Author Topic: Great American Road Trip  (Read 19971 times)

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Offline apskip

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #25 on: August 11, 2009, 12:36:56 PM »
TexasLady,

It's clear that the Roadkill Cafe in Seligman AZ serves more than just roadkill. I have never heard of quail being killed on a road.

I do think the Cootes reaction to the Pollard close victory in the Las Vegas bonus challenge was staged. I expect in the heat of the moment that they were upset about losing such fine accommodations. However, who were they hurting by refusing to participate in the generous offer of the Pollards? The only ones negatively impacted were the Cootes. Maybe they wanted to set up a "road warrior" mentality for the final 2 episodes. I don't know for sure, but my guess is that their overreaction was staged. I could be wrong on that.

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #26 on: August 16, 2009, 06:21:16 PM »
I thought the menu was something like we have here in Austin, a Dillo burger, or in logging country a Paul Bunyan breakfast. (Play on words type of thing.) I'd love to eat there and find out for sure.  :lol:

It could have been staged.  :duno:

Can't wait for the finale!
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Offline apskip

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #27 on: August 16, 2009, 06:39:38 PM »
TexasLady:

Here are some reviews of the Road Kill Cafe, Seligman AZ. My memory of this episode indicates they offer a HUGE menu.

Along old Route 66 in Seligman, AZ, stands the Roadkill Cafe and its roadside kitsch. There's a bar with plenty of antlers and mounted heads, and there's even a stuffed animal diorama along one wall. Outside is an array of old west photo ops in some state of decline -- a jail where you can pose behind bars, a two-holer outhouse, and a sheriff made of old tire rims are some of the highlights. [Jay Kirby, 08/08/2009]
 
Great little restaurant with food "scraped from the streets of Laredo." Menu items include the Splatter Platter, the Big Bagged Stag, the Bad Brake Steak or the Highway Hash. I had the Fender Tenders and they were delicious. Small old West town in the adjacent parking lot. [G Hoover, 07/10/2008]

I stayed in Seligman and ate at the Roadkill cafe. It was excellent, the food was out of this world. I had the Baby back ribs, 18", needless to say I couldn't eat it all. They give you a salad and homemade bread with your meal. the ribs fell right off the bone. The atmosphere was excellent from the Route 66 memorabilia to the animal mounts on the wall. This would be a highly recommended stop for folks passing through Seligman.
Food: all the food is good, but they won't win any awards. We ordered burgers, fried chicken, chicken salad sandwiches, a patty melt and skewered shrimp. The patty melt was great, the burgers cooked to death, but good, and the chicken salad good. The shrimp was good, but the accompanying rice pilaf was sub-par. The sides of salads were very good, the potato salad and mashed potatoes great [Marty SB, 10/4/2008].

We had BBQ Chicken Wings (very nice), a great Chili Dog w/ fries and a 1/2 foot Onion Rings (GREAT!!!!!) [BanditOne, 9/15/07)].

The chili was one of the best I have ever had. I even got a great t-shirt. I would recommend people to stop by and have the burger topped with chili[Chevvtwin NJ, 1/11/07].

The burgers were like cardboard. Servers were very friendly-- but very slow. Fries were soggy [Happer, Las Vegas, 12/29/08].

Thank goodness we got the fries! Prices weren't really cheap.  Not what I expected in the middle of nowhere, off Route 66.  So, I ended up ordering the patty melt.  I'm not a fan of rye bread but I love patty melts.  I probably could have subbed in sourdough but the greasy (in a good way) flavor over took the sourness of the rye bread.  And the patties-- yes, two patties for the patty melt were SEASONED.  Hot damn, this was a good patty melt!  I ate it all up even though I probably shouldn't have for cholesterol's sake. Looking back though, I'm glad I did because it was the second best meal of my trip.  Who knew?  A little road side cafe with an endearing waiter, kooky dead animals decor, seedy bar and best fries I've had this year[Shauna D., LosAngeles, 3/17/08].


So, I guess the word Road Kill refers more to thet decor than to the actual menu. If you read all the above reviews, you will not find any mention of an item I consider to be Road Kill.





 



Offline apskip

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #28 on: August 17, 2009, 09:44:14 PM »
I botched setting my TV channel for taping this episode tonight. I understand that the King of the Road Challenge was won by the DiSalvatores and the eliminated family in the End of the road challenge was the Pollards. it will be DiSalvatores vs. Cootes in the finale next televised next week. I will provide more detail when I have it.

Offline ZBC Company

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #29 on: August 17, 2009, 11:14:14 PM »
i think cotes are cool i think they are going to win :hearts:


Offline apskip

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #30 on: August 18, 2009, 07:08:47 AM »
Zachry Busch,

I happen to agree with you but it will be close. The Coote parents are way ahead of the DiSalvatore parents. However, the DiSalvatore boys are quite a bit more mature, faster, bigger and stronger than the Coote kids although the Coote kids are smarter. I give the Cootes the edge. Look at the record of this competition. Last night was the first King of the Road Challenge the Cootes lost. They have demonstrated their diverse skills. If wanting it could get you there, then Amy and Silvio DiSalvatore will win but it takes skills to do that. I don't know what happens in Los Angeles but I bet it is not a hand/eye coordination exercise that Blake DiSalvatore dominated for their KOTR Challenge.

Offline ZBC Company

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #31 on: August 18, 2009, 07:10:30 AM »
OKAY LOL, WE SO WHO WIN

Offline apskip

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #32 on: August 18, 2009, 08:18:13 AM »
DESERT: ARIZONA and CALIFORNIA

The opening music for this penultimate episode finally penetrated after not really noticing it for the first 6 episodes. It is classic 1950s music like the music from episodes of "Happy Days".

The first stop of the caravan is Boulder City NV. On the way Silvio promises Amy they will win the King of the Road (KOTR) challenge. The RVs have to drive in on a dirt road full of ruts to reach a bluff overlooking the countryside. The KOTR has triple zip lines, one for each competing family. The younger kids go against each other, the older kids go against each other, the moms do the same and finally the dads finish the competition (kind of like hitting cleanup in baseball). Each triplet takes the zip line and aims at targets with pictures of each of their family and of Reno (that's 5 total). Dropping balloons from above while moving on the zip line and hitting a circle that is most of the matching target with their team colors wins. Here goes:

Youngest Kids Blake DiSalvatore vs. Jake Coote vs. Ainslee Pollard;Blake demolishes the field with 2, Jake 1 Ainslee 1
Oldest Kids Mason DiSalvatore vs. Cassidy Coote vs. Aaron Pollard; Mason 1, Cassidy 1, Aaron 1
Mothers Amy DiSalvatore vs. Jennifer Coote vs. Amie Pollard; Zero hits for any of them
Dads Silvio DiSalvatore vs. Keith Coote vs. Ron Pollard; Silvio 1, Keith 0, Ron 0
Team Total DiSalvatore 4 Coote 2 Pollard 2

So Silvio was one-up on the other dads but it did not make a difference since his kids outscored the Coote and Pollard kids. I am going to guess that Mason is a big video game player, which has given him excellent hand/eye coordination.

So the DiSalvatores win one shot at King of the Road, with the crown and window sticker. Amy says "this is more significant than any of the prior 5 KOTR challenges." She is right because the DiSalvatores just won the right to compete in next weeks' finale. The other 2 families have face off in an End of the Road (EOTR) Challenge to determine who will compete against the Disalvatores and who will go home.

There is another dirt road to Oatman AZ with its ghost town and burros all over the place. The DiSalvatores are shown dining the the minimalist style of the local eatery there (not exactly las Vegas style) and the other 2 teams may have eaten in their RV or may have eaten before of after the DiSalvatores because there could not be more than one place to eat in Oatman. That eatery is known for its $55,000 is cash stapled to the walls, a tradition from mining days when out-of-luck prospectors could tap the "investment" they made in less lean times. Keith Coote bought a hat which was modernistic and weird. Amie Pollard got a coonskin cap and stated that "dead coons, dead Cootes... I want to make some Cootie Bootie." You can tell she is desperate given the track record of her family in finishing behind the Cootes every time except for the Las Vegas bonus. Keith says he will put his 9 year old Jake against 17 year old Aaron without hesitation. It turns out that there is also a 12 year old (Cassidy and Ainslee) on each team. The Coote kids are very smart, compensating for their lack of size, strength or agility and they are also super-competitive, which the Pollard kids are not.

Next teams drive across a salt flat to Soggy Dry Lake, also known as Soggy Lake, a dry lakebed in the Johnson Valley Area known for its off-road vehicle use. Reno is there and there is a setup of parked cars in patterns. The End of the Road challenge is for the adults to maneuver those cars (which move only straight forward and straight back) to allow a marked red car to exit through the back exit. The adults drive and their kids in one tower each direct them on which to move with mobile phones (sponsored by Radio Shack jsut as the marked car is). Reno calls it "a puzzle" which is accurate. The smarter kids will win this challenge unless the parents disobey their instructions (you never know for sure with some of the parents). The victory goes to the Cootes, who will drive to Los Angeles to face the DiSalvatores in the finale in Los Angeles for the next and last episode. The Pollards go home, with ron saying rightly so "We're proud of what we did" to calm down a distraught Ainslee. She was upset that her brother ignored her and monopolized the cell phone when she knew which combinations of moves would minimize the time to get the target car out.

Two great representatives of teamwork are going to face off. If you recall the first episode, the DiSalvatores incorrectly accused the Cootes of cheating for the first KOTR victory. Reno was trying to make something of this, but the $100,000 prize gives ample motivation without any other B.S. Stay tuned next week for the recap of the finale.

You should not miss the RENO CAM video available at http://www.nbc.com/great-american-road-trip/video/clips/the-reno-cam/1132111/. It is hilarious and Reno is quite a charmer. I think he is the best host I have seen on television in 2009 (and that includes over Phil Keoghan, that paragon of TV hosts).

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #33 on: August 18, 2009, 12:41:01 PM »
Thanks for the video find apskip!!

I just love this show, I'll miss it when it's finished. It's a fun show for the family not like the "There Goes the Neighborhood show." GART lets the family compete and if you win, you win, if you lose you did your best.

I noticed that Keith Coote continued to push the rivalry. I thought it was tacky but you could be right, it's staged. ???
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Offline redwings8831

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #34 on: August 24, 2009, 08:01:51 PM »
Spoiler: The DiSalvatores completed the final challenge first and won the $100,000 prize.


Offline ZBC Company

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #35 on: August 24, 2009, 08:06:20 PM »
i mad that the itlain family won  (:;)

Offline apskip

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #36 on: August 24, 2009, 08:38:51 PM »
zachary busch, you aren't the only one disappointed that the inferior team won. However, the Cootes with their superior brainpower failed to deliver it on a memory challenge. Mason DiSalvatore keep his wits when the other 7 players were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. He delivered the victory.

Offline apskip

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #37 on: August 24, 2009, 09:07:09 PM »
Those of you interested in what happened in tonight's finale (I realize that is not many of you since several gave up on this show at the beginning with the bratty kids whining) need wait no longer. The information in the prior 3 posts tells you the final result, but not how it happened.

The final challenge starts with the DiSalvatores and the Cootes at a campground somewhere east of Los Angeles near Interstate 10. Reno tells both families that the final challenge will be all over Los Angeles. Clues will be on 5 faces of cubes that are given out to teams able to decipher what they say (as if that takes great brainpower). The 6th face will be used for a special purpose. Both these families have hated each other since the opening episode when the DiSalvatores called the Cootes cheaters and had to rescind that when Reno told them they were wrong.

Clue #1 is to Los Angeles International Airport the Southwest Airlines terminal. Teams somehow decide to check in with SW and wait for something to happen. Something does. The mothers of Amie DiSalvatore and Jennifer Coote arrive and bring cube #2 with them.

#2 takes teams to ride the tour bus on the Universal Studios-Hollywood tour. They snake through the property and get doused with water and have what looks like an earthquake happen to them. They see a cube delivered by a Jaws clone and retrieve it. At this point based on what has gone on in the RV cams, the Cootes appear to be much more focused.

Clue #3 takes the teams to the Roosevelt Hotel, where they have dinner, stay the night and show up for breakfast with Reno. He orchestrates the delivery of their last clue in cubes. The Cootes figure out that they are going to Santa Monica Pier with its ferris wheel and amusement park. That's close as they are going to a stretch of sand right next to there. Both teams drive with a very measured pace. It is obvious that driving ahead of the other RV is not going to happen.

Teams arrive along the Pacific Coast Highway from the north to Santa Monica Pier and park. They find Reno again in front of a large U.S. map with certain empty slots and a group of 8 cubes which have to be placed with the correct face into those slots. Like the finale to Amazing Race 12 near Anchorage Alaska, you have to sort out the wheat from the chaff and know which is the correct photo from each of the major stops made along the way. The correct ones appear to me to be:

Chicago - Wrigley Field
Springfeld - Abraham Lincoln's House
Kansas/Oklahoma - don't know
Texas - the HalfWay House along route 66
Arizona south - Oatman ghost town
Arizona north - Grand Canyon
Nevada - Hoover Dam
California - not clear, but probably Santa Monica Pier

Interspersed with these were pictures of each family enjoying the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC and several other things they never did. Creative photography was used to put them where they never were on this road trip.

Both teams took an initial shot at it. Both failed. Then the Cootes tried a string of 3 more attempts to show the right cube faces on top. All were failures. The Cootes lost their cool and were fighting amongst themselves. Mason took over directing the block placement for the Di Salvatores and he managed to eke out a victory for them. I was not impressed with them as a team. Silvio DiSalvatores is one of the all-time no-goodniks, useless and sometimes counterproductive in a crisis. However, his kids are a lot smarter than he is and they got it done at various places on this trip.

Reno proclaimed the DiSalvatores the winner of 7 fmilies and 2500 miles. This was a sterling series and I look forward to seeing the next season of Great America Road Trip.

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #38 on: August 25, 2009, 12:14:03 PM »
I've thoroughly enjoyed this series. It's one that families can watch together. I'm not upset that the DiSalvatores won, but  it really was their son who shined in this challenge and for once Silvio didn't interfere and let his son work with the puzzles.

The Coote family made a fatal error, everyone running around flipping the cubes, the chaos just killed their chances although we don't know how close they were to winning because of the editing.

I look forward to the next in this series. Unlike the CBS, "There Goes the Neighborhood," this show encourages a family bonding together unlike that other show that will end with neighbors being bitter enemies. The former let the challenges determine the winner, the latter pits families against one another and evicting by a vote.
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Offline tory

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Re: Great American Road Trip
« Reply #39 on: August 27, 2009, 05:15:35 PM »
i totaly agree tl. i have been watching ther goes the neighbor hood and did not like it but hubby likes to watch it , any way i was wondering y it botherd me and u said it , it is heart breaking every week some one cry's a lot.
any way love love the great am rd trip i loved the desavatoris and i was so glad they won :jumpy: :jumpy: i think they realy grew as a family and  they had a way better attatude then the coots. and i was glad siliveo made it to the end he cracked me up every week, i looked fw to what was he going to say next omg.. my fav epi is still one of the frist ones when him and the ppl from al 3 pl loved them allso , the al mom was sitting at a picknic table and she said u can sit here and he was hu and she said you'll can sit here and he went hu, it was soo lol finily silvo got it oh u me yous guys.. he said he like them but he tought there might be some kind of languge berer. any way this was a realy good show i hope it comes bk..
tv junky needs help!!!!!