Rhode Island
Photo credit: Stetson Freeman / The Christian Science Monitor / Getty
Spending a week at the Rose Island Lighthouse off Newport gives new meaning to the term working vacation. As part of the Keeper for a Week program, those with strong backs can stay for seven days in the quaint lighthouse in exchange for a few hundred dollars and an agreement to complete a few hours' worth of chores each day, including cleaning, raising and lowering the flag and monitoring the weather station. The lighthouse was built in 1870, then abandoned, then restored in 1993. Today it resides on the National Register of Historic Places. If you're approved for the program, it will be your duty to keep it pristine. Still reluctant? Travel and food expenses can be written off as a charitable contribution. Rate: from $700 per week