AAVE Trip BLOG » 2008 » July
July 24, 2008
BSP1A Group Picture
Posted by AAVE Leader in : Boot Saddle Paddle , add a comment
UH1B group picture
Posted by foresthoff in : Ultimate Hawaii , add a comment
July 23, 2008
CC2 - We’re off!
Posted by AAVE Leader in : Ultimate Colorado , 1 comment so far
Water break
Everyone has arrived safe and happy, we are all pumped for our backpack and we think Colorado is ready for us!
We’ll touch base when we get back into civilization and have stories from our camping.
Cheers,
Erin and Scott and our CC adventurers
A positive memory and inspirational note from a CRC1 Mom
Posted by AAVE Parent in : Costa Rica Clasica , add a comment
Dear Abbott and AAVE Staff –
Many thanks to all of you! Lucy had a wonderfully memorable experience in Costa Rica — from the great group of kids to her highly knowledgeable and inspiring group leaders, Andrea and Gustavo. She loved every minute of her trip and we are very grateful to you for providing the perfect vehicle for exploring Costa Rica.
Enjoy the rest of your summer,
Jill
Parents thrilled with Hawaiian experience
Posted by AAVE Parent in : Ultimate Hawaii , add a comment
Dear Abbott and the entire AAVE team,
We could not be more thrilled about Hannah’s experience on UH1C! She came home with incredible stories and bonded amazingly well with all the other kids and the two FANTASTIC leaders–Chris & Liz. Her pictures probably don’t do justice to the experience, but at least we can get a sense of what she saw and did. Hannah had not been away from home for more than 3 nights before this and she is now confident and proud of herself for accomplishing this. Thank you for running such fabulous programs and hiring such terrific role models.
Best regards,
Susan and Ed
Finale from BE1 and BAP2
Posted by AAVE Leader in : Bike Amsterdam Paris, Bold Europe , add a comment
Bold Europe Adventure
Hello Back home from AAVE Bold Europe!
Our time on the beach in Monaco and Cap D’ail was too short! But I suppose that’s something we could never get enough of. The water was clear, beautiful and refreshing. We all got some jumps off the rocky shore, including Sydney who on her b-day managed her first ever dive.
Off to the Mercantour we went to join our guides for the Via Ferratta. For those not in the know, this is a long mountain climb during which we are harnessed in, following a trail of large metal staples along sheer rock faces. Our climbing in the Caudies de Fenoulledes did little to prepare us for the staggering heights of this route, followed by the exhilarating zip line rides over deep ravines. We got another shot at canyoning, except this time it was, oh… 300% more intense! This excursion made the last seem a warm up. We rappelled down fast flowing falls, got to fly off a multitude of jumps the last of which was such a grande finale of a small man made dam.
Our next couple days; we experienced the French wilderness in an entirely new way. Our guide David (the man could be called a sage for all he knows about the wild and plant life in this region of the French alps) led us to the site where we would endure some real wild camping for a change. We went on two scenic hikes, entertained at every step of the way by David’s wisdom, sampling edible plants and identifying which ones to stay well clear of. We played capture the flag in the woods, prowling around, sneaking up on each other and having great laughs.
Finally we said our goodbyes to France to be welcomed by the culturally rich city of Firenze - well all right, we did a lot of shopping, but we’ll hit the sites on Wednesday!
We can’t believe it is almost over,
Cedric, Lauren, Nick and the Bold ones
Parent “got” the AAVE name!
Posted by AAVE Parent in : Wild Coast Discovery , add a comment
By the way, I love the name of your firm. That my son, Wyatt “got it” really wowed me. He believes he IS visiting earth - on this trip - for the first time! Cool reach.
Jack
BW2 - First update!
Posted by AAVE Leader in : Bold West , add a comment
Hey all…
This past week has been a whirlwind of adventures…
We stopped into Mammoth Lakes, CA for a quick half day of rest, email, and gondola ride to the top of Mammoth Mountain (11,000+ feet). The Eastern Sierra’s are truly beautiful.
Finally, the much anticipated white water rafting trip arrived. We had two amazing days on the middle fork of the American River. Kids had a blast paddling hard and having water fights along the way. Sleeping out under the stars was awesome and a morning swim woke us up before our next day.
Day 2 finished with a class 6 portage (we took the boats out and watched our guides navigate the treacherous waters). Right after we hit a combination class 4, 4, 3, 4.
After some showers we made our way to Santa Cruz for some awesome surfing.
The mornings were early, but “totally worth it” in the words of Scott Elliot. We were up at 4 both mornings to hit the waves by 5 for the best surf. We were all glad to have thick wetsuits. Finally, we took an adventure to the board walk and rode the amazing rides.
Today we started the morning with our last service project trying to protect a blue butterfly. Our goal was to pull out a weed called French Bloom. Harris, Brandon, and Jason worked on a tough weed for a half our. Everyone was very excited with its removal. Every student did an amazing job, our service coordinators couldn’t believe how much invasive weed we were able to rip out.
I hope to have one more email out before the morning of the 26th. Hope this finds all of you well, because you’re kids are having a blast.
Take care,
Lindsay, Mike, and the AAVE Bold West crew
Australia #1 2008 Final Note
Posted by AAVE Leader in : Australia , add a comment
Hanging out in Australia
Hey families and friends,
What a summer, it’s such an awesome experience to be able to step out of your day-to-day life style and get a new perspective on life. I always get blown away by how many lessons and experiences you can have in one month. This trip in Australia has been amazing, I would say it was a combination of a few things; that is, the awesome group (AAVE family) that fit together like a perfect puzzle, the action packed itinerary, the non-stop incredible experiences and the beauty of Australia surrounding us.
Every single person on the trip put themselves out there and gave it their all and because of that we got so much out of this trip. We all stepped out of our comfort zone, from Carey daring to raft the Tully, to Hayley jumping in the water for night diving with the sharks. The campers also had a lot of love for each other, we were very blessed to have Sammy’s and Steven’s compassion on the trip. Humor is a must on a trip and we had loads of those moments thanks to Andrews random creativity that excited everyone, Nicos funny comments, Kyle’s catchy songs and Jorge’s sounds whenever he told stories. Luckily we had some campers to calm us down and bring us back to sanity and Matt and Pierre were perfect for that role with their layed back style on handling things. Another great part about the trip was the random games that we constantly played and to keep the competitiveness high we had Liza and Mike to take care of that. We will never forget about Renato’s unstoppable energy and Sofia’s uplifting smile and happiness. Last but not least we were all grateful to have Callum’s and Erica’s ability to bring the group together. This has been an amazing summer and we have made long lasting friendships and experience that will impact our lives forever.
Thank you parent for having such awesome children and giving them this AAVE opportunity,
Cheers Mates,
Your Leaders and Friends who just wants to have fun by drinking tea and respecting everything around us - Kat and Tyson AAVE 2008 Down Under
Australia #1 2008
Posted by AAVE Parent in : Australia , add a comment
Summer Fun on the Beach!
Abbott and Tyson,
Renato got back home at 6:00 o’clock this morning (37 hours on the go!!) and after the excitement of seeing his sister, mother and father (brother is in Dartmouth for a soccer showcase), he collapsed after lunch and is still sleeping. I will have to get him up soon, otherwise jet leg will stay for ever!
He had an amazing time! And just matured so much, having to deal all by himself with lost connecting flights, managing to stay at airports all alone for hours, plus all he learned during the trip… it was an awesome and fulfilling experience.
Thank you so much for everything! I was very impressed since day 1 with your organization, your knowledge of every child, when you haven’t even met them in person! AAVE HAS PROVED AN EXCELLENT SUMMER PROGRAM AND Renato will never forget his amazing days in Australia with Tyson and the kids in the group who will be friends for a long time.
All the best,
Claudia