Amazing Race - The Big Finish

Our next stop on this Amazing Race is:

Germany

Detour

Welcome to Germany, land of Saur Kraut and Wiener dogs!

Route

OR

Kraut

You can choose the Route to your next clue by jogging approximately

0.402335 kilometers to a pick up point

OR

Each member of your intrepid team will find and eat a

German Kiss from a pile of Saur Kraut. Oh, hands behind your back!

With their hands behind their back, the team had to fish

a Hershey's kiss out of a plate full of Saur Kraut and eat it

Merrill gives his Mama a German Kiss!

The blue team all ate the kisses and then Rex lost his lunch and couldn't do it.

After all that they had to take the Route by jogging to a pick up point!

Merrill charts the course to...

India

Detour

Namaste!

Welcome to India, a bright and exotic land and home of the Taj Mahal.

I just adore those Bollywood movies! Those movies with their colorful costumes

 and Indian dances really "Bowl Me Over". Maybe they'll bowl you over too!



At this stop each member of the team had to make a strike,

 knocking down all of the peacock bowling pins.

They were the human bowling balls.

The "Ball" sat on a furniture dolly and their team mates sent them down the alley.

We also had a very lovely Bollywood Dancer, but alas,

 she was taking pictures and so she could not be immortalized on film!

Template for the bowling pins

I printed this out on blue paper and added glitter then glued them onto water filled liter bottles.

England

Cheerio and welcome to England.

It's time to cross the English Channel as we make our way towards France.

Don't rock the boat or you may take a dip in the sea and then your bottom

will get wet and that will make for a very uncomfortable bike ride when

you enter the Tour de France in Paris!

The travelers got into their life jackets and headed off across the English Channel.

The team leaders took the oars on the way over.

On the way back they used the trolling motor.

Safely back on shore!

Paris, France

Detour

Bon Jour!

Welcome to beautiful Paris France and our lovely Eiffel Tower.

Here you will participate in our prestigious bike race, The Tour de France.

Half way through the race you will find your next clue.

Retrieve it then return here to drop off your bikes and be on your way.

Their host in France was that same obnoxious French men in a beret and moustache from last year. Wow, what a coincidence!



We have a "Road to Nowhere" in our community. It trails along for about a quarter mile then ends at a locked gate . With no traffic on it, this was the perfect spot to let all the little travelers go for a bike ride.

The next Route Info clue was on the gate. After grabbing it they headed back.

Mexico

Detour

In Mexico we welcome the spirits of our deceased relatives

back to Earth during Dios De Muertos (The day of the dead).

Today we will visit the graves of some of our departed family.

Using the cemetery map to start, first locate the grave of Sarah Prince Butler.

At this stop each team received a bag with a flower, compass, paper and crayons. This leg of the journey was basically a treasure hunt. They performed little tasks at each grave and learned something about each family member along the way.



Clues for graveyard

At Aunt Marge's grave they had to act out what she was the world's greatest fan of.

At Uncle Pop's grave I told how he was every ones favorite Uncle. He was nicknamed

Uncle Pop because he always bought the little kids a pop when they were with him.

The kids drew a picture of one of their favorite Uncles and gave them a nickname.

Grandpa Brown always told funny stories and sang silly songs.

They remembered a favorite song he sang and performed it.

They put a zebra print flower on the grave of Sarah Prince Butler.

The clue asked them to guess where she was born using that flower as a clue.

After performing each task they received clues to the next grave.

They used their compass and physical clues to the next stop.

At Frances Crosby Brown's grave they made a rubbing

 of the inscription on the top of her headstone.

At Grandpa Merrill's grave they found a toy hamburger and envelope along with the clue.

The clue said Grandpa enjoyed taking walks with his grandkids and buying a treat along

the way. They were to take the money in the envelope and go to Dairy Queen and have a treat in memory of Grandpa.

Last Stop

Japan

Detour

Konnichiwa and welcome to Japan, Land of the Rising Sun.

To honor you for taking this Amazing Journey we would like to honor you

in an ancient Japanese Tea Ceremony.

The team was greeted by a geisha who served them a special Amazing Race tea.

The little guys got lemonade.

The big kids got a cup full of melted Warheads otter pops!

Roadblock

Hike

OR

Bike

One Person Participates.

You can only participate once in a road block.

The rickshaw is a unique mode of transportation in Japan.

 The passengers ride in a cart pulled by a bike or by a running man.

One person can deliver every other team member to a drop off point

by rickshaw (wheelbarrow) then push the wheelbarrow back

and then run to the drop off point

OR

All the team can Hike there together as a group with one person dressed as a Sumo Wrestler.

This was the last leg of the journey and it held the possibility of both teams arriving there together. The first team to arrive was able to choose which task to do and the second had to do the remaining.

Our Rickshaw team had to make two trips and then

run a block and a half to a business on Main Street.

Suiting up for the LONG walk!

They found the last clue in the courtyard of a restaurant it said:

Congratulations this is the last leg of your journey.

Head for home and the first team to land on the Amazing Race logo wins!

And the winning team is...

The Blue Team!!!

Winners of the coveted Travelocity Gnome!

And coming in a very close second, the red team!

It was an Amazing day!

Gramma Luvlee