When my kids were little we would go every summer to Berkeley Touloumne Family Camp.
The accomodations are tent cabins with nearby bathrooms, showers built of stone that are open to the sky and a dining room where they served 3 meals a day with more food than anyone should rightfully eat. Arts and Crafts was a major component of the experience for me because although I lack talent I love the activities. There was a different craft every day of the week and our favorite was Tie-Dye Wednesday where would maniacally round up every white cotton thing we could find and take it down to the crafts area to tie dye it. Some people would bring sheet sets, jackets and tableclothes. I still wear a nightgown I tie-dyed at Family camp many years ago.
(click for larger image)
There were evening activities, too. There was Bingo night and Campfire night and Table night where the kids would put on plays in the amphitheater.
A couple of times when we went in July there was a very large extended family who would all come together to spend a week at camp and they put on the funniest shows that always included some crazy prank one adult brother played on another. One year Family A got the Dad from Family B to go out on stage and get on his hands and knees. They then proceeded to do a skit where Dad B was a table in a bar and Family A would come in one member at a time to get a drink which he or she would then leave on Dad B’s back and then leave the stage. The subtext was that everyone was crying in his beer over something. At the end of the show, there was Dad B on his hands and knees with a dozen glasses of soda perched on his back and no way to get up. It was very funny.
I don’t expect to be able to have Table night at Wildflower due to time constraints but all of this was brought to mind when I read the blogs of various raceAthlete team members who tell us that there will be campfire songs sung at Wildflower. One of my favorite songs is called Wada Lee Atcha which has some fairly intricate hand motions and it goes like this:
Wada Lee Atcha
Wada lee atcha,
wada lee atcha
doodly doo, doodly doo
Wada lee atcha,
wada lee atcha
doodly doo, doodly doo,
*Simplest thing, there isn’t much to it,
All you’ve got to do is doodly doo, it
I like the rest, but the part I like best
Is the doodly, doodly doo doo – faster!!
repeat, singing and doing the hand motions faster
I can only hope I have the opportunity to teach everyone the song that has taken up residence in my brain for the last couple of days as I prepare to just doodly do it – faster or slower, it matters not. I could not be more exicted to meet everyone and to race my first Olympic distance triathlon.
21st-century-mom.com 
We used to sing that song in girl scouts…it had hand movements to it also…which I probably don’t remember…
I think making someone a table on Sunday nite after a few beers would be fun! How about Bolder? 🙂
Or Kahuna?
I just realized this is your first Olympic…wow…quite impressive that you took this on as your first! Yep…just doodily-do it!
My cell is (520)603-1586 if we can reach each other.
We are staying at the Bryson resort about ten min. from the lake- the number there is: (805)472-2922- they are cabins, and I am not sure there are phones in the cabins, but I guess you can always leave a message! See you sometime Sat. I guess…. I sure have a lot to do tonite when I get home! Yikes!
Good luck!
And I totally have a similar bar trick which pretty much everyone falls for…
i love that song, but for some reason my recollection of the actual words are nothing like you typed out. that’s what you get for learning it in elementary school i guess, hm?
have fun, all!
have fun! personally, i’m thinking the family camp might be more fun than the swim/bike/run thing, but then what do i know?
You’ll do great, and we’re already proud of you!
🙂
I think that I know that one.
Always new adventures: your first Olympic distance triathlon. The Black Knight Army is proud of you but the italian legion doesn’t know that song….what a pity! When will you come here to teach us it?
just came across your page from another bloggers site. i love the top banner!
Have a great time! I’ll be living near Paso Robles soon, so maybe next year I’ll volunteer at Wildflower. May the wind be always at your back and the road rise up to meet you.
Good luck and have a lovely time 🙂
looking forward to your race report!
OH that is just evil. Because those types of songs are the ones that come out during races or hard efforts. My first year cycling, I got thru many a long ride by “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands!” (I didn’t clap my hands). Evil, pure evil.
Good luck and enjoy!!!! You will go great! I hope you get to meet the other bloggers. How exciting,I can’t wait to hear about it!