BY JEFF HEILMAN
Vermont is quite the Siren call. Just ask Willie Docto and Greg Trulson, owners and innkeepers of Moose Meadow Lodge in centrally located Waterbury, 15 miles west of Montpelier, the state capital. Over cocktails on the front porch of their skillfully crafted rustic B&B, the married couple recalled their permanent move to the Green Mountain State nearly 20 years ago.
Both living in Washington, D.C. at the time, Docto, a professional violinist to this day, and Trulson, then a computer-systems architect with IBM, first met in 1992 while vacationing at a gay-owned log cabin B&B in West Virginia. The lodging would prove the very shape of their future together.
“It’s the style we love most,” informed Trulson, originally from Minnesota. “One place in particular, the Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch in Stanley, Idaho, inspired our vision of someday establishing our own log cabin B&B,” he continued. “Soaking in the views of the surrounding wilderness and Sawtooth Mountains there, we saw the blueprint for the look and feel of what we wanted to achieve.”
Their opportunity came in 1996, when IBM offered Trulson a contract job in Essex Junction, Vermont. His partner balked at first. “Vermont, which I’d never visited, sounded cold and far away,” admitted Docto, originally from the Philippines, “but the chance to create our B&B proved irresistible.”
Finding their dream property did not take long. “Actually, it was the first listing the realtor showed us,” said Trulson, describing their 86acre hillside retreat just outside the village of Waterbury, 30 minutes east of Essex Junction. “There was the requisite cabin, but what sold us was the 12-sided, glass-walled gazebo at the property’s summit, with spectacular mountain views to the north,” he continued. “We then spent two years creating Moose Meadow.”
Opened in 1998, the lodge catches the eye with its debarked white cedar trees, branch stems preserved, vertically supporting the outdoor front deck and roof of the expanded original cabin.
“Inspired by Rocky Mountain Ranch’s red-cedar columns, we handpicked those from a forested area in Vermont near the Canadian border,” related Trulson, a talented woodworker who created the Lodge’s rustic furnishings and décor using local twigs, bark, and other tree parts. In the cozy living room, kitchen, and four guest sanctuaries, taxidermy, vintage skis, fishing tackle, snowshoes, and other touches create an Adirondack-style ambiance, with amenities including the fiveperson hot tub, trout pond, and hiking trails. The gazebo became the Sky Loft, where overnight guests can camp. Fantastical, too, were my overnight digs some 200 feet from the main house, the luxurious twostory Treehouse, added in 2013.
“The business that we are really in,” said Docto, “is about creating exceptional, unexpected experiences and memories for our guests that will make them want to come back.”
Still having fun meeting and entertaining their guests, many serial repeaters among them, the couple are consummate hosts indeed, including showing me charming Waterbury.
Crowned “the best beer town in New England” by the Boston Globe in 2012, Waterbury is a quintessential Vermont village renowned for its world-ranked craft beer scene and lively pub culture, with Prohibition Pig among the popular watering holes.
Along with the mandatory stop at Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory, we visited Cold Hollow Cider Mill for their insane cider donuts and the Cabot Cheese Annex.
Green Mountain Coffee (now Keurig Green Mountain) is headquartered here, with a café inside the beautifully restored 1875 Waterbury Train Station (served by Amtrak) by the village green. Housed in a historic grist mill by a waterfall, James Beard–nominated Hen of the Wood is among Vermont’s top restaurants.
Waterbury sits amid four world-class ski resorts, each some 30 minutes away. Along with Sugarbush, Bolton Valley, and Mad River Glen, these include Stowe, headquarters for long-running Winter Rendezvous, or Gay Ski Week, each January. Also in Stowe, the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum showcases thousands of ski-related archives and artifacts, including a stirring section dedicated to Vermonters who served in the 10th Mountain Division during WWII.
Docto considers Waterbury to be “the most LGBT-friendly tourist town in Vermont,” explaining that, “we have several LGBT-owned businesses, such as John McConnell’s Vermont Liberty Tea Company and Pack & Send Plus, where Darren Pitstick and his partner Rick help travelers ship their local purchases home. Plus, LGBT residents are active in community efforts like planning the annual Waterbury Arts Fest and marketing the area through the Waterbury Tourism Council and other local organizations.”
The couple themselves are leaders in both the local and wider Vermont scenes. “Early on, we saw ourselves and other gay innkeepers and business owners as pioneering ambassadors and liaisons for their communities,” said Trulson. “Often, we are the first gay people that our straight customers meet, and that generally sparks awareness and positive, meaningful connections.”
Count matrimony in the mix, including the straight couple that came to Moose Meadow to break-up, only to recommit to each other after spending time with Docto and Trulson.
When Vermont passed the landmark Civil Union law in 2000, weddings became a Moose Meadow staple. “We hosted the nation’s first gay military wedding in 2011, immediately following the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy,” said Trulson, an elected justice of the peace who officiates weddings and civil marriages throughout Vermont, adding that, “marrying Willie in 2001 was pretty special too!”
For his part, Docto capitalized on the law to found the Vermont Gay Tourism Association (VGTA). “Here was this amazing window of opportunity…yet there was no state support for LGBT tourism marketing,” he recalled. “So I organized a dozen fellow innkeepers, pooled our money, and began promoting LGBT Vermont through regional advertising and trade shows.”
Under his leadership, VGTA, incorporated in 2003, gained recognition from the state, funding included (Vermont’s tourism board has no LGBT division) and counts some 80 members.
Through their efforts, gay travelers have learned about the abundant reasons to experience Vermont. “Beyond the headlines of our ski resorts, autumnal glories, farms, historic villages, and award-winning culinary and craft beer scenes, Vermont stands apart as a progressive, open destination,” said Docto. “Gay travelers are welcome here—our laws prove it.”
Open doors have always been my experience of Vermont, since first answering the call in the early 80s while schooling in the bordering Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. While each New England state has its charms, Vermont, in my view, stands apart. Its landscapes and namesake mountains forever protected by the landmark 1968 law prohibiting roadside billboards and other strict environmental statutes, the Green Mountain State possesses an authenticity and enchantment all its own. Vermonters are an appealing lot, too, occasionally gruff but with a proud Yankee sense of community, essential for survival in this largely rural state.
Bound by New York to the west, Canada to the north, New Hampshire to the east, and Massachusetts to the south, Vermont’s glory is fully revealed across its network of remote rural roads and ten designated scenic byways. I’ve chased many of the quintessential drives over time, save those in Vermont’s rugged northernmost reaches, which due to my shortened schedule, would have to await another time.
Next on my agenda was another distinctive gay-owned oasis, Frog Meadow Farm, in the tiny southeastern Vermont village of Newfane. Retracing my arrival route, via I-89 East and then down I-91 to Brattleboro, was the speedy way there, but with just enough time on hand, and the siren call impossible to ignore, I started out by heading 30 miles west to Burlington, the “Queen City” of New England.
Lapped by mighty Lake Champlain, Vermont’s most populous city was the nation’s third largest lumber port in the mid-1800s. Today, this festive destination brims with youthful energy (the University of Vermont is here, plus three colleges) and plentiful visitor draws.
Walkable from Burlington’s downtown (along with Waterbury’s, one of 24 state-designated historic districts), Lake Champlain, sixth-largest in the US, is for paddle boarding, kayaking, tours, and dinner cruises aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen. Currently being upgraded, the Burlington Bike Path, leading to the Lake Champlain Islands, is a must for wondrous lake and Adirondack Mountain views. To the east, distantly visible from the city, hikers have Camels Hump and Mt. Mansfield, two titans in Vermont’s collection of 52 state parks.
Inspired by an open-air pedestrian mall in Copenhagen and lined with restaurants, outdoor cafés, specialty and national retailers, and cultural venues, the brick-paved Church Street Marketplace District is Burlington’s main gathering spot.
Adjacent Pine Street has contemporary galleries and finds like Speaking Volumes for used books, vinyl records, stereo equipment, art, and other “ephemera.”
Burlington is home to the Pride Center of Vermont (PCVT). As the leading community and advocacy center for LGBTQ Vermonters, PCVT is also a dependable online and in-person resource for LGBT travelers. Now assuming day-to-day operations of the VGTA as Docto winds up his leadership, The Center also organizes the annual Pride Vermont parade and festival. Taking place each September in Burlington, Pride incorporates Northern Decadence, a food and beverage event founded by Docto in 2011.
Since the closing of gay landmark Pearl’s a decade ago, the city has not had an official gay bar. Locally called “Grrrlington” by some for its vibrant lesbian population, the city does not lack for queer-friendly watering holes and clubs, however.
“First Friday” dance parties at Higher Ground in South Burlington exemplify the active “pop-up” scene. Housed in a former cinema, this popular live music venue also hosts the annual Winter is a Drag Ball. Organized by Burlington-based drag performance group House of LeMay, this perennial smash sellout, launched in 1996, supports the Vermont People with AIDS Coalition.
With other signature events including the long-running Magic Hat Mardi Gras parade in March and Pop-Up! Queer Dance Party, Burlington-based Burly Bear Promotions regularly uses live music venue Red Square for leather, fetish, and other themed events benefitting Pride Vermont and other organizations. Other queer-friendly bars include The Three Needs and male-centric Half Lounge. Meanwhile, El Gato Cantina offers zesty Mexican-inspired food, while Leunig’s Bistro & Loungeevokes a bustling Parisian café.
Choice overnight options, each with lake views, include the boutique Hotel Vermont, featuring Juniper restaurant (and Hen of the Wood’s Burlington outpost next door); Hilton Burlington; and Courtyard Marriott Burlington Harbor. In nearby Essex, upscale The Essex, Vermont’s Culinary Resort & Spa is a long-time VGTA member renowned for its onsite culinary programs.
Culture is served at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. With programming including music, Broadway, theater, and dance performances at the 1,411-seat MainStage, this revival of a magnificent 1930’s “entertainment palace” also includes cabaret space and gallery with rotating exhibits from area artists.
Seven miles south of Burlington lies scenic Shelburne, where gayfriendly Shelburne Vineyard is a beautiful year-round spot for sampling award-winning Vermont wines.
Along with tours of The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, two mustsees are the Shelburne Museum and Shelburne Farms. Exhibited in 39 distinctive buildings on its verdant 45-acre campus that includes 25 relocated historic structures, the former’s 150,000-piece collection ranging from French Impressionist paintings to duck decoys is among the most diverse in the nation.
Set on 1,400 acres along Lake Champlain, the latter is a historic working farm offering tours, education, and overnight stays at the National Historic Landmark Inn at Shelburne Farms. This summer, the farm was one of eight Vermont agricultural sites hosting the second season of Farm to Ballet, a dance collaborative uniquely weaving together “the timeless arts” of farming and ballet, with some proceeds benefitting area farmers.
Unfolding as I motored south on Route 7, the Champlain Valley, Vermont’s leading agricultural region, is a hypnotic expanse of endless open fields and pastures. After passing through Vergennes, Vermont’s smallest and oldest (1788) chartered city, home of the 1897 Vergennes Opera House and lakeside Basin Harbor Club and Resort‚ and Middlebury, I turned east on Route 4, “the Crossroad of Vermont Byway,” in Rutland.
Side note: Route 4 West leads to Lake Bomoseen and its bordering state park. The largest lake entirely within Vermont’s borders, Bomoseen was once a glamorous resort destination where stars like Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong performed, and most famously, is home to Neshobe Island, summer retreat in the 1920s for Dorothy Parker, Harpo Marx, and other members of the Algonquin Round Table, or “Vicious Circle.”
Skirting the southern edge of the Green Mountain Forest, Route 4 passes by Pico Mountain and six-peak Killington Mountain, “The Beast of the East,” renowned for its double black-diamond runs. Housed in a renovated 1849 farmhouse, VGTA member Red Clover Inn & Restaurant in nearby Mendon is a stylish spot for gay weddings and escapes.
Route 4 continues east to Woodstock and Quechee Gorge, Vermont’s “Little Grand Canyon,” but here I veered south on Route 100 (briefly concurrent with 4) toward glorious Southeastern Vermont and Windham County.
Also known as “Vermont’s Main Street” and “The Skier’s Highway,” Route 100 connects most of Vermont’s major ski resorts along its 146mile length. Just below Killington is Ludlow, home of Okemo Mountain Resort. Chartered in 1761, this former mill town features a pretty historic district stop on the Green Mountain Railroad scenic tour route, and The Downtown Grocery, where Chef Rogan Lechthaler, from nearby Weston, hand crafts a winning seasonal menu from locally sourced fare.
Also chartered in 1761, Weston is home to the original Vermont Country Store, and Bobo’s Mountain Sugar for wood-fired Vermont maple sugar.
Crossing into Windham, my favorite Vermont county, is always like coming home. Outside of its ski resorts Mount Snow and Stratton, the area has gone largely untouched by tourism development until very recently, giving it pristine country character reminiscent of my upbringing in rural Sussex, England.
In Londonderry (1770), where three-time James Beard semi-finalist Wesley Genovart woos diners at SoLo Farm & Table, I chased Route 11 East to Chester (1754), boarding point for the Green Mountain Railroad and where Jersey Girls Farm Store sells great dairy products and prepared foods.
Fetching, too, is Route 35, which descends into Grafton (1754), home of hand-made Grafton cheese and The Grafton Inn (1801), one of America’s oldest operating inns. Chasing yet another spellbinder, Route 30, I passed through Townshend (1753), where draws include the 277-foot wooden Scott Covered Bridge from 1870, Townshend Dam recreational area, and 22-room Windham Hill Inn, one of Vermont’s three Relais & Chateaux properties.
Finally, nearly 200 meandering miles after leaving Waterbury, I rolled into Frog Meadow Farm and was greeted by quite the welcoming committee. Drawn up the driveway by the smell of campfire smoke, I encountered a wood-fired hot tub full of naked men, just as my hosts enveloped me in welcoming hugs. “That’s the ‘aloha spirit’ of Hawaii, inspiration for Frog Meadow,” said owners Scott Heller and Dave King as we settled outside and they shared the story of their frolicsome fraternal retreat.
The couple met over coffee, sort of. In 1991, Heller, a New Yorker who frequented Vermont for weekend skiing and other pursuits, pedaled into Mount Snow (in Dover, near Newfane) while training for a triathlon. Cold and tired, he encountered King, a Newfane native then directing the resort’s Mountain Bike School, and inquired about coffee.
“I was so taken by Dave that I never got the coffee,” said Heller. “We saw each other mostly on weekends over the next five years, until I said enough to the long-distance relationship and moved to Vermont.”
Initially, the home they built, on the site of a 1700’s hilltop dairy farm and apple orchard in Newfane, was their sanctuary and place to entertain friends. Following a life-changing visit to a rural gay-friendly escape in Hawaii, it became their place of transformation. “We swam with dolphins, strolled the black-and nude beach, and had Sacred Intimate massages (originated by the Body Electric School, focused on explorations of body, eros, emotion, and spirit) so powerful that I saw a new future,” related King, who subsequently enrolled in massage school as the couple set to creating their own clothing-optional retreat for men.
In every aspect—the setting, the vibe, the amenities, the on-site programs—Frog Meadow fulfills its “oasis” billing. For gay and bi men seeking to shed stress, responsibilities, and inhibitions for a spell, this is the place.
Three rooms in the main house include the Frog Meadow Suite, with two-man Jacuzzi, along with Brook Cottage, constructed from aromatic cedar wood, and the Honey Bee Cottage, which is “tucked into the lower meadow beyond the orchard and apiary”. Guests can roam naked (except for the driveway) around the rambling 63-acre property, which includes gardens, trails, and spring-fed swimming pool. Mind, body, and soul engagements include customized treatments in the dedicated massage studio, and enrichment workshops and retreats in areas such as healing, sexuality, yoga, and meditation.
The community-focused couple, who just celebrated the 25th anniversary of their Vermont Civil Union in 2001 (they married in Massachusetts in 2003), also bring guests and locals together by hosting social gatherings, potluck dinners, outdoor activities, and fundraisers for local non-profits such as the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont.
Yet more brotherly bonds beckon at Rock River, about four miles from the property. Renowned for its deep, clear swimming holes, the river is a popular spot for nude bathing, or the “Indian Love Call,” a Vermont tradition. Past the family area, the crowd gets increasingly naked and mixed, until about 30 minutes in from the trailhead, where the “official” gay area awaits. According to Heller, the scene is very “social and relaxed,” with “very cruisy woods” for libidinous encounters.
Heller, who has worked and lived around the globe, says he feels most grounded in Vermont.
“With a strong “live and let live” ethos, Vermont is a socially progressive state that has long attracted people outside of the perceived ‘norm,’ including artists, writers, hippies, and gays,” he said. “Since moving here, Southeastern Vermont, with relative proximity to New York and Boston, affordable real estate, and room to breathe, has attracted a steady influx of creative and entrepreneurial people,” he continued. “The result is a developing creative economy, along with a continually growing LGBT community. It’s not unusual for us to host several guests in a given week who are looking at real estate.”
Exemplifying the trend is nearby Brattleboro, which Heller described as “a very liberal and assimilated town where [two men or two women] can walk hand-in-hand and display affection without undue negative repercussions.” Many of the historic, artsy river city’s visitor draws are listed in “Discover Gay Vermont,” a tourism microsite created by the couple on their webpage.
Formerly a chef (ski patroller and EMT too), King saw me off the next morning with a delicious breakfast of eggs, yogurt, and toast spread with honey from the couple’s three beehives. Like Docto and Trulson before them, the couple waved me off, with the invitation to return. My head swimming with Vermont memories, new and old, that’s an easy promise to keep.