Amazing Race 7 Travelblog

Amazing Race 8

2005-09-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

New season, new travelblog: ar8.universeofsynergy.com

WOW! What a finish to the race!

2005-05-10T23:25:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to say... the finish to the Amazing Race 7 was nothing short of AMAZING!

I have to admit, the first hour of the 2-hour finale was less than incredible. London to Jamaica? What happened to the "race around the world"... I guess it's more "wandering around the world" rather than actually circumnavigating the globe. Oh well, honestly, I liked it... it kept things interesting.

You can't say that Uchenna and Joyce didn't fight through a lot of challenges to win this race, even just in these last legs. First, getting a last-chance reprieve but losing all of their money and merchandise. Their money stretched as far as it could, but the last minute drama of not having enough money to pay the taxi driver while they are wating just a few yards from the finish line was almost the most tragic loss in history. It should be noted that it was that taxi driver who won them the race... unfortunately there must be a distinct rule that does not allow them to tell anyone that they are on the Amazing Race... or that they will win $1 Million Dollars if they just get across the finish line. Hopefully they went back and found that taxi driver and gave him a nice tip. :)

But I really don't think it was as close a finish as it seemed... either a) the taxi driver wasn't as stubborn as the show editing made it seem, or b) Rob and Amber weren't as close as they seemed. I think probably it was a combination of both. But my hat goes off to Uchenna and Joyce for an outstanding finish! I was cheering them all throughout the last legs of the race.

Question? Did the producers monkey with the race? Well, of course they do in small ways... but obviously the pivotal moment in the entire last leg was when the plane from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Miami actually stopped it's push back and came back into the gate to pick up Uchenna and Joyce. Hands down if they had not made it onto that flight, Rob and Amber would have been the winners. It's hard to believe that someone didn't pull some strings to make that happen though. Either the producers wanted to make it close and pulled some strings of their own to get them onto the flight, or U&J begged enough that the fine AmericanAirlines gate attendants convinced the pilot (obviously an American... maybe he was a fan of the Amazing Race?) Well whatever it was, it made it work.

And now that the race is over, I feel obliged to make a few remarks for my loyal readers (all 2 of you...). First, I realize I have been extremely critical of Rob and Amber throughout the course of this season. While I admit I was glad to see that Rob and Amber did not win the race... I seem to recall predicting that they would be in the final 3 teams... and they were. And I have to say they did indeed race an outstanding race, and are excellent game players. I also believe that when you take out the competitiveness of the race, and the no-doubt strategic editing by the show's producers, Rob is probably a perfectly nice guy and I credit both Rob and Amber for being such a good team.

It was nice to see all of the eliminated teams one last time to cheer in the finishers. Congratulations to Uchenna and Joyce!

That will wrap things up until the Amazing Race 8 is ready to roll. To the best of my knowledge, it's taping over the summer (with it's teams of 4 family members) and will air sometime this fall. Could be interesting, but I have to admit I'm skeptical... we'll see. And until then... find something else to watch on Tuesday night. :)

Thanks for reading over these past months...

YO-Leg Eleven!

2005-05-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

Time for the Amazing Race!

Random trivia fact of today: Istanbul is the only city in the world to occupy two continents.

Whirling dervishes... lots of spinning people. Kinda twisted, but interesting. I think I'd be a little dizzy. :) And they're off to London, England. That is quite strange that they are doubling back to London, when we know they're going to have to go around the world.

Now it's turning into mind games. But we'll see what happens... Rob & Amber and Ron & Kelly take the gamble of going to Frankfurt, knowing that the flight from Frankfurt to London is sold out.. but if they manage to get tickets they will have a 1.5 hour head start on Uchenna & Joyce and Gretchen & Meredith, who took the safer confirmed direct flight. And Rob/Amber made it onto the flight. Ron/Kelly also make it on the flight. So everyone is happy. Rob continues to be a dejected Wyle E. Coyote.

I have to say one thing, Rob and Amber are very good at recruiting additional help from wherever they go. And now Rob and Amber are in first place. But they have to go up in the ginormous ferris wheel type dealiebob... to try to find where they have to go.

Blah blah blah, I was uninspired by the rest of this episode... not to mention I got sidetracked. So I guess it's safe to say that Rob and Amber are first yet again... and Gretchen and Meredith got eliminated. What a shame... but certainly if they had just taken the train once in a while they wouldn't have been nearly as far behind. Oh well, my hat goes off to them for a race well raced.

And from London we race home next week... cheerio!

And then there were 4... - Leg 10

2005-04-26T21:56:00.000-07:00

Back for yet another week of the Amazing Race. It's getting down to the wire... "4 teams remain, who will be eliminated next?".

And off to Istanbul, not Constantinople? Why did Constantinople get the works? That's nobody's business but the Turks apparently.

Gretchen and Meredith are currently in last place, but as usual everyone will end up on the same plane, and it's anybody's game.

It's amazing how 4 teams of 2 become 2 teams of 4. Gretchen & Meredith and Uchenna & Joyce... and then the other fools.

Wow, paranoia is setting in, it seems. Rob tries to be an ass by convincing Gretchen that there is an "earlier" flight than they were already on, even though he doesn't believe one exists. But now Uchenna catches wind of this, and actually FINDS an earlier flight from Dehli to Istanbul, while Rob is still convinced he's on the earliest one. HAHAHAHAHAHA! Classic! Time to pull out the ole Wile E. Coyote card by Rob. Now Rob continues talking smack against G&M/U&J because they're not on the earliest flight, when really they all left the night before, and will arrive 2 hours earlier. That puts the old and the bald at the front of the pack... if they can stay there through the pitstop, I can only imagine what the remaining fools will be saying.

Find the Travel Gnome! HA! Travelocity product placement at its finest! I'm just waiting for the moment where the last teams realize that the other teams are in front. OOH, such excitement.

DETOUR: Kilos or Columns. Columns is cool, it's like a treasure hunt... anyone rememeber the game Myst? Yeah, sounds like one of those games. Kilos is simply a matter of weighting people to have a whole lot of kilograms. Well, that's not too great. Uchenna and Joyce opt for the kilos. What a challenge... once you convince people to step on the scale, it's all good. G&M also take the kilos approach. I really hope someone does the Columns... though I do admit it probably would take more time, it would be so immensely more fun! Ron & Kelly were the only ones who decided to do the columns, and they just cruised through it, but will it be enough for them to catch up? It would appear that it will come down to the roadblock.

AND Rob and Amber just now find out that the other 2 teams were there 2 hours before them!

Flight to Istanbul: $1000
Ferry ride to the lighthouse: $5
Realizing you're in 3rd place instead of 1st: Priceless

Suddenly Rob and Amber are moving really fast!

And the roadblock was to climb a lot... kinda strenuous, but yeah. Well, the pit stop is mere walking distance from the roadblock, but the old folks are going to have a serious disadvantage at this one. I hope they don't get eliminated based on a silly roadblock that they were at an obvious physical disadvantage from. That would border on unfair.

Uchenna and Joyce check in far ahead of everyone else. Gretchen and Meredith cruise through to the pitstop before the remaining 2 teams even make it to the roadblock. Gretchen is a superstar... way to be a trooper. Rob and Amber check in 3rd place... or as I prefer to call it... second to last. :)

Ron and Kelly are last... but it's a non-elimination leg! They will lose their stuff though.But they had the "super gnome" worth $20,000 to spend on travelocity AND instead of spending the night at the pit stop they get to go spend the night in a suite at the Four Seasons. Being in last place never felt so good.

For the record, I'm sure Phil will be staying at the Four Seasons as well... but he's probably used to that. :)

Until next week!

Lucknow? Not now. Leg 9

2005-04-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

So even more proof that nobody besides me watches The Amazing Race... everyone seems to have missed last week's episode. :) So here I am with leg 9 (or is it 8.5?)

Either way, I guess I should actually pay attention to the instant review at the beginning of the show.

Elephants... Botswana to India... alliances are formed... Ron and Kelly are still freaking out. Rob pisses people off... so not much is new. The big news apparently was the big twist at the end where the teams made it to Phil but found out that he did not have the next pit stop, but rather just another clue to continue on this leg. What a surprise. What will these producers think of next?

So everyone's still here, and it's time to keep going. Woohoo!

And we see the remaining 4 teams arrive at Phil, and he gives them all the next clue. And now they board the Mystery Train... a 24 hour train ride... good times.

And more waiting until 10am. Wow, good times. Well at least the teams should be well-rested at this point. Time for the next clue. The second fast forward comes now. Gretchen and Meredith could certainly use that. Shave their heads. HAHA... that's quality. The smart teams are gambling not to use the fast forward. Did anyone even bother with the fast forward? Yes, Uchenna and Joyce did. And they're gonna shave their heads. Joyce has probably the most hair of anyone left on the race... but what a trooper! Essentially at this point it's "shave your head, or leave the race"... you have one choice. Now as for myself.. shave your head would probably take about half a minute... but that's another story. :) You can't help but feel bad for Joyce.

Now we're going to drag elephants through the streets. Classic. "We have a bad elephant!" Well this is a lot of film but not a lot of action. Wow... ok, I don't even know what to say now.

Now for the Roadblock. Camel cart riding. well, that doesn't seem hard, but somehow, I think the camels will be stobborn beasts. :) Ron and Kelly are the first out and toward the pit stop, second only to Uchenna and Joyce who took the fast foward. Rob and Amber out in third place. Lynn and Alex out in 4th place... and Gretchen and Meredith tailing in 5th place but will they be close enough? It could be about time for the second reprieve of the race... but after such a long leg, I doubt it will be quite that time.

And of course U&J made it to the pit stop in first place. Everyone else as expected. And somehow Gretchen and Meredith ended up in 4th place! Nobody knows how it happened! Phil informs them that they are the oldest team to make it so far in the Amazing Race. Outstanding! Lynn and Alex have been eliminated. That's too bad, they were good people.

And then there were 4. Next week... off to somewhere else... and I'm going on record right now that no team will be eliminated next week. I also expect a yield next week... if so, Rob and Amber are in a very bad position being in 3rd place, because if Uchenna and Joyce make it to a yield first, I GUARANTEE they will yield Rob and Amber. Until then...

Missed episode... :(

2005-04-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well, as you may have guessed, I missed this week's episode of the Amazing Race. I know... I'm as shocked as you are. In my absence, I am soliciting a blog from someone who DID see the episode. If you are so inclined to write me a fascinating summary of what happened, I will post it to this site. Add a comment to this post. :)

Until next week, when I should be back on track...

Ostriches, Elephants, and Zebra, oh my! - Leg 7

2005-04-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

Once again it's time for the Amazing Race. Now I have to admit, after all the excitement of last week's episode, I'm skeptical that this week can be nearly as exciting. But we'll have to see.

Today's side-comment from the introductions, I enjoy the Amazing Race theme music, though I'm not sure why. It's not like they use it for much other than the credits, but it's catchy.

More driving through the desert. Rob's quote of the game "At this point the gloves are off... we have no friends left in this game." Again, I ask the people of the jury, did they EVER have any friends in this game? Or is he talking just to keep his mouth moving.

"Big bucks, big bucks, no whammies!" THAT is awesome! Press Your Luck was one of the greatest game shows... ah, the memories. Er... yeah, the race... right...

Detour: Carry it or milk it. Carrying food balanced on their head, or milking a goat. Hmmm... now that's a challenge. Now I have pretty good balance, but I don't know if I could balance a bucket of water on my head very easily.

First rule of the race... read ALL of the instructions in the envelope. Is that so hard? So many people would be much better off if they just did that.

Hmmm... grab the goat by the horns? haha... OK, milking the goats is the most hilarious thing. But WHOA, can Uchenna and Joyce carry stuff on their heads. "They're born to do that" says the boyfriends. Well, as questionable taste as that comment was made, it seems to be true. Definite credit to U&J on that one.

And more driving and Lynn and Alex' car breaks down. A new vehicle arrives shortly. So far, I think it's safe to say that it's not a glowing advertisement for Land Rover. If it's any consolation, it looks like Gretchen and Meredith are lost in BFE. But they really aren't... just some strategic editing by the producers. Touche.

And Ron and Kelly, along with Rob and Amber arrive at the roadblock at the same time. Now it's time for the extreme driving challenge, through a real roadblock. Through the croc infested swamp... followed by pulling a bunch of logs off the roadway. The logs were a bit of a stretch for me... why not just drive around them? hmmm...

Now I'm no lawyer... but I think there is a clear distinction between removing the post, and removing the flag from the post. And the careful zoom-in by the cameraman on the post tends me to think that Uchenna may be in trouble for that one.

And Rob and Amber are first ones off from the roadblock... heading to a lovely safari lodge that looks like the Hilton compared to where they just came from.

Now Lynn and Alex, currently on Land Rover #2, break ANOTHER car. Along comes yet another vehicle from the producers seemingly endless fleet of Land Rovers.

Doh! Those seven words I hate to hear once again "Rob and Amber, You're Team Number One!". Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait until next week to see them lose. And just as expected, Uchenna and Joyce are the 3rd team to arrive, but are denied admission to the magic carpet because they did not remove the pole. And back they go 9 miles to the roadblock. They make it back in excellent time and then make it back to lock in the 3rd team to arrive. But don't feel too embarassed, because Gretchen and Meredith forgot to grab their clue, and have to go back to the roadblock once again to fetch the clue. Somehow I don't think they will make it back in time...

"Lynn and Alex, you're team number four. " L&A: "WHAT?!" That was classic. That should make the highlight reel. Never assume you're last.

And the brothers think they can outsmart Phil by wearing swimsuits and guilting Phil into keeping them in the race. But it won't work, and the brothers become the latest victim of the amazing race. Tragic... seeing as my latest favorites have been eliminated I have to find a new team to cheer for. I guess it's Uchenna and Joyce, or Gretchen and Meredith. G&M keep sliding into second to last place, but unfortunately I think their luck will run out. But for now, I'll choose both of these teams as my favorites. We'll see what mayhem ensues next week!

African Safari - Leg 6

2005-03-29T23:00:00.000-08:00

[note: this week's 2-part episode is in two separate blogs. Read down for the first half of the episode then come back for this one.]

Now it's leg 6, wasting no time in this two-hour episode. And may I just say I'm glad that it wasn't two hours for them to make it through one leg of the race. This makes me happy.

So it looks like we're going to be feeding the lions... that could get interesting. Gretchen and Meredith are last out, but was it just me or were they NOT wearing the same clothes they were wearing when they finished the last leg? Hmmm... something seems fishy. OH! Uchenna and Joyce brought the old people a bag of clothes... that's very nice. That's an alliance that's sure not to be forgotten.
"We're starting the 'Save the rhino fund... and that's no lion'" haha. Gretchen still hilarious as she's asking the other teams for money. As expected, our ex-castaways will have no part of helping any other team. Just goes to show that there are vastly different personalities who audition for Survivor versus the Amazing Race. And for that, I say, let the ex-castaways be cast away.

And we're flying off to Botswana. What airline do you take? Air Botswana of course! I wonder what their motto is... I think it should be "Your Botswana be in our seats!" (if you didn't get that, try saying it outloud. :) ) And Lynn and Alex are stuck in the ghetto of Johannesburg.

And it's the quote of the episode... from none other than our good friend Wile E. Coyote, er... Rob. "I'm done being nice." HA! I say you cannot be done being nice, if you have never been nice in the first place. Praise Lynn and Alex for feeding Rob and Amber the same BS that they've been feeding everyone else.

The roadblock is to spear a moving target.. and who is in last place? ROB AND AMBER! And the commoners rejoiced... (yay!). Only briefly, as Rob becomes a menace on the road to slide from 7th in to 4th place.

Wow... that was a spectacular car flip that the brothers made! That can't be helpful for their progress though. Oh my, and the camera man is injured. That's bad news... things are not good for them. Once again, it says something that every team that passed them stopped and checked on them... except Rob and Amber.

Detour... Food or Water... grinding corn or sucking up water. Hmmm... who cares!

And on to the pit stop... some cots they have set up out in the middle of nowhere! This is classic! Check Botswana off of my "places I want to go before I die" list. In fact, add it to the "places I never want to go unless I'm on the Amazing Race" list. Rob and Amber are team number two... and Phil does a nice job of subtly asking them if they stopped to check on the brothers. Good times, good times.

WOW... and a foot race for the last team in. Ray and Deana go from first place to last place as they are literally outrun by the brothers. And their cameraman is going to be OK... what a relief.

WAY TO GO! My compliments to the producers on a great episode. THIS is one I would watch again... if you missed it... well... you missed it. See what happens next week! Woot!

From Argentina to Africa... leg 5

2005-03-29T22:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to yet another episode of the Amazing Race. I'm starting this one 15 minutes before the show actually starts. I just saw the teaser for the "all new two-hour episode". Could it be that all we have to look forward to is Gretchen falling in a cave and the brothers Brian and Greg crashing their car. Hopefully there's a little more excitement in the two hours.

And let the race continue. This week's blog is brought to you by... the opening credits! Everyone be dramatic, do something thrilling and exciting, then slowly turn to look at the camera all serious like. Oh the fun.

Rob and Amber must lose... there now that's out of the way for a while. And waste no time, we're off to Johannesburg, South Africa. Of course, everyone is going to end up on the same plane, me thinks.

And now for an episode of the Lion King... wait, no. Oooh, and it's a fast forward for the first team who can get there. So they have to make it out across this narrow suspension bridge at the top of a cooling tower. Doesn't seem too hard... that is, as long as you're not afraid of heights. :) And for the first time I think I've seen it, we've got a fight for the fast forward. OK, and this looks just a bit more scary than I expected. Ray and Deana make it there first... and oust Rob and Amber from the Fast Forward! YES! Hallelujah! Rob and Amber are certifiably in last place now, as they have to drive back to the detour. And Ray and Deana are off to the pit stop. Go them!

And it's the detour... Tunnels or Tribes. Repelling through tunnels in a cave, or a little match game with tribal implements. Hmmm... this one's a toss up, I don't know which will be easier. But I'd have to say the tribes sounds like a safer bet. Who knows. Well the boyfriends seem to be handling the tribes quite well. The cave tunnelers look like miners with their light helmets on. Haha. I'm worried already, I don't know if Gretchen and Meredith will be able to do a belly crawl through a low tunnel. Uchenna and Joyce are equally off. I think it is definitive that the tribes was the better choice. And the old people made their first major mistake.... they didn't follow the instructions and forgot to pick up the clue in the cave. It's a shame that one mistake makes such an impact on them, but I think that's how it's going to be. But I have a sneaking suspicion that nobody is going to be eliminated from this leg of the race... it's about that time... Gretchen rocks... she's bleeding and gashed her head, but she's still a trooper. She deserves an award!

And as a quick subplot, Ray and Deana are already at the pitstop... miles ahead (or should I say kilometres ahead?) of the rest. And they win 2 new Toyota Rav4's! Wow, what a prize. That beats a trip I think. The travel gnome must not be putting out today.

Roadblock for good times. Shop for an orphanage and then take the stuff you find to the kids. That's outstanding! Wow, and you'd think someone like Amber would know how to shop but she seems to be having issues. Too bad, the kids are great! I love things that make me smile. :)

Now, it just looks weird seeing everyone driving on the wrong side of the road. I've honestly never driven a car with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side of the car... maybe it's easier than it seems. :)

Well, we're all checked in, and Meredith and Gretchen are the last team to arrive. AND I WAS RIGHT! It's a non-elimination leg, and they're still in it. But they lost all their money at all. More bad news? OH MY! It's a new twist! In addition to that, they lose ALL their stuff except their passports and the clothes on their backs. Now THAT's a twist. Now, I think that's actually reasonable... in the past, losing money hasn't been too much of a difficulty, they could just beg and panhandle their way through the next leg and be fine. This way they really have to have a disadvantage in exchange for continuing on. On to the next leg.. and a new blog.

Amazing Race 7 - Leg 4

2005-03-22T21:55:00.000-08:00

It's Tuesday and time for yet another exciting leg of the Amazing Race. Since last week's episode seems like so long ago, and so less memorable, I had to read my own blog to remember what happened.

OK, so it's 3:30am and the boyfriends are the first ones out the door. Driving down the road, you'd think that being in the lead would mean something, but no, certainly they'll all bunch up at something that won't be open until later.

Horse riding... looks easy enough. Oops, almost forgot to hope for Rob and Amber to lose... so hoped. Nice work by Lynn and Alex... way to stay in the lead... but heading onto a plane which is sure to mean a lot of waiting at the airport. I guess that's the way the race works though.

Well Rob and Amber deserve each other. They think they're all that, and that people hate them because they want to be like them? As the Travel Gnome would say..."BULL HONKERY!".

OK, I think I'm liking Gretchen and Meredith more and more. They're doing a great job just hanging in there and making it work.

Didn't it seem like that 10 minutes waiting for the train to leave went on for an eternity? I think that's another bit of dramatic editing by the producers. It's no drama if you really notice that everyone is like 2 minutes apart.

Detour.... 7 sq. mile area searching for a shipwreck? Or find an island? I'll go with the island... give me a map and I'm a happy camper. Then again, navigating on water may not quite be as easy as it seems. Eh... doesn't seem like much of a difference here.

Seven words that make me cringe every time: "Rob and Amber, you're team number one!"

But on the bright side, my current favorite team of the brothers who were in last place just two legs earlier are now in second place.

Wow, everyone on the first flight makes it to the pit stop before the second flight even touches down. Seems like we have two races in one here. That can only mean one thing though... next week will be a long flight off the continent that will bring everyone back into one big group.

Oooh, craftiness... the key to knowing when to follow, and knowing when to not follow. Don't follow the team who is intentionally leading you astray.

So Susan and Patrick slide in a bit too late and are the latest victims of the Amazing Race. Another not too climactic ending (they weren't even close). I'm beginning to be unimpressed with the race... it's like always watching the race for last place. Oh well, another week next week... and the previews show that it is a 2-hour episode that FINALLY gets them off the continent and over to South Africa! Looks like plenty of drama next week! We'll wait and see.

Amazing Race 7 - Leg 3

2005-03-15T22:00:00.000-08:00

This week's blog is brought to you by the Travelocity Travel Gnome. Gotta love that accent... now if I could just figure out what bizarro country he's from... "Bull Honkery!"

A bit of a change from past blogs, this one I'm writing in real-time as I'm watching the show... so don't be confused by the stream-of-consciousness writing here.

Starting out in Santiago, Chile. It looked like Rob and Amber were WAY ahead at the end of the last leg... it would seem that they really are. And we're off, driving to Argentina. And a Yield is ahead... I wonder who might be yielded.

Oooh, the third leg, and we've got relationships on the rocks already. Is being on the Race a recipe for enduring love, or relationship disaster? Tomorrow on Oprah...

WHOA... too much information from the old people. Don't need to know about your personal life.... don't need to hear about any mouth-t0-mouth resuscitation. No no no.

From now on I will refer to Rob as "Wile E. Coyote". Picture him with his backpack full of crafty tricks from the ACME supply company, yet every time he tries to be crafty and stay one step ahead of the Road Runner... the Road Runner zips right past him with a taunting "meep meep".

Flashback to Los Angeles trying to find LAX and everyone gets lost. I realize the signs are all in Spanish, but honestly, is it so difficult to read a map? Perhaps road signs aren't quite as good or abundant.

And we reach the yield. Darn, Wile E. Coyote got there first so can't make it.

Paddle down the river? Sounds difficult. Pedal down the traintracks? Sounds like the easier solution to me. But what do I know? In impressive form the brothers have pulled all the way from last place into 3rd place, and they decide to pedal. Who would have known they'd get a flat tire? I still think it was the better choice.

Now, I've made some wrong turns in my life, and yes, perhaps I found myself a half-hour down the road before I realize I'm not where I'm supposed to be. But tell me how Debbie and Bianca find that they have been going the wrong way for TWO HOURS?! "Look at the beautiful ocean... is this the Andes mountains?" That's the ballgame, folks.

As Joe Rogan would say, this roadblock was designed and supervised by trained professionals, and should not be attempted by anyone, anywhere, anytime. Time to eat half a cow... and oh, not just the tasty parts, but also the... zestier parts. Mmm. Uh-oh... that smug smile on Rob's face is fading fast. I guess starving himself on Survivor hasn't prepared him for eating 4 pounds of the finest parts of the cow. With everyone quitting, it looks like those who can finish it will have the certain advantage! HEY Pepto Bismol! Go Uchenna... head for the pit stop!

And the boyfriends Lynn and Alex slide into the pitstop in first place. Way to go... I support that!

And finally Susan and Patrick make it to the roadblock. Their only reasonable chance to avoid elimination is to finish the food in 4 hours. Now, if they would stop arguing and start shoving food in your face, they might have a chance. Oh wait, Debbit and Bianca were still behind them? How'd I miss that? Oh well... it's to the point where I don't care who gets eliminated anymore... somehow I don't think that's what the producers' goal was.

Overall, not impressed with this episode. However, I think that Meredith and Gretchen are the silent killers in this race. Over 3 legs, they have consistently managed to stay in the thick of things by being slow, smart, and steady. The only leg you need to win is the last one.

Until next week...

The Amazing Race 7 - Leg 2

2005-03-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

So the second leg of the Amazing Race 7... what a crazy episode.

I know I never got a blog about the first leg, so I'll just include my thoughts of the teams here.

First, if I have to hear "rapido" one more time... I think I'll shoot myself. What it must be like to be a taxi driver with those AR contestants in the back seat... "MOVE! Mas rapido! FAST FAST FAST!" I think I liked it better in AR6 in China, because not one person had a clue how to say "go faster" in Chinese, but somehow EVERYONE is a spanish expert. Ugh. Get out of my taxi, no soup for you.

Now, may I just say how convoluded the route the race goes. First, they start in Lima, Peru, and take 400 mile bus ride to Arequipa. From there, they take a plane to Santiago, Chile, by going BACK to Lima, and then to Buenos Aires. That's what I call a trip.

Rob and Amber are instantly on my "you need to lose" list. I don't think they'll win, but I'm confident they'll be around for quite a while. They are smart players who know what they're doing.... but I don't like mean people. There's only so much I can put up with. They are definitely my odds-on favorite to be yielded at the first opportunity.

Susan and Patrick (aka the mom with her gay son) confused me. HOW did they run out of money? It looked more like they HAD money, but just didn't convert it. So much for the pompous America-centric world where EVERYONE takes the good 'ole dollar. :P

I'm convinced that the boyfriends, Lynn & Alex, are going to go postal before the race is over. They are WAY too much drama for two people. The way they went off on the people at the fish market was priceless.... but I think that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Speaking of the roadblock.... what's up with that? I really can't see WHY anyone would have picked the shop over the schlep. Moving 180 books 6 blocks, doesn't seem too bad... buying 5 items at an unfamiliar market using your OWN money... seems like a no brainer to me which one to choose. And considering the first 4 teams in were the ones who hauled the books, I think that seals the deal.

It's a shame, so far my favorite teams are a) eliminated, or b) in last place. My early favorite the hillbillies were eliminated in the first leg, but now I have to say I think the brothers Brian and Greg are entertaining. They're just having fun... I approve of that.

Then we have the old people... Meredith and Gretchen. They seem to have a good chance, but had a brief lapse in the common sense department. Still, not the worst team out there... but they definitely will not be winning. I think they need a little more endurance to keep up with the "kids".

I will say how interesting it is that the people in Chile seem to speak a LOT of English. Then again, anytime you go to tourist-type places you see plenty of English speaking people. So I guess that's what happens.

I'll see if I have any more thoughts later. But for now that's my recap.

Welcome!

2005-03-08T14:28:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my Amazing Race 7 Travelblog. This blog is dedicated to my ongoing week-to-week ramblings from watching the Amazing Race.

I'm writing this a week after watching the season premiere, so it lacks much detail. But considering the premiere was an hour of excitement stretched out into two excrutiating hours of television, I don't think much was missed. The teams were definitely eclectic, though many have their parallel teams from AR6.

A few short notes from the start of the race... I've been to LAX many times, and if I recall correctly, it's not too hard to find considering how many signs there are pointing you to it. How people get lost in their cars trying to find it is beyond my comprehension.

Zip lining: fun. I bet that was the teams' first real initiation to the Race. Funny to watch their reactions though.

Too bad for the hillbilly best friends... they were a riot. I wish they weren't eliminated, but oh well. That must be just about the most frustrating things ever... you've gone through probably half a dozen interviews/auditions, gotten yourself all prepped and ready to go on the Race, and all ready with hopes of $1M in your mind... and bam, eliminated on the first leg. I think I would be far less concerned with winning than just not being eliminated until the end.

Regardless, where AR6 took the Northern hemisphere around the globe, it looks like AR7 is going to be traversing the southern hemisphere. Probably a few legs travelling throughout South America before they hop over to Africa. But wouldn't it be a novel idea if instead of going East, they travel West around the world. That could make things a lot more interesting. I think we're nuts always thinking of things in a left-to-right orientation. Something to look forward to at least.

Oh well, on to Leg 2 of the Amazing Race 7.