Mr. and Mrs. Teabody Visit Revel

Good Morning from the sunny side of the Meadow Grounds mountain where stepping outside  is already a bit like swimming through stew so Mrs. Teabody shall be serving up ICED tea at Tickle Your Fancy today. Both Summer Passion with its mango beat and Tropical Sunrise, a citrusy rooibos, lend themselves particularly well to icy offerings and Mrs. Teabody wants all her Gentle Readers to slide through July in a collected state of mind. While Mrs. Teabody finds much about summer to celebrate, the "H" trilogy, Hazy, Hot, Humid, finds itself quite far down her list of summer pleasures. Nonetheless, when the opportunity to  have an overnight stay at a brand new resort  on a sandy beach next to a rolling ocean, the Teabodys gleefully packed their beach basket with high-numbered sunscreen, thick sunglasses, and loaded Kindles. With Duchess Ming happily ensconced with her excellent good friends, Robin and Tim at Kritter Lodge, the Teabodys made their way on their latest adventure.

Revel is the most recently completed resort in Atlantic City and it sits like a slumbering transformer reflecting sea and sky in its panels of mirroring geometry -- curves against straight lines, flat against soaring. Truth to tell its shape is not terribly inviting though it is most interesting. Here it is:

To the uninitiated, Revel is welcoming-- hosts of young people in lightweight grey stand OUTSIDE the resort to greet and answer quick questions, and once inside, one immediately confronts a lovely six stories-high atrium featuring a dazzling rainfall of mixed metal "falling leaves" sculpture. Just next to it is a most unfriendly looking - - not to mention STEEP escalator. Truth to tell the incline and height matches that of the Green Park exit on the London Underground, an escalator of legend. No need to risk life and limb, however. Pop around the corner to the left and you will find a bank of elevators to whisk you to "Revelry," the casino floor, or to other levels including the resort's registration/lobby  which is mysteriously located on the ELEVENTH floor. Entering the lobby one immediately grasps the intelligence behind this placement as everything just opens up to space and sky. Outside one sees rooftop gardens, lounging and sitting spaces, walkways, freeform umbrellas, firepits, banks of grasses and colorful flowers ---each one looking more inviting than the next. Inside the ceilings soar and the same sorts of intriguing spots invite visitors everywhere to take a moment, have a look about, indulge in something to eat or drink--there are THREE places to do so as one walks from the elevator to registration. A delightful young woman asked the Teabodys if they were fearful of heights, and some sleeping devil answered "the Teabodys are not" which is how they all-too-soon found themselves on an express elevator soaring skyward to the forty-fifth floor nearly rupturing eardrums in the ascent. 

This late in the Teabodys' lives, nothing quite matches the anticipation of standing outside one's newly-assigned hotel room imagining what lies on the other side. Mrs. Teabody fiddled and fretted but could find nowhere to put her  key card. Alas! Fortunately, Mr. Teabody bears a scientific brain which permitted him to pass the key card in front of an eye, thus permitting egress, and what wonder accompanied the Teabodys' entrance! The exterior wall was nothing but glass and what swam into view on the forty-fifth floor was a most spectacular panorama of sea and sky, punctuated with familiar but tiny land features so very far below. Two squashy comfortable black plaid chairs swiveled the Teabodys straight around for a most comfortable gaze and for the longest time, that exercise alone was amusement enough. Gradually, the Teabodys began an exploration of the room itself first finding the check list  of the value of various amenities. Mrs. Teabody recognizes subtext when she sees it and announced that nothing so lowly as a face flannel ($20)  nor so extravagant as a tablet ($800) would be traveling along home. A look at the stunning room:

Gentle Reader, Mrs. Teabody could natter on and on, but she is running a wee bit late so you shall be spared.  Mr. and Mrs. Teabody adored Revel. They long to return. Rounding out this escape was a Blue Man group performance which at its end had the Teabodys on their feet joyously engaged in a freeform volleyball game with a thousand newly-discovered "friends" batting madly away at ten or so gigantic white beachball/balloons, all the while keeping time with the pervasive and lively beat. There were meals of delight, gaming that did not break the bank, Boardwalk ambles and blissful reading and napping. Batteries fully recharged.

All too soon, they found themselves ensconced in a car hurtling along the motorway homeward, thankfully without incident. Collecting a much beloved pet was joyous, and crossing the threshold into Chez Teabody  most satisfying.

Mrs. Teabody does not need to remind her gentle readers that this summer of 2012 has been one of incredible loss and heartache, of  brow-furrowing concern and challenges, of discomfort so unrelenting that one almost wishes for a snowy day. Almost.  All most. To sort out a brief holiday to take one away from the cares of one's circumscribed existence if even for a little, little time can prove so rejuvenating. Being away from home also engenders a new appreciation for the familiar, the tried-and-true, the reliable, the routine, the stuff of everyday existence. The Revel ticked all the Teabodys' boxes for beauty, design, comfort and appeal. But there's no place like home. There's no place like home. 

Make the most of today, Gentle Readers!