Is the race really only at the halfway point? It’s been so slow, it feels like longer. The teams traveled to Abu Dhabi (or Abu Dubai, depending on who you ask…) where the teams got their first clues at a mosque and made awkward comments about being in the Middle East.

“This is weird, my girlfriend has to cover her head and isn’t allowed to run,” and “Not all Muslim people are bad!” pretty much paraphrases it.

Sort It Out vs. Sew It Up

Sort It Out was a tedious task – sorting different kinds of dates and assembling a platter in a particular way. The dates were all really similar, and I thought the challenge seemed time consuming. Most of the teams chose the dates, where Tim and Marie’s fighting drove everyone nuts. The baseball wives grew on me a little when they said they’d been embarrassed of their fellow Americans, who were causing a ruckus in someone’s workplace.

Jason and Amy, and Travis and Nicole, chose the other challenge where they had to sew up a fishing net. Jason and Amy were the first team at either challenge to finish up. The Afghanimals, who’d arrived in Abu Dhabi first, finished the date tray first and moved on, followed by Travis and Nicole with the nets. Nets definitely seemed easier than dates.

The baseball wives finished last and just missed a departing yacht with two other teams on it. Tough break, and too bad since I like them better than the ice queens and the awful pink-haired girl. Obviously.

Drop and Drive

OK, this was a challenge for adrenaline junkies. One team member would jump off a building and into a race car. A driver would speed around a course in laps until the player could repeat displayed information about a famous race car driver. However, there were many signs with names and times and the only one you needed to know was the lowest. It was pretty cool. Most teams needed more than one lap to figure it out. Leo of the Afghanimals was first to finish, and they were checked in in first place. Jason and Amy came in second, and Travis and Nicole came in third. Travis actually got the question right after only one lap.

Marie and Ally had already done a lap or two by the time the baseball wives arrived at the challenge. Marie got it, and she and Tim came in fourth place. Ugh, I want them eliminated more than anything. Ally was struggling with the answer though, so Kim had a chance to get it ahead of her. She blew it though, giving two wrong answers before Ally finally got it right. It looked like Kim got it on her next attempt, which was too bad. If they hadn’t have missed that yacht, everything would have been different. Ally and Ashley came in fifth, and the baseball wives came in last…but it was a non-elimination. I always know when Phil lets people cry for a while after announcing they came in last, instead of just ripping the Band-Aid off and eliminating them.

I’m not angry to see the baseball wives stay in it, because I dislike other teams more. But I doubt it will make a difference, I don’t expect to see them in the final three. Right now, I think Jason and Amy are most likely to win, and I imagine the docs will make the final three. That last spot will likely either go to the Afghanimals or Team and Marie, both rather unlikable teams in my book.