Falmouth Is Our Happy Place!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Ruth Anne reached out to Julianna Coughlin, host of the Runnah podcast. Julianna and I have been social media friends for years. This past summer, Tom and Ruth Anne met her in person at the Cape Cod Marathon Weekend. Julianna gave Ruth Anne an enthusiastic response to having her as a guest on her podcast to talk about her Boston Marathon journey, her running journey and fundraising for Spaulding Rehabilitation. She extended the invitation to include having me as a guest since our journeys are intertwined. When she asked if we could come to Falmouth to record the episode, I jumped at the opportunity. We decided to make it a girls' mid-week mini vacation. We made a reservation at the Falmouth Inn; our go to place for decades. One of our dear friends introduced us to Falmouth and his friends in the Sea and Surf Anglers Club. They would compete in fishing tournaments against the Blue Waters Anglers Club of Bermuda. They began the international fishing tournaments because Black men were not allowed to compete in international fishing tournaments.

We left in the morning on Wednesday to have plenty of time to relax before recording the podcast at Falmouth Community Television. There is a sense of joy and deep exhale of relaxation when we crossover the Bridge.

Our first stop was to see the breathtaking views of Nantucket Sound along Falmouth Heights Beach.

 

We went to Main Street for lunch. Devine Pizza was closed for vacation. We went to Maison Vilatte and had exquisite sandwiches, French Onion Soup that was THE best French Onion Soup I have ever enjoyed and Ruth Anne had a hot cocoa.

 

 

 

We freshened up and easily found our way to Falmouth Community Television. 

Julianna was an incredible host and helped us to feel at ease during the interview. The mic and camera melted into the background as we had a free and easy conversation among 3 runnah friends. After the recording, we sat and chatted with Julianna before we headed to the Falmouth Inn to check in.

After a rest with meditation, we headed to Shipwrecked for dinner. The stars shined brightly above the Sound and the sound of the ocean was medicine for our soul.

Thursday morning we woke up at 7am without an alarm. We decided to go on a pre-breakfast run!

There was a strong headwind and the temperature was 27 degrees but it didn't matter with the spectacular views and the joy of running together in our happy place. We went back to the Falmouth Inn fueling with our oatmeal at the continental breakfast, and headed back in town to Maison Vilatte for croissants and tea.

 

We checked out of the hotel and went back to the Beach. We took a long drive winding along the beach, windows open to breathe in the sea air and feel the fresh cold air on our faces.

 

We went back to Shipwrecked for lunch. Ruth Anne checked her email and received a message from the manager of the Black Dog. They had generously donated a mug and coffee to her thankful Thursday gift giveaways and were delighted to make another donation for her Spring Fling Gift Giveaway.

After a delicious lunch at Shipwrecked:

 

we headed in town to collect Ruth Anne's gift giveaway gifts at the Black Dog and thank Scott Ghelfi for his donation of a $25. He gave her a sample of their signature almond bark:

 Such an amazing 48 hours in Falmouth which continues to be our happy place. We can't wait to return.

Julianna edited the Runnah Podcast and it dropped one week after we recorded it!

Here is the link to watch it and subscribe on YouTube.

Be sure to subscribe to Runnah pod on your favorite podcast platform. Here is the link to Spotify and Apple.

We are deeply grateful to Julianna for being the hostess with the mostess; for her mad podcast interviewing skill, editing, content creation and the gift of her friendship.

From my heart to yours

In health and wellness - Mary

Visit my website to be inspired by my journey. May it ignite a spark within you to go farther than you ever believed you could. Be sure to visit the News and Events Page with links to podcast interviews, speaking engagements, where you can find my incredibly inspirational story and upcoming events.

My books that pack powerful messages of healing, hope and possibilities are available on Amazon  My 7th book, "A Most Unlikely Runner:Inspiration From The Heart of a Warrior" is receiving rave reviews and is a selection of the WBZ News Radio Book Club.

 

Spontaneity - Where Should We Run Today?

 Most Saturday mornings we ask the question, 'Where shall we run today?' South Boston was having a race. We weren't feeling a trip to Wollaston Beach. We pondered heading over to Jamaica Pond or just heading out the door to run the Rezzie. Ruth Anne spontaneously said, "Why don't we go to Falmouth?"

We slept in until 8:00am still recovering from the rigors of fundraising, and Tom and Ruth Anne's Half Marathon training. By the time we finished breakfast after meditation, stretched and got dressed, it was around 9:30. Ordinarily, I would have said we'd get there too late to start our run or ask questions that would have put the brakes on the idea. Instead, we got into gear and packed up for a day trip to Falmouth that would include our 5K run. It was hot here in Boston and we were dressed to run in the heat but knowing there can be a sea breeze, we grabbed sweatshirts along with fueling and hydration. We had no plans for where we would have lunch and opened ourselves to experiencing where we would be guided throughout the day.

There was no traffic going over the Bourne Bridge; a scene that will be quite different in two weeks when it will be the start of summer here in New England.

We enjoyed delightful conversation reminiscing about trips to the Cape in years past giving thanks for a dear friend who introduced us to the beauty of Falmouth many years ago. Coincidentally, we were remembering the time when we were going with our friend to Martha's Vineyard for a day trip. When we were in Falmouth, the sun shined brightly and we left our sweatshirts in the car. As we departed on the Island Queen for the Vineyard, dense fog encircled us. We were so cold by the time we got off of the boat that our first stop was at a souvenir shop to get sweatshirts!

We wondered if perhaps we should have worn warmer running clothes as we saw the fog along Vineyard Sound:

Fortunately, the fog was moving out and radiant sunshine blessed our 5K run:

The next big Saturday question after our run is "what's for lunch?"

Shipwrecked, the restaurant across the street from the beach had a 45 minute wait. We'd driven by the Black Dog Heights Cafe several times on our day trips to Falmouth. The menu looked wonderful and we had eaten at the Black Dog Cafe on Martha's Vineyard back in the day. 

The lunch just cleared out when we arrived. We had our choice of outdoor seating. The staff at the Restaurant was delightful and attentive. The food was phenomenal!

Ruth Anne had the Farro Salad and bought a bag of granola to bring home. I had a chappy salad wrap with cole slaw. A white wrap can often taste chalky but this tasted like flaky pastry crust. The filling of veggies, chicken and melted fresh mozzarella was melt in your mouth delicious. I am very particular about how I like my cole slaw. The Black Dog delivered! Tom had the lightly fried Cod Sandwich pictured below.

After lunch we headed back to the beach where a parking spot was waiting for us. Ruth Anne spotted a penny and then a dime and another penny:

We allowed the sounds of the sea, the laughter of a group putting up a volleyball net and the banter of beach goers around us to fill our hearts with gratitude and joy.  Such a special and sacred place to celebrate 16 years of healing after taking a leap of faith from my award winning social worker career on 5/25!

We unpacked the car, fired up the grill and savored grilled salmon with leftover sliced potatoes and a big salad to top off a perfect 10 day fueled by spontaneity!

 

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness,
Mary

Visit my website to be inspired by my journey. May it ignite a spark within you to go farther than you ever believed you could. Be sure to visit the News and Events Page.

My books that pack powerful messages of healing, hope and possibilities are available on Amazon