TAR: Can’t Do a Cartwheel?

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Amazing Race
I’m Not Wearing That Girl’s Leotard!

In previous seasons, I usually dreaded the beginning of the series since there were so many teams and things moved too fast, but I have to say that this season is awesome. The challenges are great, the scenery is breathtaking and I am laughing at what they put the teams through to get to the next clue.

Order teams left the pit stop:

  1. Tammy & Victor – 10:13 am
  2. Mel & Mike – 12:01 pm
  3. Amanda & Kris – 12:12 pm
  4. Margie & Luke – 12:30 pm
  5. Brad & Victoria – 12:53 pm
  6. Jaime & Cara –  1:17 pm
  7. Kisha & Jen – 1:51 pm
  8. Mark & Michael – 2:00 pm
  9. Christie & Jodi – 2:42pm

Clue: Teams had to travel by train to Munich and then fly over 700 miles to Bucharest, Romania. Once they landed, they traveled by taxi to a gymnastics hall to find their next clue.

Airport Fun Times

Tammy and Victor headed to a travel agency first to make reservations for their flight out of Munich. Tammy wanted to go to the train station first, but Victor wanted the reservations first. They found out there was a flight that left half past three, but it was full. They got reservations on a later flight around 5pm, but were hoping to get on standby for the earlier one. While heading out, Luke had to point out to his mom that Bucharest was in Romania. She thought it was in Hungary.

When Tammy & Victor arrived at the airport, they got seats on the 3:20 pm flight. Around that time, Mel & Mike, Amanda & Kris, Margie & Luke and Brad & Victoria were on the same train heading to Munich. While on the train, Amanda & Kris found a local who called the travel agency for them to make reservations. It was for the later flight that Tammy & Victor had originally made reservations on for 4:45 pm. Amanda said that would only give them 30 minutes to get from the train station to the airport. The local said they wouldn’t make it. Amanda & Kris thought they could run it though.  Brad & Victoria found another couple that was helping them get reservations while they were on the train. They told them that there was 4:45pm and 9:30pm. The locals told them that it wasn’t possible to make the 4:45pm flight. They weren’t going to try to go for it, but instead get reservations on the 9:30pm flight.

Tammy & Victor were the only ones on the 3:25 pm flight to Bucharest. Soon after, the train arrived in Munich. Amanda & Kris and Mike & Mel were able to get tickets on the 4:45pm flight. Not sure about Margie & Luke or Brad & Victoria. While in flight, Tammy & Victor’s plane had some technical issues. The plane had to turn around and go back to Munich. Oh no! When Brad & Victoria were at the airport, they found out they were too late for the 4:45pm flight, but there was another flight that left at 7:30pm that went through Amsterdam. It would arrive in Bucharest at midnight. Tammy & Victor landed and were trying to get to the 4:45pm flight. They were on a terminal shuttle while they knew the flight was boarding. They were hoping they would make it in time. I’m not sure how they could make it on if it was too late for Brad & Victoria. It appeared that Margie & Luke made it on that flight as well. Tammy & Victor did not make the 4:45pm flight.They were back trying to find new tickets around the time that the rest of the pack arrived at the airport. They all got on the 9:30pm flight.

Right before they boarded, Brad & Victoria heard that their flight to Amsterdam was a bit delayed so it would be a really close connection there to catch the next plane to Bucharest. By the time they arrived in Amsterdam, they found out their flight to Bucharest left already. They were stuck in Amsterdam. There was fog in Amsterdam so there were no more flights leaving that night. They could get on the first flight the next day at 9:15 am. eek!

Bucharest, Romania

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The first flight landed in Bucharest with Amanda & Kris, Margie & Luke and Mike & Mel. Amanda & Kris were the first team to arrive and get the next clue, which was a road block.

Road block: One team member had to perform gymnastics. The team member would have to learn and execute three different gymnastic moves: balance beam, parallel bars and floor exercises. They had to perform them all correctly and in order.

Amanda decided to do it. When Margie & Luke arrived, he wanted his mom to do it since he said he was not wearing a leotard. Amanda saw all the moves on the balance beam that she had to perform. There were three of them. She got up on the beam and completed them all. Margie was in her leotard and ready to go on the balance beam. Amanda moved onto the parallel bars. Margie fell off the balance beam so she had to start again. Amanda finished the parallel bars and moved onto the floor exercises. Mel & Mike arrived at the gym. Mike decided to do it, which was probably good since Mel had his pulled groin injury. Amanda cruised through the floor exercises and she was done! She made it look so easy. They got their next clue.

Clue: Travel by train to the city of Brasov, in Transylvania. Once there, teams had to proceed to Biserica Neagra, or the Black Church, and  search for their next clue.

Margie finally completed the balance beam and moved onto the parallel bars. Mike was getting on the balance beam. Margie completed the parallel bars around the time that Mike finished the balance beam. Margie finished the floor exercises and got the next clue. Mike finished the parallel bars and moved onto the floor exercises. Amanda & Kris and Margie & Luke were at the train station trying to buy tickets for Transylvania. There were told the next one left at 6:30 am the next day. Amanda was not thrilled about hanging out in the train station until the next morning.  Back at the gym, Mike finished the floor exercises and they left in third place to the train station.

The second plane arrived in Bucharest. Tammy & Victor got dropped off somewhere that looked like a huge arena or coliseum under construction. Tammy didn’t think it was the right place, but Victor was sure it was correct. He said they had to keep walking around. While they were somewhere being lost, Kisha & Jen arrived at the gym. Kisha decided to do it. Tammy & Victor were still running around when the stuntmen showed up at the gym. Mark decided to do the road block. The NFL cheerleaders showed up next. Jamie decided to do it. The flight attendants arrived and Jodi said she would do it. Where were Tammy & Victor? Not at the gym. They finally asked someone who pointed them in the right direction.

Back at the gym, Kisha finished the balance beam while Tammy & Victor finally found the gym. Tammy decided to do it. Kisha couldn’t keep herself up on the parallel bars and Mark fell off the balance beam. Jodi did the balance beam quickly. Jamie finished off the balance beam too. Jodi flew through the parallel bars while Jamie contemplated doing it with no upper body strength. Mark finally finished the balance beam, while Kisha and Jamie struggled with the parallel bars. Kisha said she was going to stick with basketball. Tammy was freaking out about other teams being ahead of her and kept forgetting what she needed to do on the balance beam. I thought Jodi went through the parallel bars fast, but Mark scooted on down them like he was running. Tammy messed up on the balance beam again and had to start over.

Jodi finished up the floor exercises and the flight attendants were headed off to the train station in fourth place. Soon after, Mark finished up so the stuntmen were off in fifth place. Kisha finally finished the parallel bars and moved onto the floor exercises. Jamie finished up the parallel bars soon after. Tammy finally got the balance beam down and moved onto the bars. She got stuck on the bars though and had to start over. Jamie finished up the floor exercises and the NFL cheerleaders were off in sixth place. Tammy finished the parallel bars. Kisha finished up the floor exercises so that only left Tammy in the gym. Tammy struggled with the floor exercises, mostly because she didn’t know how to do a cartwheel. Was she not a kid? Who doesn’t know how to do a cartwheel? Then she couldn’t do a somersault. I don’t understand!! I do believe Tammy is a clone since she obviously didn’t have a childhood when kids learn how to roll around and stuff. Victor became frustrated on the sidelines while Tammy tried to understand a cartwheel because she had to start over.

The rest of the teams arrived the train station around the time Tammy finally figured out how to do things. When Kisha & Jen came into the train station, they shared the news that Tammy & Victor were on their flight since the plane had to turn around. That made the first group feel a lot better since they had assumed, they were way ahead of everyone else. The next morning all the teams were on the train to Transylvania at 6:30 am. At 9:15 am, Brad & Victoria were heading from Amsterdam to Romania.

Brasov, Transylvania

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The train arrived is Brasov. The lawyers were in a taxi first headed off to the church, followed closely by the flight attendants. When Amanda & Kris got into a taxi, they said they wanted to get in front of them. Their taxi driver said he could try a few short cuts. It worked! They got to the church first, but just before the flight attendants. The next clue was a detour.

Detour: In Gypsy Moves, teams had to go to a settlement where they had to load all of a family’s belongings onto a horse drawn cart. Then they had to navigate the cart to their new encampment where they would have to unload the belongings before receiving the next clue. In Vampire Remains, teams had to go to some nearby woods and drag a coffin down from a hill to an open area with stakes. Once there, they would have to untangle a series of chains to open the coffin filled with antique frames inside. Teams would then have to impale the frames (with an X marked in the middle) on nearby stakes, looking for a hidden flag, which teams can exchange for their next clue.

Oh, I would do Vampire Remains just because of the name! Amanda & Kris thought Gypsy Moves seemed easier. The flight attendants thought the Vampire Remains sounded the easiest. The lawyers went with Vampire Remains. The sisters arrived at the church shortly after the other teams and went with Gypsy Moves. Soon after that, the NFL cheerleaders showed up and picked Vampire Remains after Margie & Luke showed up and Luke wanted to do the Vampire one. Mike & Mel picked Gypsy Moves since they thought the other one sounded too complicated. After the other teams took off, the stuntmen showed up and picked Gypsy Moves. Yeah, I like it when teams split up the detours so we get to see different stuff!

Brad & Victoria landed in Romania and were headed to the gym. Meanwhile, the taxi driver for the NFL cheerleaders was lost, which made them really frustrated.

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Amanda & Kris and Mike & Mel arrived at the gypsy encampment at the same time. Mike & Mel rethought their decision when they saw part of a car and huge tractor tires that they had to load and move. Why would they pick a moving task if Mel has a pulled groin? They got some help and stuck with it, loading up the parts onto the cart. One of the gypsy ladies seemed to really like Kris when he picked up a barrel and was carrying it over his head.  Nice arms indeed!

Back with the NFL cheerleaders, their cab driver was driving on the sidewalk for unknown reasons. Amanda & Kris finished loading up their cart and were headed on their  way. Mike & Mel were still packing. Stuff was falling off of Amanda & Kris’s cart. Mike & Mel finished and started going down the road with the cart, but stuff was falling off of their cart too. The sisters arrived at the gypsy place.  While the sisters loaded up their cart, Amanda & Kris and Mike & Mel got everything secured on their carts again to take off down the road.

The lawyers and flight attendants were making their way to vampire detour with cab drivers that seemed to know where they were going. Once they got out, Victor read the clue that said to follow the marked path to the coffins. They were going up a hill that had a tree painted with a white rectangle with a red stripe in the middle. Tammy questioned if that was the right marker since it should have been red and yellow. Meanwhile, the flight attendants were following red and yellow arrows in a different direction. Tammy & Victor were going off in unknown land again, while the flight attendants got to the coffins. They picked one and it was heavy. Tammy was telling Victor the markers he saw were not right, but he said they didn’t know that yet. Someone needs to listen to their partner!

The stuntmen arrived at the gypsy camp and started loading their cart. The sisters were still there loading up their cart. The NFL cheerleaders were stopping again as their cab driver asked someone again for directions. One cheerleader (I can’t tell them apart) was getting super pissed about him not knowing where they were going. Margie & Luke were in the cab behind them with a driver that I assumed was just as lost. Amanda & Kris arrived at the new encampment and started unloading their cart. Kris made a comment that he didn’t have his fanny pack, but Amanda assured them they would get it. Where was it? Mike & Mel arrived at the encampment too.

Tammy was telling Victor they needed to go back since they didn’t see anyone else. He said going back would be a big mistake. The flight attendants pushed the coffin down the hill.  The NFL cheerleaders and Margie & Luke finally got to where they needed to go. They all got out and started to look for a marked path. Margie & Luke found it first and called the NFL cheerleaders over. Tammy & Victor continued up their hill with the markers. I wonder where it was leading them. Back at the new gypsy camp, Amanda & Kris finished up and got their next clue.

Clue: Teams had to take a taxi to Vila Panoramic, which was an inn looking over the castle that is linked to the story of Vlad the Impaler who inspired the Dracula story. It was the pit stop.

Amanda & Kris took off, but Kris was still talking about needing to find his fanny pack. Mike & Mel finished up in second place and headed off. Back at the coffins, the flight attendants were still pulling the coffin down the hill. Margie was pulling the coffin while Luke was running down the hill unable to stop running. The NFL cheerleaders were pretty close to the top trying to drag the coffin down. Margie & Luke were the first ones down in the field. They found the key to the first lock on their impaling stake. Impaling stake! Hilarious! Margie tried it on one lock, but it didn’t work so they looked for another lock. The NFL cheerleaders were shoving the coffin down the hill by pushing it with their feet. The flight attendants were at their own impaling stake with their coffin unlocking the locks. The NFL cheerleaders finally got to the bottom of the mountain. Back at the top of the mountain somewhere, Victor was telling Tammy they were not going back down, even though she kept pointing out that no one was there. How long had they been walking? Did they really think coffins were that far away from where the cab dropped them off?

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In Romania, Victoria was doing the road block. She either cruised through it or they just showed the best parts since they were so far behind. They finished up and headed to the train station to try to catch up in Transylvania. At the gypsy camp, the sisters finished loading up their cart. Amanda & Kris arrived back at the first gypsy camp while Kris went to go find his fanny pack. Mel & Mike arrived back at it too and were able to jump into their taxi to the pit stop. The sisters were off on the road to the new encampment. Kris started to freak out that he couldn’t find his fanny pack. Amanda told him to not freak out and they would just look for it. Why would you leave it sitting around if it had all your money and passports? It sounded like he put it down on purpose. I don’t understand!

Back in coffin land, both Margie & Luke and the flight attendants finished opening their coffins at the same time. Now for impalings! They started on that while the NFL cheerleaders started with the maze of chains and locks on their coffin. Tammy was making the point to Victor that they were following his gut and not listening to her own gut that was telling her they were going the wrong way. Amanda thought that the fanny pack was where they unloaded everything so Amanda & Kris went running down the road where the sisters were unloading their stuff. It was there with his jacket and everything else. What a dork. They went running back to the first camp and off to the pit stop.

Pit Stop

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Mike & Mel arrived at the pit stop first, but they had to climb up a hill. Poor Mel sounded so out of breath after walking up the hill, but he did it.They arrived in first place. They won a trip to Costa Rica. Amanda & Kris showed up soon after in second place. They were a tad disappointed they missed out on first place. Maybe someone won’t leave their fanny pack in any ole place in the future!

Tammy pretty much stopped walking since she knew they were going the wrong way but Victor wouldn’t admit it. He said they had to keep going until they knew where the markers led. Oh boy! They should be glad that Brad & Victoria were still in Romania at this point! Victor got excited when he saw a new marker. It was an arrow pointed left and right on a tree. Tammy said that wasn’t right. She asked him where they were going. He couldn’t come up with a reason but he knew they had to keep going. Brad & Victoria were on the train headed to Transylvania. The sisters were done unloading at the gypsy camp and headed to the pit stop.

Back at the impaling, the NFL cheerleaders hadn’t opened up a lock yet. They were confused. Margie told them they had to keep trying different locks while she was impaling frames on posts. Margie finally got one with a flag so they got the next clue leading them to the pit stop. The flight attendants were still impaling and the cheerleaders were still trying to unlock.

The stuntmen were done unloading at the gypsy camp and headed to the pit stop too. The lawyers were still in the woods. Tammy said if Victor wanted to take on the role as a decision maker, he had to make a decision, since he was crouching on the ground frustrated. He said she could make decisions too. She started to laugh about how he would suddenly listen to her after they climbed up the entire mountain. They finally started to go back down the mountain. Maybe they would run into the coffins on the way down! The flight attendants impaled their frame to get the flag so they were headed to the pit stop. The cheerleaders were sure they were in last place while they still tried to unlock. Don’t worry cheerleaders! They finally got it open so they could start impaling frames. Soon after, the cheerleaders got the flag and headed to the pit stop.

At the mat, the sisters were the next team to arrive in third place. Margie & Luke arrived in fourth place. Tammy & Victor finally made it to the bottom of the mountain and Victor saw an arrow where they were supposed to be heading. They got to the coffins when the flight attendants and stuntmen arrived at the pit stop. The flight attendants were trying to walk up the steep hill when the stuntmen just ran past them to the mat. The stuntmen came in fifth place, which made flight attendants come in sixth place.  Victor was trying to kill himself with sliding the coffin down the hill in order to make up time. They got it to the field and started working on the locks. They couldn’t open the locks with the key they had though. Victor assumed there would be another key. They assumed a key broke off as they were bringing the coffin down the mountain. They started to look around for the key. Brad & Victoria were still on the train to Transylvania.

At the pit stop, the NFL cheerleaders checked in with  Phil for seventh place. They were amazed they were in it. Tammy & Victor were going up and down the path they dragged the coffin, looking for the key. He found a key! It opened up the coffin and they started impaling frames. They found the right frame and got their clue for the pit stop. They headed off and could not believe they were not in last place when they checked in with Phil. They came in eighth place.

Much, much later, Brad & Victoria were working on the coffin detour in the dark. Spooky! They did check in last at the pit stop and were eliminated. They were expecting it so they took it very well.

Order teams arrived at the pit stop:

  1. Mike & Mel
  2. Amanda & Kris
  3. Kisha & Jen
  4. Margie & Luke
  5. Mark & Michael
  6. Christie & Jodi
  7. Jamie & Cara
  8. Tammy & Victor
  9. Brad & Victoria

Questions

  1. Are the cheerleaders flirting with Luke or are they just trying to gain an alliance?
  2. Will Mel make it through the race in the shape that he is in?
  3. Do you believe Tammy is a clone or do people just don’t know how to cartwheel or somersault?
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