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Donkeys
Have Feelings, Too
November 4
Just when you thought it was
safe to travel the world again, eleven more teams of two are set to go
on a frenetic race around the world for one million dollars. Who'll be
the first to finish? We have to start it to see who ends it. Time to
begin this, the 12th running of the Amazing Race!
As usual, bonds will be
tested, forged, and even strained as these 11 teams begin their assault
on the world. And they are (C-Note: in grand and glorious Wolvie
tradition, we've given them cute nicknames as well)...
Ronald & Christina Hsu
(Team Who's Your Daddy): a father-daughter team from Tacoma, WA. He's a
sales executive. She's a policy analyst.
Kynt Cothron & Vyxsin Fiala (The Dating Goths): dating Goths and
wait staffers from Louisville, KY.
Lorena Segura & Jason Widener (Ebony & Ivory): dating couple from
SoCal. She's a bartender. He's a wedding videographer and actor.
Azaria & Hendekea Azene (Team Fix-It): engineering siblings from
New Orleans.
Kate Lewis & Pat Hendrickson (The God Squad): married lesbian
ministers from SoCal.
Shana Wall & Jennifer McCall (The Blondes): friends from Los
Angeles. Shana's an actress. Jennifer's a legal assistant.
Donald Jerousek & Nicolas Fulks (The Grands): a
grandfather-grandson team from Wisconsin and Chicago. Donald is retired.
Nic is a pilot.
Jennifer Parker & Nathan Hagstrom (Team Cheaters): an
on-the-rocks dating couple from SoCal. She's a student. He's a
volleyball coach.
TK Erwin & Rachel Rosales (The Hippies): also a dating couple,
also from SoCal. He's a substitute teacher. She's a florist.
Marianna & Julia Ruiz (The Miami Heat): sisters from Miami.
Marianna's an art gallery manager. Julia's an office production
assistant.
Ari Bonias & Staella Gianakakos (My Big Fat Greek Couple): dating
restauranteurs from SoCal.
Because you haven't seen
this in a while, here's a refresher of the rules...
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ROUTE INFO |
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These will be the bulk of the Race. Teams
must find Route Markers (red-and-yellow flags) which will
give them info to the NEXT Route Marker. Eventually, this
will lead them to a PIT STOP where they
must rest for 12 hours...and, for the most part, the team
that arrives last will be eliminated. These have to be
followed to the letter, lest teams be incurred a penalty for
non-compliance. |
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DETOUR |
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A choice between two different tasks, each
with its own pros and cons. Both team members must decide to
do one of the tasks. If they cannot do their chosen task,
they MUST do the other. One task MUST be completed before
the next ROUTE INFO is handed out. |
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ROAD BLOCK |
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Only one team member does this task. They're
given a SMALL clue as to what's involved, but they cannot
read the details until they decide which one will do it.
Like the last Race, no one member of a team may do more than
six ROAD BLOCKs during the whole Race. |
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FAST FORWARD |
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There are only two FAST FORWARDs in the
entire Race. If the team chooses to perform it and do so,
they can go straight to the PIT STOP and
bypass all other tasks. A team can only use one FAST FORWARD
during the entire Race, so they have to decide when it's
best to utilize it. |
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YIELD |
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On each leg of the Race (or so says the
official site), a YIELD is placed. A team may use this to
make another team stop for a pre-determined amount of time
(denoted by an hourglass) before they can continue. Any team
can be YIELDed any number of times, but a team may only
utilize a YIELD once during the course of the Race. |
STARTING LINE –
Playboy Mansion, Los Angeles, USA
The 11 teams are being driven to this landmark of... good taste.
When Phil gives the signal, they will race to their bags, pick
up their first clue, and be on their way. There are 11 legs in
the 12th Race, eight of which are elimination stops. Whoever
arrives at the Pit Stop last at one of these will be sent home.
The players will receive cash at the beginning of each leg to
cover expenses except for tickets which are already paid for
(and no upgrading to business class).
And as always, the first team to cross the finish line will win
ONE... MILLION... DOLLARS.
I think I’ll turn this over to Phil now.
“The world is waiting for you.
"Good luck...
"Travel safe...
GO!!”
And… stop. We have a traffic situation at the Playboy Mansion.
After a bit of a stop... and go... and stop again..., we’re
finally on our way. Amazing Race 12 is ON!
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ROUTE INFO |
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Fly to Shannon, Ireland. Then
head to Rosseville Ferry Point to take a ferry to Ins Mor
Island, where you will find Teampall Bheanain. You have $400
for this leg of the Race. |
The cars are already
split into two directions as they head to LAX. A lot of the
teams went right on Sunset, but they were supposed to go left.
This coming from the Blondes.
The players are on the 405 heading to the airport now. All
except for a handful of teams that went the wrong way and ended
up… somewhere else. Lorena & Jason are first to the airport… and
the ticket counter. Shana & Jennifer are #2.
On the British Airways flight (first to leave)
1) Lorena & Jason
2) Shana & Jennifer
3) Kate & Pat
4) Nathan & Jennifer
5) Marianna & Julia
And the flight’s full. So sorry for ya, Azaria & Hendekea, but
it seems like an alliance is in order with Ronald & Christina.
That’s good.
On the Aer Lingus flight (second to leave)
1) Azaria & Hendekea
2) Nicolas & Donald
3) TK & Rachel
4) Ari & Staella
5) Kynt & Vyxsin
6) Ronald & Christina
All of the teams are on their way.
British Airways – Shannon via London
Aer Lingus – Shannon via Dublin
LONDON, UK
The London flight is delayed due to heavy traffic at Heathrow.
Meanwhile, at 12:42p local time, the Aer Lingus flight has made
it to Ireland. And Ari & Staella are the first to hitch a taxi
to Shannon, much to the dismay of Ronald & Christina, who were
ordered TWO taxis, one for them and the other for Azaria &
Hendekea... who is in the second cab in second place.
SHANNON, IRELAND
At the temple, the teams must reserve one of three ferry times
to leave tomorrow morning at 8a, 8:30a, or 9:30a.
Azaria & Hendekea are first at the ferry point. Ronald &
Christina are the second. One by one, the rest of teams arrive,
and we’re level pegging once again. Until one group is told to
take a right to get to the church, and the other is told to take
a left.
Did we mention it was raining? And that Nathan & Jennifer are
arguing about distance running?
Lorena & Jason are first to the church, where they sign up for
the early spots.
FERRIES
8a: Lorena & Jason, TK & Rachel, Kynt & Vyxsin
8:30a: Ari & Staella, Nathan & Jennifer, Azaria & Hendekea
And we have a man down in the form of Donald.
9:30a: Shana & Jennifer, Pat & Kate, Marianna & Julia, Nicolas &
Donald, Ronald & Christina
So now we have a night at a B&B to prepare mentally and
spiritually. Many of the later teams are feeling broken, but not
giving up.
The next morning, we’re on our way to the ferries, taking us to
the next clue, atop each of 11 cars…
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ROUTE INFO |
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Drive yourselves 42 mi to
Cleggan Farm. Then ride a tandem bike through a muddy trail
to your next clue. |
Lorena & Jason are
first off. The Goths are second, followed by TK & Rachel.
Althought Lorena will swear that they’re going the wrong way.
They stop to ask for directors. And it seems like they looped
around the wrong way.
The second ferry arrives to take three more teams to Cleggan
Farm as TK & Rachel are leading, followed by Kynt & Vyxsin.
Nathan & Jennifer are in third, followed by Azaria & Hendekea,
and Ari & Staella. And in dead last... Shana & Jennifer. Next…
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ROUTE INFO |
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Who’s ready to pedal for
their partner? One
person must take a high-wire bike along a windswept ravine
to claim the next clue. The other person must hang by a pole
eight feet below. |
TK & Rachel are the
first to complete the task and get... donkeys!
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ROUTE INFO |
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Choose a donkey from the
hitching post and fill its baskets with 15 pieces of peat.
Then walk your donkey to the entrance of the farm to receive
your next clue. |
It’s a bike race
meanwhile between the Goths and the Cheaters. The Goths arrive
in ... second. Nathan & Jennifer win the micro-race and get
their clue first.
Meanwhile, with TK & Rachel it’s “Won’t you take me to...
Donkeytown.” The Cheaters are in second, Fix-It is in third, and
the Goths drop to fourth. The teams criss-cross into Jason &
Lorena, who are still pedaling their tandem. They arrive in 6th
to the highwire.
Azaria & Hendekea are second, while Nathan & Jennifer are
dragging their dead donkey, fighting all the way, ha ha ha. So
it’s time to push... literally. Things are getting so bad that
other teams are passing them and the captions on the TV screen
are switching AS THEY PASS THEM.
(Shrek) “What are you doing, Donkey?” (/Shrek)
TK & Rachel are first to...
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ROUTE INFO |
PIT STOP
Drive yourselves 13 miles through the Irish countryside to
Connemara Heritage Centre, the Pit Stop for this leg of the
Race.
WARNING: the last team to check in will be eliminated! |
Luckily for Azaria &
Hendekea, they know where it is, because they passed it on the
way here. The Goths are in second, and TK & Rachel are in third.
Meanwhile, it’s back to haulin’ ass.
PIT STOP – Connemara Heritage Centre; Shannon, Ireland
It’s a race to the black mat… and first up, it’s Azaria &
Hendekea. They are officially the first team to check in! And
the Travelocity prize for winning this leg: a trip to Alberta,
Canada.
Meanwhile, Ari & Staella are still… haulin’ ass.
Second Place: Kynt & Vyxsin.
Third Place: TK & Rachel.
Ronald... is singing “Danny Boy” while biking. Lorena & Jason
are leaving, and Nathan & Jennifer are arguing... again. The
Blondes finally arrive at the Roadblock, while Nicolas & Donald
get their Pit Stop clues.
Fourth Place: Lorena & Jason.
The caption typist is having a field day at the donkey trail
with all the place changes
Fifth Place: Nicolas & Donald.
Sixth Place: Shana & Jennifer. “You’re safe.”
Meanwhile, Nathan & Jennifer finally get their ass in gear.
Literally. They arrive at the hitching post in 10th.
Seventh Place: Ronald & Christina
Eighth Place: Kate & Pat
Both teams are all emotional as they come in seconds within each
other.
Crossing cars at the centre mean that this will all come down to
speed…
Ninth Place: Marianna & Julia
Tenth Place: Nathan & Jennifer
Which means... Ari & Staella are the last team to arrive after
stealing a cab to get here. They are the first to be eliminated.
“It just sucks. Karma came back and bit us in the ass.” They may
have pushed each other to the breaking point, but this is as far
as they go in the Race.
After Leg 1: USA to Ireland
1) Azaria & Hendekea – trip to Canada
2) Kynt & Vyxsin
3) TK & Rachel
4) Lorena & Jason
5) Nicolas & Donald
6) Shana & Jennifer
7) Ronald & Christina
8) Kate & Pat
9) Marianna & Julia
10) Nathan & Jennifer
ELIMINATED) Ari & Staella. |
