Returning to a Second Life watercolour

The Trace Too (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Almost a year ago, I finally got around to blogging about Kylie Jaxxon’s delightful homestead region, The Trace, having featured it a number of times in snapshots without actually writing about it. At the time, the region was presented as one of the most extraordinarily natural reaches of coastline I’ve seen in Second Life; so much so that while blogging, I referred to it as a watercolour, such was the beauty of the design and presentation.

Unfortunately, health matters intervened, forcing Kylie to abandon The Trace at the end of 2014 for health reasons; but there is no unhappy ending here, rather the reverse. Kylie is once again focused on Second Life, and she has once again been putting her eye and talent to work on designing a new region. This is called, appropriately enough, The Trace Too, and also fittingly, it once again presents a stunning coastal landscape, echoing the spring glory once seen at The Trace. Which is not to say it is in any way “just” a reproduction of the original’s appearance from a year ago; far from it!

The Trace Too (Flickr) – click any image for full size

The Trace Too offers visitors a splendid beach area, the tide apparently in a state of retreat  leaving the wet sand exposed under a spring afternoon’s sun, and in places still waterlogged. A lone wooden pier rises from the edge of the receding water, reached by a series of heavy wood logs to which planks have been nailed to form crude bridges over the more permanent pools of water left in the sand.

Behind these sandy flats, the island proper rises, slopes protected from any ravages from  the sea by huge boulders and rocks. Flat-topped, the island is home to a row of beach houses and a small lighthouse, the sand around them sprinkled with tough grass and a gentle tide of bluebells that surge and sway in the breeze. A path cuts through the flowers, running down to another beach which stretches away toward distant waters, the sand here dry and fine, a small caravan park testament to the fact the sea doesn’t encroach here.

The Trace Too (Flickr) – click any image for full size

With the surrounding offshore islands, it’s not hard to imagine this to be somewhere on the New England coast; indeed, with a little more grass to cover the ground, I could well imagine it being somewhere on the Scottish coast, looking out over the waters of the Atlantic at some of the inner islands. As it is, while walking the beach, I was put in mind of the long summer time walks I’ve enjoyed along the sands below Bambrough Castle in Northumberland, even if large offshore islands are not common in the waters of the North Sea there…

There are plenty of places to sit to be found throughout the region, all of them offering calming views of the sea, and many to be enjoyed as a group as well as individually or as a couple, making The Trace Too an ideal rendezvous when meeting friends. Rezzing is open for those wishing to pull a few props out of their inventory for photography, but do please remember to pick things up after yourself! Should you enjoy your visit, please do consider showing your appreciation for Kylie’s work through one of the tip cans which can be found at various points across the island.

The Trace Too (Flickr) – click any image for full size

As you may gather, The Trace Too is wonderfully evocative and atmospheric, and definitely somewhere you’ll want to visit if you haven’t done so already. And when you do, please make sure to have local sounds enabled to catch the hiss of the tide and the plaintive cries of gulls, many of which can be found circling and gathering in the north-east corner of the region, and all of which adds further depth to the experience.

Related Links

• The Trace Too SLurl (Rated: Moderate)