Category: Reviews

Frighteningly (in some respects), it’s been almost a decade since my first visit to Mother Road – Mirage Motel 66, a homage to the original Mother Road region created by Paul Cutter (Xtreme Paule) – see Get your pics on Route 66 in Second Life. However you look at it, that’s a long time, so I recently decided to hop back as see what has changed. And the answer is a lot – but without actually changing in nature.

Route 66 has tended to be a popular inspiration for region builds in SL (hence the original Mother Road design) , and Paul opted to use the history of the Route and the original Mother Road region to offer a setting mindful of Nevada in general style, with the tarmac of the the titular road running arrow-like straight through it. At the he initially opened the setting, Paul noted to me that it was something of an experiment; a 1/2 region design built as both a showcase and what might be possible in the future.

Well, that 1/2 region has since ground into a total of three regions and has brought forth a healthy community. The original Full region is now completely occupied by the setting, and has been joined by two more, each a Full region leveraging the Land Capacity bonus, one to the east of the original region and one to the south.

Much of the expansion is given over to rental parcels – so visitors should be wary of residents’ desire for privacy when they are exploring – but these are mixed with numerous public spaces and buildings to add atmosphere and a sense of space. There are also more roads, both paved and unpaved, allowing residents within the community to enjoy the freedom of driving (as can those joining the local Group – LS $250) whilst again giving a feel of reality to the setting.

They variety of homes is rich, running from a trailer park to expansive houses with solar, patios, pools and plenty of parking, with smally houses and cabins filling out the middle ground. Some sit roadside with proper drives, other sit at the ends of dirt tracks. Together they all form a sense of Americana that’s unmistakable in setting and style – if perhaps at times over-egged by Hollywood.

Nor does the setting exist purely on the ground. As well as a rental – umm, office -, the Landing Point(s) offer(s) teleports up to a series of sky platforms.  These comprise:

• The Road and Camping Theatre: space to drive, featuring a drive-in that has seen much better days.
• Camina Madre: a residential platform continuing the overall theme from the ground level in its mixing of rentals.
• Lost Oasis: a desert setting apparently largely forgotten by time, through which the main routes hurries as if anxious to leave it behind.

The Road and Camping Theatre and Camina Madre are directly connected to one another as well as to the ground level, allowing for direct teleporting between them. Lost Oasis, however, sits at the end of its own teleport that only connects between it and the ground. All three sky platforms appear to be more welcoming / better suited to visitor vehicle rezzing than might be the case on the ground.

The motel that greeted visitors to the original version of the setting remains, and appears to have undergone a small revamp down the years, with “suites” now available – nice to see places making the effort to keep up-to-date and welcoming 🙂 . Those looking for a meal can find one in the diner next door or perhaps in the bar across the road which has apparently replaced the gas station that used to sit across from the motel – ah, progress, progress!

I would also point out that the bike rezzers I remember from my first visit can still be found – just be wary of the region boundaries!

As I noted back in 2017, this is not, the most affluent of locations; rusting hulks of cars are scattered around, together with the detritus of civilisation and the homes are somewhat tired. But it is, without a doubt effective and engaging in its presentation – and given the number of rental occupancies, it is appreciated by the local inhabitants. It also remains ideal for photography, with rezzing rights available, as noted above, on joining the local Group.

If there were one thing I would note about Mother Road in this form is that it is rich in objects and textures (as one might expect from three regions adjoining one another and two of them with the Land Capacity bonus). This makes for a lot for the viewer to handle if you wind Draw Distance up. This is a bit of a shame, as Mother Road really deserves to be seen as a continuous setting; however, if your system is liable to get upset with you for playing with settings, just keep things low and just enjoy the views as the materialise.

One thing you should not do, however, is avoid the setting on the belief Draw Distance must be dialled up; it has a lot to offer for the keen SL explorer.

SLurl Details

• Mother Road – Mirage Motel 66 (Mishiland, rated: Moderate)

I was surprised to realise that it’s been around 18 months since my last visit to the Burrow Coffee Co., an engaging location held by Harlow (Truly Fabulous) and Harvey (Forever Fabulous). At the time of that visit, the coffee house was in a location with landscaping by Aria Christen together with Harlow and Harvey. And even then, truth be told, I’d likely not have noticed by for Harlow contacting me and inviting me to hop along to Burrow’s new location in Second Life and explore the new setting for myself;  something I was only too happy to do.

Now relocated, Burrow once again sits on a Full Private region with the additional Land Capacity Bonus provided by Linden Lab and the landscaping by Harlow. It actually shares the region with a store (which was still under construction at the time of my visit) tucked neatly into one corner of the region. However, such is the care that has been taken with the general landscaping, there is no visually-jarring contrast between the two; whilst separate in nature, they share an overall design that allows them to blend together to the point that until you come across the path connecting the two, you might never be aware a store is nestled within the region as well.

For its new location, Burrow sits within a rugged landscape of with tall cliffs and rich woodlands through which cinder paths twist and meander, connecting the various locations awaiting discovery by those visiting. Surrounded by much taller off-region mountains and cut through by water that breaks the land into a series of island-like bodies, the entire setting sits under an EEP setting suggestive of a late summer’s evening when it is time to unwind and kick-back a little.

Having been a part of Second Life since 2009 (first as the The Pixel Bean Coffeehouse), Burrow has built a reputation as a venue for providing an 18+ safe and inclusive environment where company and music can be enjoyed, together with relaxing gatherings, poetry readings and so on. With this 2026 iteration, Burrow re-opens with more spaces in which any and all of these activities might be enjoyed, together with plenty of scope for exploration on land and on water (keep a eye out for the boat rezzer!) and is ideal for photography.

To help with getting around, there are teleport boards available – but I thoroughly recommend explorations on foot to catch the full ambience of the setting; walking really brings home the care put into the landscaping work, plus it gives a proper perspective as to where everything is in relation to everything else, obviously 🙂 .

There is no enforced Landing Point in place when visiting;  the one Harlow passed to me put me down at the setting’s Park Office – which is actually a good place to start explorations. A teleport board sits to one side of the path on arriving, and the office on the other. The latter contains posters to other regions, presented as field trips away from Burrow – and clicking on each of them will present you with a Landmark to the location in question.

Outside, the main path runs east-to west, branching at the teleport board and again a little more eastward. This latter spur descends a short distance by way of steps to where a deck has been built out over the deep gorge cleaved into the landscape as if by the fall of a gigantic butcher’s blade. Water tumbles from the cliff of the far side of the gorge, and the deck offers a place to sit and admire them.

Follow the path westwards from the office hut, and you’ll pass another branch leading to a further deck built out from the cliff tops and over a large body of water cutting into the region. This side path side between two sets of steps descending down to the feet of the cliffs, where two of the setting’s venues can be found. These take the form of The Tipsy Fox – a delightfully cosy pub-style bar on the water’s edge and, across the other side of the path and alongside the gorge mentioned above, the Petal Pavilion – which I personally think is one of the most engaging retreats / places to enjoy a romantic dance I’ve seen in a good while.

Beyond both of these, the cinder path approaches the western extent of the region and branches left and right. To the left, the path hops over an elegant little bridge to reach the rounded glass bulk of the Grove & Gambit, home to multi-player table-top games outside of which a little path runs down to a small wharf and outdoors seating.

To the right from the main path, the route passes over a bridge that has seen better days in its time, the path arrowing on past waterside decks on either side (remember my comment about boats and rezers!) to reach the Hex and Haze Cannabis Bar. For those not enamoured of the smell of weed and whatever, the path does branch again before reaching the Hex and Haze, a boardwalk allowing you to skirt the bar and then climb a short slope to the Campfire, an outdoor venue for music and conversation.

Those wishing to get directly to the Burrow Coffee House should follow the north pointing path from the Park Office as it leads the way over the gorge by way of a vine-hung bridge. The café is – understandably – the largest venue within the setting. Occupying the top of the island forming the far side of the gorge between it and the Park Office, the coffee house presents indoors and outdoors seating, decks, and a boardwalk running down to where the Starlight Stage is nestled slightly below it, surrounded by trees.

A further path leads away from the Starlight Stage, offering the means to visit the attractive ruins of a stone gazebo built overlooking open waters, or to make your way down to the store mentioned earlier or loop back up to the Park Office, passing by way of the local horse rezzer, should you fancy riding around the region.  A boardwalk also descends the rocks from the stage, winding its way down to a little beach and the Mossy Anchor bar.

Throughout all of this, there are places to sit awaiting discovery. These might be at the edge of the path or on the decks or wharves, within the gazebo or other roadside structures, whilst the waters offer places to take out a boat or go for a swim. As noted as well, there is the horse rezzer for those who wish an alternative means to explore (head east along the path from the Park Office if you use that as your Landing Point when visiting).

Lovingly crafted and brought together, Burrow offers a lot to see and appreciate, and I particularly love the way each location naturally sits apart from the rest courtesy of the woodlands and shaping of the landscape, such that it offers its own sense of intimacy and privacy whilst still very much a part of the whole.

Now open to visitor to explore, Burrow will host an official opening event on Saturday, June 20th, 2026, commencing at 15:00 SLT, which is also tied the Primfeed’s 2nd anniversary, within additional sets to follow over the weekend and during the week, as follows:

Date	Time (SLT)	Performer	Venue
Saturday 20 June	15:00	Lichi Moonwall – Offical Opening & Primfeed 2nd Anniversary Party	Starlight Stage
Sunday 21 June	12:00 Noon	DJ Kiss Crystal	Hex and Haze
Wednesday 24 June	16:00	Mimi Carpenter	Starlight Stage

My thanks to Harlow and the folk at Burrow for the early invite!

SLurl Details

Please note: Burrow is rated Moderate.

• Burrow Coffee House (Evermore, rated Moderate)
• Campfire
• Grove & Gambit
• Hex and Haze
• Mossy Anchor
• Petal Pavilion
• Starlight Stage
• The Tipsy Fox

Steven Spielberg is responsible for some of the most iconic films of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. I’m not going to list any of them here per se, as we all likely have our favourites. However, due to his films, Spielberg is indirectly responsible for a range of Second Life destinations which either seek to reproduce his work or use it as a leaping-off point for the imaginations of those responsible for them.

In this, perhaps his most popular film (and follow-on franchise) for SL settings might well be Jurassic Park, which has seen everything from direct reproductions of its most familiar locations through to adventure games built around its central story or mixing of humans and dinosaurs.

It is Jurassic Park which sprang to mind for me as I first broadly cammed around following my arrival at Leloo’s World: Age of Giants, a setting designed by LeLooUlf.

Now, to be fair, it wasn’t actually that film that came to mind when I first arrived; that honour went to George Taylor’s (aka Charlton Heston’s) famous outburst, “You maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!” And if you need to understand why, just take a look at what forms the backdrop to the Landing Point – and if you’re still unsure, go ask Google 🙂 .

However, as I did cam out and around – particularly as I first tracked around the coast – it was a specific scene from Jurassic Park, together with the truly iconic theme by John Williams (which remains part of one of my all-time favourite film scores) that came to mind as a massive brachiosaur came into view, and I found myself immediately thinking of Sam Neill’s Alan Grant and Laura Dern’s Ellie Sattler and their reactions on first seeing such a marvellous beast strolling past their jeep.

Not, I hasten to add, because Age of Giants is in any way directly based on given settings or scenes from the original film or its sequels; the setting remains uniquely its own – but there are elements and motifs which inevitably bring the film to mind, be they in the mixing of Tyrannosaurus Rex with the  Apatosaurus as velociraptors look on; or in the familiar gates of the park itself (in this case leading to Leloo’s little ranges of shops oft found in her designs) or the inclusion of the  Gyrosphere seen in Jurassic World.

For the most part rugged to the point of mountainous, the setting has dinosaurs scattered around and gliding overhead in the form of pterosaurs, with signposts marking the way through for those on foot. As well as the Gyrospheres mentioned above (and which you drive yourself), it is also possible to take an aerial ride around the setting via a pterosaur.

Also, and if you are feeling brave, there is the opportunity to grab a large “bone swatter” and go full-on Fred Flintstone and calm any unruly dinos with a swift clout. If this fails (as it likely will), there is a pose opportunity for photos which has you running from a potentially irate T-rex!

I did find the Gyrospheres a little difficult to control when it came to driving around, and so would personally recommend sticking to your pedal extremities and following the paths and signs on foot. The latter are particularly handy for finding the photogenic spots.

The pterosaur tour is gentle enough, and at less than 5 minutes, it doesn’t get tiresome and will take you through and over the tree tops in a manner that will reveal the dinosaurs below and perhaps reveal a path or two you might otherwise miss. Also, if you do feel something might have slipped past without ypou noticing, keep an eye out for the teleporter stone(s).

As well as the walks, etc., there are numerous places to sitting waiting to be found, both within the main dinosaur area and “outside” of it. The setting is also rich in ambient sounds, so make sure you have local sounds available in your viewer and your speakers on / headphones at the ready.

Age of Giants is small and fun to visit, and comes complete with an odd little whimsy along the beach at and close by the Landing Point, part of which I mentioned back towards the top of the piece and the rest of which I’ll leave you to find.

Slurl Details

Leloo’s World: Age of Giants (Friends, rated Moderate)

With summer supposedly due any time now (here in the UK we have more in the way of liquid sunshine falling from the sky than we do the warm, bright dry type), I hopped over to Lam Erin’s Cherishville to see what has been brought forth for the summer months of 2026. The result, I have to say, is something of a mixed bag: largely pleasing to the eye but also with a couple of minor niggles.

The overall design carries something of and echo of the summer 2025 iteration of the region design, which I covered at the time – and which itself carried hints of a frequent study for Second Life region designs: America’s Route 66. In this, the Summer 2026 design for Cherishville offers something of a return to the approach to the region Lam took to for some of his past designs: building variations of a core theme.

This is not a criticism of Lam’s work; such an approach gives the opportunity to offer a sense of both continuity and renewal; the idea that – as with the physical world – we are visiting a place which is gently changing over time. A place maturing in reflection of those living within it. It gives a sense of familiarity when visiting, with the promise of finding something new tucked away here and there.

Offering a coastal desert setting, the region is bounded on three sides by rugged, sandy hills which almost, but don’t quite work when looked at for too long; the more one stares at them the more they give the impression of a portion of Mars having plopped itself into Second Life. However, the main landscape tends to draw the eyes away from the hills, lessening the need to dwell on them too much.

The region is is cut through from south-to-north by a main road, one with a single branch road leading to the coast in a similar manner to the Summer 2025 design. However, the major difference between the two is that here the side road runs past the local gas station – called, appropriately enough, Blake Sea Gas – down to a coastal hamlet where the houses and shops facing the sands of a broad beach over which rough decks and boardwalks pass and a volleyball court has been marked out to await players.

Parked along the hamlet and out on the sands just off the road leading to it are motifs from the 2025 design: motorcycles sitting in the shade of palm trees and an old car street artists have painted up, a taco van waiting for customers…

To the northern end of the beach sits a delightful little eccentricity in the form of a beached submarine which might have once served  – well, if not Jacques Cousteau, then perhaps Steve Zissou in his Life Aquatic – but which is now someone’s little home.

Further south and on the other side of the slim curtain of mesa-like rock separating the hamlet from the main road sits an old barn flanked by by old “nodding donkey” pumpjacks, their prime mover engines long silenced. Meanwhile, the main road is paralleled by a stretch of railway track with a pair of old steam trains sitting back-to-back in a push-me-pull-you arrangement. Whether or not they actually chuff along the track is a matter for visitors to decide / imagine.

Cars are certainly making their way along the main road, with some availing themselves of the local motel and burger bar; but again, where they are going or from whence they have come is up to the visitors exploring the setting to decide.

Throughout all of this are plenty of small touches helping to bring the setting to life. There are seagulls circling the local clock tower, a street market sits to one end of the end of the hamlet, a street artist’s stand is neatly tucked close to a bar for refreshments, then the cosy interior and exterior of the local café-bistro and – my personal favourite – a local dog demonstrating his thoughts about members of his species not being allowed on the beach.

The niggles I mentioned are small, but also of the kind that are hard to ignore once seen. The first is the way the region surrounds doesn’t smoothly meet the northern and southern ends of the region its, leaving somewhat jagged ends to the beach area. An attempt has been make to hide these edges from view at ground level via the use if prim boards using images of desert rocks and cacti. It works from a distance away or if shadows are disabled, but it does become painfully obvious when seen close-up. While not spoiling the overall impact of the setting, the boards are a little jarring once noticed.

Even so, Cherishville Summer 2026 offers plenty of opportunities for photograph and exploration, and so shouldn’t be missed.

SLurl Details

• Cherishville – Summer (Tuscan Hills, rated Moderate)