Category: Exploring Second Life

I came across the setting of Everbloom whilst nosing through the Destination Guide to see what caught my eye. The work of Carolina Jackman (CarolinaSchnuti), it occupies Homestead region which, at the time of my visit, was very rural in nature and dressed for summer, making for a suitably seasonal visit.

A place to breathe.

Let your soul unwind as the evening sun bathes the terrace in warm golden light. Surrounded by blooming gardens, gentle sounds of nature, and peaceful animals, you’ll find the kind of tranquillity that is so often lost in everyday life.

Sometimes happiness needs nothing more than a croissant, a quiet moment, and the perfect view.

– Everbloom About Land description

Then Landing Point for the setting lies on the region’s east side, where a bay cuts a shallow V-shape into the landscape. Across the region and on its west side, the smaller of two beaches steps into the land, working with the Landing Point bay to give the impression of a thick neck of land joining the two larger and more circular half-isles to the south and north.

Adding to this idea of a neck of land between the two half-isles is a raised boardwalk strung across the grassland like a necklace. It almost reaches the sands of the little beach when it veers south around the edge of a large pond and provides access to the buildings sitting on this half of the island.

These buildings comprise a little farmhouse and barns huddled close to the swinging arms of a windmill. They sit on the lowland meadows, overlooked by what at first appears to be a large house but which is in fact fact a café-bakery with a small residence on it upper floor and a garden market sitting on its broad terrace. It is reached via a wide stairway just of the end of the broadwalk, at the foot of which is a little cupboard of wearable hobby horses for those wishing a slightly different means of trotting around the landscape.

To the north, the land is a little higher and crowned by a single-storey villa. This can be reached quite freely as one explores, but a series of wooden stairways climb the gentle slope up to it, a spur of the boardwalk pointing the way towards them.

The villa is furnished as a house, but appears open to visitors. A terrace to one side of the villa looks out over another gentle slope running down to the setting’s larger beach as it sweeps around the north-west coastline of the island.

Outside of the boardwalk and steps mentioned above, there are no man-made paths through the setting: people can simply and comfortably wander as they please, allowing mood and feet carry them through the landscape to see what they might find, be it somewhere to relax on the beaches or enjoying refreshments at the café-bakery or sitting at one of the many other places on the ground or suspended from tree branches in the form of swings.

Additional life is brought to the setting through the presence of heron and flamingos. However, rather than simply strutting around the waters or watching for fish from the shore as is so often the case in region designs, Carolina has opted to add a dynamic edge to her birds by having groups of both taking to the air as if startled, causing some already airborne seagulls no small surprise as well. When exploring the island, these little vignettes give the feeling that simply in exploring, a visitor has surprised the birds, causing them to hurriedly take to the air.

And talking of taking to the air, visitors can also do so during a visit, courtesy of a bubble rezzer just a short walk north from the Landing Point. Click to rez a bubble, sit in it and off you go, PAGE UP / DOWN to climb and down and your movement keys to steer yourself and move forwards / backwards.

Very much living up to its About Land description, Everbloom makes for an engaging, picturesque visit.

SLurl Details

• Everbloom (Loony, rated Moderate)

I was somewhat intrigued by the Destination Guide entry for The Third Place; where many public places in Second Life tend to change seasonally or perhaps monthly (if they do opt to change), The Third Place offers something a little more frequent:

The Third Place is a vibrant region where you should wander around, take photos, explore virtual art, and chat. Every week, its works change, are refined, or disappear. Don’t miss out! It’s perfect for couples and artists. Come enjoy the beaches, caves, hidden treasures, and sunrises.

– The Third Place Destination Guide entry

Weekly changes, even in term of any art elements within a region, is something that sounds interesting and curious – so off I hopped to have a look.

Obviously, a place that does undergo such frequent updates is perhaps a little hard to write about – what I see today, someone coming across this article in a couple of weeks time might find entirely absent from the setting. As such, I’ll endeavour to keep my observations more general.

A Homestead region and the work of Kat (Kathylin Resident), The Third Place is a rugged island in which visitors are free to wander overground and underground, encountering art vignettes along the way, together with plenty of opportunities for  photography.

At the time of my visit, the Landing Point was located in the north-eastern lowlands of the region, on the edge of a wetland inlet itself abutting the off-region waters surrounding. The first of these art elements lay on the shoreline of these wetlands, whilst the main path rising from this to move inland. Passing through woodlands, it turns again to follow the coastline partly around the island and past some of the art installations awaiting discovery.

The art installations themselves are spaced around the region, allowing each to stand independently one from the next. They come in different sizes, some large, others individual pieces. Some of these – again at least during the time of my visit – are located close to large empty frames which allow unique opportunities to photograph the art pieces themselves.

As well as the art, The Third Place offers places to sit and pass the time. Scattered across the island like the art, these help encourage visitors to wander and explore. Such explorations can be carried out on foot, following the footpaths and trails winding over the landscape or via horseback (you can wear / rez your own), or – if it is still available and you locate it – you can use the bubble ride rezzer.

Per my note earlier, the island includes paths which pass underground via a connected series of tunnels which are worth the time taken to find your way into them and then exploring them fully. Above these, up on the mountain peak and reached via its own switchback path, further art can be found, again with opportunities for photography.

Rezzing in the region is open to visitors, allowing props to be used when taking pictures – but do make sure you collect your things afterwards. Rich in detail without feeling or looking overcrowded, The Third Place makes for an engaging visit.

SLurl Details

• The Third Place (rated Moderate)

The Garden of Hope is a joint venture between Calas Galadhon and The Grove Estate and features the creative work of Tymus Tenk of Calas Galadhon and Patch Thibaud from The Grove. It came into being during the 2023 Relay for Life season Hope Floats as a memorial to all those who have lost their lives to cancer, and has now been restored as a lasting place of peace and remembrance.

Its return, coming during the 2026 Second Life Relay for Life season and (more personally) on the heels of my own emergence from the shadow of cancer (for the second time in a decade, albeit this time being somewhat more worrying than 2018), led it to being added to my list of places to visit.

In fact, given its ties to Calas – a place that has long been close to my heart – it quickly percolated to the top of my list, hence this article. I was also, frankly, curious as to how Calas and The Grove came together, The Grove being another place which – while I’ve not really covered it in these pages due to much of it being residential in nature – I’ve enjoyed wandering through in past visits.

The answer to this latter question, how do the two design approaches come together, is “extremely well”. The Garden of Hope is a simply beautiful setting, rich in detail, beautifully created with a multitude of spaces in which to remember those we may have lost – and serves as a fitting memorial to Crito Galtier, the original owner of The Grove, who provided guidance in the development of the Garden prior to his passing away at the end of 2023.

The Landing Point offers an engaging description of the region – which is joined to the rest of the Calas Galadhon estate, sitting as it does close to the Garden’s northern edge where it joins Calas’ Glanduin. A path leads up to this northern boundary, whilst another points south and takes visitors deeper into the region.

This southern path is, in some respects, the “stitching” that brings the “Grove influenced” and “Calas influenced” parts of the region together, the former sitting on the eastern side of the path (and meeting it at its southern end) and the latter running more down the west side of the region.

However, whilst there is this sort-of split to the region’s design, with either side of the path directly designed by Patch and Ty, the overall blending of the landscapes and features within them is a lot more subtle than their meeting simply being denoted by a path; something that becomes clear as one explores and moves from east to west and back again.

The architecture on the east side of the region, for example is clearly drawn out of the influence of Patch’s work at The Grove, whilst to the west, the Garden carries the natural loo and feel of the countryside found within many of the Calas regions. As noted, they are linked by paths and trails with – one or two exceptions duly noted in a manner that present no divide, and thus presents both halves as a whole.

The Garden also neatly brings together two very contrasting architectural styles into a single whole. Patch’s work very much speaks to Mediterranean themes and elements, leaning towards a modern take of Greco-Roman design and Tuscan influences. Ty’s work, meanwhile, as well as embracing the natural themes from Calas Galadhon, carries a strong oriental theme and motifs.

When walking through the Garden of Hope, it is hard not to be absorbed by its beauty and wrapped in a sense of thoughtful contemplation. Whether the latter is in remembrance of those we’ve lost or the great good fortune we’ve had (as in my case) in coming through an immediate threat posed by the disease, or simply in reflection of the care and love poured into the region’s design doesn’t really matter: Garden of Hope is a place which bestows a wonderful sense of tranquillity to all who pass through it.

Throughout the Garden are places to sit or dance, and secret places to discover as they pass underground. There’s also more to come, as Ty noted to me during my visit: he and Patch plan to add a memorial wall where visitors can submit a name of someone they’ve lost, together with a short message. This will likely include an interactive element (Ty suggested a lotus on one of the bodies of water) visitors can touch and have a small golden orb rise to the skies as a prayer or wish for healing.

In all, the Garden of Hope is a place of piece, harmony and beauty which should not be missed.

Slurl Details

• Garden of Hope (rated: Moderate)

I was drawn to explore Loulou Forest after coming across it in the Destination Guide as it has been designed and executed by Elyjia Baxton, working in concert with the region holder, 7 (Seven Kaptane). Elyjia – or Ely as she likes to be called – is responsible for some of the most natural landscapes and setting found in Second Life, and I’ve has the pleasure of visiting and blogging about many of them since 2017.

Occupying a Full private region, Loulou Forest is part of a 4-region estate held by 7. Of the remaining three, two – Annabel and Eden Roc – provide rentals homes with decently-sized parcels and a mix of over-the-water and rural settings.

The remaining region is home to Loulou, a region-sized venue established by 7 in 2025. With indoor and outdoor settings, the club is open on Wednesdays and Fridays through Sundays, all between 12:00 noon and 15:00 SLT, and again between 18:00 and 21:00 SLT.

Sitting on a region called – appropriately – Ely, Loulou Forest makes use of the majority of the region’s landmass, allowing for the off-shire areas around the coasts. The Landing Point sits a short distance from the region boundary linking the forest to the club region to the west, and Directory sign board offer direct teleports to the club, or across to the edge of the Annabel residential region, or the estate’s rental office for those interested in perhaps making either Annabel or Eden Roc their home for a time.

Loulou Forest is a place where nature invites you to explore. Every corner is designed to offer a moment of calm—a place to recharge and reconnect with what truly matters. A peaceful getaway in the heart of the Loulou universe.

– Loulou Forest About Land description

Dusty tracks provide the primary routes for exploring the forest, winding their way between the trees, passing across bridges, past bodies of water and low waterfalls and to where public buildings await to offer places of rest and refreshment.

However, it should be pointed out that whilst Annabel and Eden Roc are the primary rental regions in this estate, there are a number of private residences located along the southern, eastern and northern extents of the forest – so do take care to avoid trespassing into someone’s privacy.

The tracks are wide enough for vehicles, and indeed a couple are to be found on the verges. However, I would suggest a better source of transport – if you have one available – is a wearable horse (or a rezzable one, if you join the local group and obtain rezzing rights). The trails are ideal for riding, and while I did look around for local horse rezzers, I didn’t notice any.

Given this is a design from Ely, the region is packed with natural detail. Birds reel overhead, geese swim on the inlands waters; there are places to sit and pass the time, be they under the shade of a gazebo or sitting at the roadside or take the form of boats on the waters.

Elsewhere, Bees buzz, horses frolic, young foxes scamper and local cats put their paws of ownership on all they survey (naturally) – including the one hoping to put its paws on a bird, despite the latter’s attitude suggesting it is aware of the plan and will take flight before the cat can do it any harm.

This is a place where exploring can be as quick or as gently as you like, and where opportunities to take photographs and / or pose for selfies abound. The natural beauty of the setting encourages gentle exploration and invites visitors to sit and pass the time here; something also encouraged by the fact that the private residences are spread such that they don’t lead to a feeling one is about to trespass at every turn.

Travel far enough in your explorations, and you will likely encounter the boundary with Annabel. Like the boundary with Loulou, this is clearly denoted if you are following the main tracks around the forest. Casual visits to Annabel are not discouraged – but (again) do keep in mind it is primarily a rental / residential setting, and so opportunities for exploration are limited more to the unpaved roadways as they run through the region to provide access to the private homes.

Rounded-out by a subtle soundscape and richly picturesque, Loulou Forest makes for a rewarding visit for the Second Life explorer / photographer, and sits as a further tour de force of Ely’s ability to design and build spaces in SL which have a natural sense of presence to them.

SLurl Details

• Loulou Forest, Ely, rated Moderate)

It’s been a while since I’ve visited one of LeLooUlf’s Second Life settings, so was intrigued to learn that at some time between my last visit to her half-region setting (back at the end of 2023) and now, she had established a new setting on the mainland continent of Heterocera LeLoo’s World Mainland.  However, in catching it via the Destination Guide, I decided I had to hop over and take a look.

LeLoo’s settings have always been themed affairs, mostly changing with the seasons, and this also the case with LeLoo’s World Mainland; the themes sat the time of my visit being those of outdoor theatre and gentle relaxation in a summertime setting.

This setting is a little deceptive when first arriving, seemingly quite small and self-contained garden with a roughly north-south orientation, the outdoor theatre mentioned above sitting at the southern end of the garden.

However, the location in fact straddles two regions, the gardens being in one, and a lake and gardens sitting below it in the neighbouring region. Signs close to the Landing Point indicate both and provide basic directions to help new arrivals to chose which way they want to go.

As one would expect, the garden is packed with detail, presenting a place to wander and relax within.  Immediately adjacent to the Landing Point is a glass-roofed cabin or shack offering something of a writer’s retreat, whilst the main paths are marked by hewn slices of a tree trunk forming “stepping stones” over the grass.

Of these paths, one runs back to one of two  roadside entrances to the garden, the second points the way to the path down to the lake and the third towards the theatre. As it does so, the latter runs past steps leading up to a trailer-mounted greenhouse forming another little retreat, whilst just off the path leading to the roadside there is a charming little setting for artists, complete with easel-mounted paintings and an arbour to sit within if on your own, or cushions on which to stretch out either on your own or with a friend.

The theatre carries the interesting name of the Grassy Knoll Theatre. This is not any form of historical reference, but is simply due to the fact the theatre sits on a grassy knoll, sharing the space with a semi-circle of assorted seating for the audience. A smaller knoll sits close by, crowned by umbrella trees which a group of little costumed devils have chosen as their playground – presumably their squeals and shouts of excitement don’t interrupt performances!

Bounded by brick walls to either side, and passing through a narrow neck of stubby plateaus before gently opening itself open to the waters of the region beyond, the lake at LeLoo’s World Mainland is something of a secluded setting without actually feeling closed-in.

Located in the neighbouring region of Laothoe, the lake is is reached via a switchback path and steps running down from the gardens, and it is an absolute charm. Koi swim along its length; a bridge suspended by balloons spans the narrow gap between the two little plateaus; dolphins and orcas frolic in the outer waters; floats and boats offer places to sit on the water and shaded chairs and benches offer drier setting on the land.

Swans patrol the outer extent of the lake as it joins with the region’s waters, and they are in turn watched by troop of cast frogs having a little fun on the rocks. Rich in plant growth and easy to wander, the lake and its banks make a worthwhile visit in its own right as much as a part of a visit to the setting as a whole.

One of the things I’ve always enjoyed with LeLoo’s settings is her attention to detail and the inclusion of touches that both add a further sense of place to a setting whilst also offering opportunities for photography and / or giving slight twist to things.

Take, for example, the little water trough and its three water spouts located alongside the path leading down to the lake. Overgrown with flowers, it can be so easily missed; however, its presence and state give the gardens life in the suggestion that things here need constant tending – as does any garden – and that if things are left unchecked, such as the free growth of flowers, then things can in places get out of hand.

Similarly, up in the garden, the smattering of Curious Shrooms, with their waving “heads” and willingness to jump and down give the setting a little twist of fantasy – as does the giant snail keeping an eye on the theatre.

All of which can be taken to mean that LeLoo’s World Mainland makes for a delight visit.

Slurl Details

• LeLoo’s World Mainland (Gunda, rated Moderate)
• The Lake at LeLoo’s World Mainland (Laothoe, rated Moderate)

I first visited Astoria, a Homestead region held by Eromara Vita and Dots (Dotties Stoop), in December 2024 (see: Astoria’s wintertime in Second Life), and had intended to make a return view a lot sooner. However, things have been what they were, so to speak, and so May 2026 marks my first opportunity to make good on that hope of a revisit; and it turns out that being able to do so now is rather serendipitous for me, as the region had, for spring 2026, been redressed as a most pleasant Zen environment – oriental themes for region designs being a favourite for me.

Step into a sanctuary of stillness, where nature and serenity meet. Whether you seek meditation, a yoga session, or a moment of silence away from the noise of daily life, this tranquil space offers the perfect escape. Come as you are. Leave renewed.

– Astoria’a About Land description

In this iteration, the region stands as a series of six small islands, each of which features Alex Bader’s excellent Zen Garden building kit (a personal favourite of mine) as the foundation for their overall look. Arranged in a rough circle, the islands are in turn surrounded by an off-region range of rugged, forested hills which enfold them in a gentle hold, cutting them off from the rest of the world somewhat and adding to their sense of tranquillity.

Separated by deep, clear waters, five of the six islands are connected one to another by a mix of bridges and stepping stones, allowing visitors to move between them without getting wet. However, the sixth is somewhat separated from the others in that no stepping stones or bridge runs across to it.

This separation appears to be by intent rather than any oversight in providing either a bridge or stepping stones, as it stands as a venue for music events (the next being May 15th and featuring Bsukmet – click the information board on the island for a direct Landmark). Given this use, the island is also a little different in appearance to the others, being formed as a stage, with a dancefloor of stones floating before it on the water for dancing.

The Landing Point for the region is located on the tallest of the six islands. This is topped by a small teahouse offering views out over the other islands. A short gravel path with seating links the teahouse with steps leading down to the water’s edge. Here, stepping stone branch out from the island to provide the means to get to two more of the islands.

One of these island is home to a shrine which has suffered some external damage. However, Buddha still sits serenely inside while a statue of Bishamonten (a Japanese form of the Indian god Vaisravana) outside, keeping his proper place and guarding Buddha. A short bridge connects the shine island with a small, flat island topped by a gravel circle with a place to sit and a bamboo fountain.

Buddha is also to be found on the other island which can be reached via the stepping stones from the Landing Point. Here, he resides outdoors in the lee of a tall rock. A pillow is placed before him for those wishing to meditate with him, while a yoga mat on the other side of the rock offers the opportunity for exercise. The entire island takes the form of a small Zen garden looped by gravel paths with water features and places to sit.

A long span of a bridge allows the Zen garden walk to continue on the last of the larger island in the group. This is again low-lying and offers places to sit and contemplate, the peace only broken by the slow clunk of another bamboo fountain as its arm fills with water before dropping to deposit the water into another little stream.

As well as the islands and their walks, the waters here also present points of interest for photographers: lanterns float on the water under a bridge and among lilies; a small dragon fountain sits on a rock rising from the waters, whilst a large water dragon appears to be keeping an eye on the Landing Point and teahouse. The gardens also have lots of little touches to bring them to life without every breaking from their sense of serenity.

In all, another engaging and pleasant design from Dots and Ero.

SLurl Details

• Astoria (Ironia, rated Moderate)