Tag: Exploring Second life 2015

Warm Springs (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Take the ferry to Warm Springs, a lovely town with hills overlooking the sea and beaches. Walk the dirt roads under the intertwined ancient trees and see the picturesque charming houses. Take the bridge to the hills where you can see the lighthouse and the cliffs overlooking the sea. Or, simply go to the town’s Bakery and Cafe for some delectable delights. Come, relax, and enjoy the town’s beauty.

Thus read the invitation luring me across the sea to Warm Springs, the homestead region designed by Irina Sofia Deschanel (aka Irina Forwzy) – and I’m glad I was lured, because it is a place to savour and enjoy.

Now held in the cupped hands of autumn, the region is a true natural delight, filled with warm colours, the trees drawing close to shedding their leaves, yet for now offering them as shade from the autumnal sun as you wander the paths and tracks which wind their way around and across the region.

Warm Springs (Flickr)

The landing point occupies a small pier on the north side of the island, a sign inviting the visitor to stroll along the beach to one side while a track beckons one inland. Take your pick as to which you follow; each will offer much to see, be it from the sandy shoreline or from under shady boughs. Just across the mouth of the river from the landing point sits a little orchard, apples ripe for the picking and being harvested ready for market, watched over by the tall striped finger of the local lighthouse sitting atop a nearby hill. To reach this, you’ll need to follow the track inland and cross the river by the covered footbridge.

Warm Springs (Flickr)

Once across the river, the track turns away from the lighthouse, so you’ll have to cross the grassy slope to reach it. As you do so, you might spot the board walk and steps leading down to another beach, this one nestled under the lighthouse, offering a secluded spot away from the world.

Follow the track, however, and you’ll be taken past one of the little houses occupying the region and another set of steps offering the way down to a further stretch of beach, and onwards to a hilltop bakery and coffee-house, where refreshments can be enjoyed, indoors or out.

Back across the river, and relatively close to the landing point, are two more little houses; neither is occupied per se, but they are in keeping with Irina’s statement that the population of Warm Springs can be counted on the fingers of one hand! Both of these houses sit with their backs to the beach signposted from the landing point, completing the circle of the region.

Warm Springs (Flickr)

For those who enjoy taking pictures, there is a Flickr group, and Irina invites those who do take pictures of Warm Springs to consider adding them to the group. Should you enjoy your visit, do please consider making a donation towards the costs of keeping the region open to visitors.

SLurl Details

• Warm Springs (Rated: Moderate)

Hestium (Flickr) – click any image for full size

I’m fortunate to be able to count Boudicca Amat and her SL partner Anthony Wesburn as friends. Both are extremely talented, Anthony as a music lover and DJ with a focus on blues, jazz and rock, and Boudicca as both a storyteller and a gifted artist, as demonstrated by her Flickr stream.

As a storyteller, Boudicca presents readings in voice at Hestium, the home she shares with Anthony, and it was to Hestium that I found myself once again drawn after seeing it featured in the Lab’s Destination Guide Highlights.

Hestium (Flickr) – click any image for full size

A visit to Hestium begins on the steps leading up to a small terrace café overlooking a beach of golden sand and the wide open sea. A chalk board offers a warm greeting to new arrivals and provides a note card with further information about the land – and it is well worth a read. The terrace offers the opportunity to sit and enjoy the view as well as providing access to both Hestium and to the neighbouring parcel, Willow’s Oasis, which is held by Patti Peregrine, aka Willow Amat, one of Boudicca’s oldest and closest friends. Like Hestium, it is open for visitors to explore.

Follow the sign welcoming you to Hestium, and you’ll find yourself on a board walk along which a slightly harried-looking server is hurrying towards the café terrace, laden with cake and refreshments. At the end of the board walk and a short walk along a grassy path, sits a little cottage surrounded by trees. This is the kitchen for the café, and within it an even more harried-looking baker is hard at work.

Hestium (Flickr) – click any image for full size

The path continues onwards through the woods on the far side of the cottage, and will bring you by turn and bridge to Hestium itself, where there is much to discover.

This little township, sitting between high cliffs and split by a channel of water, suggests a place snuggled into the Mediterranean coastline somewhere. However, the mischievous raccoons running riot in places suggest an altogether different climatic location; thus we are free to imagine where – and when – Hestium might lie.

All the buildings here are open to visitors to explore, with the exception of the little cottage up on the hill just outside the township proper. This is Boudicca and Anthony’s home, and visitors are requested to respect their privacy. Also, note that in order to explore the library within the town, you’ll need to use the teleport system, otherwise the buildings are accessible on foot.

Hestium (Flickr) – click any image for full size

A place of invisible inhabitants, Hestium offers clues as to who they might be, but it is up to visitors to discover these clues, some of which might be hidden away somewhere in the houses while some might be in plain sight. There are also clues to be found in the Hestium stories Flickr group.

However, why (and how) they have come to Hestium is something for visitors to decide: there is an open invitation for people to write their own stories about the various characters, and to add a photo of themselves as that character, together with a link to their story in the description, to the Flickr group.

For those who enjoy landscape photography, there is a second Flickr group where photos can be submitted, and these may include avatars as well as being landscape studies.

Willow’s Oasis (Flickr) – click any image for full size

With cuddle spots and places to sit scattered around, and Willow’s Oasis garden next door also awaiting exploration, a visit to Hestium is well worth the time. There are numerous places to sit and relax while exploring, be they on the beach, on the water, or amidst the trees. And there’s also that opportunity to add to the history of Hestium through the stories Flickr group; or you can join Boudicca for a storytelling session in voice every Monday and Wednesday at 15:30 SLT.

SLurl Details and Links

• Hestium (Region rated: Adult; venue regarded as PG)
• Hestium stories Flickr group
• Hestium pictures Flickr group

Ironwood Hills (Flickr) – click any image for full size

While it draws its inspiration from further afield than Halloween, a visit to Ironwood Hills is nevertheless in keeping with the time of the year, offering as it does a suitably dark and atmospheric place for exploration and investigation.

The work of Cyrus Knight (josman2088) and Jestyr Knight (Zeke Jestyr), the region offers a range of environments, all linked by a common post-apocalyptic theme, with plenty of photographic opportunities (with rezzing available), all of which is loosely based on Silent Hill.

Ironwood Hills (Flickr)

This is a forever twilight place, where the sky is leaden, the streets wreathed in shadow and subject to the encroachments of nature. It is a town that has seen better days, still held thrall to whatever has befallen it. Quite what that might be is hard to determine, but the wailing of sirens tends to suggest something destructive, as does the ruined state of some of the buildings. similarly, the distant sounds of fairground music tends to suggest most of the locals departed in a hurry.

Or perhaps some remained. Certainly, when walking the cracked, darkened streets under the few still-working lamps, it is possible to come across echoes of childish laughter, which is not entirely comforting in its tone. Turn a corner here or there, and you may even come across a youngster, perhaps playing hopscotch and strangely indifferent to your presence…

Ironwood Hills (Flickr)

Signs of what seems to have been a panicked exodus (or some other upheaval) can be found elsewhere as well: a police car smashed into a fire hydrant, a taxi lying in the local river the local river, the wreck of a truck on the edge of town, victim of an altercation with a tree.

Just when all this occurred is hard to assess. On the one hand, that power still flows through part of the town, allowing street lights to offer some illumination and signs to flicker weakly, offers a suggestion that the calamity is only recently passed. On the other, however, the state of the local vegetation and the way it is encroaching on roads, buildings and vehicles, suggests a fair amount of time has passed since whatever transpired here.

Beyond the town, with its church and drive-in theatre, baseball court and the rest, lay much more to explore. Cross the bridge, for example, and you’ll come to a partially flooded fairground. Perhaps the water here is the result of some natural disaster. Travel further afield, and other things might be brought to light – but I’ll leave these for you to discover.

Ironwood Hills (Flickr)

This is a design which makes excellent use of the space available at ground level within a region to present an environment rich in content. So much so that given the ambient lighting and the care put into the design, it is possible to miss things if limiting yourself to just a casual visit. So be sure yo take your time and that your follow all the footpaths, roads, tracks and trails you come across, or you’ll never know where they might lead or what might await discovery.

SLurl Details

• Ironwood Hills (Rated:  Moderate)

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

Having allayed recent concerns over her health, Kylie Jaxxon has competed a new make-over for her region, The Trace Too, and has been inviting people to pop over and take a look – something I was only too happy to do as the week started!

The new design sees The Trace Too leave the summery beaches and sandy low hills behind, as it becomes a beautiful autumnal wonderland. Rich in greens, reds and golds, the sandy landscape now covered in grass and falling leaves, with trees, shaded walks and scattered houses, barns and pavilions presenting  visitors with an altogether captivating look and feel.

The Trace Too (Flickr)

From the landing point on the wet side of the region, a long avenue of trees leads the way to the east, and a large house which appears to be undergoing preparations for decorating upstairs. A signposted crossroads along the avenue points the way to a barn and horses to the south, and a path through the tree leading north, which will eventually bring you to the water’s edge. Here lies a board walk providing access to an ornate pavilion sitting just across the water on a small island.

And that’s just for starters; there is plenty more to see and discover. It actually doesn’t matter which way you go from the landing point, as you’re sure to come across something that will have you smiling and feeling at home before you’re walked too far.

The Trace Too (Flickr)

You can, for example, travel south and west and climb a hill topped with wheat to come to a little wooden hut sitting atop a rocky outcrop where you can watch the geese, perhaps startled by the dog at the side of the track, take flight. Or you can travel north and west, over (or around) another small hill, and pay a visit to another of the region’s houses, where interior decoration also seems to be the order of the day.

Stroll along the hills on the north side of the island and you’ll come to a narrow neck of water over which can be reached a rocky island with wooden look-out of its own. The offers an ideal spot for looking out over the water and admire the nearby pavilion. Or you can simply roam inland, taking advantage of any of the numerous places to sit and relax, indoors or out.

The Trace Too (Flickr)

It is also inland that you’ll find a little nod to the approach of Halloween, with pumpkins on sale alongside a little greenhouse. Back at the landing point, and if you missed it on arrival, is an opportunity to assist the World Food Programme in efforts to bring humanitarian relief to some 6 million displaced Syrians.

Kylie’s region designs never fail to delight me, and I’ve loved watching how things have evolved at both The Trace and The Trace Too. However, with this particular design,  I cannot help but feel Kylie has excelled. It is simply gorgeous. I have little doubt that photographers are going to be hard-pressed to tear themselves away from it; I know I did!

The Trace Too (Flickr)

SLurl Details

• The Trace Too (Rated: Moderate)

Caladan (Flickr) – set to close on September 30th

I learned via Loverdag that Antinéa Torok has announced the forthcoming closure of her beautiful gardens at Caladan, which is set to occur on Wednesday, September 30th.

The Indian themed gardens, which offer visitors a place of peace and relaxation, have been designed by Antinéa to demonstrate her skills in region and parcel design under her AT D&CO brand – and they really are a beautiful place to visit, as I noted in March 2015.

If you have not previously visited the gardens, I strongly urge you to do some before September 30th, and savour the sights and sounds there. Antinéa has created something very special which has been enjoyed by so many, that the gardens will doubtless be missed once gone.

Caladan (Flickr)

However, the closure of Caladan does not signify the end of Antinéa’s designs in Second Life. As she notes in the closure announcement, her region of Vita Nova will remain in Second Life, and open to visitors.

In contrast to Caladan, Vita Nova has a decidedly Mediterranean look and feel; presenting a place that might sit right at home nestled somewhere along the coast of Tuscany. A hazy sky casts a soft light over a (mostly) low-lying, rural landscape which slopes down to a quiet beach and water front on the east side of the island, where sits the landing point atop a wood deck.

Vita Nova (Flickr)

This leads the visitor to a small marketplace courtyard, where visitors can peruse the little stalls or sit and enjoy a drink at one of several tables scattered across the courtyard, and served from the little red café. A wooden dance stage sits to one side of the walled market, overlooking an open field.

Two dirt tracks also lead away from the courtyard, one to the beach which borders it to the south. The second track offers a path up past vines rich with grapes ripening in the sun, and up to the local villa. Here visitors can again relax, or wander across the cliff tops to an old ruin, or take the wooden steps down to  another beach on the west side of the island.

Vita Nova (Flickr)

This is another considered design; not too heavy on landscaping, but offering an environment one can enjoy alone, or in the company of others. The approach to the coastal landscaping is such that it is possible to feel one is walking along a coastal region, rather than simply around an island, adding to the feeling of being somewhere on the Italian coast. The music stream provides a pleasing jazz backing (if somewhat interrupted by ads), and the sound scape Antinéa has created suits the environment perfectly. So, even if you do forego the audio stream, do make sure you have local sounds on.

For those wishing to take photos, there are many opportunities, and if you join the AT D&CO group, you can rez props – but do please remember to clear-up when done!

Vita Nova (Flickr)

Once again, if you’ve not visited Caladan before, do make sure to make time before September 30th, and don’t forget Vita Nova will also be ready to welcome you.

SLurl Details

• Caladan (Rated: Moderate) – until Sept 30th
• Vita Nova (Rated: Moderate)