Thru Kelli's Eyes

Words by Kelli Creighton, photos by Larry the Zombie and Alicyn Drew.

If you spend any time at all on the Internet frequenting MINI Facebook pages I can guarantee you have come across Kelli Creighton. It is easy to describe her as a colorful person, one who is a bundle of fun. But Kelli has a thing about zombies, in particular killing them. This role-play seems to be fun for her but when it comes to having a zombie handy as a target, that role falls to her husband Larry. Poor Larry, but he does not seem to complain. Thanks for putting together this article Kelli, it is great to see the trip ‘Thru Kelli’s Eyes’

MINIs On The Dragon…..

318 Curves in only eleven miles…… One thousand people registered for the event And an amazing $14,5000 was raised for the G registrations, donations and from the ‘Mini Skirts’ booth

2014 was our fourth time to MINIs On The Dragon (MOTD) and my zombie and I decided to change our trip up a bit. We started the journey on the Monday before MOTD with plans of stopping in Senoia, GA (aka Woodbury from The Walking Dead TV show) to get in some sightseeing and photos for my club, the MINI Cooper Zombie Outbreak Response Team. Also, I was in hopes of running into the stars of the show, Daryl or

in six hundred and ninety-three MINIs….. raham County Food Bank thanks to MOTD.

Rick, since they had resumed filming that week. On our way to Senoia, we ran into tornados again (it has become a standing joke amongst other MINI peeps that Blaze likes to bring the tornados with him to The Dragon) This year we were chased all the way to Montgomery, AL., where we stayed the night with sirens blaring and I was fearful of Blaze getting pelted by hail. I actually contemplated soaking the hotel bedspread

and using it to cover Blaze for the night! Well, we made it through the night without my baby getting hurt, even though we were told by the news to take cover multiple times throughout the night. On Tuesday we continued to Senoia where we stopped at our favorite place for lunch, the Senoia Coffeehouse & Cafe is definitely a must if you are ever in the area. We went on to visit the new Walking Dead gift shop in town called the Woodbury Shoppe where I took lots of fun pictures in their museum and sat on Daryl’s motorcycle (don’t tell them). We visited a few filming locations in & around Senoia and again took lots of pictures for my troops. When it was time to leave Senoia, we decided against staying the night in Atlanta and drove all the way to our destination for MOTD, Bryson City, NC. We heard that the second wave of storms was making its way to us again and figured we should just out run them. We arrived at West Oak Cabins and Bed & Breakfast on Tuesday evening, one day early, so it was now time to relax. We stay at West Oak every year, the cabins are super cute and quiet and the owner is really nice to us. Wednesday, saw us waking up to a much better day. The weather was nice, in fact perfect Dragon slaying weather! We had our daily super yummy free breakfast at the Everett Street Diner, one of the best places in town for breakfast. Then we made our way to The Road To Nowhere, about ten miles outside of Bryson City, NC. The Road To Nowhere was a name given by the residents of Swain County, the actual name is Lakeside Drive. The road goes to a beautiful tunnel that goes nowhere. The Federal Government was supposed to finish it so the displaced residents from the creation of Fontana Lake could get to old family cemeteries. They never followed through and now the residents have placed a sign at the beginning that says; “A Broken Promise”. My zombie took some beautiful Victorian style pictures while we were there. Finally we decided to make our way to The Dragon. We just had Blaze’s ECU tuned & that little MoFo is so fast, we practically burned the tires off on the first run, tires squealing the entire way, going as fast as the zombie could safely go without leaving the pavement & taking flight. There was a strong smell of brake dust wafting in the air. It was the perfect time, since not everyone had arrived and the Dragon was clear of other cars. Blaze was meant to drive The

Dragon, especially now since the upgrades. We took the Dragon twice before deciding to make our way to where all the MINI peeps hang out, Fontana Village. I saw lots of old friends, met new ones and eyeballed lots and lots of MINIs. It’s always so much fun hanging out with hundreds of MINIs, I feel like I’m in a huge gang! That evening was the MINI Skirts party, they always throw an awesome bash! Lots of great music and people partying, plus a photobooth. I don’t drink, but my zombie was loving the free beer! Thursday was a day to take it easy, just hanging with MINI peeps at Fontana Village & Vendor Alley, there was so much cool stuff to buy from great vendors. We also visited the Fontana Dam Visitor Center and the zombie harassed the nice ladies that volunteer there. They were very sad to see him leave. I think that was the most excitement they’d had in days! We departed for the Zombie Kill & met the troops at the lower dam area. About ten MINIs showed up and we annihilated two zombies. Everyone took pictures with their cars and the zombies (no real firearms are used in the photo shoots). I have a feeling those zombies will live another day to irritate us again....one day soon. I’m always ready! That evening I took Blaze on an evening run on The Dragon, it’s more difficult at night, but equally as fun. There are usually less people out there at night which allows you to go faster.... faster is always more fun! Friday, we decided to take Foothill Parkway over to the town of Townsend for some lunch, shopping and sightseeing. Foothill Parkway has some awesome photo ops of the Smoky Mountains and surrounding areas. That evening I had a nighttime photo shoot booked with Alicyn Drew who is an amazing photographer. It was so much fun, she worked with a fog machine and some really cool lighting. Blaze turned out beautiful! If you ever have the chance to book Glamour Shots on The Dragon with her, do so! Saturday it was all about the Car Show time, we had to hurry up and get Blaze cleaned up for the show. We were one of the first cars to pull in and I had high hopes for winning, but as soon as I saw Murray Pfaff and Alter Ego pull in, I knew I was beat! That car is awesome! He ended up winning five trophies. I know he won 1st place in my category (Hardtops) and Best In Show (can’t remember the other three). Blaze won 2nd place Hardtops division & Jaw-Dropping Interior! I was very happy with that! Luther Shields won 1st in the Coupes class with Joshua Hamman winning in the Convertibles division. Molly Nolte was the winner with her beautiful Morgan in the ‘Other’ division. There were so many awesome cars in the car show! I can’t remember all the winners. Sunday came way too soon, I didn’t get to meet everyone that I planned on meeting or do all the things I wanted to do. Next time I will definitely stay longer. If you have not made it to a MOTD event, do so! You will not regret it. It’s always our favorite event, great people

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The scenery is beathtaking, through in a MINI or twoand it becomes stunning!

& beautiful scenery, lots of waterfalls, so much to do, you’ll never have time to get bored! I’m already missing The Dragon & my MINI friends....my second home....till next time....

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Glamourshots by Alicyn Drew

www.alicyndrew.com

For those of you that did not know Kelli, has agreed to work with M7 Tuning/ Speed as their social media ambassador. This involves posting al sorts of MINI related things to their social media sites and representing the company at some events where it is not possible for staff to attend. if you have any MINI events or M7 related news, contact her on Facebook to get exposure on their Facebook page.

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