Last weekend, my husband and I went back to the mountains, this time so that he could attend a conference where he would be getting an award. I’m used to camping and hiking in the mountains, but this stay was quite different: the conference was held in a luxury resort that’s over 100 years old.
We drove through several terrific thunderstorms and arrived in the dark to drive over a little bridge to get to the resort, which takes up a whole island. The big wooden buildings had decks and balconies. The resort had three pools, all with gorgeous views of the lake, and a boat that’s a replica of a 19th century touring boat. The little book in our room gave me a whole list of options; they had tennis courts, sand volleyball, horseshoe pits, a golf course, ping pong, and billiards. There would be croquet on the teardrop lawn. Yes, croquet. I don’t think I’ve seen a croquet set since my childhood.
“Look there’s a dress code!” I said to my husband. I started reading aloud. “Smart casual for both ladies and gentlemen. Jeans may be worn as long as they are crisp.”
I looked down at the jeans I was wearing. I’m not sure what exactly “crisp” meant, but I was pretty sure that they didn’t qualify.
“You hate dress codes,” my husband said. He couldn’t figure out why I sounded so excited.
“That thunderstorm must have caused a wrinkle in the time-space continuum,” I explained. “We’ve gone back to the 1960s. We’re in the movie Dirty Dancing.”
The next day, as I walked to the pool (wearing a cover-up, of course, per the dress code), I passed children playing croquet on the manicured lawn. A group of uniformed bellboys carried luggage into the front lobby, where a coals glowed in the fireplace and a grand piano waited for the musician who would arrive that evening. At the pool, I chose a lounge chair under a big umbrella: past the edge of the pool, I could see the lake, the mountains, and the sky.
I had walked into a movie. Even the chiming of smartphones in the hands of guests around me could not dispel that illusion.
16 comments:
But Ahhhhh! look at that view!
That pool is amazing.
That is some view I would have stayed there all day. Crisp jeans they must be the ones pressed with the line going down them for people that still iron :)
At that point you have to dispense with the comfy jeans and just go with a sundress... LOL
At that point you have to dispense with the comfy jeans and just go with a sundress... LOL
I had forgotten that there is such a thing as a dress code. You entered the rarefied airs where life and cinema-pretend life collide. It's always beautiful there.
Sounds delightful and I love the view!
Oh dear, I haven't had crisp jeans since... well, I'm not sure when I had crisp jeans. Probably the first time or two they were worn and then... But it looks like a lovely spot and a break in the action! And who doesn't love a trip away?
Oh, I want to hear more!! That sounds so absolutely exciting!!! An old fashioned resort! Hey, your writing reminded me a little bit of Grand Hotel Budapest -- have you watched that? I LOOOOOVED it!
P.S. I wanna know where this resort is! I hope you stayed more than one night!
L: It's the Sagamore Resort on Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains. We stayed two nights -- wish it could have been longer! I haven't seen Grand Hotel Budapest -- I'll have to watch it.
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I live on the Western part of India at about 1900' above MSL on the Wetern Mountain Ranges. For me getting to the mountains is about twenty minutes driving time and I do it often. It is now monsoon here and a particularly scintillating time to visit the mountains.
My reaction to any notification about dress code would be "Let me see who will stop me!" Before you get carried away, mostly the dress codes are part of old stuffy colonial time clubs to which I don't go but when I do, I would insist on wearing our national dress and dare them to stop me. My idea of fighting against colonialism! You can imagine therefore that members of such clubs avoid me like the plague.
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HA! I should have known, I think this is the resort that my friend showed me years ago and that she DREAMS of going to! WOW. Is there another one like that in upstate NY? But from the photos it looks like this is the one. I wish I could afford to pay for my friend & her husband to go! I hope she'll go for her anniversary someday. WOW, what a hotel!
OK, actually it may be another one. I remember there being this steep cliff in the back of the hotel, towards the lake. NY state is full of fancy places, it seems!
It's the Mohonk Mountain hotel. The website talks about "grand hotel tradition" -- you have to watch The Grand Hotel Budapest! It's a crazy kind of film, but visually stunning, funny and grandiose at the same time.
Gorgeous view!
I do like dress codes, even though the ones here are more implicit. Which makes some American tourists stand out. I don't get the constant shorts, fleece, running shoes. But that's only some of them. Some dress 'normally'. :-)
Dress codes are not for me, either. What is it all about? Why are humans imposing so many rules on themselves? It all sounds so crazy to me. :))
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