A Day Trip to Halibut Cove -- The artists' colony of Halibut Cove sits on either side of a narrow, peaceful channel between a small island and the mainland; the water in this channel is the road. Boardwalks connect the buildings, and stairs reach down to the water from houses perched on pilings over the shore. The post office and espresso stand float on docks. Visitors arrive each afternoon to walk the boardwalks, visit the galleries, and eat at the restaurant, the Saltry. That's a place to sit back on the deck and sip microbrews and eat fresh-baked bread, mussels, sushi, and locally grown salads, followed by fresh fish grilled over charcoal.
The classic wooden boat Danny J (book through Central Charters at tel. 800/478-7847 or 907/235-7847; www.centralcharter.com) leaves Homer daily in the summer at noon, brings back day-trippers, takes guests to the Saltry Restaurant at 5pm, and brings back the diners later in the evening. The noon trip includes bird-watching at Gull Island. Seating is mostly outdoors, and I would choose something else to do in bad weather. You also take the Danny J if you're spending the night in Halibut Cove. The noon trip is $48 for adults, $43 for seniors, $25 for children; the dinner trip is $28 for everyone, regardless of age, but to go you must have a dinner reservation at the Saltry, usually made at least a few days ahead, also with Central Charters. On the noon trip only, they sometimes take more passengers than Danny J can carry, putting the overflow aboard the steel Storm Bird. Reservations and fares are identical to those of the Danny J. Reserve at least a few days ahead for dinner.
On the afternoon trip you can bring lunch or eat at the Saltry, described above, and then explore the boardwalk that runs from the restaurant along Ismailof Island past the galleries, boat shops, and houses. There's also a barnyard, perched on a patch of ground along the boardwalk, where kids, who already will be in heaven, can look at rabbits, pigs, chickens, ponies, and other animals. The summer-only Halibut Cove's Experience Fine Art Gallery (tel. 907/296-2215) is the first building past the farm on the boardwalk, on pilings above the water. The airy room contains works by Halibut Cove artists only.
Farther on, Diana Tillion, who, with her husband, Clem, pioneered the community, opens her Cove Gallery (tel. 907/269-2207) and studio to guests year-round. Since the 1950s, she has worked in many media, but is best known for her sepia paintings made with octopus ink, which is painstakingly extracted with a hypodermic needle. Trails branch from the boardwalk across the island to broad views of the bay or to the quiet opposite end of the island.
