The Great American Road Trip: When Lawn Mowers Fly
Recap by RTVC Staff Writer Logan Huffman
August 2, 2009
Previously on ‘The Great American Road Trip’, the Coote family’s winning streak continued, which frustrated the others and increased the size of the target on the Cootes’ backs. The Ricos, the DiSalvatores, and the Favereys landed in the bottom three, and at the End of the Road challenge, Ricardo’s ankle injury led to the Rico’s elimination.
The next morning in Amarillo, the families learn that they have made it halfway down Route 66. They are headed to the Midpoint Café, where a surprise awaits them. Jennifer really hopes her family can make it to the end, adding it’s more about wanting to win than the money.
As the RVs head out, Dee screams on the Faverey RV as the cabinet doors pop open. Lenny thought his family would be out the first week, and can’t believe that they’ve made it this far. Dee knows that it gets better as they continue on, but begins crying, saying that it’s sad to see people get eliminated, specifically referring to how much she likes the Ricos. Dee tells us that her family lives paycheck to paycheck and they would have never gotten to experience anything like this; it’s a wonderful experience with her family that they are really enjoying, and it makes them strive harder in the challenges because they don’t want to be eliminated.
The families reach the Midpoint Café in Adrian, Texas. The café is literally the halfway point between Los Angeles and Chicago, each of them exactly 1,139 miles from the café. The café has been around for over 60 years and looks the same as it did in the old days.
The families enter the café, and Reno is in there. Darius immediately thought it was a King of the Road challenge after seeing Reno. Amie has similar questions as to why Reno is there. Reno says that he likes pie, and everyone pretty much agrees that they don’t really like it when they see Reno. Cassidy even says that Reno scares her. Ashley knows there’s a challenge, and nearly begins to cry. Amy says that Reno’s like the Grim Reaper.
Reno reveals to the families that this isn’t a challenge; it’s totally for fun. The café is world-famous for pies, so they are going to have a pie-eating contest. Each family has to eat half of a pie since they are at the halfway point. But of course, it’s not that simple. No forks or other utensils, and their hands must remain behind their backs. After they have used only their faces and feel they have eaten the closest to half of the pie, the family that is actually the closest will win a shopping spree in the café gift shop. Ashley really wants that, saying that they haven’t gotten many souvenirs.
The pies are each brought to the tables. Blake says that the pie was huge and smelled kind of bad, so he wasn’t looking forward to eating it. The families have ten minutes. Reno starts the clock, and begins the non-challenge.
The families begin digging in to the pies, as Darius Montgomery tells us of his family’s strategy: they all agree that they need to draw a line in the pie that marks half of it, and since they can’t use their hands, he uses his tongue to draw that line. Keith Coote is directing Jake about which part of the pie to eat. Ashley nibbles a tiny corner, and tells us that she doesn’t like pie, and didn’t do anything but have fun watching them.
Silvio is “supervising” his family, encouraging Amy and Blake to dig in to the pie. Amy tells us that she did most of the work, as Silvio didn’t want to get his hair purple, or whatever color the inside of the pie was. Silvio explains that he decided to save his hair and his perfectly tanned skin by just nibbling a little bit at a time. Thank goodness. I was worried about his hair. Of course, when Silvio does nibble a little bit, Amy yells that he’s eating more than the half.
Dee Faverey has eaten so much pie, she accidentally throws up a little bit back into their pie. Being the team player that he is, Lenny eats the part of the pie Dee just threw up in. Excuse me while I go throw all of the pies I can find in the fireplace.
The Montgomerys appear to have done an especially good job eating half of their pie. Alecia has a berry from her pie stuck in her nose. Luckily for us, she manages to take her tongue and get the berry out of her nose, allowing her to eat it. And people thought the ‘Fear Factor’ eating challenges were disgusting.
The time on the challenge finally runs out. Pretty much everyone has pie all over their face. Of course, Silvio doesn’t, and Aaron Pollard says that he didn’t touch the pie at all or eat anything. Amy lets out a monstrous burp. I think Silvio is proud of her belch. Blake thinks his mom did a great job and deserves a lot of props; even though he thinks the pie all over her face kind of made her look like Freddy Krueger.
Reno announces that the winner of the shopping spree is the Montgomery family. They are all very excited. Reno gives them $200 for the shopping spree. Darius is excited they won this challenge and the shopping spree at the midway point. The family prays before they begin shopping, thanking God for their win. Darius says that now they have won this contest, they are definitely going to win one or two King of the Road challenges along the way before they win the grand prize.
The families leave the café and hit the road, with their next stop being Albuquerque, New Mexico. As the Favereys cross the state line, Ashley screeches that they are in New Mexico. Dylan notes it’s the sixth state they’ve visited, and Lenny wonders if everything will be in Spanish. Well, the last time I checked, New Mexico is in the United States, so…
In the Coote RV, Jake goes on an on about giant mountains, and how living at the bottom could cause you to get crushed by a giant rock. Jennifer only rolls her eyes.
In the Faverey RV, Ashley heads off the deep end again, screaming wanting to go to sleep. Apparently, Dylan accidentally hits Ashley’s head, and when Dee tries to look at it, she screams out for no one to touch her head. Dylan only laughs as Ashley screams out for no one to touch her. Now she wants her pillow, and she rips it out of Dylan’s hands. She then begins crying and screaming. She runs off to the back of the RV, and Dylan begins to show his mom pictures. Ashley wonders why no one feels bad for her, and returns back to the couch, saying that they have to feel bad for her when she does that so she wins. Poor crazy child.
In the DiSalvatore RV, Amy is excited about the balloon park they’re headed to. She wants to go for a ride in a hot air balloon if they can. Silvio shuts down her idea immediately. They begin arguing, as Silvio says that he wants her to keep her eye on the prize, and doesn’t want anything to happen to her. She retorts that she ate so much pie, and she is going on the balloon if she wants to. Silvio fires back that eating the pie took place on the ground.
The families reach the Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque. They all get out, ready to stretch their legs. Darius plans on going to bed as early as he can, so he can get up at 6 AM like he does every morning, and be ready to go.
The next morning, Amie is filming the sunrise with the family’s video camera. Amie tells us that when she woke up, she heard this kind of loud roaring noise. The families walk outside of the RVs to find hot air balloons.
The balloon operators ask for groups of two or three, and Amie tells us that she was excited to go first, as she and Aaron head for the balloon. Amy wants to go, but Silvio continues to try and stop her. She responds that he isn’t her father, and he says that he father would stop her. Amy says that Silvio thought he would try and stop her, but him being afraid has nothing to do with her.
Amy decides that she is getting in the hot air balloon no matter what, and she runs over and joins Aaron and Amie in their balloon. As the balloon raises up into the air, Silvio helpfully asks her who will make macaroni now. She throws up her hands in the air, and tells us that being up in the open sky was an amazing feeling, and seeing the expression on Silvio’s face when she jumped into the basket was classic.
The families receive their next instructions: they must head to the Albuquerque Sunport for their next King of the Road Challenge. And they all need to pack an overnight bag, as they just might need it. The families change into their jerseys and head to the Sunport for their challenge.
As they approach Reno, Lenny tells us that it would be nice to spread the love and not have the Cootes win the King of the Road Challenge. They are standing outside of a Southwest airplane, as Reno explains that it is the reward for their next challenge. Silvio asks if they get to keep it. I’m not even going to tell you guys the answer to his question. The reward for winning the challenge is flying to Phoenix, Arizona, and getting pampered at the Wigwam Golf Resort and Spa. Anslie has never been to a spa in her life and really wants to go.
Reno explains that the plane is ready to go, but has no passengers. An airport bus pulls up, which is full of blow up dolls. Each family will have five minutes, and the family that transports the most passengers from the bus, onto the plane, seated, and safely buckled in will win the trip to Phoenix. The bottom three families will be going to the End of the Road Challenge, where it will be the end of the road for one of them.
The Coote Family is first, as Jennifer gives tips to her kids about their strategy. Always the concerned parent, she adds if they fall during the challenge, they need to get out of the way. That’s nice. She explains that she really wants to win in order to go to the spa.
The Coote Family begins. Their strategy is for Jake to throw the passengers off of the bus, Keith and Cassidy to take them onto the plane, and for Jennifer to buckle them in. As Jennifer begins buckling, she realizes that this isn’t as easy as she thought.
The DiSalvatores begin their round of the challenge. Silvio and Amy decide that they should take their time. They just start grabbing passengers.
The Montgomery Family is off as well. Darius Jr. explains their strategy, of he and his dad taking the passengers to Tylier, who will put them in the seats. Then mom Alecia will buckle them in. Darius tells us that their strategy was to just fill one side at a time, saying that a lot of people may have tried to fill both sides at the same time, which is too difficult.
The Favereys are struggling during their challenge round. Lenny seems wrapped up in buckling in passengers, and the family’s teamwork is severely lacking as they yell at each other. Lenny explains that it’s four strong minds, and if he doesn’t listen to each person or do it their way, they get angry. He adds that they just have a block during challenges and clash.
The Pollards seem to be working well together, as Amie tells us that the strategy was for her to keep up on strapping them in while Ron and Aaron brought them. However, she quickly realized she couldn’t keep up with the guys, so she asks them to help buckle in passengers.
The DiSalvatores are having major problems as well, as the passengers are clogging the front, and Silvio just keeps throwing them towards the back, which doesn’t please Amy and Mason, as they need help buckling. Blake continues to just bring more blow-up dolls to clog the front area. Blake explains that he ran up and down the stairs 4 or 5 times, and he realized the last time he got the passengers that there were too many, as the bodies were just in the aisles and hanging off of the chairs. My favorite part of the whole thing is the flight attendant standing at the door of the aircraft helping the usher the runners and the blow up dolls onto the plane. Her expressions at the situations are very entertaining. I admire her tenacity to do her job and usher the passengers in regardless of them being non-human.
Everyone in the DiSalvatore Family is working to buckle people in now, as Silvio says that it was mass hysteria, as their were bodies flying everywhere across the plane.
There’s only one minute left now, as everyone rushes to buckle in more passengers. Cassidy is struggling with the buckles, and Jennifer tells her to go get more passengers if she can’t do the buckles. Cassidy snaps back at her mom that she is going too slow. Jennifer notes that no one was working together or listening to each other.
The families pick up the pace even more in the last thirty seconds. Dee is scared, as she doesn’t want to go in the bottom three again. Darius Montgomery went to buckle one last passenger with five seconds left, but he missed the buckle the first two times, and he didn’t get it buckled in time. Silvio knows that his family screwed up, as they threw too many bodies on the plane when the hardest part was buckling. He doesn’t know whether they did enough or not.
With the challenge over, Reno prepares to reveal the results to the families. With only 29 passengers, the DiSalvatores are the first family in the bottom three. Amy notes that her family came in last with the lowest score once again, adding that it won’t be a pretty day in their RV.
The other two families in the bottom both got 46 passengers on board. Those families are the Favereys and the Montgomerys. The Favereys seem pretty upset, but the Montgomerys seem to take the news pretty well.
With 49 passengers on board, the winner of this King of the Road Challenge is the Coote Family. They are pretty excited. Amie says that there was just a moment of silence after everyone found out the Cootes won, but she remembered to act like her mama told her, and started clapping and telling them how great a job they did and how proud of them she is. She adds that it was secretly like, “Shucks, they did it again!”
The Pollards are safe for the week, having gotten 47 passengers, one more than the Montgomerys and the Favereys. Darius is frustrated, knowing that one passenger he didn’t get clicked caused them to be in the bottom three.
The Cootes board the plane and head to Phoenix, while the other families prepare for a drive, but will be treated to Applebee’s Carside-To-Go. Darius says that everyone looks at the bottom three as a death sentence, but it’s not; you just can’t end up at the end of the road. Lenny and his family are feeling crappy, and think it is their destiny to always be in the bottom three.
The flight attendant (who has really awesome hair) welcomes the Coote Family aboard the plane, which then takes off for Phoenix. The other families call in their orders to Applebee’s, and stop by to pick them up. They are all ready to eat, as Amie says they need to replenish after the challenge, and if anyone doesn’t think that challenge was hard; they’re crazy.
After they get their food, they sit down and eat before hitting the road again. Tylier is extremely excited that they gave him pepper and salt with his food, while Aaron has decided to take the plate with the most food. Dee says that she isn’t sure she would have gotten on the plane anyway if they had won, since she hates flying because it kills her ears. Blake asks a good question, wondering who is driving the Cootes’ RV. Amy hopes everyone’s spirits are lifted, as she isn’t ready to go home yet.
The families are headed to Holbrook, Arizona, 236 miles away. They all ponder what the Cootes are doing right now. We see that they have landed at the airport in Phoenix. When they exit the airport, a Hummer stretch limousine is awaiting them. Jake informs us that is how they do it Phoenix style, as Cassidy says that the limo was cool; it was called King of the Road, and they actually felt like kings. They all agree that traveling in the limo beats the RV.
Meanwhile, the other families are having some weather issues driving their RVs. Ron says that it came out of nowhere, while Alecia keeps both hands on the wheel because it is so windy. Lenny says that the RV is shaking and is hard to control. Ashley is scared, and a transfer truck nearly runs into their RV. Thankfully, everyone is OK, just a little rattled.
Amie notes how the Cootes are getting pedicures and facials while they are driving in storms. Amie jokes that she feels like she is going through another challenge, and RVs and Arizona highways do not mix. Amie is nervous wreck because she knows the weather doesn’t play, and says that when you see tumbleweeds tumbling across the road, you better get yourself to a hotel somewhere.
The Cootes enter their suite at the Wigwam Resort, and they are all extremely excited and pleased. Jake notes that the bathroom could be his bedroom. Cassidy says that she didn’t realize that the room would be as big as it was. Later, the kids jump in the pool while Keith and Jennifer relax.
Going to the Montgomerys RV, as they near town, the weather has relaxed, and Darius takes pictures, as he tells us that the drive was rough, but Alecia did a great job handling the RV, and they made it their safely.
The families reach the Holbrook, Arizona Wigwam Motel, which is one of seven Wigwam Motels built between the 1930s and the 1950s. It is cool-looking, with these giant teepees that serve as the rooms. Darius is ready to get some rest and get geared up for their End of the Road Challenge.
The Montgomerys head inside their teepee, as Tylier hopes it has a toilet. It has two beds and a bathroom, and is really neat. Darius comments that it’s a little small, but it is a teepee. Darius jokes that he and Alecia can sleep on the beds, and the kids can take the floor, as he stretches out on the bed to demonstrate that there’s only enough room for one person. Darius adds that he was thinking how the Cootes were being pampered at the moment, but adds that they don’t get to see the teepee.
The Favereys look slightly horrified when they realize they are staying in the teepees. Jennifer jokingly asks her kids if they’d rather be at the teepees with the other families eating grilled cheese sandwiches. However, they seem content with their steak dinner instead. Keith thinks this was a pretty good reward. Everyone agrees when Jake says that it was a great way to end the day.
The next morning, the families awake at the Wigwam Motel and read their next instructions. When the instructions ask if they missed the Cootes, the Favereys say yes, the Montgomerys say a little, and the DiSalvatores flat out say no. At least they’re honest. The families must drive an hour to the visitor’s center at the meteor crater near Winslow. One of the families competing today will face extinction.
As the families head for the crater, Blake is confident that they will dominate in the challenge. Amy doesn’t care, as long as they aren’t last. Blake really hates being in the End of the Road Challenge, and doesn’t want to be the dead last loser and go home, as they have come really far.
Ashley says that her family’s strategy should be to work as a team, as they’ve done it before and can do it again. Dee adds for no one to yell when everyone has something to say. Ashley adds that they can’t give up, and Dee tells us that the stakes are high, as they’ve made it really far and don’t want to go home.
Darius says that he felt as God was telling him that they always pray for everyone, but it’s now time to take care of themselves. Alecia says that they aren’t selfish like that, and Darius and her both agree that it isn’t being selfish, as if you take care of everyone else’s houses and forget your own, yours will be out of order.
The bottom three families head out to the crater to meet Reno. Reno notes that this is the best preserved meteor crater in the entire world. Blake explains the history of the crater to us, and then wonders where the challenge is and what it will be.
Reno explains that this area is known for UFO sightings, and some of the players scream as an unidentified flying object flies through the air. Darius tells Reno that he saw a UFO, and Alecia says that it was a bale of hay.
Reno explains that is the challenge. They will have to pay attention to everything they see flying through the air, and then they will have to identify what they saw.
The families take seats to observe the flying objects. Amy explains the challenge to us, and Lenny encourages his family to keep their answers in their head and not yell them out. Darius tells his family to keep their minds focused.
Of course, Silvio thinks that the challenge where they are sitting down is too strenuous. Well, I suppose a gust of wind could blow through and destroy his beautiful locks, so that could be a problem. I do laugh when he says he has that perfect 60/80 vision. Blake comments that he and Mason both have really good memories.
The first item flies through the sky. Of course, Dee screams. I have no idea what it is. Everyone looks confused. Amy has no idea what it is. We see that it is a telephone. Blake thinks it’s a VHS tape, but Silvio thinks it’s a pack of firecrackers, because we all know how much those two things resemble each other. Amy thinks it’s a purse. Just like a woman to always be thinking about purses.
The next item shoots through the air, and the Montgomerys figure out that it’s a lawnmower. The Favereys just seem confused. The next item flies through the air, and the Favereys thinks it’s a bowling ball.
The next item is pretty obvious, as it is football shaped. It becomes even more obvious when it hit’s a rock and bounces. Even Silvio and his 60/80 vision knows what it is. Lenny says that it was a memory game, and he’s over 50, and when you’re over 50, you just start losing things, so he left it to the kids, since they’re great at memory games.
The next item flies through the air. It looks like a bag of golf clubs to me. Darius has the same guess as me. The Montgomerys seems to be really good at this, as they quickly realize that the next flying item is a computer monitor.
When Amy asks Silvio if he is remembering the items, he responds, “Hell no!” How helpful! He relies on his family to keep going over them in their heads.
Another item flies through the air. It turns out to be a grill, like I thought. The Montgomerys and the Favereys figure this one out, except Dee tells us that they were all remembering and collaborating except for Lenny, who just kept asking if they had it, since he didn’t.
The Favereys figure out the next item, which Dee tells us is a teddy bear strapped to a car seat. Random. She adds that all the items were pretty funny.
The next item busts into three pieces, but Blake and Amy realize that it’s a piñata. The next item is clearly a bike, but Darius tries to overcomplicate it, asking if it’s a boy’s bike or a girl’s bike. Amy tells Silvio that they don’t need his eyes and to stop looking, and just to remember instead.
The next item that flies through the air is obviously a kitchen sink. The last item no one seems to know either. Everyone is just laughing trying to figure out what it is. Amy figures out that it was three irons tied together. Even more random that the teddy bear/car seat combo.
After the objects are done flying, Reno tells the families that they will have to put pictures of the items in the order they flew through the air on these boards. If they had made them make a list instead of given them pictures, it would have been way harder. However, they do throw in three extra photos of items that didn’t even fly through the air. The last family to put the all in the correct order will be eliminated.
Alecia says that going up to the board, her family had a strategy: only one person should put them in order, since they all memorized them. Reno asks if everyone is ready, and then begins the challenge.
The families begin frantically putting the pictures in place. Alecia says that their strategy immediately failed as they all began doing the pictures, which she says just made things hectic.
Amy realizes that the VHS/purse (never thought I would put that combo together) is actually a telephone. Dee says that it’s the hardest thing, as your mind goes blank, and you know what flew through the air, but not the order they flew in.
The DiSalvatores quickly finish their pictures. They ring in, and Reno reveals that they are correct, which means that they are safe! No matter how dysfunctional they may seem, I have to admit that they are very good at the End of the Road Challenges. Just not the King of the Road Challenges.
The DiSalvatores are all excited. Blake knows that they usually fight and argue when they are in the bottom three, but they listened to each other and didn’t argue this time. Amie Pollard looks pleased that they are safe. Mason doesn’t like to brag, but admits that the challenge was pretty easy for him, as he is pretty smart and good at memorizing.
The remaining two families begin freaking out when the DiSalvatores are safe. The Favereys begin arguing and working poorly together, while Darius begins frantically moving pictures around. Darius Jr. admits that they got worried about it after the DiSalvatores were safe, and they had to go faster and switch things up.
As they continue frantically trying to win the challenge to stay in the game, the Montgomerys ring in. They’re wrong. The Favereys just seem to have no idea. As Darius begins changing their photos, the Favereys finally lock in with an answer. It’s also wrong.
Darius is sure he’s gotten the order right now, so his family rings in. They are incorrect again. The Favereys make little progress, and the Montgomerys switch two photos around and ring in again. They are correct this time.
The Montgomerys celebrate their victory with the DiSalvatores, as the Favereys disappointment shows on their faces, knowing they have been eliminated. Dee and Ashley begin crying. Darius says that hearing the Favereys cry really hit home.
All of the Favereys seem to be crying now, as Dee tries to comfort everyone and tell them it’s okay, and they made it to Arizona. Many players are crying as the hug the Favereys goodbye, and as Amie goes to hug Dee, she tells Amie to go away from her. Amie knew that was just Dee being upset at the moment, so she remained there for a moment. Wiping away tears, Amie says that she is just a very tender-hearted person, and she felt bad; she still gets upset thinking about it.
Silvio goes over to comfort Dee, hugging her as she realizes that they have to go home now. Dee tells us that they made a lot of friends and don’t want to leave, but they have to go home now.
Reno tells them to be proud of themselves, as they fought their way through the challenges and hung in there. When asked what their favorite memory is, Ashley says making a lot of friends. Lenny says that they are closer now; they still fight and yell at each other, but that’s just them, and they love everyone. He tells everyone that they will miss them.
Reno tells them that this is the end of the road for them and the end of their vacation, but tells them to go spend time with what surely isn’t the end of their friendships. Dee says that she has everything written down and in her head and is taking it home with her; she is truthfully glad that it’s over, as she doesn’t have stress anymore. And as the families hug the Favereys and chant their name, the episode ends!
This is a really awesome show. You couldn’t help to root for the Favereys, the constant underdogs who never could stay out of the bottom three, yet always won the End of the Road Challenges when they needed to. It is sad to see them go.
Before I go, I have to give a shout out to Silvio. Thanks for reading my recaps, bro! See you guys next week!
Logan is a North Carolina native whose hobbies include a passion for reality shows, hiking, and Mocha Frappucinos. He can be contacted at Logan@RealityTVCalendar.com.
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