anatomy of the perfect pool day
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No alarm clock. No honking horns. No barking dog needing to go out. Today you wake up to nothing but silence and sunshine. Peek out the window of your room and you might catch a glimpse of a Congress Hall staffer vacuuming the pool, a daily ritual. Stop by Tommy’s Folly for sunscreen if you forgot to pack your own. “People are only using half the amount they should be,” says Stephen Hess, MD, PhD, a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. So how much is just right? At least a shot-glass amount to cover the exposed areas of the body. Enter the pool area. Select from the 140 coral-cushioned, fully-reclining, teak lounge chairs. Fun fact: Teak grows in four countries — Burma, Thailand, Laos and India. A smiling pool attendant will provide you with towels and set up your umbrella, which was made in New Jersey. Put your feet up and relax. Hungry? New this year, we’re offering breakfast at the pool! Choices include muesli, yogurt parfait, breakfast panini, egg white veggie panini and bagels. One too many drinks at The Brown Room? Freshly squeezed juice will help. The ingredients of the Ultimate Green — kale, spinach, pineapple — will ease your hangover, according to The Journal of Food Science. Take your first dip in the water; the family pool is a comfortable 82 degrees, while the adult pool is set at 85. Go ahead; tap along to the music. “I enjoy when we get the island vibe out there,” says pool manager Jordan Rowan. “A little Bob Marley, some steel drums and it’s easy to feel like you’re in the Caribbean.” Reapply your sunscreen. And drink water — staying hydrated can help keep your mood happy, according to research from Tufts University. Cockail service is now open. Don’t get up — a server will come to you. FYI: July 19 is National Daiquiri Day but you’re free to celebrate that particular holiday any time you like. Popularized in the 1940s, when warimposed rations made vodka and whiskey hard to come by, the rum-based daiquiri was loved by Ernest Hemingway… and by many guests who frequent the Congress Hall pool. Are you a parent? It’s time to check that your children aren’t chewing the foam noodles that Congress Hall provides for them to play with. No, really. “We reorder several times a season because kids love chewing the noodles, especially if there is one that happens to be strangely colored,” Jordan says. Lunch time. Have you tried the caprese sandwich? It isn’t available at any other Cape Resorts property. In season, those tomatoes are coming straight from Beach Plum Farm (see page 44), and it’s a choice that’s “light enough to enjoy on a sum-
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concierge 2014
mer afternoon, but substantial enough to fill you up,” Jordan says. The sun is at its hottest point, meaning it’s a good time to stop by the ice-cream cart. The Chipwiches are the most popular choice, unless you’re under four-foot tall… then the Iron-Man is number one. (Don’t be ashamed; we’ve seen adults order it.) Take a delicious nap. Doing it at this time of day “can help counter that classic post-lunch dip in energy and alertness,” according to Psychology Today. And no worries; the staff are used to seeing guests fall into that deep, mouth-open kind of sleep. If you only felt like a really quick nap, crack open an appropriate book. Here, from a National Public Radio poll in 2009, the 10 most popular beach reads ever: 1. The Harry Potter series; 2. To Kill a Mockingbird; 3. The Kite Runner; 4. Bridget Jones’s Diary; 5. Pride and Prejudice; 6. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood; 7. The Great Gatsby; 8. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; 9. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café; 10. The Poisonwood Bible. Time for some shade, so retreat to the Congo Pool Bar, where you’ll catch the end of the baseball game on TV or catch up with long-time Congress Hall employee Elle Rohana, who teaches in Brooklyn during the off-season, or her sister Jenna, who is finishing up her studies in equine science in Rhode Island. “The guests and staff become family,” Jordan says. “It’s not uncommon to see them having long conversations. When you see the same faces for a couple of weeks, seven or eight years in a row, you develop relationships.” Take note of the trumpet vine, which has been growing next to the bar since 2002. Fun fact: It helps shade the bar’s refrigerator, which keeps the temperature down and makes that vine as useful as it is pretty. You must be thirsty. Try one of the many inventive cocktail or mocktail options on the menu that incorporate housemade lemonade. Looking for a change of scenery? Cross the street for a dip in the ocean. You’re going to want to give the kids a snack to hold them over until dinner. Chicken fingers and a Cherry Almond Coke should do the trick. Enjoy the soft light of a sinking summer sun reflecting on the water. Take a deep breath. Savor the moment. For many people in Cape May, this is the most special time of day. Feel free to wash the chlorine off at one of two outdoor showers before heading back to your room, sunkissed, to prepare for dinner. We know it’s hard to leave but don’t worry… the pool will be waiting for you in the morning.
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