The Amazing Race 8, Episode 9: The Old and the Faithful, the Young and the Obnoxious

Previously on My Family Went to Utah and All I Got was This Bad Attitude: Four families left Lake Powell, Arizona for Monument Valley, Utah. Rocks! Rappelling! A bear! Weaver trouble! The Linzes yielded the Weavers, and the Weavers were the only people unhappy about it. The Linzes finally pulled out a first-place arrival, and though the Weavers were last, they were saved by a non-elimination leg. Their money and possessions, however, weren’t so lucky. Four families still remain:

The Linzes: Megan, Tommy, Nick, and Alex - Sister and brothers/My pick to win

The Bransens: Wally, Lindsay, Lauren, and Beth - Father and daughters/Pretty consistent

The Godlewskis (Pink Ladies): Michelle, Sharon, Christine, and Tricia - Almost indistinguishable

The Weavers: Linda, Rolly, Rachel, and Rebecca - Mother and kids/I wish they’d just quit last week

The teams are in Salt Lake City, Utah, which is very pretty, no matter what the Weavers tell you. Speaking of the Weavers, they’re broke. Will the Linzes stay in first place? One can only hope. The Linzes are leaving first, at 12:46 a.m. Their clue tells them to drive to Park City High School. Megan doesn’t feel well. She interviews that having three brothers on her team is an advantage, partly because she gets spoiled. Indeed, they’re letting her relax in their car because she doesn’t feel well. She loves being the only girl, though one of her brothers thinks she might be getting sick of them.

The Bransens leave next, mentioning that they have $87 for this leg of the race. Beth repeats what she said last week about the Weavers and Pink Ladies fighting. Wally says again that he thinks it’s too their advantage. The Bransens think they’re doing a good job of staying on task. I agree. I think they’ve been the most consistent of all of the teams this season. The Pink Ladies leave third and Christine repeats what she said last week about thinking that they would get along better than they actually are. What’s with the repeating clips? They’re giving me déjà vu. Christine isn’t happy that her sisters are giving her a hard time. Aww, she’s just an easy target, that’s all. Trust me. That’s why I used to get harassed by my brothers all the time. (Oh, wait, I still do.)

The Linzes arrive at the school. Their next clue tells them that they’ll have to inflate a hot air balloon and take a ride over the Utah countryside. Shuttles to the balloons will be leaving every ten minutes starting at 6 a.m. The Linzes decide to get some sleep in their camper. Tommy recites the “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” prayer and we get a close-up of some Pepto Bismol by Megan’s bed. The Bransens arrive, followed by the Pink Ladies.

The Weavers leave last. Linda says that being yielded a second time was a low moment for them. As low as almost quitting? She says that they’ve never been treated like this. Yeah, I get the feeling that no one’s ever called them on their behavior before. Rachel says that they’ve overcome a lot, so they’ll get past this. The Weavers get directions.

The Linzes get up at 5:30 and Megan is feeling better. The Weavers arrive as the Linzes are getting ready to leave; they’re happy that people are still there. They start laughing that the Linzes’ Yield didn’t work. Yeah, but it would have if it hadn’t been a non-elimination leg. The Weavers are also happy that the shuttles don’t leave until 6 a.m., so they haven’t lost a lot of time. They brag that they got to sleep in beds last night. Linda tells the Linzes that they’ll be sorry they wasted their Yield. Like I said last week, it wasn’t a waste since it was the last one. The waste would have been not using it at all. One of the Pink Ladies says Linda is a psycho.

The Linzes tell the Weavers that they thought they were right behind them. They’re not sorry about using the Yield. The Weavers are happy that they got to say what they wanted to. Yeah, because they’re always censoring themselves. The Linzes get in their shuttle, talking about how weird the Weavers are. They joke that they’re not like “us Midwesterners.” Megan notes that Linda doesn’t seem like a mom. Thank you! One of the brothers says that no one likes to be yielded in life.

The Bransens get in their shuttle. The Linzes arrive at the balloons. The Pink Linzes get in their shuttle. I just love travel montages. They’re so thrilling. The Linzes inflate their balloon as the Bransens arrive. The Pink Ladies aren’t far behind and are surprised to see how big the balloons are. They get theirs ready as one counts, “1, 2, 3, 4.” “4?” one sister echoes, confused. One to grow on, I guess. The Weavers arrive and Linda says that they need to beat the “snotty little ladies,” i.e. the Pink Ladies. Yeah, I just can’t see why people don’t realize they’re the last nice team in this race.

The Linzes are ready and up they go. The Bransens watch them and Lindsay says that she loves “Bone” (Tommy). Rolly is being dragged by one of the ropes attached to the Weavers’ balloon. The Bransens and Pink Ladies take flight, followed by the Weavers. Flying montage. The Linzes’ balloon is nearing the Bransens’ and the boys wonder if they’re going to collide. The balloons get so close to each other that they’re touching. The Weavers are in awe. The balloons pass each other without incident. The Weavers’ pilot says that they were lucky.

Over in the Pink Ladies’ balloon, Michelle notes that she used to be afraid of heights but the race has cured her of that. Rolly is nervous about the sturdiness of the wicker basket. You think that’s scary? The track on the Avalanche roller coaster at Kings Dominion looks like it’s made of wicker.

The Linzes land and get their clue. It tells them to drive 14 miles to Heber Valley Railway, where they’ll search for their next clue. The Bransens land as well. In the Linzes’ car, they note that the balloon ride was quite a way to start out the day. The Pink Ladies land on some rocks. The Weavers are nearing the ground and note that they’re over a road. They wind up landing on a hill, wondering if that’s normal. They’re laughing nervously and screaming about tipping over.