Surprisingly, Eating Seafood May Have Been Our Race...

Just an adorable team pic in front of the Point Loma sunset to start it off.

So classic.

After staying in another hostel (whose college dorm-esque style may have put Todd's aquarium desk to shame), we headed off to our next challenge.  Subtle hints were dropped that this would involve eating.  And not just eating, but eating without ralphing.  

Turns out we had a trip around China and India (as seen in little areas around Los Angeles). This required us to use chopsticks, do some balance pose (which I did oh so happily),

wear a sari (which Jen did super happily-after the lady tried to convince us we wanted to see the bridal sari....no thanks),

get a tattoo (just henna for now),

and find, buy, and willingly eat seaweed rolls. 

Thankfully there are no videos of the actual eating.  Gonna be honest with you, probably not gonna eat those again anytime soon.  We tried to come up with adequate descriptions...but all we could think of to describe them was death.  So yeah, try them for yourself if you want.  

Upside of the day?  We won.  Another upside?  We're heading to water sports tomorrow...although that may or may not be an upside...

Ridin the Strug-Bus as of Late...

Hello again! Just team Eco Green here reminding you to recycle.  Now that we finally have wifi, just thought we'd update you on our recent adventures...

Notice on our group's blog that the "Eco Green" team was tied for first place as of last Tuesday...well, we may or may not have gotten ahead a little too early. The last couple of races have definitely not been our races. (Also, as a side note about our team name, we were recently dubbed "eco green" by Bob Bondurant's cronies at the race track, although our instructors like to call us "echo green.")

On Tuesday we drove from Phoenix to San Diego, where we are now. On the way, we stopped at a dairy farm to count cows and find mini cows in cotton seed (aka finding needles in a haystack). Turns out neither of those things are our forte. 

We made it to San Diego Tuesday night where we stayed with host families (ours had a jacuzzi...soooo ideal) and woke up early Wednesday for our challenge racing around Downtown San Diego. We had to answer cryptic clues to find places downtown, ultimately leading us to our final destination. Basically we ran around for several hours like chickens with our heads cut off. Turns out that race was not our forte either....

After the race we had a few hours to just walk around downtown San Diego, which was a much needed break since we are still ridiculously sore from running around, climbing mountains, and jumping off cliffs. And we got a little sun....money. 

Then today we went to the San Diego zoo! Luckily we didn't have to run around so much today, but turns out it was just as tough trying to find random animals (and our instructors were the bonus animals...we didn't realize they had disguises on).  Although we are still nervously awaiting the results, we aren't exactly getting our hopes up. But we are fairly confident we can win the photo contest with our submission of this photo: 

Staying in a hostel tonight and off to LA tomorrow! 

BEST DAY EVER

First of all, just a little 6 hour race around Phoenix.  Kinda angry at the people of Old Scottsdale who felt the need to sleep til noon.  Due to the fact that zero stores were open we had to loop back there after Camelback mountain.  Here's how we felt after scaling some 90 degree rockface, tripping over cacti, and being passed by some crazy locals...

Oh yes.  Feeling like champs.  Keep in mind this is at the top - ie we still had to climb back down.  A more accurate description may be that we fell back down.  Following that our legs pretty much fell off (keep in mind we cliff dove yesterday).  We jogged in to the finish (with our alliance for the day - Team Forest Green - we owe them big) where upon we had to eat our scorpion sucker.  Yes.  There was a scorpion in a sucker.  And we ate it.  Like champs round 2.  Just fyi, turns out scorpions have no taste.  

A full day?  Oh no.  It's only 2pm at this point.  What could top that mountain top experience?

This: 

What is this?  Oh, just Jen and I speeding in Corvettes.  Around a speed race track.  Spinning out on all the turns.  It happened.  

Team Eco Green drove with confidence.  And we should.

Race standings based on speed?  Eco Green in 3rd place.  We were literally a dark horse.

And, highlight of the day, Jen's award.

Cone killer.  Yep.  She took those corners like a pro.

Full day?  Well, almost.  Just had to hit up the hot tub and pool at our current location.  Oh yeah, and hear the standings.  What are the standings?

We're tied for first.  So much for being the dark horses. Money.  

A day of literal and figurative highs and lows.

One more thing: Go to calvincollegeamazingrace.blogspot.com and post "Go Jen and Rose!" where it says to support us.  And also, read the blog so you can text us hints!

The Day We Won

Just a little pit stop at the Hoover Dam (and can't forget the Pat Tillman memorial bridge).

Jen=super happy to be there.  Rose=dazed and confused.  That attitude continued with us through the quiz.  A few questions later (Hoover Dam dog mascot, Pat Tillman's alma mater, and Hoover's secretary were a few topics) and we were victors.  Numero uno for the day.  Dominating the mental challenges.  Standard.

A Janky Plane and a Vegas Hostel

The day begins with this plane.

Red Flags

#1. The size (row 9 = back row)

#2. A side light fell on us

#3. Checked luggage ceased to fit in the back and so had to be moved to overhead bins

#4. The heat inside was unable to be controlled (think sauna)

#5. The defroster ceased to function...and it was snowy

Soooo had to hit up a new plane.  Made it to Vegas, around 2am.  Took a stroll on the strip and headed back to our hostel.  Great times - we each had sheets and a blanket if you were willing to risk it.  Only minor issue...didn't know there was a heater and/or the heater was struggling. 

Other than that, the bunk beds were sweet and the homemade breakfast was delish. 

Overall, a sweet start to the race!

Just a Little Race in G-rap

Here we are sitting in the airport....

soooo happy for some Herman's Boy.

Alright, so we got super busy yesterday in between racing super fast and getting flat tires.  So, just a little recap from our scavenger hunt yesterday.  We worked our way through 8 somewhat cryptic clues, though a rock on top of ice cream=cold stone didn't require too much brainpower.  Of course, one bar of musical notes for the McDonalds jingle took a bit longer -- and the help of some Calvin librarians.
It also included Jen getting a strike and Rose getting two spares (only took like 1/2 an hour), combating the elements, identifying flowers, counting chairs at Mickey D's, eating ice cream,  learning about new bands (just a small plug for B52's...not just an oil change place), and making new friends like the one discussed in the video below.

Can't wait to talk to our connections in Phoenix...

Super busy about to board the flight -- more awkward video clips will have to wait.

Day 1: Orientation & Homework Assignments in G-Rap

Had our first "class" today and received rather minimal and obscure instructions:

1. Research how to survive climbing mountains of death, how to play blackjack, and also how to milk a cow. Nbd.

2. Buy a journal. Much more difficult than it sounds. Moleskines know they are seriously ideal and therefore charge an arm and a leg. 

3. Continue mentally preparing for doing "8-10 things that we will never do again in our lives" (direct quote from instructors). Guaren-sheed.

4. Find a swimsuit for "rigorous swimming." Simple. We "may or may not need it for tomorrow's race in GR." Not so simple.