TAR: City of Roses

Amazing Race
You Look Like Peter Pan

Going into this final leg, I have no idea how the frat boys made it this far. I’ve been upset at some of the teams that have won in the past, since I found them to be horrible people (Flo from season 3), I wouldn’t be thrilled if the frat boys won. I don’t feel they deserve it. They made tons of mistakes on their own and only got by when other teams made worse mistakes that were out of character for them. The frat boys make mistakes constantly. Team S&M actually play decently as a team when Tina isn’t screeching at Ken. They even got along just dandy for a while. I really wanted Toni & Dallas to win, but they were gone after last week’s goof with the passport being left in the cab. I was given a link last week that told the entire story that Dallas had to get his mike changed and the production guys had unclipped his belt, which he didn’t realize at the time. It sounds like it was the production team’s fault for doing that to him. He also switched cabs and it wasn’t until he got out of the second cab that he realized that he didn’t have his passport. He had left it in the first one. It wasn’t a case of not running after the cab, but actually not being anywhere near the one that he left it in. That really sucks! Someone did turn their passports into the American embassy so they weren’t stranded in Russia. With my favorite team gone, I’m rooting for the siblings. They were annoying at times, but they were entertaining to watch and played decently. Let’s see what happens!

The order in which teams left the pit stop:

  • Nick & Starr (siblings) – 10:56 pm
  • Andrew & Dan (frat guys) – 2:28 am
  • Ken & Tina (Team S&M) – 3:30am

Clue: Teams had to fly to their final destination city of Portland. Once there, they had to drive to an adventure camp called Tilikum to find their next clue.

That’s where I live! I had no idea they were here. When did this happen? How did I miss this? Now I can provied inside scoop on the places they visited.

Airport Fun Times

Starr talked about being sleep-deprived, but thought that the adreneline would help propel them through the final leg since it was for the million dollars. They arrived at the airport and found a flight leaving at 7:05 am that connected in Frankfurt. The frat guys got their clue and Dan managed to pronounce Oregon wrong. I was waiting for someone to do it. Starr said it right! The frat boys were at the airport trying to decide if they should take a flight connecting out of Munich or Frankfurt when Team S&M finally left the pit stop. I had no idea it took them an hour to locate the clue box after they were first on the mat with the frat boys. That is a long time to not find something that looked like it was across the street. Tina did say Oregon right so that was good. The frat boys ended up on the same flight as the siblings. While at the airport, the siblings were looking up information on the adventure camp they were headed to outside of Portland. Starr was saying they were going to rock at whatever they were going to do there. Team S&M got the same flight so no airport drama.

Portland, Oregon

The siblings were the first ones in a cab heading to Newberg where the adventure park was located. Team S&M were behind them with the frat boys in last place. The frat boys got into a cab where the driver didn’t know where Newberg was located. He was on the phone with his dispatch trying to get directions. The siblings got a cab driver that got them to Newberg, but he got lost getting to Tilikim. Team S&M arrived there first and found a detour.

Tilikum

Detour: In High and Dry, teams had to climb up a tree, walk across a 40-foot log and then jump  to a trapeze bar to get one half of their next clue. If a team member fell off at any point before grabbing the clue, they had to start over again. In Low and Wet, teams had to walk 850 feet across the water on log bridges which looked like two logs tied to each other. The clue was waiting on the other side.

Team S&M picked High and Dry. The siblings arrived soon afterwards and also picked High and Dry. The frat boys were still in a cab going somewhere. Team S&M picked the High and Dry detour because they thought it’d be quicker and easier, even though Tina is scared of heights. How does that make sense? I’d go fall in the water off the logs. The siblings arrived. After Ken was all harnassed up, he started climbing the tree. Nick decided he would go first on his team. Nick was flying up the tree when Ken was about to walk across the log. Ken was a bit unsteady at first, but then he made it across, jumped to the trapeze bar and grabbed the clue. Nick made it to the log at that point. Andrew had borrowed the cab driver’s cell phone to call Tilikum and get directions.  Tina was having trouble keeping her helmet on her head. The chin strap didn’t seem to be on very well. It kept hanging on her neck. Starr started climbing up the tree pretty quickly. Starr got up to the log while Ken was telling Tina she was costing them time whenever she stopped to put the helmet on back on her head. Did he not see it was choking her? She was still climbing up the tree. I think aruging kept her from being scared though.  Starr made it across the log where she had to jump while Tina was fiddling with her helmet at the far end of the log, trying to get the helmet off but couldn’t get it undone. The frat boys were still driving but possibly getting closer. Starr jumped to the trapeze bar and got the clue. Tina was freaking out about walking across the log. She hadn’t started walking yet. The siblings opened up their next clue.

Clue: The teams had to make their way to the Bridge of the Gods. Once there, they would have to take a zip line to the island below to recieve their next clue.

While the siblings ran back to the parking lot to head to the next place, Tina was at the end of the log freaking out about jumping to get the clue. Then she finally jumped and got it no problem. Both of those teams were in their cabs taking off and the frat boys hadn’t shown up yet. They finally arrived and picked High and Dry. Andrew went first up the tree and was making his way across the log, when the siblings’ driver missed the exit for the bridge. While they were turning around, Team S&M took the correct exit. Andrew jumped to grab the clue without grabbing the trapeze first. Dan cruised across and almost missed the trapeze when he jumped, but he got it.

Bridge of the Gods

Tina was up on the bridge freaking out again about heights and stuff while Ken was super excited to go down the zip line. Tina went first. The siblings had arrived at the bridge and were looking to make their way up to the top of it. Ken took off around the time that the siblings got up there. Team S&M went to get the next clue.

Clue: Teams had to use their memory to answer one question about each of the ten previous legs. The teams had to pick one game board and then uncover the numbers in order. Under each number would be a symbol that related to route info, road block, detour or pit stop. They would then enter a field that had 150 clue boxes and have to find the picture that related to the symbol of each leg. Once they get 10 correct pictures, they would get their next clue.

Team S&M began with route info for leg one, which was the coffee cart. They went searching for clues from that leg and found the rope they had to climb. When they put it on the board, it buzzed wrong at them so they searched some more. They finally remembered it was the coffee cart and found that picture. They continued on with the second clue, which was the detour. That would have been rolling the boats on the beach. The siblings had gone down the zip line and were working on the first one. Nick remembered what it was right away and they went looking for the picture. For the third leg, it was the road block, which was wrestling. The siblings thought they had the correct first picture, but they had grabbed the steps that the frat boys climbed on their hands and knees from the detour. They went off searching again. The frat boys were asking their cab driver to driver faster than 50 since they were on the freeway. It looked like he was going 40. He was a winner! The siblings finally got the right first picture while Team S&M got the correct third picture. Team S&M saw the 4th clue was for the pit stop, but they thought it was route info. The siblings found the boat picture and ran back to the board. Team S&M grabbed the rope knot on the dock, which was not the correct picture. They realized it was the pit stop picture and went looking. The siblings found the wrestling picture and were looking for the sheep from the pit stop in New Zealand. The siblings found that one and had caught up with Team S&M.

On the road, the frat boys borrowed the cell phone to call the Oregon Visitor’s Center to get directions. They got the exit number. They were headed the right way, but they just had a slow driver. Back at the puzzle, the siblings were looking for route info for leg six. I guess we didn’t get to see leg five. It was the Ambassador Hotel in India. Starr knew it and they were looking for it. Team S&M were on the same one. Ken said he thought it was the hotel and Tina told him he was wrong. She hadn’t seen any pictures of hotels. Wasn’t that one of the first pictures they looked it? I thought it was a hotel. The siblings found it and it was one of the first boxes Team S&M opened when they started the entire puzzle board. Ken found the right picture. Tina said it was wrong but they could try. Oh surprise, it was right!

The frat boys finally arrived at the bridge! The siblings were on looking for the pit stop in Kazakhstan. The siblings thought it was Russia so they went to get that picture. Team S&M were actually looking for the right picture. They were looking for the chapel in Moscow for the ninth leg. Team S&M found the right one and were looking for the road block on the last leg while the siblings were looking for the right picture for the chapel. The siblings got the right picture and were looking for the last picture. The siblings found Lenin’s head first and were running back. There was a pause before they got their final green light. They ran off to the parking lot to find their next clue.

Clue: Teams had to travel by taxi to downtown Portland and find the Portland Building (I didn’t know that building had a name). They had to search the area for a green dinosaur, which was across the street and find their next clue.

The siblings got into their cab while Team S&M were finishing up and getting their clue. The frat boys arrived at the puzzle board and started. The siblings and Team S&M were borrowing cell phones and trying to find information out about the green dinosaur. Seriously, the green dinosaur isn’t anything. It is just something random in an office building downtown that the production team must have ran past and threw it into a route marker clue. Team S&M passed the siblings on the freeway. Starr started freaking out. The siblings passed Team S&M on the freeway.  They were right next to each other downtown and then their cabs went in different directions. They both assumed they were lost, but the cabbies were just taking them in different ways to get to the same building. The siblings arrived to the location first and saw the green dinosaur right away. They ran into the building and up to the floor where they saw it in the window. Team S&M were stuck in some kind of traffic getting to the building. Tina said the traffic was horrendous. No it wasn’t. They should see it in afternoon rush hour. The siblings got to the clue box.

Clue: Teams had to make their way to Alder Street and find the food cart from the last country they visited.

The siblings were running out of the building right when Team S&M finally found the Portland building. The siblings asked someone how to get to Alder Street and then they ran off, successfully hiding from Team S&M who were trying to find the green dinosaur. Team S&M ran into the City Hall building and ask the security guard if he knew where the green dinsosaur was located. He thought he saw one at the Standard building so they went to go look. They found it and the clue box. They got directions to Alder and ran off. The siblings found Alder, but had to ask where the food carts were located. Team S&M got directions to the food carts from someone too once they had found Alder. The siblings found the food carts and Starr identified a cart as Russian based on the flag until Nick pointed out it was Italian. Oh boy. They found the cart that was labeled Russian food and got their next clue.

Clue: Teams had to find the place with the magic in the hole. That was Voodoo Doughnuts.

Starr started yelling at people asking where the magic in the hole was, which was hilarious to watch. One guy knew it was the slogan for Voodoo Doughnuts and directed them in the right direction. Team S&M found the food carts.  They asked some lady where Voodoo was located and she had seen the siblings leave. She told Team S&M that the siblings took the long way around so she told them the quicker way to go. The siblings found Voodoo Doughnut first. They didn’t even get to go inside and eat a donut! How sad. Their donuts are crazy insane.

Clue: Teams had to make their way to Pittock Mansion and follow the markers to the finish line.

The siblings looked for a taxi while Team S&M found the donut shop. They went looking for a cab too. They were in different points on Burnside Road, but couldn’t find a taxi. You gotta call one. They don’t really roam around. Both teams were near hotels. I had no idea why they didn’t go inside and ask for them to call one. One cab drove by with someone in it. Ken jumped out and said he would pay $50 if the person would get out and they could take the cab. The cab driver yelled at him and drove off.  The siblings finally found one and drove off while Team S&M kept looking and ran by a place I was drinking at last Saturday night. Team S&M found a cab too and headed off. Oh frat boys must have been very far behind since they just weren’t being shown anymore.  Team S&M were praying about making it to the finish line. Starr was freaking out about each stop light. A cab pulled up to Pittock Mansion and the siblings were the first one across the finish line! Team S&M came in second place. Ken brought out their wedding rings saying that they had been separated and not wearing their rings but he put her wedding ring back on her. And a million years later, the frat boys showed up.

Final rankings:

  1. Nick & Starr (siblings)
  2. Ken & Tina (Team S&M)
  3. Andrew & Dan (frat guys)
2 Comments

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.