(Gerry Panos, Fumie Teitelbaum, Joan Griffin, and I recently traveled to the Gatlinburg Regional, in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee.)

Gerry did most of the driving, depending on her GPS system to get us there. As we approached Chattanooga, she asked me to reset the time on the system as we were very close to the Central Time Zone. We were all pleased to hear that; the extra hour would allow us to check into the hotel, have a quick bite, and play bridge in the evening session. Upon arriving at our hotel at 6:15 pm, we discussed where we were going to eat. I suggested calling the restaurant across the road to make sure we could be seated right away. Any delay would mean missing the evening session.

Which we did. Literally.

Now picture this: The four of us left Spring Hill at 7 am, drove for twelve hours and played in the 7:30 pm game. Wouldn't you think we'd be ready to pack it in? No way! We were hungry. Unfortunately, Gatlinburg businesses roll up the side walks early and most of the businesses were closed by 11:30 pm. We walked up the street and down the street, (you might say we were street walkers), and were just about ready to give up when we spotted a karaoke bar on the second floor above a store.

Should we see if they were still serving food? You bet we should and they were. You can imagine our pleasure when we were all carded, a requirement in Tennessee!

We had a great time. The food was good, the singers were good and we all had to prove we were over 21. What a day that was!

There's a lot more to tell about this trip, but this will have to do for now.