Blum on Bridge Gatlinburg 2000
	Novices, please don't tune me out before reading this article. Believe me when I tell you it applies to you as well as to more advanced players. Read on and you will see why. Almost 14 years ago Connie and I were vacationing in North Carolina when we heard about a new time-share opening across the border in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Though I had never attended, I had heard rave reviews about the annual Spring Mid-Atlantic Bridge Regional Tournament held in the city nestled in the Smoky Mountains. Upon arrival we found the two-apartment rental less than two blocks from the newly-built, monstrous convention center that housed the regional. Connie doesn't play bridge, but seeing her chance to get rid of me for a week each year she convinced me to make the purchase. I was assured that my week would coincide with the dates of the tournament. It was one of the most enjoyable transactions I've ever concluded. I can comfortably sleep four in our unit and over the years many different folks have spent bridge week as my guest. Instead of spending a great deal of time on the individual events this year, let me become an advertisement for groups of you to attend next year. You see, the tournament is so huge - just 41 tables under 6,000 for the week this year - that the regional organizers make plans two years ahead. Next year's regional begins on Monday, April 16, and ends the following Sunday. To fly it is best to go to Knoxville, rent a car and drive one hour to Gatlinburg. This year I left Ft. Myers shortly before 11 a.m. and arrived in Knoxville at 2:30 p.m. No matter the number of days you stay, morning flights leave Knoxville at 10 a.m., putting you back in Ft. Myers by 1:30 p.m. Now comes the "big Blum pitch." White dogwoods are in full bloom through a glorious area punctuated by the Great Smoky Mountains. Generally the air is brisk, with temperatures reaching 70 degrees during the day. Even bad weather days aren't all that bad. Lodging is comfortable, inexpensive, and most importantly within easy walking distance to the playing area. At least seven inns and lodges are nearby including: the Clarion Inn & Suites; Days Inn; Leconte View Motor Lodge; Quality Inn; Ramada; Riverside Motor Lodge; and Rocky Top Village Inn. If you want to be really neat, do as my friends Mike Cappalletti & Shannon Lipscomb and Dick and Jane Teal do. They rent a chalet in the mountains overlooking the town and cook barbecues between sessions for their friends. I was there and it felt like a little bit of heaven. The restaurants in the area serve some of the best country eats you could ever desire. My personal favorite is about a 20-minute drive on the other side of Pigeon Forge (home of Dollywood, birthplace of Dolly Parton). It's called Apple Barn, with fresh trout, home-cooked fried chicken, homemade meatloaf, you name it. All of it is served country style. I have only one word after my meal: burp! A short walk from the convention center are a number of excellent restaurants, including The Peddler, which has as good a salad bar as there is. You will be seated next to the beautiful mountain stream that flows through the town. To give you an idea about how large the playing area is, I'll tell you a story. There are only two rooms, divided by a block wall that takes up half the space so you can go from room to room by walking around either side. I went to my table located in section "H" and sat waiting for my team. Ten minutes after game time, after another foursome claimed the table, a director came over to inform me that my team was looking for me at a table in "HH". With 14 tables in each section, you figure out how many tables were in play. Mine was on the other side of that wall, not a short walk. My all-time favorite instructor is Edith McMullin from my hometown, Washington, D.C. Fortunately for you novices she is your American Contract Bridge League teacher and is most revered at the Gatlinburg Regional. She runs the I/N (intermediate-novice) program that includes a number of 14-table sections. Not only does she give free lessons, but a number of experts donate their time during the week to teach this group. After each session trophies are given to winners, as well as masterpoints. Of course points are also given for placing down to fifth in most sections. By the way, the convention center is a non-smoking facility. To smoke, you must take the escalator to the main floor and go to the outside porch. I know a number of groups of four ladies who have made this their short vacation. And don't let me forget to mention that the walk through the six-block town is a maze of quaint shops loaded with most unusual merchandise. I can't close this column without offering congrats to our own Rosemary Weber who, smiling from ear to ear, informed me she had made Life Master in Gatlinburg. It's a day all that go there can never forget.