The Amanxing Race 2: Going to the Dogs
I'm Phil Kiwi, with my co-host Koko the Talking Gorilla, and we're just about ready for the start!
There's Bella and Douglas, the winners of the last Race, lining up next to red foxes Sanford and Banjo, and I can't believe Fancy Feast agreed to come back! There's Quincy and Taffy, Team QT from Florida, next to an interesting pair, the Army Mule and the Navy Goat. The favorite at this moment has to be the New York City Police Dog pair, Hercules and Maxx, but you can't overlook the wisdom of the chimp pair, Keo and June. Koko, what teams are your favorites? "Koko love race. Koko love yellow dogs. Koko love black white bear. Koko love All Ball cat and black cat. Koko love big white cats. Koko love red devil little dogs. Bad white cat." At the sound of the starter's whistle, blown by Naval Academy graduate Jimmy Carter standing with a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, all the teams rush down to the Chesapeake Bay and retrieve their first clue, which reads as follows: "The only thing you have to fear is failing finding Franklin's faithful friend Fala. "
Teams must take one of three Greyhound Buses to Washington, DC, and find the statue of Fala at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. And they're off! Hercules and Maxx, Quincy and Taffy, Army and Navy, and Bella and Douglas get on the first bus. Keo and June, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, Heidi and Depot, and the foxes are on the second bus, which leaves an hour later. The remaining teams take the third bus. In Washington, the first four teams arrive at the Washington Monument, a familiar site for Bella and Douglas. They get directions from a park ranger and are able to find the Fala statue almost immediately. From there, they are directed to take a Tourmobile across the Potomac to Mount Vernon, the historic home of George Washington. At Mount Vernon, the teams receive their first ROAD BLOCK. They find a row of twelve "cherry trees" planted in the ground. One team member must "chop down" a cherry tree using his teeth, claws, or the provided little hatchets. Maxx bites his tree in half; Quincy pulls it out of the ground and carries it back to the judge; Army kicks it over, and Bella scrapes the tree down with her claws.
Back in Washington, the second bus has arrived, with Heidi and Depot running right to the Fala statue and Keo and June falling behind them. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have been spotted by Amanxing Race I fans and have to stay behind for pictures, allowing Sanford and Banjo to get ahead of them. The first three pairs get on the next Tourmobile, but the pandas have to wait for two more as they are full of tourists. The Mount Vernon pairs have received their next clues: Fly to St. John's, Newfoundland, the Cabot Tower, the first PET STOP. The teams make a beeline for Reagan National Airport and book their flights. Hercules and Maxx, Bella and Douglas, and Army and Navy are connecting through Boston; Quincy and Taffy get an earlier flight through Toronto.
The third bus has now arrived. The tigers, opossums, and Chef's Blend and Fancy Feast are able to find the Fala statue with no problem. Fancy Feast has already begun to hiss at Siegfried and Roy, upset that there are two other white cats in this year's Race. Siegfried growls at her and purposely blocks their view of Fala. But what's this? Casey and Clancy, the Irish Setter twin littermates, are still on the Mall! They've forgotten they're in the Race and decided to stop and play frisbee! While Siegfried and Roy and Althea and Rosemary flag down a Tourmobile, Casey is mooching food from picnickers and Clancy is fetching tennis balls.
Back at Mount Vernon, Keo uses the hatchet to chop down his cherry tree. He finishes before the rest, but decides to wait for Depot to finish scratching down his tree. They proceed to Reagan National and get flights to Newfoundland going through New York. They're joined on the New York flight by the pandas, but the foxes opt for a cheaper Boston route. Casey and Clancy are still playing on the Mall.
The first plane has landed in St. John's, and it's the Toronto flight of Quincy and Taffy. They arrive at the Cabot Tower to find Michael J. Fox with a Newfoundland "Welcome to Newfoundland! Quincy and Taffy, you're team Number 1" says Fox. The Boston group arrives next, with Team Army/Navy second, Hercules and Maxx third, and Bella and Douglas fourth. The other teams file in at the Tower.
Finally, Phil Kiwi has to call the Washington police to go and find Casey and Clancy and remind them they're in the race. When they finally get to Newfoundland, sixteen hours after the rest of the teams, they hear "Casey and Clancy, I'm sorry to tell you, you're the first team eliminated from the Amanxing Race. Next on the Amanxing Race: For Dogleg 2, we're flying down to a very statuesque South American destination. DOGLEGS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Written by Becky Banfield The Amanxing Race was inspired by CBS Television's The Amazing Race. |
For over 150 years, the United States Naval Academy has stood on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Maryland. Future presidents, admirals, pilots, and astronauts have passed through its doors. Today the Naval Academy is making history again as the starting point for The Amanxing Race II - Going to the Dogs. 
