Saturday, January 5, 2013

Day 1 Race in Grand Rapids

Hey this is the day one winners of the Calvin College Amazing Race, Zach Willis and Nick Holtrop (Team Vegas Gold). Yesterday was the first official race centered around the Grand Rapids area and more specifically, Calvin College. We started off the race rather confused as to what a snapdragon flower was, but managed to claw our way into the middle of the pack shortly after.
 (Sorry the picture is blurry....that is Zach holding the snapdragon flower)

We thought we had lost the race when one unnamed member of the Vegas Gold team threw a clue clear out the window of his own car without either of us knowing.  After realizing the next stop was not Jersey Junction (a small ice cream shop in east town), we figured out that the ice cream cone we had tossed out the window had a clue inside. We retraced our steps, found the ice cream cone on the side of the road, tore it open, and went on our way...only to make another mistake.  We began frantically running around woodland mall for a clue that did not exist.  We then looked over the previous clue and realized we were completely wrong.  After being chased down by mall security, we made our way to the correct location, East Brook Lanes.  We then made up some serious ground by throwing a strike and spare consecutively.  After bowling we made our way to the "rival" of Qdoba...Chipotle, where the race was finished.  Starting off in Grand Rapids was very beneficial for the whole group so could get a feel for how the rest of interim would be.  We learned a lot about each other, but more importantly, about others on the trip that will benefit us along the way.  One thing that we felt was incredible about this group of individuals is how the competitive nature everyone brings to the competition is soon lost when the race is over.  Everyone is very open and willing to meet new people.  We are very excited to see what is in store for us on the rest of our adventure!

Here is 1 more picture of Zach at one of the stops....Chuck E. Cheese in Grand Rapids.

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