Previously on The Amazing Race, ten families of four set off from New York City in a race for 1 million dollars. The Gaghan family surged ahead while the Paolo family got lost in their own city. The Weaver family had a buggy accident in the detour. The Godlewski sisters finished first, and the Black family was eliminated. Nine families remain.

Tonight’s episode opens in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on the Rohrer family homestead, where the teams had stayed for a mandatory Pit Stop. The Godlewski Sisters leave first at 7:57 am. The first clue reveals that they are to drive 15 miles to York, Shoe House Road. There they must find the giant Shoe House to get their next clue. The Gaghan family departs 10 minutes later, followed by the Weaver Family, who is struggling with the loss of the father of their family. As the Rogers family leaves next, we are reminded they are a patriarchy with dad firmly in charge. The Schroeder’s muse that they weren’t as prepared for the race as they thought as dad discovers a shortcut to their next destination. Once again the mom from the Paolo family is frustrated as she believes no one listens to her and her son says his mother nags constantly. The Aiello boys want to impress their father-in-law, and bringing up the rear, the Linz siblings know they have a lot of time to make up.

At the Shoe House (which is just that, a house in the shape of a shoe) the Gaghan dad ascends the staircase and gets the next clue. They must now drive 110 miles to the nation’s capitol, Washington DC. Once there, they must find the Reflecting Pool in the front of the US Capitol Building and search the area to find their next clue. Everyone decides to take highway 30 West then 83 South, except for the 5th place Rogers Family. The Rogers dad is navigating and tells his son to take highway 30 East to 83 South. They drive on quite a while and the dad starts to blame the son for missing their next exit. Eventually the mistake is realized and they turn around and head in the right direction. Part One [12 minutes]  

The Weavers arrive at the Reflecting Pool in front of the Capitol Building first and get their next clue. Teams are directed to search for a limousine where an unseen contact will pass them a black briefcase. They are to take their briefcase to the Tidal Basin in the shadow of the Jefferson Memorial and get their next clue. The Gaghan and Schroeder families are wandering around at the wrong Reflecting Pool (there are two). Mark Schroeder finally asks someone for help and his family heads out purposely without telling the Gaghan Family who continue to wander and search aimlessly. 

The Godlewski Sisters arrive at the Tidal Basin and get their next clue. It is a Road Block, or a task that only one person can complete. They must search the area to find a spy with a matching brief case to get their next clue. There are 50 people wandering the Basin with briefcases, but only 10 of them are confirmed spies.  When they approach someone, they are to say the password: “The sky is blue.” If they have a correct spy, the response will be: “The Sea is green," and the spy will give them their brief case containing the next clue. Various team members set about doing the task. Mark Schroeder, in 4th place, approaches a female with a briefcase and when she turns out not to be a spy he says: “her panties are too tight.” Wally Bransen is realizing he is not as physically fit as he thought and worries about disappointing his daughters. Meanwhile, the Rogers Family is directed to the wrong Reflecting Pool, joining the ever-searching Gaghan Family. Finally, both families realize they have been in the wrong place and head off to the correct Reflecting Pool to retrieve their clues. 

After the spy caper, teams must drive 30 miles to Middleburg, Virginia and find Melbourne Manor to receive their next clue. The Paolo Family is bickering again and searching for gas. Mom is not happy that no one listens to her. Eventually, everyone ends up facing a traffic jam heading out of the DC area. The Linz and Bransen families decide to cut off the highway and take back roads to their next destination. The Godlewski Sisters arrive in Virginia first and retrieve their clue. It is a Detour!

Teams must choose between two military duties common in the Civil War: “Heat of The Night” or “Heat of The Battle.” In “Heat of The Battle”, teams must take part in a full scale Civil War re-enactment and use stretchers to transport 5 wounded soldiers from the battlefield to medical tents. In “Heat of The Night,” they must roll a barrel of oil to a workstation where they will have to fill up 20 oil lamps. Then, they carry the lamps to a table and light them for the Quarter Master. Once the task is complete (either one), they receive a regimental flag. They must then carry the flag down a winding road where they find Phil in a meadow and the pit stop of this leg of the race. The last team to the meadow will be eliminated.

What a sight to behold. It really is like turning a page back in history and arriving at a Civil War Battle. Guns are blazing, period costumes and settings abound, and horses and dust are everywhere. Soldiers fall in the heat of this simulated battle. Choosing to do the stretcher detour are: The Godlewski Sisters, The Linz Siblings, The Bransen Family,  The Aiello Family, and The Gaghan Family.  The oil lamp detour is undertaken by: The Weaver Family and The Schroeder Family. On the battlefield, Wally Bransen is exhausted and his daughters have to prod him into continuing. He can barely reach down to grab his part of the stretcher. Father Aiello is encountering the same problem, but his son-in-laws pick up the slack. The little Gaghan daughter cannot hold on to the heavy stretcher, but follows along carrying the wounded soldier’s hat and supplies to participate. 

The teams complete their tasks, get their flags and check in with Phil at the mat! The Weavers get to the pit stop first and are rewarded with a trip to a beautiful resort. The Linz Siblings and Godlewski Sisters arrive in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. In 4th are the Schroeder Family, followed by the Aiello Family, the Bransen Family, and the 7th place Gaghan Family.

Back at the detour, the Paolo’s have decided to do the stretcher task and the mother is finding it physically overwhelming. The Rogers Family starts out on the battlefield but they find it too hard for them and switch to filling oil lamps. The bickering Paolo’s arrive in joy at the mat and in 8th  place. One of the sons says his mom is a fighter. Finally arriving is the Rogers Family. Phil: “Rogers Family, you're the last team to arrive. I'm sorry to tell you, you have been eliminated from the race.” 

Mr. Rogers: I made a mistake and led my guys in the wrong direction. It's my responsibility to take the blame, if there's blame to be cast. The one thing I tried to show Brock is you can't get where you need to go casting stones and blaming other people for your misfortunes. Brock: I feel like if my family listened to some of the things I had to say, we wouldn't have been eliminated. My family, it'll always be the same, they're always right, always know what's right in their minds. I can't stand it. Mom Rogers: After this race, I'm the glue that's hold us together. It's hard, but at the end of the day, we're still the Rogers family! Part Two [13 minutes]

Contributors: AmazingNut, Fuskie, Jem, Mo, Morty, ranster627 and Smirnoff. A big Morty’s Thanks!

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