tourism

If the rainbow-painted deck chairs, fluttering rainbow flag, and purple shutters do not make it clear, the Highlands Inn's toll-free number, 877-LES-B-INN, leaves no doubt as to whom this White Mountains resort in New Hampshire caters to. Innkeeper Grace Newman began hosting commitment ceremonies at this self-proclaimed ''lesbian paradise'' -- in the 1980s. Newman says she has lost track of the number of commitment ceremonies that have happened there; she estimates about 300 couples have honeymooned at the inn after getting civil unions in Vermont or marriages in Quebec, Canada, both short drives away.