Description: Twelve Beach Way is located in a pleasant beachfront association off of Route 6A in East Sandwich, MA. It's a great place for small families—it is a nice neighborhood, and you can walk (or, if you're lugging lots of beach paraphernalia, drive) the short 1/3 mile to the private beach.
The rental is located about 4 miles from Sandwich proper and its grocery stores. The association's sandy beach is nice and clean, with grass-covered dunes heading down towards the water. Because it's open only to association members (or their renters), it's never crowded. The water (since this is a bay side beach, rather than an ocean side one) is shallow, warm, and calm. It's a great place to learn to sea kayak, if the number of families who had brought one along with them is any indication. Even better, it's close enough to the house so you can walk the beach before breakfast, go home and eat, return to the beach until lunch, then go home to eat and nap before going back to the beach for the late afternoon.
The house itself is a modern half-cape that's equipped with just about any amenity you can think of--outdoor shower, gas grill, deck, beach chairs, cable TV, washer, dishwasher, two bedrooms (one queen-sized bed, one full), and two baths. Pots, pans, plates, cups, and utensils are provided, so all you bring are sheets and towels. The house is comfortably furnished and decorated, with an open floor plan downstairs; traditional, knotty pine paneling; a tiled breakfast bar; comfy couches; and pleasant bedrooms (one with a skylight). It's a casual place where you feel that you can relax and put your feet up.
If you get tired of lounging on the beach, Sandwich is a great base of operations for sightseeing. It is home to the Sandwich Glass museum, as well as a number of antique shops and boutiques and a cute teashop. Plymouth is half an hour away, as is Wood's Hole and the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. At $11 per adult round trip, and a 45-minute boat ride each way, the Vineyard makes a fun day trip.
The house is rented by Beach Realty of Sandwich. You can either follow the link to their website to book, or call 800/886-4998. The cost, as of summer 2004, is $1,000 per week in season.
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