Of course, this was both a surprise, and not. It seems that in recent months, Brattleboro has been getting a lot of attention for some rather off-beat news. As a matter of fact, a quick search shows that Brattleboro has appeared in Reuters Oddly Enough (an RSS feed I subscribe to) 5 times in the last 6 months.

In case you missed the controversy about the nudity in Brattleboro, I will give you a short recap. (You can read the whole WSJ article here if you’d prefer). About 2 years ago, some teenagers were goofing around on one of the rare “hot” days in Vermont. They got naked (after learning that there is no anti-nudity law in Vermont) and were playing some instruments on the town green, in the Gazebo. An AP photographer was up here on vacation and staged a photo with them covering all of their **ummm… parts** with instruments and the like. He uploaded his photo and lo and behold, it got picked up by hundreds of local papers as a human interest story.

Well, things were rather quiet at the outset. The summer came and went and it seemed that other than some funny conversations and emails, there was little backlash.

Of course, the next summer (2007) the word had spread and nudists started trekking their way to Brattleboro. There was one older gentleman who we would often see bicycling with nothing on other than a fluorescent pink fanny pack, downtown past our Inn. He was harmless enough and clearly made for some interesting conversations in our pub! Unfotunately from there, things started to get out of control. PETA was starting to take advantage of the opportunity and staged naked protests in the downtown park. Nudists were coming up on trips to stroll the downtown together. It was really odd, and admittedly I will say that (other than the PETA models perhaps) not much to look at…

Ultimately after much debate (read – months of discussions and public hearings) an ordinance was passed making it illegal to be naked in Brattleboro any longer. Punishment – “An officer of the law is to order you to clothe”. Failure to obey of course could result in a $25 fine (or you could be tasered – so just get dressed!).

I honestly thought that this was all said and done, until this new article in the WSJ. It was a pretty level headed and well done article, but I wonder what the inspiration was. Anyhow, for those headed up to visit us at Forty Putney Road, or to Brattleboro in general: just remember, you will have to keep your clothes on when visiting downtown. Of course, if you are into nude bathing, we have a few swimming holes that we would be happy to give you directions to that we wont be listing on the blog – we don’t want to be the source of this years debate!

This was our first PAII conference; we had a blast and learned a lot. We even had enough time to check out Disney World. The conference included educational sessions in many aspects of innkeeping including marketing, operations, technology, legal, financial and of course breakfast. The conference also included a trade show, we were able to purchase some great items for the Bed and Breakfast.

Of course it wasnt all work! Tim entered the Idea Fair before we left, his idea along with 14 others was chosen to be presented and voted on at the Conference. Tims great idea was to automate the lights, thermostats, and fireplaces in the guest rooms. For example, we currently only push one button to turn all of the lamps in our living room and breakfast room. It is a great way to save time and energy. We love saving energy up here in Vermont, it is how we keep Vermont greener then the rest of the country. Tim WON the contest with his smooth presentation and great idea. We won 3 Roomba Vacuum Cleaners from iRobot!!!

We also attended PAIIs Birthday Bash. They were celebrating their 20 year Anniversary with a party complete with drinks, dessert and games. Since we are not much for musical chairs, I entered the hula hoop contest. I was a finalist! Unfortunately there were some better hula hoopers then me. Well you win some and you lose some.

If you are looking for a place to celebrate your special occasion, please give us a call at (800) 941-2413.  We would love to host your small event at our beautiful Inn.

Amy recently entered the “Pancakes with Personality” competition sponsored by Bed and Breakfast.com. She made it all the way to the semi finals, where she received third place for her Almond Amaretto Pancakes! While we were disappointed that she didn’t win her deserved first it was exciting to be even recognized among so many seasoned innkeepers! Over 100 innkeepers entered nationwide, the local paper even ran a story about it – below. So, just one more great reason to visit Forty Putney Road – Some of Americas BEST Pancakes!

Monday, February 11 (From the Brattleboro Reformer)

Innkeeper’s pancakes stack up well against top competition

BRATTLEBORO — Amy Brady of Forty Putney Road Bed and Breakfast was recently named semi-finalist in BedandBreakfast.com’s Pancakes with Personality Contest. More than 100 recipes were submitted by innkeepers throughout the country and the Forty Putney Road B&B recipe for Amaretto Almond Pancakes was chosen among the best dozen pancake recipes in the country by BedandBreakfast.com judges. “We were very impressed with the pancake prowess demonstrated by Forty Putney Road Bed and Breakfast,” said Sandy Soule, Editor of BedandBreakfast.com and former B&B guidebook author. “So many accomplished innkeeper chefs entered the contest, but our semi-finalist choices really stood out. Our testers really enjoyed the Almond Amaretto pancakes from Forty Putney Road.” Brady has been making pancakes since her first job at 15 years old, working in a New Jersey Diner. Over the last 20 years she has perfected the recipe and is glad to have a place of her own to regularly demonstrate her pancake prowess. Brady and her husband Tim purchased Forty Putney Road in 2007 and have been working nonstop to enhance and improve the facility and guest experience. “It’s been a life dream to leave the corporate world behind and do something for ourselves,” said Amy. “We have always loved visiting Brattleboro and were thrilled when this opportunity came along.” For more information on Forty Putney Road Bed and Breakfast, visit www.fortyputneyroad.com or call (800) 941-2413.