Notes from the Road: Surf ‘n Turf Quest 2024

Today’s blog post takes you behind the scenes of Tawonga’s recent two-week long Surf ‘n Turf Quest. Enjoy highlights and photos below!

Quest Leaders

Elli Lavon and Kavi McKinney

Questers

11 Questers entering 7th and 8th grades

Quest Itinerary

• Camping in the California redwoods
• Backpacking near Big Sur
• Morro Bay camping and hiking
• Surfing in Ventura/Santa Barbara
• Beach clean up day & swimming
• Overnight sea kayaking trip to Channel Islands

Quest Highlights

• Picking berries at Swanton Berry Farm on Hwy 1
• Rock hopping in the creek
• Tide pooling at Natural Bridges
• Steamer’s Lane in Santa Cruz
• Breakthrough moment occurred while discussing community on the backpacking trip
• Inspiring moment was watching the questers support their fellow quester who fell sick
• Constantly being in nature and cultivating awe helped bring in Judaism to the Quest

As Heard on Quest

Camper One: “Water is so heavy, I don’t want to carry it!”
Camper Two: “Yeah, well so is existence, and we don’t get a choice in that.”

Quest Leader Inspiration

Quest leaders Elli and Kavi reflect on their favorite parts of Quest:

The bunk coming together and blending, sharing jokes, and getting weird together built resilience and acceptance of the unknown. The trip was challenging and yet so rewarding!