Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

I spent my summers during college on Nantucket Island, 30 miles [48 kilometers] off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, working in various places: an ice cream parlor, lobster shack, and museum shop. I started a business called Night Owls—a group of us cleaned restaurants and bars around town. Not a glamorous job by any means but one that allowed me to meet the faces behind the scenes—like the chef who taught me how to make blueberry pie; a restaurant owner who invited the Night Owls to a clambake on the beach where we made a steam bath using hot coals, a tarp, and a couple pitchers of water.

I shared a gray, shingled house on Hummock Pond Road (remote back then) with people I’d never met before who have become some of my dearest friends today. We hitchhiked into town every morning and ate egg sandwiches at the pharmacy soda fountain counter on Main Street. We took night swims in the chilly Atlantic and long “soul searching” walks on its beaches. We met fishermen casting for blues out at Great Point, people who didn’t seem to have a care in the world as they shared their best fish tales.

I bartered a baby-sitting gig for my first sailboat ride and lesson. I biked every nook of the island, taking in its miles of rolling moors and heathlands. I searched for arrowheads, picked berries, and dug my toes in the sand for clams. I treasure this time of youth and discovery—memories of this lovely island called Nantucket.

Susan O’Keefe

Susan O’Keefe is a Traveler assistant editor.