In this episode of 'Jacqui Just Chatters', Jacqui Lents shares her experiences and stories from her trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The journey, inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote, served as a research trip for her third novel. During her stay, Jacqui interviewed several locals in an effort to immerse herself in Cape Cod's culture and vibe. The interviews ranged from a townie who helps local adolescents, an osprey nest builder, a burger restaurant owner, to B&B owners famed for their creative antics involving scones. Enjoy this collection of interactions, laughs, and insightful experiences painting a vivid picture of life and people in Cape Cod.
Info/links from guest/s or topic:
https://www.momandpopschatham.com/
https://www.facebook.com/cdkhouse
https://www.instagram.com/capecod_captains/
Do you have a story idea or thoughts about the episode? Connect with Jacqui at the following.
FB: Jacqui Lents Author https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069970208082
IG: @JacquiLents
YouTube: @JacquiLents
Music used for this episode includes –
Ratatouille's Kitchen - Carmen María and Edu Espinalfound
Always – Nesrality
The Beat of Nature – Olexy
Cowboys sundown-country ballad - Julius H
In this episode of 'Jacqui Just Chatters', Jacqui Lents shares her experiences and stories from her trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The journey, inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote, served as a research trip for her third novel. During her stay, Jacqui interviewed several locals in an effort to immerse herself in Cape Cod's culture and vibe. The interviews ranged from a townie who helps local adolescents, an osprey nest builder, a burger restaurant owner, to B&B owners famed for their creative antics involving scones. Enjoy this collection of interactions, laughs, and insightful experiences painting a vivid picture of life and people in Cape Cod.
Info/links from guest/s or topic:
https://www.momandpopschatham.com/
https://www.facebook.com/cdkhouse
https://www.instagram.com/capecod_captains/
Do you have a story idea or thoughts about the episode? Connect with Jacqui at the following.
FB: Jacqui Lents Author https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069970208082
IG: @JacquiLents
YouTube: @JacquiLents
Music used for this episode includes –
Ratatouille's Kitchen - Carmen María and Edu Espinalfound
Always – Nesrality
The Beat of Nature – Olexy
Cowboys sundown-country ballad - Julius H
Cape Cod Stories
Jacqui: [00:00:00] Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen. Emerson took several trips to Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and I just followed his lead. I am currently working on my third novel and plan for it to take place on Cape Cod, but I needed to do some first hand research.
I dreamt about it for months. Honestly, like over a year. Then I finally made plans. I just decided I was gonna make this sucker happen. I booked an Airbnb, got my traveling companion Amy to agree to go along with me. And it was in motion. Once I'd made my decision, it really did feel as if the universe was pushing me along and helping me out at every turn.[00:01:00]
I kept connecting with people from Cape Cod who then passed me along to the next person. Until the trip was full of people and places in a way I couldn't, I couldn't have imagined from the start. In this episode, I have collected some quickie interviews I did along my travels. I've got some bigger ones that will follow in the weeks to come.
But now I want to share these with you. Welcome to Jacqui Just Chatters. Thank you for joining me. I'm your hostess, Jacqui Lents, and I'm trying to make the world a little better one story at a time. Whimsical episodes come out every other Tuesday. What's your story? If you've got one, reach out via my website.
Now let's get chatting.
Also said, dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true. This trip [00:02:00] was more than a dream come true. It gave me so many unexpected gifts. I had an amazing bonding time with my gal pal, visited Cape Cod for the first time, and had the best adventures. And you can expect to find several of those in my future book.
This first story I'm calling A Day at the Dump. It began with an East Coast decor and furniture store named Setting the Space, which happened to be filled with some salty humor pieces that had my party laughing really hard. Amy was missing her own dog and zoned in on the doggie who was visiting the store.
After meeting the dog, I started a conversation with the owner. I quickly realized that she is one of those special people who light up a room, is quick to smile and has a gigantic giving heart. I sat down and grabbed my phone to record her story [00:03:00] before she had the sense to send me packing. Here it is. I am talking with Erin Devlin.
Erin, tell me about this program that you work with kids instead of, it sounds fantastic. Tell me all about it. I work
Erin: with adolescents age 12 to 22 that are supported by the state. And it depends on what the child's needs are. If they're younger, it's more of a one on one where I'm trying to work on self esteem building, them being able to work with other kids, their same age to work into a group activity.
When you get to the older kids, it's. It's more like your 16 to 18 year olds and trying to get them job savings, their career path, where they're going afterwards, if they're going to go to college, fill out FASFA. Um, if they're going to get a trade, um, those types of things. And then when you're in state care, you can get a stipend as long as you're in school and or working.
So I help those kids with getting housing, being more independent on their own. Um, and sometimes we have to get creative. So I go to swap shops and thrift [00:04:00] stores and try to find different things for them to make their room, their renting or place they're staying at more. Feel like they're home.
Jacqui: Yeah, and you were telling me about this free place to get things if you're a local, which aka it means you're a townie.
So tell me about this way that townies can get free stuff.
Erin: So our landfills were filling up too fast on the Cape. Most of the towns have gotten creative and it's called a swap shop. So instead of throwing away your lamp or throwing away your nightgown, you can get a free lamp. So you can get a free lamp, you can get a free lamp, you can get stand or you get new silverware and you can drop it off there for other people to get gently used items to use for their own home.
That
Jacqui: is fantastic. I've heard of some places doing it, but they tended to be like extremely remote. I would never have expected this on the Cape.
Erin: We have it in Bourne has one, Falmouth has one, Orleans has one. We do. That's great places. I always say reduce, reuse, recycle, repurpose, reinvent. That is [00:05:00] fantastic.
Jacqui: Okay. You're a townie. You were born here. What's your favorite thing about this? Why do you stay? Why don't you go someplace else?
Erin: Everything is my favorite place around here. I feel like I can go to the post office and they know me. I can walk into Cumberland Farms and, Oh, Erin, hot chocolate machine. I'm just going to refill that now.
Just by seeing you when you walk in there and you just make great friends along the way.
Jacqui: What a great. Slice of Cape Cod life. Thank you so much! And we're a lot
Erin: nicer than other Bostonian places. I don't know if you've noticed that. A lot nicer. The Cape is very different than, because Bostonians are known not to be very nice.
I don't feel that way about the Cape. I think we're all very friendly, open. We embrace people. We like to meet people from other places too. Clearly, because you've welcomed
Jacqui: me on the couch, the chatting couch with Willis the dog, the rescue dog, who is adorable and he's just chilling. Thank you so much for chatting with me.
Thank you. [00:06:00] That interview was just the beginning. After exchanging phone numbers, Erin reached out to me and said that she had arranged for me to join her the next day, the dump. Not just anyone can go to the dump, folks. You have to be a local, and you have to have a sticker. I was Erin's guest, and she was the best host I could have had.
The whole swap system is amazing. There is this intake station, and then once items are inspected, then they're placed in their zones. They have a section for kitchen stuff, books, games, art, all sorts of things. Like, you just never know what you're gonna get. There was piles of luggage. And Erin introduced me to all sorts of people.
The volunteer who checks that the electrics work also happens to be the person who took Erin's senior pictures once upon a time. Everyone was super friendly. Erin insisted I take a few things home, [00:07:00] which I did, and you'll be able to find photos of them on my social media accounts. Erin was on the hunt for items for the kids she works with and during this, a pal of hers, Kevin, arrived.
Erin marched me right over. I had to meet Kevin, she said. And she was right. Kevin is a fascinating man who currently builds nests for the osprey population on the Cape. But there is so much more to this guy than just nature. And he had an absolutely charming tale about a piece of family history that came back home.
Here's Kevin's story. We are at the dump here in East Falmouth. And Erin has introduced me to a wonderful giving person. And he's got a great little story. What's your name? My name is Kevin Friel. And Tell us about this [00:08:00] story that you were just talking about with your family.
Kevin: So to start off, I've been restoring old things for years now.
And I also am, I don't know if I'd call myself a public figure in town, but a lot, everybody knows who I am because of my involvement with all the wildlife and that sort of stuff. So somebody put two and two together and linked my name with an old person. Chest that they had in their house. And it turns out that it was made by my great-great-grandfather for my great-grandmother.
Oh, when she was a little kid.
Jacqui: Oh, how sweet. Yeah.
Kevin: So now I'm gonna, I'm gonna fix it up and tighten it back up and then put it back in the house that she lived in, that my parents own now. So it'll come full circle. So it's over 120 years old. So it's a pretty cool thing. Do you know how they got the chest?
They got it. When my great grandfather died, they sold a lot of stuff to help Susie pay bills. And that was one of the things that they bought. [00:09:00] Oh my God. So people were real generous during the yard sale. And it's cool. That's that house that it went to stayed in that family. And then our house has stayed in that family.
So it's just a neat little link. So you're, you're hardcore Cape Cod townie. Oh yeah. Yeah. We, I have a descendant or I descend from somebody that was on the Mayflower. So we go way, way, way back. So you guys didn't move very far. No, no, our family didn't move very far, but I traveled the country playing golf kind of as a semi pro.
So I've seen the whole country and a lot of Europe and Central America and stuff like that, just hitting the ball around. And now here I am at a dump, picking up angle brackets and a sander. It's great. Thank you for taking the time to tell me your story. Thank you for interviewing me. It was fun.
Jacqui: Thank you, Erin and Kevin, for starting my adventure off with a bang.
My first adventure [00:10:00] involved a couple of townies. For the next part, I got to chat with what Cape Codders call a wash ashore. I got to hear about why someone would move across the country to make Cape Cod their year round home. The second story I'm calling, Surrounded by Seafood, Sometimes You Need a Burger.
I am talking with Tom, owner of Mom and Pop's Burgers in Chatham, Massachusetts. And he is not a townie. He moved here and, man, has he moved far away. Where do you come from originally? Meriden, Connecticut. How did you move out west?
Tom Burger: My prior career, I was in consulting and I landed on a, um, an engagement based in South San Francisco.
I had the opportunity to move, uh, from our New York office to San Francisco and I thought it was a great opportunity.
Jacqui: Okay, so you went from San Francisco to literally the [00:11:00] other side of the country. As far as we can get, yeah. How did that happen?
Tom Burger: I met my wife in San Francisco and we had our son out there.
And we were going to have to move out of the city. It was just very expensive. And I thought with a new son, my wife and I had both lived in cities for a long time. I thought it'd be nice to, and my parents who are older, lived in Connecticut still, and thought it'd be, they have a small place in Chatham and thought if we threw our stuff into storage for a few months, I could work remotely out of Chatham, be near my parents to be a nice kind of a, a way to get acclimated to being new parents.
Then you left that career to. Open up a
Jacqui: restaurant. What brought that about?
Tom Burger: I had friends in the industry out west and I frankly opened up the restaurant for the worst reason possible basically because I like to entertain and it's a really bad idea to open a restaurant. I wish I had read Anthony Bourdain's book prior to doing that because he goes into What happens to people that [00:12:00] think they threw a nice house party and they can go ahead and open up a restaurant.
But I did do a lot of research. I had friends in the industry, so I didn't just jump into this. When we came here to Chatham, we thought for our son it would be a nice place. for him to grow up. Uh, it is really a wonderful place for kids and their childhoods. And so it was time for a career change anyway.
And I made a big jump. So life changes, career changes. And here we are.
Jacqui: You've been here for 10 years now. What's your favorite Part about being on Cape Cod. What's what really keeps you here?
Tom Burger: I think it's like I said, I think it's for our son a Great place to grow up. We've made some really nice friends here and friendships here.
And it's just a it is a unique And I have said that I've always liked living in places that people like to vacation. I like the summer too because that's when the weather's great and you're able to enjoy the beaches and stuff like that. Yeah, I just think living in a beautiful area [00:13:00] and the childhood that my son's able to have here is really the draw for us.
Jacqui: So if somebody's coming to Cape Cod and you can give them one tip, Of something that either they should know or something that they should see do, what would it be?
Tom Burger: I, I guess what I would say, if somebody's going on vacation in Cape Cod, a lot of people say it's just too busy in the summer, and it can certainly get too busy, but that's when the most Going on.
You know Mo, most activities are going on. The weather's the best, so I actually love it here in the summer. Get out to the beaches, which is what a lot of people do anyway. Try to visit, get around to all the towns if possible. I think they all have something unique to offer for all people coming out here.
So yeah, just explore and maybe try to get off some of the beaten paths, do the hikes that you can do in some of these towns. Do some walks.
Jacqui: Thank you, Tom, for fitting me in between orders. Even in the off season, this place was like never quiet. That would be because the [00:14:00] food is well worth a stop. They make a seriously awesome burger.
If you are in the Chatham area of Cape Cod, I absolutely recommend visiting and you can find all the links in the episode notes.
I
Jacqui: hope you are enjoying this episode of Jacqui Just Chatters. I would like more people to join our community here and you can help. Most people learn about podcasts from word of mouth, so tell your friends or post about the program on your social media.
Also, shows with more positive reviews and five star ratings get wider promotion on apps. Leaving a quick five stars or mentioning why you like the show makes a difference. Together we can spread those positive vibes. Thanks again for listening. I'm grateful for you. Now back to the show. The last part of this episode is titled Scone Wars.
Rick and Tom, the owners of the Captain David Kelly [00:15:00] House B& B, are Cape Cod Treasures. First, they agreed to allow me to visit them, and their stunning home, to do a little research on what a real sea captain's home turned B& B was like, since I plan to have this in my book. But then they entertained me and Amy with fresh scones, and then tales of their scone wars.
You gotta listen to this one.
Tom B&B: In the first year or two we were here, we changed up the baked good every day. So in the beginning, one day might be a muffin, the next day may be a scone, the next day may be bread, a fancy bread. And then one day, I did something different in the delivery of the scone, which he's going to tell you about, and it just, it was impromptu, and it took off from there.
Go ahead,
Tom B&B: Rick.
Rick B&B: So we were naturally competitive about whose scones were better, even [00:16:00] before we bought the inn. It's a thing that went back. And mine scones are always triangular, Tom's are always round. And so we would try to get the guests to vote for whose scone is
Tom B&B: better. And sometimes I would actually tell them I've already filled out the ballots.
And I put Rick's name down on all of them. And I waited at least Two minutes and then I crossed off his name and wrote my name, careful Your Coffee. And I said it. That kind of voting works in Florida. Why shouldn't it work here? . . Wow. .
Rick B&B: So as far as the costumed musical delivery of the scone, it happened slowly.
One day Tom decided when he was gonna deliver his scone to make it special, and he put on a paper crown that we happened to have. Like a Burger King crown and a, um, red tablecloth as a cape with a safety pin and put on a classical piece of music really loud so everybody was like, what's going on? Gloria in Israel's Yisdeo.
Had everybody's attention. Oh wow. And it was a
Tom B&B: Sunday. With white gloves and white people. [00:17:00] And I'm now to present them like the gift to the Magi. And some guests have called them scrumptiliumptious. Yet other guests have called them. Sconed from Lesser.
Rick B&B: So, I was mortified because I wasn't prepared to do any kind of a costume delivery the next day.
We were alternating days on scone delivery. The guests went crazy. They loved it. Oh, yeah. So they say to him, what do you, what are you going to be tomorrow? And I'm like, I'll, you're going to have to wait till tomorrow. And I was in the kitchen like, oh my god, I don't know what I'm going to do. And so I just got this idea, this brainstorm that I would just.
And so I went to the joke shop in Hyannis, and I got a little children's, um, Lone Ranger mask, tiny hat, bandana, cap gun, holster, and played the theme to the Lone Ranger really loud, and they were expecting something to happen. Oh [00:18:00]
Tom B&B: my god! I was Tomtoe. Yep. With one feather. Do you know the theme to The Lone Ranger?
So I had two pieces of Tupperware standing there with Stamtoe going Thwomp, thwomp,
thwomp To
Tom B&B: accent the huffs of silver, high
Rick B&B: o silver And so that blew him away, going out as the scone ranger, high o silver Galloping around the porch in cowboy boots. Oh, yeah, have
Amy: you ever had this delivery? Every morning every other morning.
Rick B&B: So it's become a thing where we've developed. Yes, 30 different costume deliveries They're called
Tom B&B: our personas Guests that were with us for multiple days first. They got the king Then they got the scone ranger and they said what are you going to do the next day? I restarted So I went into the closet and I put on these high black rubber boots and khaki shorts and a canteen and a leather coat and a pith helmet and a stethoscope [00:19:00] and a bible with a British flag over my shoulder.
Now what's crazy is we had all that in the closet. Yes! And I was Dr. Livingstone. From the deepest, darkest, deepest heart of Africa with an ancient Cannibal scone recipe. All right. And I would put, I'd put a bowl on the table and say, if you find any bone fragments, put them in the bowl. And if, when they looked in the bowl, there was a little white plastic skeleton about like this.
And that's how it started. Oh my gosh. You guys enjoyed it as much as us, if not more.
Rick B&B: It's become like the thing that has kept us going for 15 years, because it's the fun part of it. Making people laugh every morning. Just like. Charges us up. And the more we do it and the people here for an extended stay, they can't wait to the next day.
They come down with their phones ready.
Tom B&B: They can film us. And I have a milk can out here that I bring in from the porch. [00:20:00] And I say, this is number 100. We bought 100 milk cans from a farm that had been bought. And the land was being converted to a residential neighborhood. And 99 of the milk cans are buried in the backyard.
Full of Rick scones. We are considered a toxic waste site. By the feds.
Jacqui: Oh you do a riot. We
Rick B&B: assortment of ways of slamming each other. We slam each other. I will come out as a doctor and say an announcement that I'm not a doctor, but I played one on television once. And I'm here to take your vitals before you have Tom's cones. And after. If anybody's feeling discomfort, nauseous.
Any broken teeth. I slam his, he slams mine. So it's become like a timed production every morning. It's the second course of breakfast. We have to cue up the music back there and be ready in a costume that we can put on and take off quickly. And come up with some choreography and some either real singing or lip syncing, [00:21:00] depends.
If it's a female character, then I'll lip sync. Like Britney Scones. The bitch is back.
Jacqui: Oh my gosh, that's a riot.
Rick B&B: Yeah, the characters always start, it's like improv. And some of them go better than others, but we always have fun doing it. If it's a flop, we'll make a big, make fun of the fact that it's, we have, we obviously have nothing else to say and this isn't going well.
So we're going to
leave now. We have
Rick B&B: the
Tom B&B: Flintstones.
Jacqui: Oh my gosh. Oh wow. I'd love to see that cast. Yeah.
Rick B&B: And I'm
Wilma. He's Wilma. Um,
Rick B&B: we have Frank Sconaccia. Yeah. And we have We don't want to give them all away. Thomas Sconely. They're all over the internet now. Of course. Yeah. Oscar Powers.
Kevin: Oh! Oh, that's awesome.
And
Rick B&B: that's probably my most fun one to do because we do all the 60's dances and he's in drag as one of my fembots. Oh my gosh. That's fabulous. Yeah.
The
Jacqui: scone story is better than [00:22:00] I could have expected.
Rick B&B: So now when we deliver the scone, if it's our turn, the other one gets to be a supporting actor or actress.
Yeah. Where it used to be just, if it was my scone, it was just me and he'd watch with his arms folded. Brittany scones, I'm security, I have a hat that says security, aviator glasses. Telling people not to touch Brittany. She can touch you, but please don't touch her. Please have one of his scones. Yes. Watch your teeth.
Just in case anybody's allergic to anything, there's walnuts in those. Thank you. Thankfully, no. Cranberries and
Jacqui: walnuts. I am good, You're welcome. Okay, Amy, tell me about your
scone. It's
Jacqui: absolutely delicious. I have to agree. It is warm and little crunchy. And I believe these are cranberries, very Cape Cod.
Those scones were so delicious. The house is stunning as well. I will leave links in the notes for their socials. You can follow the fun at the B& [00:23:00] B. You can see pictures of them and their outfits. I will be posting a few of the photos from my trip on my Facebook and Instagram pages. Check them out! If you have any fun Sko name ideas, please leave them.
I came up with Skozen B. Anthony. I want to hear your inspirations. My trip to the Cape has been the culmination of a lifelong goal. Not only did I get to visit a place on my travel list with a dear friend, I conducted my first research trip as an author and podcaster. Thankfully, the locations in my first two novels were ones I had already visited.
In case you were wondering, what is the latest on my writer's journey? Well, let me update you. When you hear this, I will have finished edits on my first manuscript and begun sending out query letters to potential literary agents. By the fall, I hope to have an agent. Uh, wish me luck, folks. If you want to know more, head over to my website and sign [00:24:00] up for my readers club.
I won't bog you down with tons of emails. This is more like a quarterly situation. Oh, the list of upcoming story shares for 2024 It might already be up on Facebook and Instagram. If not, it is coming shortly. Be on the lookout for that. I will also share that in my website letter. So go ahead and sign up if that interests you.
I appreciate you coming along on this journey and enjoying these stories of real people. You make this show worth doing, and a special shout out to all my new listeners in Massachusetts. I'm glad you're joining us. We've been having a bit of extra sun here lately. I hope you are getting yourself outside, soaking up a little vitamin D, and reducing those stress levels.
Until next time, I wish you well.[00:25:00]