Recap, Episode 1: The Amazing Race is On!
The Adventure Begins The race began nearly 8000 miles away in New York City. Eleven Teams of two were led into the heart of Central Park. From there, the Teams had no idea where they would be going or what adventures they would encounter. All they had was a limited amount of cash, to be used for all expenses on the first leg of the race, aside from airfare, the only expense they need not worry about. The key to their next destination lay sealed within a yellow envelope waiting for them atop a single set of stairs in the park. Lenny Hudson, partnered with his girlfriend, Karyn Jefferson, described the start as "phenomenal. It was anticipation, it was nervousness, it was excitement--I was scared. It was all of those emotions rolled into one." Host Phil Keoghan signaled the start of the race. The eleven Teams rushed up the concrete steps and ripped open the race envelope. Frank & Margarita Mesa, separated parents from New York looking at this adventure as an opportunity to reconcile, were the first to read the instructions. They were surprised and excited to discover their next destination was Johannesburg, South Africa. The Teams then hurried out of the park and hailed taxis or hopped on subways to JFK Airport. Team Guido Gains Early Lead Joe Baldassare & Bill Bartek, life partners who nicknamed themselves "Team Guido", beat the New York couple in their own backyard and were the first to arrive at the airport. As the race went on, Frank became increasingly frustrated when Team Guido beat him and Margarita every step of the way. When Frank & Margarita reached the terminal just after Joe & Bill, Frank shouted in disgust and disappointment, "We made it second. I totally expected to be first. I was just so pissed. I couldn't believe that they were just standing there with that stupid grin on their face." Much to his wife's amusement, Frank continued to pick on Team Guido's flamboyant choice of clothing. There were three separate flight options from JFK to South Africa. Seating on each one was limited, and the Teams on the last flight would be at a severe disadvantage. The four unlucky Teams relegated to that final flight were mother-and-daughter tandem Nancy & Emily Hoyt; fraternity brothers Kevin O'Connor & Drew Feinberg; engaged couple Paul Alessi & Amie Barsky; and married couple Matt & Ana Robar. As they boarded, Nancy noted, "One of the four of us will probably be the first Team eliminated." After spending the night in Johannesburg, the Teams boarded small commuter planes headed to Zambia. During the flights, their excitement was apparent. Staring out the window, Bill gushed, "This is a trip of a lifetime. And there's a million dollar paycheck at the end of it." Two hours later, the plane landed in Zambia, where the Teams had to decipher a cryptic message to walk the Knife Edge at the "smoke that thunders." With only this clue, they had to figure out where to go. One by one, they discovered their destination--a cliff overlooking the majestic and mighty Victoria Falls. Working mom, Brenda Mehta, partnered with friend Pat Pierce, said, "There was Victoria Falls. I didn't expect it; I didn't know it was there. I didn't know where we were. And I just saw this sight… and I just stopped breathing. Once they located the Knife Edge, Teams found their next Route Marker, telling them to go to a place called Batoka Gorge. Lawyers Beat Grandparents To Fast Forward Hidden somewhere along the route is one Fast Forward clue, which Teams received at the Knife Edge in addition to the Batoka Gorge Route Marker. The trick is, only one Team can capture the Fast Forward in each leg of the race; the Team to find the Fast Forward would proceed directly to the Pit Stop at the end of the leg, bypassing all tasks in between and thereby standing to gain time over their competitors. In this leg, two Teams--L.A. lawyers Rob Frisbee & Brennan Swain and retired couple Dave & Margaretta Groark--choose to race for the prize. The pass was hidden in a rock formation located at the bottom of a ravine several miles away. The hike down was grueling and hazardous. Both Teams hiked down the treacherous path, but ultimately Rob & Brennan got there first. Exhausted, Dave & Margaretta arrived shortly after them. Much to their dismay, the older couple realized they not only lost the Fast Forward, but they had to climb back up the steep ravine. In the far distance above, they could just make out the bridge. "We've got to go back the same damn way," Dave, 64, groaned. Margaretta, 59, looked at her husband in absolute sincerity, "I don't know whether I can." Fitness freak Rob, 27, described climbing out of the ravine as the hardest thing he'd ever done. "I'll be all right," he breathlessly continued, "but I don't think anyone else could've done that." His calculation, however, was wrong. Dave & Margaretta not only recovered and made the hike out, but they went on to beat several younger Teams to the next destination at the top of Batoka Gorge. Con-*test*-('")ants Face Batoka Gorge Swing Finding Batoka Gorge was a challenge. Several Teams got lost, asking for assistance from locals, who'd give directions such as "it's under the big tree"--not very helpful, considering the thousands of trees that lay alongside the dirt roads they traveled. Once they ultimately reached Batoka Gorge, each Team encountered a Detour, which involves a choice between two tasks. No matter which method the Team chose, the Team had to reach the next Route Marker, located at the bottom of the gorge three hundred feet below. To get there, a Team could hike down the gorge (LAND) or take a zipline across it and then free-fall on a rope swing to the bottom (AIR). The first option was easy, but time consuming. The second, however, was only for the adventurous. Bill & Joe were the first to arrive and elected to go by air. All eleven Teams were definitely set for adventure. Every one of them decided to take the harrowing "Air" option, which would save them considerable time over the easier "Land" option. Some enjoyed the experience, others were horrified. Frank encouraged Margarita into jumping by shouting that their sixteen-month old baby daughter would have no problem doing it. Looking over the drop, Margarita psyched herself up, "I'll make it. It's all part of the race. I'm not going to walk, right?" After her swing down, Frank expressed incredible pride in his wife as the two embraced. Texas school teacher Leslie Kellner had little problem jumping, but her teammate and colleague/roommate Kim Smith, whose main fear prior to beginning the race was "dying," had a tougher time. In the end, though, she conquered her fears. Before jumping, Emily wanted to know if "anyone had died doing this?" Her mother, Nancy, would later look back on the experience with satisfaction, "I was patting myself when I got to the bottom. That was, next to childbirth, my finest hour. Absolutely, bar none. I was so proud of myself." Possibly the most terrified of the gorge swing was Paul. He took one look down the gorge and exclaimed, "Are you kidding? I can't do that!" His fiancée, Amie, however, persuaded him to jump. Kevin offered his fraternity brother a different kind of encouragement. "Swing, you fat bastard, swing!" he shouted as Drew dangled in the air over the gorge. At the bottom of the gorge, the Teams received an envelope instructing them to get to Songwe Village, where they would arrive at the first Pit Stop in the race. A Pit Stop is a resting place, where each Team rests for a set period of time, in this case 12 hours, before being allowed to continue on the race. The clue also warned that the last Team to arrive at the Pit Stop would be eliminated from the race. Race to the Finish With the Fast Forward pass, Rob & Brennan checked in first at Songwe Village. Behind them, the rest of the Teams struggled to find the tiny African village. Paul & Amie fought over his inability to read road signs, while Kevin berated Drew for not getting better directions. Ana glanced at her husband and sighed, "Once a moron, always a moron." Matt responded, "But you fell in love with this moron." One by one, the Teams drifted in. Finally, Matt & Ana walked through the village to the clock-in point only to find host Phil Keoghan waiting. Phil informed them they were the last Team to arrive and therefore the first Team eliminated from the race. Saddened, Matt & Ana took the news gracefully. Summing up their experience, Ana said, "I was so proud of myself, and I was really happy, and I was so grateful just to be here. We had a feeling we were gonna be last, but I was just like, 'We got this far, there's nothing to be really upset about right now. We had a great time together. We had a couple of laughs. It was great for us." In a small village overlooking the Zambezi River in Africa, Matt & Ana Robar, the married couple from Simsbury, Connecticut, became the first Team to be eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE.http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/show/week01/story01.shtml
The Adventure Begins The race began nearly 8000 miles away in New York City. Eleven Teams of two were led into the heart of Central Park. From there, the Teams had no idea where they would be going or what adventures they would encounter. All they had was a limited amount of cash, to be used for all expenses on the first leg of the race, aside from airfare, the only expense they need not worry about. The key to their next destination lay sealed within a yellow envelope waiting for them atop a single set of stairs in the park. Lenny Hudson, partnered with his girlfriend, Karyn Jefferson, described the start as "phenomenal. It was anticipation, it was nervousness, it was excitement--I was scared. It was all of those emotions rolled into one." Host Phil Keoghan signaled the start of the race. The eleven Teams rushed up the concrete steps and ripped open the race envelope. Frank & Margarita Mesa, separated parents from New York looking at this adventure as an opportunity to reconcile, were the first to read the instructions. They were surprised and excited to discover their next destination was Johannesburg, South Africa. The Teams then hurried out of the park and hailed taxis or hopped on subways to JFK Airport. Team Guido Gains Early Lead Joe Baldassare & Bill Bartek, life partners who nicknamed themselves "Team Guido", beat the New York couple in their own backyard and were the first to arrive at the airport. As the race went on, Frank became increasingly frustrated when Team Guido beat him and Margarita every step of the way. When Frank & Margarita reached the terminal just after Joe & Bill, Frank shouted in disgust and disappointment, "We made it second. I totally expected to be first. I was just so pissed. I couldn't believe that they were just standing there with that stupid grin on their face." Much to his wife's amusement, Frank continued to pick on Team Guido's flamboyant choice of clothing. There were three separate flight options from JFK to South Africa. Seating on each one was limited, and the Teams on the last flight would be at a severe disadvantage. The four unlucky Teams relegated to that final flight were mother-and-daughter tandem Nancy & Emily Hoyt; fraternity brothers Kevin O'Connor & Drew Feinberg; engaged couple Paul Alessi & Amie Barsky; and married couple Matt & Ana Robar. As they boarded, Nancy noted, "One of the four of us will probably be the first Team eliminated." After spending the night in Johannesburg, the Teams boarded small commuter planes headed to Zambia. During the flights, their excitement was apparent. Staring out the window, Bill gushed, "This is a trip of a lifetime. And there's a million dollar paycheck at the end of it." Two hours later, the plane landed in Zambia, where the Teams had to decipher a cryptic message to walk the Knife Edge at the "smoke that thunders." With only this clue, they had to figure out where to go. One by one, they discovered their destination--a cliff overlooking the majestic and mighty Victoria Falls. Working mom, Brenda Mehta, partnered with friend Pat Pierce, said, "There was Victoria Falls. I didn't expect it; I didn't know it was there. I didn't know where we were. And I just saw this sight… and I just stopped breathing. Once they located the Knife Edge, Teams found their next Route Marker, telling them to go to a place called Batoka Gorge. Lawyers Beat Grandparents To Fast Forward Hidden somewhere along the route is one Fast Forward clue, which Teams received at the Knife Edge in addition to the Batoka Gorge Route Marker. The trick is, only one Team can capture the Fast Forward in each leg of the race; the Team to find the Fast Forward would proceed directly to the Pit Stop at the end of the leg, bypassing all tasks in between and thereby standing to gain time over their competitors. In this leg, two Teams--L.A. lawyers Rob Frisbee & Brennan Swain and retired couple Dave & Margaretta Groark--choose to race for the prize. The pass was hidden in a rock formation located at the bottom of a ravine several miles away. The hike down was grueling and hazardous. Both Teams hiked down the treacherous path, but ultimately Rob & Brennan got there first. Exhausted, Dave & Margaretta arrived shortly after them. Much to their dismay, the older couple realized they not only lost the Fast Forward, but they had to climb back up the steep ravine. In the far distance above, they could just make out the bridge. "We've got to go back the same damn way," Dave, 64, groaned. Margaretta, 59, looked at her husband in absolute sincerity, "I don't know whether I can." Fitness freak Rob, 27, described climbing out of the ravine as the hardest thing he'd ever done. "I'll be all right," he breathlessly continued, "but I don't think anyone else could've done that." His calculation, however, was wrong. Dave & Margaretta not only recovered and made the hike out, but they went on to beat several younger Teams to the next destination at the top of Batoka Gorge. Con-*test*-('")ants Face Batoka Gorge Swing Finding Batoka Gorge was a challenge. Several Teams got lost, asking for assistance from locals, who'd give directions such as "it's under the big tree"--not very helpful, considering the thousands of trees that lay alongside the dirt roads they traveled. Once they ultimately reached Batoka Gorge, each Team encountered a Detour, which involves a choice between two tasks. No matter which method the Team chose, the Team had to reach the next Route Marker, located at the bottom of the gorge three hundred feet below. To get there, a Team could hike down the gorge (LAND) or take a zipline across it and then free-fall on a rope swing to the bottom (AIR). The first option was easy, but time consuming. The second, however, was only for the adventurous. Bill & Joe were the first to arrive and elected to go by air. All eleven Teams were definitely set for adventure. Every one of them decided to take the harrowing "Air" option, which would save them considerable time over the easier "Land" option. Some enjoyed the experience, others were horrified. Frank encouraged Margarita into jumping by shouting that their sixteen-month old baby daughter would have no problem doing it. Looking over the drop, Margarita psyched herself up, "I'll make it. It's all part of the race. I'm not going to walk, right?" After her swing down, Frank expressed incredible pride in his wife as the two embraced. Texas school teacher Leslie Kellner had little problem jumping, but her teammate and colleague/roommate Kim Smith, whose main fear prior to beginning the race was "dying," had a tougher time. In the end, though, she conquered her fears. Before jumping, Emily wanted to know if "anyone had died doing this?" Her mother, Nancy, would later look back on the experience with satisfaction, "I was patting myself when I got to the bottom. That was, next to childbirth, my finest hour. Absolutely, bar none. I was so proud of myself." Possibly the most terrified of the gorge swing was Paul. He took one look down the gorge and exclaimed, "Are you kidding? I can't do that!" His fiancée, Amie, however, persuaded him to jump. Kevin offered his fraternity brother a different kind of encouragement. "Swing, you fat bastard, swing!" he shouted as Drew dangled in the air over the gorge. At the bottom of the gorge, the Teams received an envelope instructing them to get to Songwe Village, where they would arrive at the first Pit Stop in the race. A Pit Stop is a resting place, where each Team rests for a set period of time, in this case 12 hours, before being allowed to continue on the race. The clue also warned that the last Team to arrive at the Pit Stop would be eliminated from the race. Race to the Finish With the Fast Forward pass, Rob & Brennan checked in first at Songwe Village. Behind them, the rest of the Teams struggled to find the tiny African village. Paul & Amie fought over his inability to read road signs, while Kevin berated Drew for not getting better directions. Ana glanced at her husband and sighed, "Once a moron, always a moron." Matt responded, "But you fell in love with this moron." One by one, the Teams drifted in. Finally, Matt & Ana walked through the village to the clock-in point only to find host Phil Keoghan waiting. Phil informed them they were the last Team to arrive and therefore the first Team eliminated from the race. Saddened, Matt & Ana took the news gracefully. Summing up their experience, Ana said, "I was so proud of myself, and I was really happy, and I was so grateful just to be here. We had a feeling we were gonna be last, but I was just like, 'We got this far, there's nothing to be really upset about right now. We had a great time together. We had a couple of laughs. It was great for us." In a small village overlooking the Zambezi River in Africa, Matt & Ana Robar, the married couple from Simsbury, Connecticut, became the first Team to be eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE.