Cottage Week '13

Cottage Week is one of the most highly anticipated weeks of the year.

Months ahead of time, we scour vacation rental websites for a cottage that is just right.

Weeks before, we plot and plan activities, outings, and meals.

When the big day finally arrives, we pile our vehicles high with snacks, sleeping bags, and tackle boxes, coolers, duffle bags, boats, and bikes.

We drive straight north in search of our beloved time away, until the road beneath us turns to gravel, and a cool lake breeze blows through the air.

And then we all pile out, arms full, hearts full. We race from room to room. We run to the end of the dock. We sink into the sofa.

We smile. We relax. We exhale.

Because we have arrived.

Because Cottage Week is like no other week of the year.

Check your troubles at the door.

Pile on in.

Lose control.

Live, play, eat, rest -- all in community.

Hold close the ones you love.

Hit the open road.

Take it all in.

Crack open a cold one.

Grab a towel -- and a friend.

Hunt for treasure.

Leave no stone unturned.

Stay up way past your bedtime.

Embark on an adventure.

Find out what's behind the curtain.

Enjoy the ride.

Create a ripple.

Make a SPLASH.

Embrace your bedhead.

Chart a new course.

Feel the wind in your hair.

Cross something off your bucket list.

Head home (when you must), 

but carry a piece of this week in your heart until you meet again.