The scow is moored on the north-facing shore. A hand-painted sign which reads “Espresso!” sits in a skiff anchored in the middle of the cove. “It marks a reef, too,” Jim says. Good to know.

Inside, the tiny house looks like any other espresso stand, black and chrome espresso machine, refrigerator, soda water dispenser, and your lattes come in skinny with a shot of chocolate syrup and a dusting of powdered cocoa. It’s just that this espresso stand is floating.

Jim steams milk for hot chocolate for eight-year old Ian Hall, who arrived from his parents’ Halibut Cove house in an aluminum skiff and outboard. Kayakers Scott Burbank and Susan Abramovich arrive, reporting sighting a black bear and a coyote on the beach on the way from their house in Peterson Bay. They own St. Augustine’s, a kayaking business out of Homer, and they’ve just turned their guides loose with the first group of kayakers of the day. This is a quick caffeine trip to Jim’s before the second group arrives. “Have coffee, choke down a hot dog, and back to work,” Scott says with a grin.

—Dana Stabenow. Alaska Traveler (Kindle Locations 3396-3401). Gere Donovan Press.

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