My ode to fellow Competitouristas

I'm having a difficult time adjusting to Eastern Standard Time again. Yesterday, I fell alseep watching TV at 11 a.m. and again at 8 p.m. Then I woke up this morning well before the sun rose, but it gave me time to put together the following memories from the trip. Here are a few things that stick out in mind:

I'll never forget . . .

. . . Ray getting through the labyrinth in seven minutes. Lucky, bastard! :-)

. . . Pat giving it her all despite being ill early in the trip. Next time, don't drink water from the Jet d'Eau.

. . . Teri maintaining her cool despite missed trains and closes venues.

. . . Veronica's extensive knowledge of Broadway musicals and Comi-con lore. A girl after my own heart.


 . . . Dan never needing an excuse to strip down to his skivvies. I'm surprised you didn't film yourself at the FKK area in Munich's Englischer Garten!

. . . Karen describing Dan's edible underwear in front of the chocolate museum. I don't think i would've been able to keep a straight face.

. . . Jan is a seriously competitive adventure junkie with some mad survival skills! If the civilized world would come to an end right now, I'd stick by your side.

. . . Sean's acting abilities and charisma. He can channel Donald Trump, Howard Cosell or a used car salesman. And that's just scratching the surface.

. . . Margaret's ability to warp time and space--doing things in half the time it takes a normal person. She's also capable of leaping tall mountains in a single bound.

. . . Tyler's party tricks. He always kept us entertained with drinking games and human knots. Might I add, he's also a heck of a pianist.

. . . Ally's style and grace. She always looked calm, cool and collected, even zip-lining over Munich's Olympic stadium.

. . . Bob's laid-back attitude. For him, Competitours wasn't about winning; it was all about enjoying the ride. And what he told me outside of Loden Frey in Munich helped me foster a more cooperative relationship with other teams.

. . . Judy's marksmanship. Are you sure you didn't train with the special forces?

. . . Sherri's rebellious nature. She wasn't afraid to say, "To hell with the game, I'm drinking a beer instead!"

. . . Ksenia and I straddling three countries together while we waited for lunch to appear at Dreilandpunt. It still hadn't been served by the time we got back to the table.

. . . Lyndall kindly sharing her wine and her seat with me on the train to Cologne. Thanks!

. . . Radford dressed as a merman as he sang the Loreley song on the banks of the Rhine River. When I saw the video, I knew "As Seen on TV" were going to be a serious threat!

. . . Lanthy on the toboggan run. I nearly rear-ended her after she and Rad got stuck behind some kids.

. . . DeAnna sharing her shoes with me at the Conquest Go Kart Center in Koblenz! Without her generosity, and close-toed shoes, I wouldn't have been able to race at all.

. . . Kelly's superhuman intelligence. I think she was the only one to get that crazy math equation in the underground bunker.

. . . Steve for getting us where we needed to go just in the knick of time (mostly).

AND FINALLY

. . . Sheila's ability to put up with me! You never know how two strangers are going to get along when thrown into a stressful situation. We complemented each other very well and I'm happy to have been her partner. We may not have won the grand prize in the end, but we received the longer-lasting gift of friendship.