Which Way To Tallahassee?
#3 of The Amazing Race 3
Previously on the Amazing Race, after searching through a motel and running through the streets of North Carolina, the teams developed an appetite for pastries... sort of. The winners were beneficial friends, Felix & Toby. Everyone else was pretty much a loser, but only one team could be sent home and yesterday, it was the parade organizers, Mitchell & Robin. Which team will slip into last today? Find out here on... the Amazing Race.
***
"Yesterday's finish line is today's starting line," Toner, the host, says. "Teams always depart in the same order they arrived starting with the winners..."
Toby takes the tip from the clue box and hands it to his partner. "We're going to Florida!" Felix squeaks.
Specifically, Tallahassee, Florida. This city is known for being the capital of a peninsula, as well as the home of many law firms and being the center of trade as well as agriculture. Teams must motorcycle to Jacksonville, North Carolina and get seats on the next flight there. Once they land, they must make their way to Lake Henrietta Park to find their next tip.
The beneficial friends quickly take the lead as the officers leave next.
"'There's nothing more great than the Sunshine State...'" Nick ponders over what the tip means.
"Florida," Judy realizes. "Have you ever driven a motorcycle before?"
"No. But how hard can it be?"
Once the officers hop on to ride, the cab drivers, Vito & Donna, quickly catch up. "I'm so glad my dad taught me to ride these things when I was younger!" Vito shouts.
"What?!" Donna yells. "I can't hear you over the engine!!"
The rest of the teams quickly get the tip and begin to motor their way to the airport, with Kaleb & Mac still behind. "I can't believe we finished last yesterday!" Mac says. "For sure we're going to get stuck on flight two!"
"Don't get negative on me, son," Kaleb replies. "We can still catch up. Plus, there's going to be other teams on the flight with us so technically we'll be TIED for last."
Once they arrive, they see eight other teams and realize that flight one has already departed with eight other teams (Felix & Toby, Nick & Judy, Vito & Donna, Josee & Ryan, Max & Lucius, Karen & Carol, Cal & Ren, and Carla & Carrie). This leaves the other teams on flight two, which won't leave for another hour.
***
The first eight teams land in Florida at 12:36pm. Tips still in paw, they quickly find taxis and make their way to the park. The cab drivers, not surprisingly, pull into the lead and make it there first. "Yes! First place!" Vito says, accent heavy.
That's when another taxi crashes into the back of theirs. "What the?" Donna asks.
The doors open and the officers come out, their heads spinning. "I told you it was a bad idea to willingly get into a taxi driven by a drunkard," Judy rants. "I'm just surprised we made it out alive." She walks over to the clue box and gets their next instructions. "It's a Roadblock: 'Picture perfect'?"
For this Roadblock, whichever teammate didn't eat donuts in North Carolina must draw a portrait of their partner in front of Lake Henrietta. Once they do, a local artist (beige coyote) will hand them the next tip.
"This will be easy," Carrie says, "I've been drawing since I was a kid."
"If you say so." Carla stands in front of the lake in what her partner would call a perfect pose.
"How are you with drawing?" Cal asks.
Ren gets a sketchpad and pencil. "It shouldn't be that hard. Now, stand still." Karen, Felix, Vito, Josee, Max, and Nick soon start the challenge.
"Honey, you have to turn it the other way," Ryan points out. "That way is a landscape and you have to draw a portrait."
Josee nearly breaks a pencil before she breaks a smile and says, "Ry, aren't you supposed to just stand there and pose?"
"How do I look?" Lucius asks, anxious.
"I'm almost done..." Max adds a few more details to his drawing. "... Finished!" He hands the coyote judge the drawing, which he approves, and he gives the emperors their next tip. "It's a One-Way: 'Down, down, down to the lake so round where your next clue is found'?"
Teams must take canoes down the river all the way to Lake Munson where their next tip awaits.
"Done." Nick hands his partner's portrait in and gets approval. "To the river!"
"You don't have to say it like a cheesy adventurer," Judy says.
"Well, yeah, but this is an adventurous show." Vito completes a portrait of Donna next, then Felix finishes his of Toby.
"Didn't you used to tell me you took art lessons?" the tiger asks.
"A few times," Felix says. "Now c'mon, homie."
The first four teams are in a fight for first. Meanwhile, flight two has landed and the battle to come out of last place has already begun before it got started. The nine team race to find taxis and make it to Henrietta Park.
By the time they start to arrive at the lake, Karen & Carol have already finished. "Uh-oh, looks like the others have arrived," Karen observes.
"We need to hurry," Carol says. They get in a canoe and start paddling after the others in the lead.
"Make sure to get my good side, ok?" Parker asks.
"Would I let you down?" Chloe asks. She starts drawing.
Cinnamon helps guide his partner into the perfect position for him to draw him in. "You want me standing like this?" Pepper asks. Cinnamon nods and begins to outline Pepper.
Chris puts on his serious face, making it hard for Zack to concentrate. "Umm... do you mind giving me a smile?" the fox asks.
"This is a race," Chris points out, "we don't have time to goof around." Zack then groans.
"Hold on..." Majira gets out his favorite pair of sunglasses and his purple scarf. He puts them on saying, "Ok, now I'm ready."
Echo chuckles. "Alright. If you say so."
Arnold focuses a little more on details of his pal, using his pencil to mark proportion lines. "Almost done, Bert," he says. "Just need to make a few more marks..."
Sindy just fidgets around while Sally whistles a happy tune as she draws away. "Are you almost done?" Sindy asks. Her tone isn't exactly rude, but it's teetering on the edge of it.
Sally shakes her head no. "Not yet. Anyways, what're you worried about? We're not in last place."
"We were tied for last an hour ago."
"How's it lookin'?" Daisy asks. Sa'mone doesn't reply. Once she's in something, she focuses on that one task only; which makes her a good employee at the café. "I'm thinking about dying my fur again."
"Why would you want to do that?" Sa'mone asks, not taking her eyes off the page.
Daisy just shrugs. "I don't know. Just thinking about it."
April takes her time drawing Maggie, as if she wasn't about to come in last yesterday. "I'm so happy you're doing this," Maggie states. "I'm not very good at art; I usually leave one of my sons to do that sort of thing."
"Well, you're lucky I taught a drawing class for two years before I became a housemother," April says.
Mac has his father sit down on the edge of the lake to make it easier to sketch him. "What position do you want me in?" Kaleb asks.
"Just sit there and don't move," Mac says.
With the teams occupied with the Roadblock, some are already starting to finish; starting with the daters. Josee hands in her sketchpad.
"Wow, babe, you drew me good," Ryan compliments.
"I'm done with Parker's portrait," Chloe states. She hands it to the coyote and he approves.
"Done!" Ren signs his picture of Cal and hands it over. "Huh, canoeing. Have we done that before?"
"We're about to now," Cal says. The YouTubers, Marines, and strippers finish soon enough, leaving six still struggling to come out of last.
Zack squeals. "This is so fun!!!"
"Calm down. We're still not in first yet." Chris pushes the canoe in the water and grabs the ores. "Now start rowing with me."
His partner scoffs. "You're never fun, you know that?"
"Not true. Remember that time we went to that bar to celebrate a fellow marine's birthday? I had a wicked stage dive after I won that karaoke contest."
"It was one stage dive," Zack mutters.
Cal, because of his weight, carefully steps in his canoe before Ren does. "Whew. For a second I thought this thing wouldn't even hold the both of us."
"That's ridiculous," Ren says. "Although, this is one provided by Toner..." He stomps his boot down and they hear a crack. Water starts squirting through the bottom and it splashes on his leg. "Paddle! Quickly!" And they do just that.
Carla & Carrie and Kaleb & Mac finish the Roadblock next. Meanwhile, the officers, cab drivers, beneficial friends, and emperors are still in the lead.
"How come we haven't done this sort of thing before?" Judy asks. "You'd think within a city so big it's be offered."
Nick shrugs his shoulders. "I guess the only possible place to canoe is in Tundra Town because of all the glaciers."
"We're almost in first, Donna!" Vito exclaims. "Just need to get past these officers."
"Sweet!" Donna pants from all the paddling. "By the way, what accent is that? I never really knew."
"It's a bit Scottish but I have a little British in there." It's a bit different from Donna's New York accent; they knew that.
Behind them is the emperors. "We're almost there, Max," Lucius says. "Put your back into it; we can still come in first."
"I hope so," Max pants. He's looking a bit exhausted from canoeing a mile down the river.
"Come on, Ryan, we're still behind." Josee paddles hard, still seeing a possible win in her sights.
"You can relax, sweetie, it's not like we're going to come in last," Ryan points out. Josee rolls her eyes and keeps up her pace.
"I don't think I've ever worked this hard in my life." Majira starts to become sweaty, and they're only halfway down the river. "Oh no, I'm all sticky and sweaty."
"Hopefully the next challenge isn't another physically demanding activity," Echo says. They seem to be doing ok, though... for YouTubers.
Meanwhile, back at the park, the last four teams are finishing the Roadblock.
Bert hands the coyote the portrait Arnold drew of him. "Nice job," the wolf says. "But you kind of exaggerated my eyes and muzzle a little bit."
"Sorry," Arnold says. "Drawing lupines isn't exactly my strongest forte."
"Oh, that's ok."
"Nerd," Daisy mutters. "You finished yet."
"Mhm." Sa'mone nods and shows her partner what she drew.
"Not bad, my friend. Not bad at all." The baristas catch up, leaving the mothers and telephone operators behind.
Sindy, at this point, is chewing on her claws. When Sally gives her sketchpad to the coyote for approval (and he does), Sindy quickly grabs her paw and runs the two over to the canoes.
April, despite being in last, makes no rush as she puts on the finishing touch in her picture of Maggie. "And... done!" The two give the judge the pad and they head over to the canoes, not minding the fact they're in last.
"Woah, dude, slow down some," Pepper says. "I know it's a race but we don't have to overwork ourselves." Cinnamon says sorry in sign language. "It's fine. You know what they say: 'Slow and steady wins the race'."
The officers finally make it to the shore of the lake first where the next clue box awaits. "'Take the canoe and fortage your way to where the kids go to stay'," Nick reads.
Teams must carry their canoe over their head all the way up to Oak Ridge Elementary School, the next checkpoint in the whole race. The last team to show up could be heading home.
Nick & Judy lifts their canoe out of the water just as the cab drivers show up, looking determined to win. "C'mon, Judy!"
Vito & Donna quickly catch up to them. All the way up Crawfordville Road, the two teams run as fast as they can to catch first place. Donna can already taste victory. That is, until they turn right onto Ross Road and see Toner with the gold carpet out.
"Well, well, well officers, you're in first place," Toner declares. "Which means the cab drivers will have no choice but to settle for second."
Nick throws the canoe to the side. "Sweet! We finally did it!" And feeling in a teasing mood, he adds, "Hey, cabbies! Need to victory dance? Oh wait, you can't. Because you didn't win."
Donna curls her fists back and let's out a small snarl.
***
"Yes! There's the tip!" Ren shouts. His and Cal's canoe is halfway filled with water at that point. They jump out and onto the ground, half wet. "Oak Ridge Elementary, let's go!" The two run off.
Felix & Toby make it to the carpet in time. "Third place," Toner says.
"Awesome!" Toby cheers, then hugs Felix.
Josee & Ryan- 4th place
Cinnamon & Pepper- 5th place
Kaleb & Mac- 6th place
The telephone operators somehow manage to pull ahead. But the mothers and baristas are still falling behind. "We're never going to catch up are we?" Sa'mone asks.
"Don't be a Negative Nancy," Daisy retorts. "Besides, it's not like we're in last place."
April overhears that and nudges Maggie, motioning that they need to go faster. A fire gets lot under them, prompting them to go faster. They pull ahead, surprising the baristas.
"What in the world?" Daisy asks. "I thought they were the weakest team here."
Back at the checkpoint, Toner greets more teams.
Echo & Majira- 7th place
Max & Lucius- 8th place
Carla & Carrie- 9th place
Karen & Carol- 10th place
"And if it isn't Ren & Cal..." Toner pushes them to the ground before they can step on the carpet. "You guys have a penalty to serve."
"What?!" Cal asks. "What for?!"
"The tip said to fortage your canoe all the way here. Yet, you two are lacking a canoe."
"Yeah, because it sank to the bottom of the lake!" Ren yells.
"Don't care. You two broke your own canoe and we have the footage to prove it. 20 minutes; now step aside."
Arnold & Bert make it to the other side of the lake. "Well, that was exhausting," Bert says. "Now let's go check in." They run as the magicians arrive.
"This is getting easy," Chloe remarks. She helps Parker get the canoe over their heads and they run off.
Chris & Zack finish the One-Way next. "We seriously are still behind," Chris complains. "When are you ever going to take this game seriously?" He lifts the canoe up and starts running.
"I am taking it seriously," Zack says. "You're barely letting me do anything. Even now, you're not letting me help carry out boat."
Chris groans. "Fine, then help." And his partner does.
Sindy & Sally are close behind them. "I hope we're not too late," Sindy says.
"What? No way," Sally says. "The mothers are still in the lake." She grabs her paw and pulls her and their canoe down the road.
Chris & Zack- 11th place
Chloe & Parker- 12th place
Arnold & Bert- 13th place
2:16
2:15
2:14
Ren hastily paces in front of the carpet. When another team shows up, their hearts race faster.
"14th place," Toner announces.
"That was close," Sindy relaxes. When the two step off the carpet, it just makes the team still waiting more anxious.
"Surely our penalty must be up," Ren suggests.
"Not yet. And oh, here come the mothers and baristas..." Toner's comment makes their heads snap the other direction.
April & Maggie struggle to keep ahead and even slip behind Sa'mone & Daisy for a second. But they pull back ahead. This is going to be some photo finish. They keep switching back and forth for the non-last position.
Ren & Cal look at the carpet and then Toner.
00:03
00:02
00:01
"Penalty up!" Toner says instantly. The two quickly hop on. "Fifteenth place." Then another team follows suit. "Mothers, you've come in sixteenth."
"Whew!" April says.
The final team then collapses on the carpet. "Sa'mone, Daisy, I'm sorry. But as the last team to arrive, you're eliminated."
"Awwww shucks," Daisy says. She pulls her partner to her feet and the two walk off together.
"Whatever." Toner rolls his eyes. "I never expected those two to do good in this race anyways."
***
"Well," Daisy finally says, "I've have fun. I never went canoeing or been to a military base before, so that's cool."
"The money would've been nice, though," Sa'mone sighs. "We don't really get much doing our job. But I'll admit it was cool getting to do this with you."
"That's the spirit! Now how about we go home and I'll make you that special tea you like."
"Sounds awesome."