Your Hosts
For both Ryan and Steve, the word hospitality encompasses so much!
And while, as individuals, the passions and interests that led to their collective ownership of The Lady Mary Inn varied greatly, they share a common commitment to exceeding, in ways large and small, your expectations of what it means to ‘get away.’
The Road to Here
Some things are bred in the bone: thinking back to his childhood Ryan can still recall his mother’s unyielding commitment to always having a “flexible” dinner table—there was always room for one more.
And when that table featured the abundant harvest of his family’s very own rural Ohio farm, Ryan took special pride in knowing that he played a role in the farming, the planning, and preparation. This was more than polite hospitality; it was an immersion into a way of thinking about the land, its bounty and that special magic that materializes when the combination of food and friends gives way to laughter and love and life-long connection.
The Lure of Rural Rhythms
The Lady Mary Inn—and its myriad delights—is the embodiment of these fascinations and passions. On any given day, Ryan finds himself drawing upon the lessons accumulated from wandering his family orchards and garden rows with his grandfather, who seemed to be having his own private conversation with the land (perhaps owing to the unknown content swishing around his ever-present white coffee mug). Or pulling from the insights and innovations he studied at culinary school. Or simply tapping into what’s always seemed like an innate drive to sculpt experiences that immediately feel welcoming, original and unique. All of those elements combined form the recipe for what time spent at the Lady Mary Inn is all about.
Ryan is the farm boy who yearned to be a cosmopolitan city dweller—forging friendships, indulging new interests, constantly asking himself, “What’s next?” When the lure of the rural rhythms began to tug more incessantly than the allure of bright lights and late nights, Ryan and Steve knew it was time to seek out new challenges, dream new dreams.
Our Invitation to You
Who knew those dreams would manifest in the form of Orchard Hill Farm, hidden in plain view just minutes from the enchanting coast of southern Maine? Was this bold genius? A crazy midnight notion? Or an inspired leap of faith? Ryan and Steve like to think it is all of the above.
Sometimes a place just speaks to you, assuring you that from this spot, wondrous things are possible! For Ryan and Steve, Orchard Hill Farm was that place. The Farm came to serve as—and continues to serve as—a laboratory of sorts where a grand experiment in rural living is played out every day. It’s where traditional farming knowledge, handed down from generations past, melds with innovative and forward-thinking methods to honoring the land by engaging with it wisely, creatively, and with an eye toward sustainable health and abundance.
Suddenly a new reality had taken shape: once you invite a symphony of dogs and ducks and bees into your life, things get real…fast! Ryan and Steve could sense the transformative nature of their new abode simply by observing visiting friends: tightened city muscles relaxed, the urgency of calendars replaced by the subtle enveloping emergence of sunrise and the daily miracle of sunset. Food was more flavorful, laughter heartier, and the sense of possibility was…endless.
With their purchase of the Lady Mary Inn, Ryan and Steve have taken the next giant step in sharing the many wonders to be had in a place that has stood the test of time, and whose grace and charm has only deepened with years. They invite you to re-imagine what getting away is all about. Maybe, like them, you’ll discover that getting away is really about a sort of returning to what’s most elemental, most fun, most delightful… and most possible. The invitation is theirs. The experience will be yours.
Reimagine what getting away is all about