Editorial Story about Cottage by the Beach
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Getting Together At A Cottage Away From Home
by Ruth Atherley

The world has changed and we all know it. Some things have become more important and some things less important. My family and friends have become much more important. Travelling has remained important to me. Staying in big anonymous hotels has become so unimportant that we go out of our way to find personal, friendly alternatives for our vacation and business travel. We discovered some place very special when we stumbled across the Cottage By The Beach rentals in Galveston, Texas.

Each year, for the past ten years, a group of us have gotten together to celebrate our friendship. We live across North America - in Toronto, Boston, New York, Austin, Vancouver - and the boundaries are growing to include London, England and other cities around the world. The group evolves and changes as the years pass - some times there are 20 of us, other times only four - it depends on family, work and other obligations, but each year, we all treasure the opportunity to spend time together.

We have always searched for special places to go - and the accommodation is as important to us as the location. After 9/11 - we made a pact. No more big hotels where you live on different floors (sometimes in different towers) and end up spending more time on the phone arranging meeting times, making reservations and too much money in the impersonal hotel bar and restaurants. Now we rent beach houses, guesthouses or cottages so that we can really spend time together, without breaking the budget. Coffee in the morning, mid-afternoon cocktails on the deck and deciding (face to face) whether to make dinner or make reservations.

Our very precious time together is better spent and, the truth is, we have the best time discussing our options for the day. Sitting on the deck with coffee cups in hand, the sound of the ocean in the background, we laugh and joke, offering up our opinions and requests for activities and adventures and our two cents worth on what we should do with this great day, The most important decisions of the day - where to go for happy hour, what time the sunset will is, who is going to walk the cute little puppy next door and -- who gets to play bartender for "sundowners" that evening - are easier together and a lot more fun.

Cottage By The Beach gives us the best of all worlds. Not only are the accommodations great - the rentals allow for the group of us, no matter how big or how small, to be in the same place. Cottage by the Beach offers several different rentals, three of which sleep from 5 to 6 each and are grouped together right across from the historic Galveston Strand Beach. Two other larger rentals that sleep up to 10 people each are in other beach front locations in Galveston.

We stay at the cottages by Stewart Beach - with decks that give you a view of the beach, where you can sit and enjoy the view or for thosewith a little energy, you can walk up and down the sandy shores (with waves crashing in) for miles. There are great neighborhood pubs and restaurants that are just a short walk around the corner. (And owners John and Billy are a great resource of happy hours, where to find free appetizers and a local's knowledge of where to find the best food on the island. They also know the best spots to hit for antiques and collectibles, lawn and garage sales).

With a group as diverse as ours, we found Galveston had something for everyone - there are historic tours of local plantation homes, many vintage, antique and collectible shops to browse through, greyhound races, local theatre and live music and of course, the great seafood restaurants. Nearby Houston houses the NASA Space Center, that is at least a day's worth of fun. Of course, you can always just sit and relax with a book or a good friend on the deck, or stroll along the beach looking for seashells and other gifts from the ocean.

The accommodations at Cottage By The Beach are reasonably priced, clean and offer all the comforts of home. The beach is just across the street, seafood and local restaurants are close as are grocery stores in case you want to eat at home. (And let me tell you how nice it is to get up in the morning and make coffee, sit on the deck with your friends and listen to the sound of the waves hit the beach.)

From October to April, you can take advantage of low season rates - and Canadians looking to visit Cottage By The Beach get a 15% discount to help offset the exchange rate. For more information, check out ww.cottagebythebeach.com, email info@cottagebythebeach or call 409-770-9332.