Unique holiday gift: Overnight at a lighthouse

Want to solve your shopping problem, quick and easy, with a gift that's special, unique, and comes gift-wrapped and ready to present? 

Give an experience:  an Lighthouse Overnight!

Order instructions at the bottom of this post. 

So, what would a Lighthouse Overnight be like?

#1:  The lighthouse is built as a 2-3 story colonial home, not a tower, so the 2 bedrooms are on the 2nd floor.  There are no tall staircases to climb, unless you want to go up to the widow's walk at the top to examine the light.

 #2:   The lighthouse is out on a point.  So, it requires a 1/2 mile walk from your car, through the tidal woods,  to the front door.  You'll have to carry in everything you want for the night which - don't worry --is not much (sleeping clothes and toiletries, change of clothes for next day, and dinner - read below). 

The trail is actually a highlight of the trip.  It runs right along the river bank and you often see deer or herons.   

#3:   In the warm months, you can arrive at the lighthouse by either foot or kayak.   In the winter, though, kayaking would not be safe, so plan to arrive on foot.

#4:  Because the lighthouse is in a tidal area, the path to the lighthouse floods during high tide.  This feels very romantic once you are out at the lighthouse (surrounded 360* by water!), but it means that check in/out is at very specific times, scheduled around high tide.   Be prepared to get check-in times like "1-3pm and 7-8pm".

#5:  At the lighthouse, you'll be joined by one other pair of guests and a lighthouse keeper.  He'll give you an orientation, share the history, and help with any questions you have (like how to use the antique stove).   He makes a delicious - if not gourmet -  breakfast the next morning.

However, you'll be responsible for your own dinner.    It's nice to coze into the lighthouse once you arrive.  You can warm some cider or open a bottle of wine and enjoy the fireplace. Then, for dinner, I recommend bringing a pre-made lasagna or casserole that's easy to warm.  If you want to cook something more elaborate, though, there's a full kitchen at your disposal and even a modern gas grill outside (if you don't think it's too cold).  Or keep things super easy and enjoy a late lunch/dinner in town before you check in.  I would just discourage going out to a late dinner -  it's hard to do the hike in and out, after dark, in the winter.    

#6:   Although you're right on the water (with the river literally right outside your bedroom window), the lighthouse is cozy, heated by 2 gorgeous woodstoves.  

Wintertime at the lighthouse is a perfect time to read books, play games, peruse the guest book/comments, and enjoy the historical collection and restoration video in the 2nd floor museum. 

#7:  Just so you know... 

No pets.  No smoking.  No hairdryers.

RATE FOR PACKAGE

The rate for this Lighthouse Overnight is $399 for 2 people. 

Includes: 

*fully planned overnight with confirmed reservations including breakfast

*driving directions from home of recipient

*local dining and tourist info to enjoy enroute (like the famous Pedestrian Cross-Hudson bridge downriver or NY's wine country)

*a souvenir coffee mug from the lighthouse 

Your LIghthouse Overnight gift arrives complete, in decorative packaging, ready to present!

Payment by personal check or any major credit card.

HOW TO ORDER

Call (609) 923-0304 or email Tough Love Travel here! 

Order by December 15th for Christmas delivery.

ON THE WEST COAST?

If you'd like to give a Lighthouse Overnight to someone on the West coast, I can do that!  I have 2 options near you, too!   Just call or email for info.

The gift of a Lighthouse Experience is special, unique.  With all the quirkiness of sleeping in a remote lighthouse, your Holiday 2013 experience with leave you with some great stories, and maybe even some bragging rights!   

My night at the Light: sleeping at the San Fran Bay lighthouse

Got questions about sleeping at this lighthouse?  I'm here to help!

On a sparkly September afternoon, I drove with my 23-year-old up the curvy dirt road that skirts the shoreline of San Francisco Bay, north of Richmond Point.  We had briefly detoured to the Pt San Pablo Yacht Club, but were redirected to this outpost, the SP Yacht Basin, to meet our launch out to the light.

Doug and I, and the 6 other guests for this night, piled into the open-top motorboat with Richard, the East Brother lighthouse keeper,  and scooted into the chop of the bay.

The East Brother lighthouse is strategically placed on the San Pablo straits, where this 450 square mile bay tightens to a narrow passage linking Sacramento's watershed (the melt-off from the Sierra Nevada) to the ocean.  It originally served as a key transportation route during Gold Rush days and, later, as a shipping lane for the Navy yard near Vallejo.

Between Invincible Rock (a submerged rock 1/2 mile south of the Brother rocks) and the bay area's famous fog, ship captains needed a guide, so in 1871, Congress approved money for East Brother Lighthouse.   It took several years of legal maneuvering for the rock, previously reserved by President Jackson for military purposes, to be leveled for a lighthouse, but in 1874, the first steam-powered fog horn blew.  This is what it sounded like:

They warn you that your arrival is via a 15-rung ladder that rises vertically from the bobbing boat up to the lighthouse dock, but it's nothing to worry about.  We all made it and, in a minute, were toasting the East Brother lighthouse with a welcome champagne.

After our apertif and some crostini made with local artichoke, we spent an hour exploring our 150 x 100 yard rock. We settled into our first floor room, the Two Sisters (named after another pair of rocks to the north).   When you go, request the 2nd floor Marin Room.  It's got an ensuite bath and imagine waking up to water views like THIS!...
Besides the 5 bedrooms and a small museum with keepsakes from early lighthouse days,  our favorite space was the 3rd floor widow's walk, up by the light.

From this aerie, we could see west to Marin, southwest to the San Fran waterfront, and further still to the Golden Gate Bridge.   

The sun set.   The splash of boat traffic was replaced by the squawk of sea gulls which followed us into the dining room


where a gourmet menu of walnut salmon (seasoned with cuttings from the lighthouse herb garden), black rice,  CA wine - of course - awaited us!                        



Nightfall created a soothing venue to cozy into one of the picket-fence-side benches and listen to the lapping bays waters as the stars came out.  

FOGHORN AT THE LIGHTHOUSE

Lucky for us, it was September.    Once November's weather settles in, the foghorn sounds every 30 seconds, all day and night long. 

But we had a peaceful sleep, and in the morning, the lighthouse keeper helped us to rev up the original steam-powered foghorn.  It took 7 of us to pull start lines and open valves and measure pressure and move chains, which made us admire the solo lighthouse keeper in the late 1800's who had to keep this horn operating around the clock in fog and storms!


MORNING AT THE LIGHTHOUSE

Morning was spent sipping coffee as the day broke over the bay,  savoring a scrumptious breakfast,   and inhaling lungfulls of sea breeze -- enough to sustain me as I faced re-entry into a city frenzied by America's Cup racing.

One of my fellow visitors, a city dweller, marveled at how removed he felt from the San Fran bustle by only a 30-minute drive! 

At 11am, we crawled back down the ladder and into the bobbing launch.  I was brimming with history and charmed by lighthouse romance.  I knew I would return.  It is only 30 minutes, after all, from Pier 39! 

To plan your overnight at EBLS or to hear about other special overnights, 

grab a free phone call with Melanie now!

Sleeping in a lighthouse in San Francisco Bay!

From Alcatraz, the notoriously punishing prison in San Francisco Bay, inmates stand in the cafeteria where even silverware is withheld, and feel absolute confinement and longing -- yet, they peer through the barred windows out to the mouth of the bay and to the endless freedom beyond.   This contrast, they say, is the ultimate soul crusher at Alcatraz.

There are better ways to spend the night in San Francisco Bay!
Did you know that you can sleep in a lighthouse, out in the middle of the water?

WHERE'S THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY LIGHTHOUSE ?

Overnights at East Brother Light Station are  an adventure you'll not soon forget!
It all starts with a 30-minute boat launch out to an island in the bay, where you're greeted with a champagne  reception.  


WHAT TO DO AT SAN FRANCISCO BAY LIGHTHOUSE?

Spend the evening learning the history of this light, which dates back to 1874, or watch a foghorn demonstration straight from the "old days".  Walk up to the lantern room, and even out onto the widow's walk for a 360* view of the bay at sunset!  Imagine...

You won't be alone out there!  At the East Brother Victorian B&B, there're 4 period-decorated rooms, holding up to 8 guests, plus caretakers who will serve you the island specialty -- Lighthouse French Toast Souffle -- the next morning.

COST OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY LIGHTHOUSE?

An overnight  in the middle of San Francisco Bay will cost you somewhere between $295-$415.
This includes your boat ride from Point San Pablo, your reception and overnight, your 4-course dinner (either in the lighthouse or on a nearby island!), and your breakfast, too.

ANY MORE IDEAS FOR SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA?

After your one-of-a-kind overnight in San Francisco Bay, here are some of my favorite things to do in  the city:


*  Go on a staircase hike!  Meet my local  gal who'll take you on usual tour  (aka  workout) of her city, via the amazing mosaic  tiled staircases!

*Go on a back-kitchen foodie walk through the restaurants of  the Mission with another of my favorite guides!


*Hunt for  blackberries on the wild grounds  of the Presidio (then have dinner in the old Officer's Quarters).




*Ride the ferry up to Napa's 
wine country for a "sensory seminar" on wines (what's a sensory seminar?  Call me at 609-923-0304 to hear more on this specialty excursion!)


*Go on an oyster crawl, starting at the storied Anchor Oyster Bar!




Want help with this (or some other) summer  vacation plan?
Grab a free phone call with Melanie,  the most creative and  exciting  travel designer and owner of Tough Love Travel. 
Here's the link... click it now!