The Amazing Race 9: The Finish Line, Episode 9

Peggy's back this week, but now Jon is gone again. Al Rios is here to take his place once more. Peggy immediately introduces us to Fran & Barry and says they did a great job. They both look relaxed and happy. Barry is looking especially dapper in a brown shirt and slacks combo. Fran is wearing a funky black and silver, one-sleeved number. Peggy asks Fran & Barry what they thought of the race. Both Fran and Barry say they had a fantastic time. The race was great and they didn't want it to end. Barry does say that the race is a LOT harder than it looks on TV. Things are happening all the time and it's very stressful. There’s a greater time differential than what we see on TV. It's a lot harder than it looks. I completely believe this.

Peggy says she's sure a lot of people (like me) would agree with Barry. Al agrees too. He says you just don't realize how mentally and physically exhausting it is. You just want to see the pit stop. Peggy says it must be incredibly exhausting! She asks Fran & Barry if being married 41 years helped them navigate the various challenges. Fran says absolutely. She and Barry work together so well as a team. Barry always does the driving and Fran does the navigating. It worked well for them and was their strong point in the race. I totally agree. Those two were fantastic at navigating and driving and that's a crucial skill on The Amazing Race.

Al asks Fran & Barry who suggested they go on the race. Barry says that the two have been fans of the race on TV since day one. But they never really thought about going on it themselves. They had some good friends who pushed them to do it – year after year. Fran laughs. Barry says that after three years of urging, they finally decided to submit their application. And there you have it.

Peggy asked if they could believe it when they got the call. Fran says that the producers didn’t give them much time. They only had about three weeks between learning they would be on the show and actually going on the race. Wow! So, they hopped in the pool and learned to swim. Fran says that Barry was petrified of going on that diving board (in Russia), but he did it! And he did a great job – especially since they don’t do water. Barry adds that when he got that clue in the Russian pool it was the first time in his entire life that he opened his eyes under water. Good for him! These two certainly show that you’re never too old to try new things in your life.

Peggy compliments Fran & Barry on their willingness to do new things and conquer their fears. She says she’ll get to Fran’s brave bungee jump later. Al says he couldn’t do the jump, but for a million dollars… Well, Peggy decides to go to the clip of Fran jumping now. She asks Fran what she thinks looking at the clip. Fran says that the fear shows! If it wasn’t for the million dollars, she couldn’t have done it. She was terrified. Peggy asks if there was ever a point where Fran thought she wouldn’t do it. Fran says no. She knew she would do it. She just had to make herself take that first step. Because once you take the first step – you’re gone. Fran adds that she thinks it was even harder because you had to actually dive off the platform, you couldn’t just jump. I suppose that would make it psychologically more difficult. Fran says she closed her eyes, put a shield over her face, and went.

Mark from Washington is calling now. He says the dairy farmers of Washington love them. He then asks Fran if the people at the bungee jump actually physically nudged her to go. She says she has no clue. Barry says that he was watching, and they didn’t nudge her. When she got to the bottom, she opened her eyes and saw the canyon. Then she closed her eyes again until she stopped bouncing. Then she hooked her rope in and just looked up – she never looked down.

Al asks about picking who does the detours. Barry says that Fran wasn’t supposed to do the bungee jump – he was. He was supposed to do the swimming and bungee jumping. But they were in a real hurry for this roadblock because they were in fifth place at that time. He doesn’t think people understand that you only get a sentence, the roadblock clue doesn’t actually tell you what you’ll be doing. They didn’t put two and two together and made a mistake. It was just a mistake. Barry says he’s always wanted to bungee jump, and now Fran’s one up on him.

Peggy now takes us to a clip of the Hippies getting a cab to the airport and picking up Abdul Hamid. We then see the Hippies making the flight – a crucial point in the episode that kept the Hippies in the race.

Peggy points out the TTOW on the Hippies shirts. She asks Fran & Barry if they know what it means. Fran says that she doesn’t think it meant anything. She asked and they didn’t indicate a meaning. Peggy and her producer were wondering if it meant “To the top of the world?” Al thinks we’ll find out whenever the Hippies leave the race.

We now take a call from Liz in Atlanta. She gives a “Bravo” to Fran & Barry. She dreams of being on the race and wants some pointers. Barry says you need to get the application process going. It’s daunting paperwork, but you have to answer it well and with humor. Show some personality on the questionnaire and on your video.

Peggy says that Fran & Barry are really fit and live their lives well. She asks if this is just the way they are in their day-to-day lives. If this keeps them young. Fran says their life is to play. They snowshoe and ski in the winter and bike and do other fun things in the summer. Al points out how well the two did on the tandem bike. Fran says they had never done tandem biking before, but they did well.

Peggy points out that Fran & Barry have two kids. She says they must be proud. The two agree. They say their kids are enjoying the show and that they love to meet their parents for exotic vacations in wild destinations – as long as Fran & Barry are paying! Al comments that Fran & Barry have traveled a lot. Fran says that’s true and for her 60th birthday her and her whole family went to China and all walked along the Great Wall for about six miles together. For Barry’s birthday, they went as independent travelers in India. Barry thinks that’s the hardest country to go to as an independent traveler. Al completely agrees after going there with Jon on the race. He’s impressed!