Kris and Amanda were eliminated after a grueling double-leg in Australia on The Amazing Race. We’ll miss them, and their dynamic as one of the few couples in this season. Find out what they have to say about racing again, getting married, and those kangaroo suits!
How did the experience of racing a second time, with all returning teams, compare to your first time on The Amazing Race?
Kris: It was incredible yet a completely different experience this time around. This was everyone’s second shot so we were all there to put up a fight to win. Also, many of the teams were our past castmates so it was really cool to experience this all over again with some people you consider friends.
Amanda: Well all the teams of Unfinished Business are experienced and very competitive racers. Van Munster even said in previous interviews that one of the number one things he was looking for when casting this season was the most competitive teams. No teams were weak links this
season!
Have you set a date for the wedding yet? (Note: we had information that they were “recently engaged” in Season 14, when they were in fact, just dating.)
Kris: I proposed to her this July and we got the call asking us to be on this season literally two weeks later. At first, we were starting to make wedding plans but we decided that with having to prepare for the race and working full time we should push it off until 2012.
Amanda: Initially we attempted to plan our wedding and prepare for the race, while both working full time. Let’s just say we realized quickly that it would be impossible! Prioritizing, we chose to put the wedding plans on the back burner so that we could focus on the race. We decided to
get married sometime in 2012; this way we can take our time planning and enjoy the ride!
What do you think slowed you down the most? Anything you would do differently?
Kris: The U-turn definitely put a stutter in our stride to say the least. If I were to do anything differently I would say that I wish I didn’t get so caught up in the heat of the moment at the starting line and thought things out more clearly. Then we wouldn’t have been doomed by the U-turn again! We had an experience of a lifetime though and I would do it again in a second!
Amanda: I think that not being able to find “To Sail To Stop” slowed us down the most! When we first got that clue, we ran into Gary and Mallory at a cafe looking it up on peoples’ iphones and smart-phones. “To Sail To Stop” wasn’t coming up no matter how we searched it online. So that was when we decided if it wasn’t a person, place, or object, it had to be a riddle. A local recommended that maybe it was the Opera House because many locals refer to the architecture of the building as looking like sails; That is what began the wild hunt to solve a riddle only to find out we didn’t look enough online. Other teams, that were looking it up on computers and could see more of the search results, found that it was a sculpture next to City Hall. Had we only made it on that first flight to the Outback we wouldn’t have been eliminated. We heard we were only 5 minutes at the most behind Ron and Christina and the 1st flight would have definitely put us ahead of at least one other team.
Or, you could also look at it as if we only knew what QANTAS was and didn’t have to do the U-Turn than we wouldn’t have been eliminated either, since that extra task definitely took longer than 5 minutes!
I wouldn’t say that I have regrets though. Kris and I did our best, and considering we were only minutes behind and had the extra task AND were on the second flight, I’d say we did great under the circumstances!
Any other teams you’re rooting for? Anyone you’re rooting against?
Kris: There is no one I am rooting against but if I were to pick a team that I would like to win I would have to say Gary and Mallory. They are just so down to earth and fun to be around.
Amanda: Kris and I really got to know Gary and Mallory well since we were on the same flight to Sydney with just them and Kisha and Jen. We were also with them on the Ferry to Ocean World and then met up with them again while searching for “To Sail To Stop”. We were also rooting for them on Season 17! They’re really sweet and honest people with big hearts! We were rooting for them as well as Mike and Mel, our friends from Season 14.
About the kangaroo suits, how would you describe that part of the challenge. It was a lot of fun to watch!
Kris: Let’s just say I think your spot on the couch was probably more fun than being in that thing! You get so hot! Also, having red clay in your teeth and hopping around a town in a kangaroo suit was just a little embarrassing. All I can say is wow! Haha.
Amanda: Oh gosh the suits! That’s Amazing Race for you though- they always have at least one challenge every season where they just make the contestants look ridiculous! It was also strenuous though- it was pretty hot out that day and we had to go a ways to get to the next
clue- everything always looks so much easier and FASTER on TV!
I was actually hoping that there would have to be more tasks after the detour though. There wasn’t enough activity after the detour for Kris and I to catch up! We just got in our suits, ran a few blocks to the clue box and then went straight to the pit stop.
It was funny to watch! I didn’t know until watching it that Margie dropped part of her costume. The clue actually specifically read that you had to check in with all the pieces of your costume. I knew we were in last place but I was hoping that someone dropped or lost part of
their costume. Watching Mel hand Margie her costume just made me do more of the “what -if” thinking. I think Kris and I just must be meant to have Unfinished Business!
Do you still feel like you have “unfinished business”?
Kris: Well yeah! Lol. Of course I will always wonder what would happen if things played out differently but what an amazing and fun ride both these experiences have been! I just feel so fortunate and lucky to have done this again.
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(image courtesy of CBS)
Photo Album18.02 “I Never Looked So Foolish In My Whole Entire Life”
Writer, BuddyTV
Originally from Seattle, Carla recently took a husband and moved to Austin, Texas, where she is finally using her television “problem” to her advantage. It’s sort of like Dexter, but boring and less murdering. Carla’s favorite shows include 30 Rock, The Amazing Race, Project Runway, Modern Family, anything with murder, and pretty much anything gross and weird (CSI, The Bachelor, Toddlers & Tiaras, etc.). Favorite canceled shows include: Arrested Development, Veronica Mars and Average Joe. In her spare time, Carla leads tours of downtown Austin on a Segway (don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it!), blogs about Netflix Instant, and visits elementary schools telling children they don’t need math to succeed (just kidding, stay in school, kids).
