Category: Reviews

Kess Smith (Kess Crystal) recently invited me to previews that spring 2022 design for her Homestead region of Deer River ahead of its official public opening. Unfortunately, time was against me and I was unable to make a visit ahead of the opening, so I hopped over to take a look as soon as I had a couple of days to explore properly and photograph.

As its name suggests, Deer River Spring sees the region take on a spring / summer look to offer a theme Kess describes as “boho festival”. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure what that means – while there are touches of the bohemian to be found within the yurts within the region, on the whole, I found the look and feel to be more North American rural rather than carrying a noticeable bohemian feel.

Which should not be taken to mean Deer River Spring in any way fails to deliver; quite the reverse in fact. It’s is a richly engaging design presenting a richly detailed, natural retreat within which there is much to see and do, surrounded by of-region hills and islands.

The most obvious route for exploration is the dirt track that loops its way around the setting. This starts and finishes at the two covered bridges that cross from the circular landing point islet located in the north-east of the region. Exactly which bridge you take to join the track is simply a matter of personal choice, as either direction will bring you to the region’s major points of interest.

For example, to the south, the track parallels the narrow ribbon of rocky sand that marks the shoreline to lasso a trio of weathered buildings within a loose loop. Between them, the buildings form a fish market (the produce presumably delivered by the fishing boat lying just offshore), a garage / filling station and a café with a trellised outdoor seating area.

To the west, meanwhile, the track will take people past a rugged festival field occupying the northern sweep of the island and which is clearly intended as a festival / music space. It is home to two of the yurts to be found within the region, one offered as an “art station” and the other a “zen station” and both open to visitors. Continuing beyond the field, the track turns more southwards to reach a long wooden bridge that runs along a deep pool of water. This is fed from multiple falls dropping from an arc of blocky cliffs at the edge of the region, the bridge passing over the water to region the track as it turns to meet with its southern arm below the steps of a craggy hill that rises to the south-west.

Stone steps have been set against the rocky side of this hill to provide a way up to where a cobbled path has been set out over the grass and which lead to a little wooden cabin. Perhaps it is owned by whoever runs the fish store / café / garage; perhaps it is a place set aside as a little retreat. It’s certainly cosy and has a welcoming meal set out on the front veranda, while the horses grazing close by are clearly unconcerned by any visitors the cabin brings to itself.

Beyond it, more steps have been laid to give access to both a secluded meadow set out with a small deck and open fire and a high platform extending out from the western cliffs to offer a look-out point covering a channel between the surrounding hills.

The southern end of the region lays screened behind a curtain of trees, the path through them marked by a fence and a sign that warns it leads to the island’s two rentals, so informing visitors that privacy should be respected when passing through the trees. The rentals (intended for short-term stays at L$250 a day) sit within their own grounds, each with its own view. However, it is not their location that makes them interesting, it is the fact that they are also yurts, and within each of their comfortable cylinders that the bohemian aspect of the region is fully in evidence.

While the track looping through the setting has been rutted by the passage of wheels and the odd car and light goods vehicle can be found here and there, the preferred ways for getting around the region is on foot, horseback or bicycle. For the latter two, a Teagle horse rezzer can be found at the landing point and a bicycle rezzer close by the café. Those who have wearable horses / bikes can opt use those. Nor are the tracks the only marked routes across the island; cobbled paths offer alternate routes, whilst the spine of the island forms a sinuous grassy hill that makes for a gentle walk with views across the land.

Throughout all of this are multiple places for people to sit and pass the time, from the cabin on the hill and the deck and look-out point nearby, to the little ice cream truck sitting in the lee of the hill through to swings hanging from trees and desks built over the waters of the river, and more. Finished with an ambient soundscape and with its own wildlife and waterfowl waiting to be spotted, Deer River Spring has much to commend itself to the Second Life explorer and to the photographers among us (joining the local group confers rezzing rights for those needing photo props – but please remember to clean up after yourself!).

SLurl Details

Deer River Spring (NewMoon, rated Moderate)

April saw some excitement / concern over the future of one of the longest-running public spaces in Second Life, when news surfaced that Japanese Tempura Island looked set to close its doors. Calls were made for Something To Be Done – and fortunately, the Lab was able to step in and add the region to its growing list of spaces preserved under its Second Life Region Preservation Society (SLRPS) banner.

I confess that while I’ve visited Japanese Tempura Island on numerous occasions in the past, I’ve never actually blogged about it. The main reason for this is because during those visits (back in around 2010-2013), the system I had just couldn’t handle the load, and while my present system has the “umph”, I have to admit that it fell off of my “destination radar”. However, while the recent news has brought the region sharply back into focus, I’m actually not going to blog about it now; I’ll reserve that for a future article.

Instead I’m going to focus on another Tempura region – the Tempura Project. Initiated at the time when Japanese Tempura Island’s future was in doubt, the aim of the project was initially to offer a setting that emulated the original’s look and feel (whilst using mesh to replace some of the original’s older prim elements) and preserve all that made the original so popular among Second Life residents.

The project has been led by Tribish Tammas, whom I first got to know through The Muse region (see: Finding The Muse in Second Life and A new Muse in Second Life for more), and while the original is now being preserved, by the time this was confirmed by Linden Lab, more than 70% of the region had been completed.  As a result, the team decided to push ahead and complete the first stage of their work.

From day one it was never meant to be a duplicate of tempura but take the elements that made it such a peaceful place to relax. So people will have the classic version and something a bit more up to date to choose from 🙂 . Our focus is on places to relax with people you care with. Also great for taking photos. Certain elements are fixed in place – the bridge, tai chi , meditation, and the ball room; others will evolve over time. Hence the project name.

– Tribish Tammas

Given the original goals of the project as stated above, and the fact so much of the work had been completed prior to the original coming under the protection of Linden Lab, it should come as no surprise that Tempura Project does reflect the original in general look and feel. However, this does not mean the Project should be in any way dismissed. If there is one thing that has been noticeable with SLRPS is the fact that, as good as the project is in preserving regions, it actually does little to retain their original broader functions and the activities that were once organised within them (an example of this can be see with the SS Galaxy, once a healthy venue for events from weddings to mini-golf to skydiving and clay pigeon shooting contests and so on).

As such, Tempura Project is designed to be a living space, evolving in reflection of the uses to which it is put by visitors and the suggestions they pass on for possible additions and activities that are in keeping with the overall aims for the setting.

Those familiar with the original will recognise the inspiration for the landing point, bridge and dance hall, together with the two small islands bracketing the bridge. The latter continue to offer tai chi to one side, while the other round island sits as a Zen garden set out for yoga. The great hall might not be as big and impressive as the original, but it holds its own secrets beneath its dance floor that offer opportunities for swimming, message, the luxury of a steam room and more.

This is not the only underground element to the setting – but finding the other will take a little ingenuity. All I’ll say is: look for the wall with the Tempura mural. Elsewhere, much of the landscape retains the look of the original but is also smoother and a lot “cleaner” in form; much of the glow that permeates the original is absent from Tempura Project, and I feel that this is to the better. The landscape also offers more in the way of seating and cuddle spots waiting to be found by explorers. Elsewhere – and also awaiting discovery by the keen-eyed – is an underwater walk, whilst the wizard’s house offers both an excellent view over the lake to the grand bridge and forms a further cosy retreat.

With enough of its own touches combined with those aspects reflecting Japanese Tempura Island, the Tempura Project offers an engaging alternative to the original, the features unique to it clearly adding to its appeal. Given the popularity of the original, and the fact it has always tended to remain constant, rather than gently evolving, Tempura Project may well offer those looking for a quieter sense of relaxation with the tonic they are seeking.

My thanks to Eliza Cabassoun for first informing me about Tempura Project. Note that the images here are not using the region’s sunset EEP setting.

SLurl Details

• Tempura Project (Sweety Bay, rated Moderate)

The house on my right was a colossal affair by any standard–it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden. It was Gatsby’s mansion.

– “Nick Carraway” in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

These are the words that strolled through my head when I came across the Destination Guide entry for the current build at One More Light’s home region in Second Life. Even before reading the accompanying text, the image for the entry had me leaping to thoughts of the palatial West Egg home of the enigmatic Jay Gatsby in Long Island and the focal point for much of what occurs in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s enduring novel.

So you can imagine my pleasure when on arriving in the region I found the primary building within it – a grand hotel – named for Fitzgerald’s ultimately tragic character. However, this is not a further take (for there have been several in SL) on the novel or any of the films it has inspired, but rather a vacation and events venue established to offer visitors a taste of the roaring 1920s and the opportunity to help raise funds for RFL of SL’s 2022 season.

As a Relay for Life of Second Life (RFL of SL) team, One More Light were the recipients of the 2021 Spirit of Relay award, and Gatsby’s is their latest themed fund-raiser for RFL.

Within the setting, you can not only be transported back to the 1920s in style, but you can also book a room at the hotel during its main fund-raising period (which opens on May 5th and runs through until May 15th, 2022), and be free to make use of the hotel’s facilities and attend the various events being held throughout that period (and which are also open to the public at large – as is the the hotel and its grounds, outside of the rooms and suites for guests).

Wearing 1920s regalia is not a stated requirement for visitors, I would suggest those opting to stay at the hotel might be advised to do so, and period costume can also help immerse casual visitors to the setting – something that is helped by the novel approach to getting to the hotel.

Rather than dropping people in front of or within the hotel, the landing point delivers visitors to a road tunnel below the hotel. Here, a period car can be rezzed and used to drive up to the hotel. The car may be a British MG Roadster dating from the 1950s, but it suits the mood of the setting and offers a nice touch.

Emerging from the tunnel, the road presents itself as a cobbled coastal way running along the shore of Long Island beneath a bright summer sky. It would have perhaps have been nice to see the “weather-beaten cardboard bungalow” Carraway stayed in as one sweeps around the long curve of road that ends at the entrance to the hotel, but again: this isn’t intended to be a take on the book itself; Gatsby is simply a title by which to evoke the period – although that didn’t stop me looking for possible links (real or imagined!) to Fitzgerald’s novel.

Cars can be parked in the walled and fountained courtyard below the hotel proper, where a trio of period vehicles already sit. Note that one of these is a prize in a raffle to help with the hotel’s goal of raising funds for One More light and RFL, and has been donated by Surplus Motors.

Up the steps from the car park sits the hotel’s main building. Whilst not a great stone-built edifice in the style of Gatsby’s mansion, this wood-face giant shares some common elements with its namesake; the frontage either side of the entrance has what appears to be relatively young ivy climbing the walls, intended to evoke a feeling of age, for example. The grounds sit as a mix of formal and informal gardens and lawns, whilst the rear wings of the main building embrace a terrace suitable for hosting the overspill of a grand party such as Gatsby was renowned for throwing – even if he rarely participated.

The ground floor of the hotel holds the majority of the public spaces: the reception, lounge, restaurant, bar, coffee house, gentleman’s billiard room and indoor pool. The floors above offer as range of rooms and suites that can be reserved via the booking form noted above. At the time of my visit, an art gallery looked to be in the process of being set-up, the doors from which providing a means to access a terrace on the north side of the hotel that spans the gap between it and a grand galleried theatre, complete with stage and ideal for hosting events.

For me, a further touch of Fitzgerald’s story can be found towards the rear of the hotel. Below the winged terrace, and reached via twin stairs, said a lido and swimming pool. While an inviting and charming setting, it carries with it faint echoes of (particularly) of the climatic scene with Robert Redford’s Gatsby in Jack Clayton’s 1974 film. This is made all the more poignant for those looking for elements of the book (again, I would emphasise, such are not the focus of the setting, but rather nice-to-find hints – whether intentional or otherwise – for those who do enjoy the story) is the little pier extending away from the grass and beach below the pool. Looking at it, I could almost imagine Gatsby standing there, wistfully looking out to where the green lit of the Buchanan‘s dock light blinks.

But whether or not you are a fan of the book (and / or its multiple film versions), the Gatsby Hotel makes for photo a worthwhile visit for photography and for helping to raise funds for RFL of SL.  Congrats to Lily, Abigail and the One More Light team for their hard work.

SLurl Details

• One more Light: Gatsby Hotel (Magical Garden, rated Moderate)