Zucchini Lasagna, submitted by Rob Sherbon in Florida

Any season is a great one for cooking! Picnics and cookouts are usually some of Mermaid Cottages’ favorite memories. There’s just something about food that brings family and friends together like nothing else can. It’s with that in mind that we ask for your help!

Here at Mermaid Cottages, we’ve added a new feature to our blog. Mermaids in the Kitchen is meant for sharing recipes with our Mermaid Nation; there’s just one problem. We need some fresh recipes to share! That is where you come in. We would love for all you Mermaid Cottages fans near and far to help us in the kitchen!

Do you have a fabulous recipe you just love returning to time and time again? Is your potato salad the life of the party? Do you have a beach inspired meal that your family can’t get enough of? A cocktail that makes you wish it was happy hour all day long? We’d love to hear about it! Please send us your recipes!

Shrimp is always a favorite around here!

We’re looking for recipes to share, and the beachier, the better!  Winter, spring, summer, or fall, we’d love to hear what you prepare to make your family and friends smile. If you have a recipe you’d like to share, please send your recipe and information to us at diane@mermaidcottages.com.  Please feel free to share any stories about your recipe. Including pictures of your prepared recipe is a major plus, too! After all, don’t we all eat with our eyes first?

So get those cooking notes out of the cupboard, dust off that go-to recipe card, and shoot us an email! We can’t wait to hear (and see!) what you come up with!

Join spectators as they line up along the parade route on Butler Avenue. Everyone will be armed with buckets, squirt guns, and hoses! Parade participants on floats will be ready with water, too. It’s an all out water war! The beach bum fun begins at 6:30 p.m., so get here early for a spot along the parade route. The parade began in 1987, but its attendance has grown each year, and now it’s a pretty big deal. It’s definitely a Tybee Island tradition you won’t want to miss!

So if you needed a reason to get wet, we don’t think there’s a better one anywhere! Make sure you visit the picture galleries at Savannah Now to see all the fun from years past!

Just a few tips for those of you already planning on joining the fun: If you are arriving and checking in to your cottage on Friday (May 18th) you will want to try to arrive around 4:00 PM or after 8:00 PM, especially if you are staying mid-island and will need to travel down Butler Avenue or Jones Avenue.  Also, if you aren’t wanting to get wet, you will want to stay away from Butler Avenue during the duration of the parade; just remember, if you do go down in the parade route area, you will get wet!!!

The Beach Bum Parade is good clean fun, and it has always been the official kick off to Tybee’s busy summer season. We can’t wait for Friday and we hope to see you there! Bring your water batter gear and don your bathing suits because it is always a wet, wild, wonderful time!

“Ever since our honeymoon with Mermaid Cottages back in 2008, we are always on the lookout for mermaids. Well, we recently moved to Florida so I thought there’d be a plethora of them, but they seemed few and far between…until we went to Barberville! There seemed to be a mermaid around every corner at Barberville Roadside Yard Art & Produce. I didn’t even get a picture of them all before my camera battery died! We even got a merman! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!”

WOW! That’s a lot of mermaids in one spot. The street lamp is especially neat! Thanks for sharing Melissa and Rob; you certainly hit the mermaid jackpot!

Have you spotted a mermaid? We’d love to hear about it! Please send your sightings and stories to diane@mermaidcottages.com and keep any eye out. Your sighting could be the next feature on our blog!

Mermaid Cottages

Castaway Cottage is pet-friendly, so don’t leave your best friend behind! The picket-fenced front yard and private patios on both sides of the cottage provide the perfect place to enjoy the salty sea air with your family and friends. Simply enjoy the great outdoors with a book, or make a day out of it by having a cookout on the grill! It’s up to you. Your cottage is an easy two blocks from Tybee Island’s beautiful beach; there’s even an outdoor shower (hot and cold water!) to wash the salt and sand away after those long days of beach combing.

Castaway Cottage has everything you could ask for is a beach cottage. You’ll enjoy a fully equipped kitchen, complimentary high speed internet and WiFi, cable television, and more! This extremely bright and cheerful cottage is just missing one thing…YOU! Why not book a visit today and discover the magic of slowing down.

• Bid online throughout May on art and destination auction items! Auctions end May 31st at Garden Party event at the Isaiah Davenport House Museum! Go here to bid! www.myHSF.org/auctions

Mermaid Cottages has recreated our own line of custom coffee with the help of Phillip at the wonderful PERC Coffee Roasters right up the road in beautiful Historic Downtown Savannah, GA. We’ve got a brand new blend and a brand new look to go along with it! Each coffee blend is hand-roasted in small batches to ensure you get the very best coffee experience. Phillip’s passion for making the best coffee possible certainly shows in every delicious cup! Our Mermaid Morning Bliss, available exclusively in our cottages or at Seaside Sisters, is available to order by the pound. Our Coffee makes a great souvenir or take-home gift, but best of all, sales help support the Tybee Sea Turtles programs!

Tybee Island’s Sea Turtle season runs from May 1st thru Oct 31st. During this time Loggerhead sea turtles come to our beaches to lay their eggs; 60 days later they hatch and the babies race to the sea. Mermaid Cottages has always been a proud supporter of the NESTS program and the Tybee Island Marine Science Center Sea Turtle Project. We are so proud to say Mermaid Morning Bliss helps our efforts!

We provide each cottage with our Mermaid Morning Bliss Coffee for you to enjoy during your stay, but you can also take our unique taste of Tybee home with you! Email us at diane@mermaidcottages.com to order by the pound, or make sure you stop by Seaside Sisters while you are visiting for everything Mermaid Cottages, including our delicious Mermaid Morning Bliss! And, for more information about Tybee Sea Turtles or to find out how you can be involved, click here to visit the website or call (912) 786-5917 for more information.  Thank you for helping us support our sea turtles!

Savannah Tree Foundation will hold A Toast to the Oak, an evening to celebrate the Candler Oak tree. Purchase tickets (which includes 1 year of membership) here:

http://savannahtreetoasttheoak.eventbrite.com/

Tybee's beautiful beaches welcome you to relax and unwind.

It’s not such a secret that Tybee Island is the best place around to relax and unwind, but did you know there are a lot of things to do on the island? Well, we aren’t just for beach bumming! Tybee Island has loads of activities and sightseeing opportunities, and our cottages are close to it all!

If shopping is your thing, Tybee is the place to be! We have loads of beautiful shops and galleries. From clothes, to gifts, to amazing local and regional art, you can find it here! Seaside Sisters is the place to be if you want something unique and sassy. Stop by Shipwreck Jewels for treasures to adorn yourself or loved ones! Looking for amazing art to take home? Stop by the amazing Tybee Fish Art, Atlantic Beacon Gallery, Mary Ingalls Art Glass Studio, or Gallery by the Sea; Tybee sure does love our art, and it shows!

If sightseeing is more your style, Tybee has you covered! Our beautiful beaches are perfect for the beach comber in you and the Tybee pier and pavilion is a great place to cast a fishing line, or just enjoy a little people watching. Don’t miss the view from the top of the Tybee Island Lighthouse. You can learn all about our island’s ecology at the Marine Science Center, or immerse yourself in Tybee’s history at the Tybee Museum. If you’re a history buff, make sure to visit Fort Pulaski, too! There’s something for everyone to enjoy on our little island.

Plan a visit to Mermaid Cottages or just come for the day, either way we’ll be glad to see you! Tybee Island has so much to offer, you’re sure to find something you’ll enjoy! Don’t wait another minute. The only thing Tybee is missing is you!