A Place in theWoods

We here at Good Citizen are commited to exploring the very cool and wonderous world of our weird, little state. Vermont holds many secrets, and Vermonters aren’t loose with the lips, as they say. Sometimes, if you fall off the beaten track, you find some very cool things. Boston scribe J. Lianna Ness found something very cool. Up in Hardwick, you know.

Griffin Grove Inn, nestled in rural Hardwick, Vermont, is more than just a bed and breakfast. The proprietors, Nyla Jean Hendrick and Dana Matthew Daisley, prefer to think of it as an “alternative retreat.”

Nyla grew up in Cerritos, California, (just south of L.A.) and always had a knack for math. At her father’s suggestion, she chose a career in Mechanical Engineering. She entered M.I.T. in the Fall of 1988 and graduated in the Spring of 1992. Dana worked in retail electronics for most of his collegiate years but it was not his goal nor was most of the coursework he was doing. “I was searching for the right plan for me and was using both experiences to tread water until the answer presented itself,” he explains. A car accident in August of 1994 made it impossible to work and attend school full-time. Due to that trauma, he spent most of his “misguided youth” years getting out of debt and trying to put his life back on track.”

When the couple met (at a Fetish/Goth nightclub in Cambridge, MA called Manray in 1997), Dana had already agreed to move to Pittsfield, MA to get his communications degree at Berkshire Community College. “I always had a passion for radio and felt this was the best course of action,” he says. Although Nyla never asked him to, Dana made the choice to move to Boston and be with Nyla instead of continuing his pursuit for radio. “I was working in corporate America and was quite miserable,” says Nyla. “I went to college, got married and had a career. It wasn’t until I met Dana that I started to question ‘the right thing’ and who the hell decided what that was anyway? Dana made me realize that my heart was the only voice I should listen to.” As a result, she quit her comfy, well-paying job in order to pursue her real passion for cooking and entertaining.

Originally, Nyla planned to open a restaurant/cafe that catered to the gay and lesbian crowd. “As a member of the bisexual community, not to mention many other ‘disenfranchised’ groups including Pagans, I have always felt there was no reason to be excluded from friendly space,” notes Nyla. “At the time, I thought moving out of the city was too far out of my reach and that I couldn’t leave the security of my friends and home. But I wanted to give something to the community that I had gotten my support from during my divorce and I thought the cafe was the perfect solution, not to mention the fact that it would be a huge success in that area. In the past year, it seems that two or three other business people have had the same thought.”

After looking into the cafe idea in more detail, Nyla and Dana decided they didn’t want to invest in something that couldn’t be liquidated if they failed. It also didn’t seem to be worth the effort considering their friends and stable base in the Boston area had begun to dwindle. They both thought that moving to the country and living off the land was a long-term goal, but then realized it didn’t have to be so long-term and decided they should just do it. “This way we were concentrating all our energies on our work, which was our home and our life. No more balancing work and home time. It was one and the same.”
Once they decided they were going to go ahead and seek this haven in the woods, they needed a way to establish income. “We weren’t interested in the same old Inn with duck wallpaper and hunting antiques. We wanted a place that young alternative people like us would feel comfortable in; a place where you could say things like ritual, gay, or Goth and not have to whisper.” Around this time, an article ran in the Boston Globe about “Witches In the Fells” that spoke of city-bound Wiccans who were forced to be with nature in the public parks. As if this practice wasn’t difficult enough to find privacy with, the article only made things worse. Most of the places to practice in ran the risk of intrusion and ridicule. Nyla and Dana thought it would be great if there was a place they and others like themselves could worship in peace; a place with lots of unspoiled land owned by people who understood; frequented by other people who understood. Thus the Griffin Grove Inn was born.

First they had to find a good location they could afford. Then they began to make estimates of how much it would cost to furnish and supply the undertaking from which they could then determine how much they needed for a down payment. They also wanted to make sure the place would be affordable to their target audience. They looked at a place in Putney, VT that they really loved and they made an offer but lost it to someone else. Then they found the 160-acre farm in Hardwick which they dubbed “Griffin Grove.” The landscape varies between hills and plateaus with logging trails throughout. There is a year-round running brook, a seasonal stream, beaver ponds, a granite quarry and several ritual/camp sites (all named after one of the four elements), each with its own fire pit. There is a greenhouse attached to the main house that Nyla plans to plant herbs in for cooking and rituals. The main house has a master bedroom and three guest rooms with two shared bathrooms. The guest rooms are all named after the seasons: Winter, Spring and Summer. There is a separate, self-contained studio apartment with its own kitchen and bathroom called “Autumn.” There are also two barns with ten box stalls between them that they plan to fix up and board horses in.

Nyla and Dana treat every guest like royalty. My fiancé and I recently rented “Autumn” for a night and the accommodations were superb. Upon arrival, we were greeted by their two friendly dogs, Amber and Onyx, who love to play and romp with the guests. They also own seven cats (“The cats are the true rulers of this house!” jokes Nyla). Dana gave us a grand tour of the property and let us take home some quartz rocks we found in the woods (there isn’t much of it to be found in Massachusetts). Nyla prepared an exquisite dinner later that evening (pork roast, mashed potatoes with gravy [which she made from scratch], cheese and chutney pastry puffs, steamed veggies and hot house. We took a late night dip in the outdoor Jacuzzi before retiring to a blissful sleep. Before we left, we were treated to another amazing meal — a delicious breakfast of quiche and cinnamon French toast. We returned home happy and grounded.

Whether you’re a city-dweller seeking a restful and relaxing mountain oasis, or just a slave to the hustle and bustle of everyday life and need a break, go to Griffin Grove and “revel in the splendor that is nature.” For more information, photos, descriptions and rates, go to the web site at http://homepages.together.net/-grifgrov/html or email Nyla and Dana at grifgrov@together.net.

J. Lianna Ness is associate editor for Boston music periodicals The Noise and Instant Magazine and she’s pretty damned cool.