Amazing Race season 26

Starts later this month

http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/gallery/meet-the-amazing-race-season-26-cast/ss-AA8oOHO#image=1

Looks like a fairly typical line up. Dating couples, married couples, child and parent, gay couple, obsessive athletes, ethnic couples, solo weirdos......should be fun ....

The one twist is that 5 of the teams will not have met each other before the first leg.  A "blind date" scenario. This is the first time they have done this. The predictions are that some of the teams will hit it off and do okay, and others will be at each others throats the whole season.  We'll see...............

http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/

It follows Survivor on the same night.

In contrast to the more "bland" contestants on Survivor, the producers this season have gone with some higher profile contestants. A Navy surgeon, a pediatric nurse, and an ex-member of New Kids on the Block, who of course I never heard of. But the most interesting contestant to me is the female member of one of the "blind date" teams. She is a dead ringer for Amy Adams. She's 12 years younger than Amy but could be her twin sister. It's uncanny. #11 on the team list. She and her partner came in 3rd out of 11, in a grueling 24 hour series of challenges in Tokyo. It exhausted me just watching them. If each episode is as hard as that one it's going to be a rough season. But the next ep looks better, more outside, physical stuff rather than grappling with obscure Japanese cultural things, that took one team (the losers last night) 4 hours to get through ! And that was just one challenge !

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-amazing-race-season-26-gets-underway-with-jonathan-knight/

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-amazing-race/the-amazing-race-are-the-blind-56304.aspx?utm_source=newsletter4-23-15&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email_newsletter

It's funny to watch the bickering among several of the blind date couples. But who I really like are Laura and Tyler.  She is such an Amy Adams double (~10 years younger) that I can't get over it. They finally won a leg and are looking like more formidable competitors for the final three. I hope they get it.

Laura and Tyler won another leg ! First in  Namibia and then in Amsterdam. They are shaping up to be likely top three finishers. One of the tasks that they had to complete in Amsterdam was floating down the canals in  a "floating hot tub" while deciphering clues on the walls of the canal. I guess the hot tub is a standard tourist attraction, I'd never heard of it, but in the 37 deg. weather at the time it wasn't all that comfortable unless they stayed down in the warm water . The tubs have on-board heaters and electric motors for propulsion. I'll see if I can find more info....

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-amazing-race/the-amazing-race-recap-amsterd-56330.aspx

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=amsterdam+hot+tubs&qpvt=amsterdam+hot+tubs&qpvt=amsterdam+hot+tubs&FORM=IGRE

I guess they are a regular thing and not something just cooked up by the AR producers...

Wow !  That final leg was nerve wracking. I wanted Laura and Tyler to win and they were doing good, flying from Peru to Dallas and doing good in the 3 challenges in Dallas, then an incompetent taxi driver almost killed their chances, he knew nothing about Dallas !  But he got directions from another cabbie and they made it to the finish at the Centennial Bridge in first place !    They will split the million $ and will remain good friends but there was no romantic attachment. They were one of the 'blind date' teams.

Of course Laura could go to Hollywood (she's from LA) and become Amy Adams' double, or take over for her completely because no one would notice the difference except she's taller, younger, and more statuesque.

http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/cast/214998/

"What famous person reminds you of yourself? A mix between Cameron Diaz and Kelly Ripa, because they both seem to not take themselves too seriously and enjoy being silly."......WHAT ?  Has she ever looked in a mirror ? Well, maybe those people's personalities are appealing to her....but still....

http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/video/_YI5OXdnTEDK6X1_nny_1CZzJlDFWCZJ/meet-laura-amazing-race-26/

https://www.facebook.com/laura.pierson.944

Here's Laura and Tyler on Entertainment Tonight. She said the first thing she did with her $500 K, before taxes, was to buy a Chanel purse, whatever that is, but probably expensive.