FROM THE NAVIGATOR'S PERSPECTIVE
or HOW TO ENJOY THE DRAGON FROM THE RIGHT SEAT

By Sarah Blakey

The day began a little later than we had planned. David Van O had been late driving back from Atlanta where he and Cathy had been going to school and helping Cathy's daughter in law have a Grandchild for her. Their Chocolate Lab Sophie had spent a couple of nights with our family. Dogs outnumbered the humans for a few days here, but they were a joy. We had been a little late getting up and going and arrived 20 minutes late to the Atlanta Bread Company. I will have to admit, we did make two wrong decisions on the way through Knoxville.

When we arrived the lot was full of MINI's including a great Red, White and Blue Classic. This was a lot better than our first attempt on the Dragon when only Kelley and us made the trip. I think the total count was 13, a lucky number this time.

After a quick cup of coffee and a muffin we were on our way. David Kimble lead us through town and I think we all thoroughly enjoyed the local drivers gawking at us as we snaked through the turns and stop lights. We crowded a few red's but no one seemed to care, they just thought it was a parade. Somehow we ended up on a great back road with lots of tree cover and lots of good practice turns.

The group split up, with the most spirited drivers taking the lead, we were in the middle group, and the less experienced drivers covering our six. (Harm always says that on JAG)

David had me adjust the seat where I could put both feet firmly against the foot well, I grasped the handle on the door with my right hand, and put my left hand on the emergency brake (or parking brake if you must) and told him if he scared me I was going to slow him down. He just laughed, and then I laughed because we were both having fun.

We arrived at the intersection of Highway 129, the DRAGON, bunched back up and started off again. I just relaxed, acknowledged it was 15 miles per hour faster in the right seat, and began critiquing David's driving style. His goal is the perfect entry and the even smoother exit, picking just the right apex. He nailed a couple right off the bat and that made us both feel good.

A quick stop at the overlook for some quick stories, a few photos, and we were off again. The quickest left first, and then the rest of us. Somehow we ended up by ourselves so David pulled off to wait on a few. It is a lot more fun with others. Kelley flew by followed closely by Brooks. No one else was in sight so we pulled out after them. In a few minutes they came into view and we closed the gap. Three MINI's tearing through the turns. It was really fun, and then Kelley pulled off putting Brooks in front. We stayed right on him and played road racer through a few turns, only to have Kelley on our tails in no time.

One secret, it is easier to follow someone into a turn than to lead through the turn. You can always brake a little later, and accelerate a little sooner. It wasn't long until we arrived at Deal's Gap.

I will ask someone else to pick the story up here.

The Dragon, Continued, by Donna Kimble

On arrival at Deal's Gap those of us who had sticker-less MINIs made the trip inside the store to check out the assortment of Dragon decals available. Even Kelley, who has a strict policy of no modifications to her MINI, made a decal purchase. She quickly informed us that she would be using tape to install the sticker from inside her car.

With David Brichetto in the lead we decided to continue on to Tapoco Lodge and found it still closed for the winter. From there we took a curvy, scenic short cut around Robbinsville through the Joyce Kilmer Forest. At this point we were down to 8 MINIs including Jim in his "Stars and Stripes" classic. We began the trek upward on the Cherahala Skyway.

The day was clear and the views were stunning. As we climbed in altitude we passed snow on the roadside and then found some icy patches on the road. We stopped for pictures at 5300 feet but not for long as we were a bit chilly at this point. As we continued we passed an group of cars traveling the other way, one of which looked familiar to David Kimble. It was our friend Steve from Atlanta and his car club on a drive to the Dragon from the opposite direction. This was my first time on the Skyway and it was gorgeous, a must drive for anyone who enjoys motoring in their MINI. All in all, it was a perfect day for our drive and thanks to Kelley for organizing it.