*guest post by mom*
I found one of the best vacation ideas ever while surfing the 'net in the middle of the night waiting for infant Hanna to fall asleep again.
The Rose Island Lighthouse in Narragansett Bay, R.I. has a Guest Keeper program where you are allowed to live in the lighthouse, do some chores and pretend to be a lighthouse keeper. They accept families, provided the children are 5 years or older.
I've waited 5 years to take this vacation -- And it was awesome!
We were picked up in Newport RI and drop off on Rose Island by the foundation's director who gave us a tour of the house, rainwater conservation system and wind turbine. There were daily chores connected to rain collection and testing as well as electrical storage and use. When we tallied the daily reports, we could see exactly how much water and electricity we used each day.
Because we went in March, the island wasn't really open to visitors and so we had the entire 19 acre island to ourselves (well, and birds too!) We explored, looked for shells and sea glass, played games and had an amazing time.
We had a few chores, like hauling and stacking wood that was delivered to the boat dock.
Heather and Hanna at the top of the lighthouse
The weather was mostly sunny and bright but it was still cold and extremely windy!
A number of board games and puzzles were played during the week!
With the exception of one night that was *really* windy and stormy, it could not have been a more perfect week.
