ilovepink,

Can you clarify who is the "we" (you and your friend, you and the mom, or all three of you?) and for how long are you going to be at the beach house (like an evening or more like a week?)? If it's more like an extended stay rather than a one night party, how about just sending a nice bouquet of flowers with a note after the visit? Or maybe even a fruit basket?

Wine is always good...
But it depends on how long you are staying. My son and his wife spent a week at a friend's parent's condo in Florida a few years back. They bought and installed a new stereo system. Not a top of the line thing, but a pretty good system and certainly better than the jerry rigged wires that were there.
Why not wait and see what seems to be appropriate...
But I agree something in your hand as you arrive is nice....and that brings me back to the bottle of wine...or some lovely preserves...
Let's face it...food or soemthing that is used up is always better than a doo-dad...unless you can see it's something that "goes".
Linda C

Maybe a picture of her and your friend, or the three of you from a previous visit??

Maybe some sort of non-perishible food item, or a small manicure set that would fit in a purse, or a small little monogrammed silver box for jewlery, etc. with a little hand written note card that says something sweet.

Hope this helps!

Maybe there is a nice restaurant nearby where you can buy dinner one night.

Whatever you decide, it should be done at the start of the visit. I once read an article about being a perfect guest, and the one piece of advice I especially remember is to arrive with something tangible. It gets things started off right. If you decide to take your hosts out to eat, do it at the first opportunity. Same idea. We once had visitors for a week. One the last night, they took us out to eat. It was thoughtful, but all week we wondered if they were appreciating the efforts we were making. They'd have gotten more mileage from their gesture if they started out the stay showing us they wanted to do somethhing nice for us.

I hear you about candles and picture frames. I end up donating them to the sale at church. I don't appreciate wine either, as I don't drink it. Is there a way you can find out her preferences? If you do, maybe you can have something shipped to arrive when you do, like a cheese basket, nuts etc.

Justa' suggestion:
Once you arrive, at the beach house-you could arrange a basket full of seashells, sponges, coral, etc. Amongst the arrangement-place some wooden shellfish hammers to crack crabs, oyster knives, tiny cocktail forks, lobster bibs, Old Bay seasoning, mini melted butter cups, etc. Even a clam steamer would be a nice thing to hold the goodies.

When I visit someone, I like to take something that exemplifies my own home town or state. Something from a local artisan, or a book by a local author, for example. THEN, once you get there, be sure to look for opportunities to 'gift' again on a more personal level.

I do what Rhizo does....a local something when I get there. A meal out during the time I am there and a small token something that is personal(such as a piece of a collection, a special snack or treat that we have noted they like, or a picture from somewhere we have been), left on the bed when I leave. My MOST favorite received gift, was a picture frame made for three pictures. One is of me when we were dressed for church, one of DH on his motorcycle, and a third one of a vignette in my home that the lady printed in a special way. All of the pictures had captions printed in gold...and they were wonderful captions I might add. It is lovely that my visitor enjoyed herself enough to send back this beautiful tribute to a wonderful week's visit!!

Pink,

I agree, something from your hometown area would be great. For example, I live in the San Francisco area, a loaf of sour dough bread wraped in a pretty dish towel would be nice. Try your local farmstand for some local preserves. Another favorite is a box of chocolates from a local store, out here it's See's candy. Where I grew up it was Fanny Farmer. Coffee or tea is also a good choice; you could put them with a packaged mix of scones or another local favorite product.
I also agree to give the gift when you arrive or the next day. If you plan on talking the hosts out to dinner, let them know so they can work it into the plans for your stay. Enjoy your visit!

I agree with something from your local area when you arrive...I have taken cookbooks, history books about my city, I am from Georgia so peanuts are always a huge hit. With security, item and weight issues when flying I have started either shipping the hostess gift ahead or sending a bouquet of flowers ahead. I have sent those fruit bouquets and while they are lovely I think they are a bit pricy. My favorite gift to leave when I am leaving is monogramed stationary and a really nice pen. (again depending on the length of the stay.