Long Journey – click any image for full size
Update: Long Journey has relocated, and I have a new blog post about it.
Creativity in Second Life doesn’t always require an entire region – Full or Homestead – in order to be realised. This is something I’ve said in the past, and will doubtless say again in the future. All it needs is sufficient room in which the imagination can breathe; and if you want proof of this, then I can recommend you take a trip over to Long Journey.
Covering a little under 7,000 square metres, Long Journey is an absolute delight. Designed by Yang (Sun2idea), it packs a lot into the space without ever feeling crowded or losing its sense of rural-edged peace. Visitors arrive at a little coffee-house and bar; to the rear is a cosy walled terrace with tables tucked between tall wine racks and the bar; to the front sits a paved street, the nearby end of which slips into a tunnel.
Along this street, bathed in the soft glow of a setting sun, lit by tiny LEDs strung along the curbstones and clusters of street lights, are a number of eateries with a decidedly oriental flavour to them. Vending machines line the wall of the building across the street from the coffee-house, while alongside it sits another cosy little café. Close by, a converted tram offers teas and cakes to patrons who can sit at tables occupying a tidy square of grass, one of several outdoor eating areas.
Just beyond the tram, the street ends, and a wooden board walk takes over, running alongside a small body of water. To one side of it is an old warehouse, one of its walls long since collapsed, exposing its metal frame. It is now home to a curious and eclectic mix of things. On the opposite side of the board walk, most of the water is taken up by an old house boat, its square prow abutting the whitewashed building forming the southern boundary to the street.
Nor is this all. At the point where the street gives way board walk, a tiled path points the way to one side. It runs between tram café and water to a little platform, where a steam train is just pulling in, its carriages slowly emerging from another tunnel. Alongside the track, the sheer wall of an old factory rises like a great brick cliff. Roofless, its windowless flank rich in graffiti and drawings, it invites exploration.
But to describe everything to be found here – the little house, what lies inside the old factory or the warehouse with its broken wall, the field of sunflowers marching into the scene and more – is really a waste. This is a place which really does deserve to be seen – to be savoured – to really be appreciated.
The level of detail packed into it is exquisite, from the richness of the trees, shrubs and plants, to the little vignettes such as the lilies and rowing boats, to the cats which sit in indifference to the world or watch from roof or corner, all the way to the many little touches which bring this scene to life in so many ways.
If you are looks for a photo location with a personality of its own, or a place where you can while away the time with a friend or loved one – then take a Long Journey, I promise you will not be disappointed. Our thanks to Shakespeare (once again! 🙂 ).
SLurl Details
- Long Journey (Nightshark, rated Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 