The email got me dreaming: Seattle mag writer Joe Follansbee sent word that his new book, the Fyddeye Guide to America’s Lighthouses, is now available. Joe, a consummate storyteller and maritime expert, has a boundless enthusiasm for these beautiful and historic beacons, as do I, after a weird and wonderful week I spent living in one as a “lighthouse keeper” a few years back.

I’ve never known a week like it. Eight of us loaded up a Suburban with seven days’ worth of supplies—because once you make the low-tide careen across the shifting sands in the custom-outfitted truck, there’s no going back until pickup time, a week later. No car, no grocery store, no errands.

Spending a week stranded at the end of Dungeness Spit near Sequim might sound like hell to some—especially when you factor in that this is a working vacation (mow the lawn, hoist the flag, polish the brass, give tours to the intrepid souls who make the 5-mile trek down the longest natural sand spit in the U.S.) and given that I paid to be there. But the gorgeous keeper’s house is packed with amenities (satellite TV, WiFi, etc.). And those sunrises—complete with cavorting seals—and the solitary walks on the beach…well, I would go back there today, if I’d thought to get a reservation in last year!

Must join New Dungeness Lighthouse Association to be a keeper; $35/year. Week’s stay is $275–$350/adult. Book well in advance; newdungenesslighthouse.com.