Kentucky. 15th state of the union. Known as the Bluegrass State where the bourbon is carefully crafted, where the state stops to hear “My Old Kentucky Home” on the first Saturday in May, and where a restauranteur once blended eleven herbs and spices.
It is also known for coal mining so its fitting its newest ambassadors are a coal miner and his wife.
It was easy not to think much of David and Mary Conley early in The Amazing Race 10. How could this simple, polite couple who rarely travelled spare for David’s stint in the U.S. Army, possibly compete with athletic teams such as Tyler and James, Dustin and Kandace, and the brothers Cho?
By the time their race was over, they were one of the most beloved teams ever on the show.
The couple, David is 33 while Mary is 32, reside in Stone, Ky. They met 11 years ago while working at a local McDonald’s and were married soon after. They are parents of three children. However, it was only a year before the race that Mary travelled for the first time so if anyone had a lot to gain just from the adventure, it was them.
The race almost ended for them early, as they finished 10th at the first pit stop. But even then, they showed signs of their undying commitment to eachother and their desire to make their kids proud of them. However in episode two, Mary started criticizing David. David, never trying to turn it into a shouting match, just let her have her say and moved on.
It was an emotional trip to Vietnam for David whose father served in the Vietnam War. But the emotions didn’t stop there as Mary, nursing a bad ankle, made it to the pit stop and into the arms of Lyn and Karlyn. It was here that the Six Pack alliance with the moms from Alabama, as well as the Cho brothers, began to form. Mary remarked that she had never dealt with Asian Americans before so their friendship with Edwin and Godwin was a welcome sight.
After a fifth-place finish in Vietnam, it was off to India where they faced more adversity, and a new twist. After finishing last in the non-elimination leg, they were informed they had to finish first in the next leg or endure a 30-minute penalty.
That’s when the friendship they forged with the Cho brothers really paid off. In Kuwait, the teams received a fast forward. Seeing that Dustin and Kandice were thinking of racing David and Mary for it, the Chos went as well. That scared off the beauty queens. Edwin and Godwin though, were just bluffing. That allowed David and Mary to do the fast forward unopposed and win the leg.
However, they were back to being marked for elimination after being the last team to bail from an impossible task in Mauritius. And this time, there would be no saving them. Despite beating Lyn and Karlyn to the mat in Madagascar, they only had to wait 10 minutes to see the moms get checked in.
Their legacy was the way they embraced every culture they encountered, the smile that never seemed to venture far from their faces, and their ability to keep together one of the nicest friendships The Amazing Race has ever forged.
They may not have won the race but man, when they were guests on The View, they hit the jackpot. Co-host Rosie O’Donnell showered them with trips, a computer, a digital camera, a gift certificate to a menswear store, a Ford Explorer, and a pledge from a homebuilder to build a house to replace the trailer they lived in on their property. Guess Rosie isn’t that bad after all, right Mr. Trump?
And now, another adventure. Another chance to see the world and all the wonders each culture they encounter brings.
And another chance for us to enjoy Kentucky’s newest ambassadors.
