces are the reason I knew I had to get back to Moondance.
All smiles with my amazing students in Smith Rock State Park, Oregon on the final night of my second Pacific Northwest journey Check out more regarding my time with Moondance by reading
my Staff Bio on Moondance's website!
