I remember the first Cape Cod vacation house we were in and how special that first summer was. It was an old farmhouse, down a dirt road, and it had very low ceilings, tilted pineboard floors, and horsehair plaster walls. It was like being on an old ship. That old house was dim, yet inviting and comfortable with its pale palette and exposed wood everywhere; the trees were bright green and the bugs sang you to sleep at night.

Cape Cod Summer Vacation — Dominic’s friend Elizabeth Yon is tying a crab lure for the first time. “We used raw chicken as bait,” Dom says, “and dropped the lines from a bridge in this secret spot (secret because we couldn’t find it again if we tried!). We caught none, but we had a blast.”
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

I keep seeing that first summer vacation, joined by my brothers and sister, my aunt and uncle, my mom and my cousins, as flashes of memory: beach days, ice cream, watching the nighttime bats catching bugs, wiffle ball, seafood dinners, the discovery of new places, swimming in the ocean and in the Cape’s clear lakes and kettle ponds, riding your bike with grownups (a new one for me) … It was the humble beginning of what would become our blessed summer-vacation tradition, the first I’d known of a dedicated yearly vacation and the discovery of the magic of summertime on Cape Cod.

And our family vacation just keeps going. Each year we pick up where we left off, as if time on the Cape is a vacation time warp, where nothing changes. We do the same things each summer. We swim at Coast Guard Beach, Nauset Light, or Nauset Beach; our favorite ice cream is at Emack & Bolio’s; we play mini-golf and grill out for our dinners in the backyard; we make beach sandwiches and lug them in the cooler to the ocean, along with the same snacks I’ve come to expect; we bike the Rail Trail and have our traditional annual beach bonfire at Coast Guard or Race Point Beach, complete with s’mores; and we always spend an afternoon in P-town, seeing the same things, doing the same things, as last year and the year before. We even use the very same boogie boards and kayaks that my Uncle Joe bought more than 15 years ago.

Plan Your Perfect Summer Adventure: Get The Free Ultimate New England Summer Guide!

Aunt Laurie spends the whole year adding to the Cape Cod “Book Bag,” an overflowing tote of books to read at the beach. And we do read. As a family, we often all sit around and silently read our books—on the beach, on the porch, before breakfast, late into the night. It amazes me: What is this transformation? We don’t do this at home or in our regular lives! We don’t sit and enjoy the sunset every night at home. We don’t take hours out of a day to go to the beach, and we certainly don’t sit around reading in the evenings.

Maybe that’s why I treasure our time on the Cape: It’s a special time with special rules. I’ve never brought friends along on this trip (aside from significant others); we keep this trip for family. My big, confusing Italian family started when my grandpa and his brother married my grandma and her sister. Two brothers marrying two sisters has created a massive Italian family in which I call everyone older than me an aunt or uncle and everyone my age or younger a cousin. And that’s how the vacation started—with these two families renting a house in Orleans or Eastham as we were growing up. It’s been the longest tradition that I can remember in my life—something to look forward to every year. No matter life’s circumstances, no matter where I go in the world, I know where I’ll be in late July and early August—and I know there’ll always be a place for me.

Home from crab fishing, Elizabeth Yon takes in the sunset from the porch.
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

Dominic’s brother Matt, his cousin Mike Quintevalla, and Mike’s wife, Plamena, watch the sunset over Cape Cod Bay in Orleans. “Usually after dinner we head to the beaches on the bay side to watch the sunset,” Dom says.
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

Plamena Quintevalla sends seeds into the marshes of Nauset Harbor in Orleans.
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

Dominic’s Uncle Joe and his son Mike Quintevalla set up the Sunfish. “We sailed this all over the sheltered and protected waters of Nauset Harbor in Orleans this year,” Dom remembers.
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

Elizabeth Yon on her way to see the sunset. “We bike to the beach,” Dom notes, “we bike to ice cream, we bike aimlessly for miles on empty dirt and sand roads.”
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

Dominic’s uncle Joe Quintevalla figures out the permits and rules for clamming and mussel fishing. Here, the family gathers dinner from Salt Pond in Orleans.
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

Picking up tiny hermit crabs along the flats at low tide has been part of the summer routine for years.
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

Emily Hanson casts a crabbing line into the salt river. “We were really good at luring them close,” Dom says, “but weren’t fast or skilled enough to get ’em in the net.”
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

It takes a village … to catch a crab. Jarrod McCabe, Colin Driesch, and Diana Lisanto join forces. “One to lure them in, one to spot them, and one to scoop with the net,” Dom explains. “We didn’t catch a single crab, but the fun was to be out here in the amazing late-afternoon light. To be learning something new with friends and family, in this beautiful natural spot.”
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

Trekking down to Coast Guard Beach in Eastham. “We have a system of saying in the morning, ‘Left or right?’ and someone chooses,” Dom says. “Today we’re going to go left or right of the boardwalk, and whoever gets there first sets up the spot; the others arrive at their own pace.” — Trekking down to Coast Guard Beach in Eastham. “We have a system of saying in the morning, ‘Left or right?’ and someone chooses,” Dom says.
“Today we’re going to go left or right of the boardwalk, and whoever gets there first sets up the spot; the others arrive at their own pace.”
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

Dom’s Aunt Laurie and Uncle Joe Quintevalla, organizers of the vacation, on a sunset sail.
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

Playing in the shallow bayside water at Skaket Beach in Orleans as the sun sets over Cape Cod Bay.
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

“You make a reservation and get a bonfire permit, but it’s free and simple,” Dom says. “We look forward to this all year. We make s’mores and enjoy the sunset while watching waves and the dune grasses. The kids (myself and my cousins) are in charge of gathering wood and starting the fire, and I insist on starting it with only a single match, so it’s got to be done right. This is the whole crew from this year: siblings, cousins, parents, friends.”
*Photo Credit : Dominic Casserly*

SEE MORE Summer on Cape Cod | Photographs By Dominic Casserly

Dominic Casserly

Cape Cod Summer Vacation | Photographs