Simploring 2019 (122) A Calas Christmas

09 Dec 2019 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , ,

There are places I visit regularly in particular during the season. On Sunday, December 8th, I visited the yearly Christmas installation created by Ty Tenk (Tymus Tenk) and Truck Meredith and the Calas team. This year it is called “A Calas Christmas“.

A Calas Christmas – at the Landing sky platform and in the labyrinth

I read Inara Pey’s post “A Calas Christmas for 2019 in Second Life” before I went seeing it myself. For a detailled description I refer to her post. The landing at A Calas Christmas is on a sky platfrom. I got a list of landmarks there, that is very helpful for getting around. Make sure that your avatar doesn’t wear too many scripts, the limit is 100 scripts and as many people want to enjoy the winterly Christmas installation you are help keeping the lag bearable with detaching unnecessary HUD’s. I also got a list of events that will take place at A Calas Christmas.
From the skyplatform you enter a labyrinth that offers a lot of lights, decorations, a chamber full of Christmas stuff and decorations (I think that is what Inara called the “Santa’s grotto”). I had fun exploring the labyrinth. There is an exit of the labyrinth, a portal that leads you to the sim on the ground, but I got lost in the labyrinth *winks* and didn’t find it. Instead I used the landmarks, that I got, to travel to the famous sleigh tour.

A Calas Christmas – first impressions of the sleigh tour

The sleigh tour can be made using a sleigh for 2 people or 4 people. I just tried it for a few minutes and got already great views. The sim is just amazing! I will for sure return with Mistress Jenny and make the full tour with her. That became already a tadition for us.

Like last year there’re several possibilities for exploring: the sleigh tour, a balloon tour and a rendeer tour. You can of course explore on foot or you rezz a horse and ride – that is what I did.

Exploring A Calas Christmas (1)

As every year there’s a large Christmas pavillion and a large ice skating area. You can dance, you can sit and cuddle, and most importantly you can enjoy. A Calas Christmas is once again a showcase for what is possible in Second Life!

Exploring A Calas Christmas (2)

That’s it for the moment. I wanted to write a short teaser so that A Calas Christmas gets the attention it deserves. Thank you so much Ty Tenk (Tymus Tenk) and Truck Meredith and who ever was also involved to make this yearly event available to all of us. I will for sure visit again and see more of it before this year ends.

Landmark to A Calas Christmas
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sea%20Myst/184/211/2998
Inara Pey’s blogpost “A Calas Christmas for 2019 in Second Life”
https://modemworld.me/2019/11/29/a-calas-christmas-for-2019-in-second-life/

Simploring 2019 (121) A NYC Christmas

07 Dec 2019 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , ,

For my simploring tour on Friday, December 6th, I picked “A NYC Christmas” from scoop.it SL Destinations . There I found the link to Maddy Gynoid’s blogpost “Simtipp: A NYC Christmas – Winter 2019” which I read before visiting myself.

A NYC Christmas is a full moderate region owned by Absinthe Holloway (sinontherocks). The sim was mainly designed by Tye De Roca-Dynasti (Tye Dinzel) and Gabriel De Roca-Dynasti (Wassup Bruh). As she name implies it is a seasonal sim most probably available until the end of the year.

A NYC Christmas – overview

The sim offers Winter scenes of New York City around the Central Park. And it is very well built! The landing is in a subway station. Some mesh statues liven up the scene. On the platform is a drunken Santa and it is fun listening to him:
Drunken Santa: Hey look its Diomita
Drunken Santa: Ok damnit, who took my sleigh Diomita?
Drunken Santa: Buy me Drink and i wont tell anyone what you did last night… Diomita?
Drunken Santa: Diomita …my Reindeer kicked my Ass …now i have to walk home

Once you leave the subway station you enter into the metropol city of New York. I felt like being in NYC immediately. The streets are full of cars and trucks, where ever you look your view is limited by some skyscrapers. You need to focus to look at what is in front of you. Instinctively I was careful before I crossed the street. Yet I can assure, that you’re safe in Second Life *winks*

Impressions of “A NYC Christmas” (1) – arriving in the subway station and the first view leaving the station

I first tried the Zip line that ends near the subway entrance and starts at the top of the skycraper that rises above the Macy’s store. Back at the subway entrance I walked along the Central Park N where you find some nicely decorated residential blocks, a great background for taking pictures.

Impressions of “A NYC Christmas” (2) – The zip line / residential houses at Central Park N

In the central park itself I found several nice places to sit and enjoy the environment. I had a coffee in an outdoor restaurant. In the middle of the park is a large ice skating area. But there’s more. At the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park N is a building that I named casino as there are two game tables inside beside that it is also decorated with love for the design.
In particular I liked the outdoor dinning in a covered bridge and I had fun dancing with a pinocchio-ish funny person. And if you like you could also start a snowball fight.

Impressions of “A NYC Christmas” (3) – The Central Park

Impressions of “A NYC Christmas” (4) – The Central Park

At the Fifth Avenue you can also start a sleigh tour with Santa and 4 rendeers. The tour leads not only around the central park but also into some streets you might miss otherwise. I had fun, in particular as we got into a traffic jam cause be two cabs blocking the street. Santa tried to simply ride over the cabs and we got stuck. After a while I left the sleigh and Santa and the rendeers disappeared by SL magic. But the street where I left was not in the best quarter of NYC. Is it really a coincidence that I got stucked with Santa at a night club? *winks*. At least a police station was nearby.

Impressions of “A NYC Christmas” (5) – The sleigh ride with Santa and where it ended

There’s really a lot to do and to discover at A NYC Christmas. I recommend looking into the shops, like Macy. The feeling of beeing in NYC is quite well done, with all the Christmas trees, the train running around the foot of the trees, all the red bows and the many lights. That is how it looks like! I also had my difficulties taking picture as it is not easy to find the right position. There’s always somthing blocking the view, be it trucks, cabs, power lines, decoration or buildings. That’s also like in NYC!

Impressions of “A NYC Christmas” (6) – Enjoying my visit

I was about to return home when I found a great motif for a selfie at Central Park W with a Christmas tree as background. Now I have a souvenr from “my” NYC Christmas. As opposed to Maddy Gynoid’s experience I had to fight with some lag during my visit and textures took long to wait – but it was worth waiting!

Thank you Absinthe Holloway (sinontherocks) for providing your sim for this great seasonal event. Thank you Tye De Roca-Dynasti (Tye Dinzel) and Gabriel De Roca-Dynasti (Wassup Bruh) for the design. I enjoyed and really appreciate what you all created.

Landmark to “A NYC Christmas”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Surreal%20Blue/248/198/23
Flickr group
https://bit.ly/2LhnZcp
Maddy’s echtvirtuell blogpost “Simtipp: A NYC Christmas – Winter 2019”
http://echtvirtuell.blogspot.com/2019/12/simtipp-nyc-christmas-winter-2019.html

Simploring 2019 (120) Winter’s Hollow

04 Dec 2019 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , ,

For my simploring tour on Friday, November 22nd, I selected “Winter’s Hollow“. I had a chat with Annie (Anniebrightstar), who runs scoop.it SL Destinations, and we talked about the upcoming season. Some of the places that I visited in Autumn have changed into Winter dreamslands already or are going to change soon. And Annie recommended a visit to Winter’s Hollow to me. And it really was worth a visit!

Winter’s Hollow – overview

Winter’s Hollow is a moderate homestead owned and designed by Stella Mahogany. It is one of these wonderful Winter dreamlands, just beautiful and perfect for taking pictures. The island has the shape of an horseshoe and is embedded perfectly in a winter sim surround. The landing point is almost in the center close to to Christmas shop and a nice gazebo overlooking the bay. Along the shore is a nice promenade. I walked along this promenade until I reached a modern café and restaurant with large windows to enjoy the view. Nearby you can walk over a wooden footbridge to a romantic gazebo on a small island. Close to the cafe is a train station, which provides another great motif for taking pictures.

Winter’s Hollow – the gazebo by the shore, the café, the romantic gazebo on the small Island, the train station

After visiting the train station I walked a bit off road and reached a residential house that is secured by ban lines. I assume it is the private home of Stella. Right next to her house is a modern lodge, fully furnished and open to the public. It looks very cosy inside and from the balcony you have a great view over Winter’s hollow. At the entrance to the lodge is a dog sledge, again a nice motif but I wasn’t dressed for it.

Winter’s Hollow – in and outside of the lodge

Behind the lodge is another building that is used a ballroom. There’s a piano and an intan for dancing animation. That’s a real nice place for parties. Outside I found another sledge to sit and enjoy. Close to the ballroom is a covered bridge (did I ever mention how much I like these?). And if you walk over it you can watch penguins have fun sliding down a hill and jumping into the cold water.

Winter’s Hollow – the ballroom, the covered bridge and the penguins sliding downhill

There are more details to discover. You find horses, deer, birds and goose. You can visit the carousel or simply sit down and enjoy a view. I like that Winter’s Hollow is not too packed with Christmas stuff. Hence it is not kitchy at all. On my further simploring tour I met a guy taking pictures who immediately convinced me to model for him *winks*. Acutally it is a mesh statue  of a tourist but I couldn’t refrain to interpret it my way.

Winter’s Hollow – the sledge behind the ballroom, the private house of Stella, the penguins sliding downhill and peaceful horses

At the end of my tour I came to a big building looking like a cathedral from far away. In fact it is a residential building, maybe it is a deconsecrated cathredal. It is furnished with love for the detail and the high room with the high windows has its own charm. Close to this “residential cathedral” is a small lighthouse, another great background for taking pictures. And don’t miss the puffin colony next to the lighthouse.

Winter’s Hollow – the carousel, a deer searching food, the christmas shop and the tourist taking pictures of me

 

Winter’s Hollow – the residential cathedral, the lighthouse and Diomita with a puffin

Winter’s Hollow is a great place for Winter. The landmark’s description is inviting:
“Pull on your warmest jacket & gloves and find one of the many cozy spots to sit and get warm as the snow gently drifts to the ground or wander through the covered bridge to warm up dancing with your significant other.”
I enjoyed my visit a lot!
Thank you Stella Mahogany for providing your place to the public. I appreciate it.

Landmark to Winter’s Hollow
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/0%200%20Adorable/126/139/23

Simploring 2019 (119) La Digue – an Autumn walk

01 Dec 2019 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , ,

For my simploring tour on Tuesday, November 12th, I picked “La Digue” from scoop.it SL Destinations. There are already some reports about La Digue. Inara Pey reported about it (Visiting La Digue in Second Life) as well as Maddy Gynoid (Simtipp: La Digue). And after reading these post I had to see it myself.

La Digue – overview

La Digue is owned and created by Iska (sablina), who writes about herself “I love creating landscapes and dreaming inside“. That’s something you can sense visiting her sims. I saw already L’intangible & Field of dreams (read here) in 2017, La virevolte (read here) in 2018 and early this year I reported about my visit to Ponto Cabana (read here)

Impressions of La Digue (1) – around the landing point and around the gateway tower

La Digue is a very photogenic sim for those who love the Autumn atmosphere – I love it! It consits of several islands which are seperated by canals and mostly connected by small bridges. Off the coast are two longer islands which serve as a natural shield for the other islands, a dam or dyke or in French “La Digue”. And between these two islands and the others there’s a protected bay, a natural harbour.

Impressions of La Digue (2) – an Autumn walk

There’re several elements that define La Digue. There’s first of all the gateway tower in the center of the main island. This island is surrounded by a stone wall and it has a stony landing stage. The gateway tower is surrounded by high dry grass, admist of it an old pink limosine catches the eye. If you walk up the tower you can strike the tower’s bell.

Impressions of La Digue (3) – the cafe, the railway station, the lighthouse and the campside with an old caravan

Walking around and exploring the islands of La Digue is fun. Where ever you go you have fantastic views. The few houses are not furnished but fit perfectly into the environment. I encountered some cows, I saw a deer and a pair of foxes. In particular the brich trees glow in mayn colours.

But there’re more outstanding elements and motifs. I want to mention the railway station without railroad tracks. It is raining at this spot of the sim. Quite outstanding is also the long road with powerlines, a great background for taking pictures.

Impressions of La Digue (4) – time for a short rest and the long road with the power lines

The 2 landing stages with the many small boats are another element defining La Digue. Besides being another great motif for pictures they do offer the oppotunity to sit alone or as a couple. The only furnished house is kind of a bar or cafe on the larger dyke island. There’re some tables and chairs to sit and watch. I found some more cosy places but for sure not all.

What made me smile is the way cows are transported at La Digue – with ships. I saw at least two boats with cows as passengers.

Impressions of La Digue (5) – in the light of the Autumn sun

For my pictures I used the preset windlight. But at the end of my simploring tour I switched on the sun to see this lovely place lightend by the Autumn sun. That gave very different pictures, almost too beautiful.
I really enjoyed my Autumn walk exploring La Digue. Thank you Iska (sablina) for creating this corner of Second Life and for sharing it with the public.

Landmark to La Digue
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sparrow%20Springs/115/133/22
Inara Pey’s blogpost “Visiting La Digue in Second Life”
https://modemworld.me/2019/11/10/visiting-la-digue-in-second-life/
Maddy Gynoid’s blogpost “Simtipp: La Digue”
http://echtvirtuell.blogspot.com/2019/11/simtipp-la-digue.html

Simploring 2019 (118) “The Mind Melter”

30 Nov 2019 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

On Thursday, November 28th, I read a snippet in Aneli Abeyante’s group chat. Aneli shared a landmark to “The Mind Melter” by Thoth Jantzen. She added: “A visual psychoacoustic trip To Vegetal Planet. Can’t miss this amazing experience”.

I went there the next day and it was an amazing experience. “The Mind Melter” is a video art installation by Thoth Jantzen, an artist I ad never heard about before. The installation is made of many geometrical arranged semitransparent cubes. In the center are is one cube that contains many other cubes again and 3 objects looking like hourglasses are at each side of the center cube.

Impressions of “The Mind Melter” by Thoth Jantzen (1)

Don’t forget to allow media (auto-play) and to allow inworld scripts to play media the settings of your viewer. Furtheron use Advanced Lighting.

Impressions of “The Mind Melter” by Thoth Jantzen (2)

Now as you stand in the installation surrounded by the cubes a video is projected on all surfaces, reflecting the video ….. the pictures will cross the edges of the cubes. Sometimes you can recognize flowers, faces, insects, animals but the pictures kind of melt, every viewing angle gives a different impression. At other times you can read words. The world around you is colourful, sometimes green, somtimes, blue and on other times red.

Impressions of “The Mind Melter” by Thoth Jantzen (3)

The installation is accompanied with psychedelic music – you almost make a drug trip (I admit I never experienced one ever but that might be what you see). “The Mind Melter” is an intriguing art installation. From Thoth Jantzen’s profile I got the information that “The Mind Melter” was opened on November 13th and it is not yet clear how long it could be visited.
Thank you Vroum Short for enabling this installation at VeGaTal PLaNeT and thank you Thoth for providing this experience for us all.

Landmark to “The Mind Melter”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Oak%20Park/125/126/520

Simploring 2019 (117) Autumn @ Dream Bay

22 Nov 2019 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

For my simploring tour on Sunday, October 27th, I picked Dream Bay from scoop.it SL Destinations. Dream Bay is moderate homestead owned by Mᴏʀɢᴀɴ Fɪʀᴇʜᴀᴡᴋ (mmorganwhitfield). It is the home of the Care and Hope Center, the mainstore of a brand for shoes “Heels” and it is the private home of Morgan, she calls it Huckleberry Island.

The sim was landscaped and design by Ayla (aylaj). It is, at least right now, a lovely Autumn installation and pure fun to visit and enjoy!

Dream Bay – overview

The landing is right next to a zip line. I was welcomed by a Halloween Ghost Clown, not scary but fitting to the season. I looked around and was overwhelmed by the colours of Autumn immediately. Dream Bay is designed professionally – and the environment is just fitting. I tried the zip line and thus reached the smaller of the two islands of which Dream Bay consists. The end of the zip line is in a giant spider net, it’s better you don’t suff of arachnophobia.

Impressions of Dream Bay (1) – around the landing point

The small island, I named it “Seasonal Halloween Island” has all what you expect: a graveyard, spiders, skeletons, black cats, ruins, dead bodies. There’s a tree house which is loveld furnished and decorated inside, yet I didn’t find the proper way to enter it. The tree looks like the feet of a dinosaur or a big raven.

Impressions of Dream Bay (2) – Sesonal Halloween Island

I returned to the main island and began exploring it. I walked through the forest, I came across quite some nice spots to sit and watch and I just enjoyed. Then I reached the the Care and Hope Center.
Morgan is a supporter of an initiative against domestic violence. Since 2014, the Care and Hope Center is a not-for-profit information hub to educate and instill awareness on the horrors of domestic violence. Free and confidential class discussion groups are offered every other month. Please stop by the Center to see when our next class session will begin.  Safe, free, friendly and always open to the public. A lot of information including a hotline for getting advice and help can be obtained in the center.

Impressions of Dream Bay (3) – “Heels” mainstore / Care and Hope Center (lower left)

Morgan is a professional model in Second Life and she is the owner of Heels, a small and humble shoe store. The mainstore of Heels is located at Dream Bay, right next to the Care and Hope Center. All proceeds go towards the maintenance and operation of the Care and Hope Center of SL. Everything Morgan does in Second Life, whether modeling and/or Heels, is for the sole purpose of bringing attention to the Care and Hope Center and Domestic Violence Awareness.

Impressions of Dream Bay (4)

Next to the Care and Hope Center is a trap door. You can use it to teleport to the zip line and at the zip line is a trap door to return to the Care and Hope Center. I continued my simploring tour and walked along the river, crossed it twice using a covered brigde. Did I mention how much I love covered bridges as they remind me of New England in the US? Anyway, I discovered more nice places to rest, I sat in a gazebo, and I encountered another ghost who was guarding a Halloween decoration right next to the trail and I had a short break at a modern boat house.

Impressions of Dream Bay (5)

Dream Bay offers a lot for those who enjoy taking pictures or those who just want to escape from their RL for a while and enjoy the peace. It is designed professionally but with a lot of love for the detail as well.

Thank you Morgan for providing your sim to the public and for your engagement against domestic violence. It is an important matter and I truely appreciate your work! I hope that the Care and Hope Center gets the attention it deserves. And many thanks to Ayla (aylaj), you did a great job landscaping and designing Dream Bay and created a sim that fits to its name.
I did enjoy my visit a lot.

Landmark to Dream Bay
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dream%20Bay/131/81/3

Simploring 2019 (116) Hotel California – Off the Grid

18 Nov 2019 7 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In April 2019 I visited Hotel California, an adult sim owned by Lex Machine (schmexysbuddy) (see Simploring 2019 (46) Hotel California). When I looked for a place to visit at scoop.it SL Destinations for my simploring tour Sunday, November 17th, I came across Hotel California again, this time with the subtitle “Off the Grid” and the pictures indicated that it is about art. I read Maddy Gynoid’s blogpost “Simtipp: Hotel California ‘Off the Grid’” before going there myself. Maddy wrote that he visits Hotel California regularly and that the sim is changed every 4 weeks. He also wrote that it is not only owned by Lex Machine (schmexysbuddy) but also by Racey Boom (Raceyy). The name rang a bell. I visited Skull Creek, just last month (see Simploring 2019 (106) Autumn @ Skull Creek) and Skull Creek is owned by Racey Boom (Raceyy).

The current installation is described in the landmark description with “When the power goes out, you’re left with nothing but what’s inside your head” and is tagged with “Space, cyber, apocalyptic, photography, photo, art sim, art, photography sim“

Hotel California – Off the Grid: bird eye views

Hotel California – Off the Grid has absolutely nothing to do with the sim I visited back in April, the only combining element is that by then also some art was displayed. And now the whole sim is packed with art. Hotel California is an artifical island in the endless sea. It is quite flat, the ground is made of steel panels and 8 highrise buildings grow into the sky. You see power poles and some single trees growing through the steel panels (I counted 6 trees) – and art objects that are spread all over the place.

Each single object including the skyscrapers is worth a detailed look. Now the landmark description makes sense: “When the power goes out, you’re left with nothing but what’s inside your head“.

Impressions of Hotel California – Off the Grid: The horses from Wasabi Yuki (wassaabii) did remind me of Mistero Hifeng. The woman laying on stairs is also created by Wasabi Yuki (wassaabii). The old coach nearby is from danielitosway

Impressions of Hotel California – Off the Grid: Another laying woman by Wasabi Yuki (wassaabii), the “elefants” with the long stilt legs are from Paco Pooley, the tree stumps with the hearts are created by Cica Ghost.

Impressions of Hotel California – Off the Grid: The prison court with the watch tower is created by DRD (deathrowdesigns), the tied hulk of a man is created by Holy (Qutsal Alex), the couple is from Wasabi Yuki (wassaabii)

Impressions of Hotel California – Off the Grid: The phone is from danielitosway, the gear wheels from Noke Yuitza and the hourglass is created by Zelest (Zelest Fall) , the skyscrapers are designed by Nite Row (nitergloom) and look at the hands at 2 of the skyscrapers, these are from Groll (Groll Greggan)

Hotel California – Off the Grid is a thoughtfully installation of art objects together with objects usually used for other purposes. These objects were all created for the Second Life grid (from the grid). They are, I assume, a personal art collection of Lex Machine (schmexysbuddy) and Racey Boom (Raceyy). The power poles refer to the Landmark description …. when the power goes out…

Thank you Lex and Racey for making your this collection available for us all.

Landmark to Hotel California – Off the Grid
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hotel%20California/128/114/22/
Maddy Gynoid’s blogpost “Simtipp: Hotel California ‘Off the Grid'”
http://echtvirtuell.blogspot.com/2019/11/simtipp-hotel-california-off-grid.html

Simploring 2019 (115) CANN!BAL

17 Nov 2019 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , ,

My simploring tour on Saturday, October 19th, led me to “Cannibal Island – SL’s most beautiful beach paradise!”. I got the landmark from Kitty who herself got it from a close common friend. The landmark led to a platform in the skies with 4 different teleport options.

CANN!BAL – the landing platform

CANN!BAL is a full region, rated general owned by Chotaire Seelowe. Sometimes it is named CANN!BAL and at other times Cannibal. CANN!BAL consists of 4 different worlds:
– Cannibal Island is a beach that exists since 2007
– Cannibia exists since 2017 and is a photogenic beach
– The Oasis from 2019 awaits you in an endless desert
– Sky Paradise is a virtual beach region available for rent
I visited Cannibal Island, Cannibia and The Oasis.

Impressions of Cannibal Island (1) overview / helicopter fun / relaxing

My first stop was Cannibal Island. It is a lovely Caribbean island setting that offers a lot of activities as well as innumerous places to sit and watch. If you look for a Caribbean setting, that is the right place to go. You can rent the huts that are arranged like satellites around the center if you want to spent a vacation here.
In Chotaire’s profile I found the following texts about the activities at Cannibal Island:
“If you ever get bored from watching, then play funny helicopter games and shoot each other off the sky with coconuts, go surfing the Cann!bal Tsunami wave, dance in the Cann!bal Club with a unique high quality lightshow, find rare coconuts for free lindens, play beach soccer, roam the estate with our yachts. The incredible beauty of the always different windlight daycycles and local weather situations will blow you away. Beware of the tornadoes.”

Impressions of Cannibal Island (2) – exploring by boat

I myself tried the helicopter and I roamed the islands with a motorboat, that you can rent fro free.

My next stop was Cannibia, the photogenic beach region. Unlike Cannibal island, this place is left at a pretty much natural state with no houses and huts at all. It is really perfect for taking pictures.

Impressions of Cannibia

Finally I went to The Oasis, the newest part of CANN!BAL. I’ve been to several deserts in Second Life already and was intrigued once again. The endless sand desert offers really unique background. The Oasis offers also some funny oddities like the lion fucking the goat.

A trip to the desert – Impressions of The Oasis (1)

I had fun looking at the animals and taking pictures of the desert and the few buildings. Close to the landing at The Oasis is at swimming pool, a bar and a place to relax in luxury.

A trip to the desert – Impressions of The Oasis (2)

For these seeking to escape from Autumn, rain and cold temperature into the sun and warmth of a Caribbean islands, those who have fun playing and those simply seeking good beach or desert backgrounds should not miss seeing CANN!BAL. Thank you Chotaire for creating CANN!BAL and making it an outstanding place.

Landmark to CANN!BAL
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Beach%20Paradise%20Island/118/126/317

Simploring 2019 (114) Catena et Cavea

13 Nov 2019 3 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , ,

Catena et Cavea is a newly opened full adult region owned by Oroeia. Once again I found the sim by following scoop.it SL Destinations. Ororeia and Kyra Nachtigal own at little shop for bsdm devices named Fluffy Chains. So far they only sell a little multi chain pillory pillow, but they annouced to creat more things soon. Catena and Cavea is the homeplace of Ororeia and Kyra. And there’s really a lot to explore and discover. I spent far over an hour there – and just got a first overview!

Catena et Cavea – Overview

The landing point is close to the Beach house. There’s a advertising column where you can grab a notecard with some information:
“This island is our home, and at the same time a big playground for everyone. It’s adult, so please no underage avatars.
‘Catena et Cavea‘ means ‘chain and cage’, so you might be able to guess our main theme. Feel free to explore everywhere, but please be respectful if we are at home. If a door opens on touch, you are welcome to enter.
While you will find some bdsm toys scattered around everywhere, the main playground is inside the cliff. There you will find a bar, an oriental area, a dungeon, a secret lab and an even more secret cave. Not every door looks like a door.
Have fun
Ororeia and Kyra“

The notecard also contains some hints how to get to the dungeon and to the lab. In order not to spoil the fun of finding out on your own, I won’t tell you here. If you need help, look into the notecard (I did).

Impressions of Catena et Cavea (1) – Circus, toy and technic museum

I first visited the circus, tow and technic museum. Well that’s at least what I think it is. There are two buildings and some stands, a roundabout, a space-capsule, ticket booths, horses, clowns and other stuff. For sure it is a great place for taking pictures.

Also next to the landing point is a house with a glass roof. I’m not sure what it is used for. First I thought it’s a bar, but there’s also a bed inside and a living space under the glass roof. Outside is a court with more places to sit. I called it Beach house. I continues my first exploration tour walking along the beach and came across the first adult bdsm toy, a bondage post. I was a naughty girl and tried some self bondage … ups. I need to get Mistress here when I’m in control again. Walking along the beach you come to a palce for rituals, a Stonehedge circle.

Impressions of Catena et Cavea (2) – Beach house, beach bondage post and Stonehedge circle

I walked through a arch (the one with a sword on it and came to a cage at the beach. What a place to store a slave or sub! Then I climbed up the rocks to get on the cliff. Later I found out that there’re also ways to properly get on the cliff plateau. The plateau again offers really a lot to discover. I certainly didn’t find everything. I started with exploring the cliff house. A modern house reminding me of Fallingwater, the renown house built by Frank Lloyd Wright. The veranda reaches over the cliff and it offers some nice spots to sit and enjoy the view – and the view mustn’t be restricted to the nature and the sea. There’re some more opportunitie *winks*

Impressions of Catena et Cavea (3) – Beach cage, Cliff house and Villa Antique

Not far away is a big modern house and a greenhouse. I called it “Villa Antique”. Although it is modern architecture inside it is packed with antiquities, very stylish! You can sense that a lot of love for the detail has gone into it. On the platform there’s also a sort of a temple with a fountain in the center and a big dome as well as a gazebo. The dome offers space for dancing. Well, naughty me found another spot for storing a slave or sub in a tormenting hanging cell exposed to wind and rain at the other end of the cliff plateau

Impressions of Catena et Cavea (4) – Fountain temple, Dancing dome, Gazebo and Cliff cell

Regarding bdsm there’s more ….
I visited the 2 residential houses at the other side of the cliff. Both a nicely furnished and offer opportunities to sit and cuddle or to tease a submissive. From there you can walk up the cliff properly. You will find a bar there that is built into the rock.
I also visited the dungeon of course. It is huge and by now I had expected it to be huge. I didn’t try out anything as I realized that my time was just enough for getting a first overview.

Impressions of Catena et Cavea (5) – Residential houses, Bar and main dungeon

My tour led me to the labs next. Those are not that easy to find. I walked through several safety locks, I saw strange gear and hazardous plants and I finally got to an elevator and to a room that was separated with a warning tape “Caution Keep Back”. Sounds like an invitation, doesn’t it? I dared and reached a beautiful fantasy room, colourful and intriguing – does it contain the results with the plants growing in the labs? I don’t know. But I know, the colours are just beautiful!

Impressions of Catena et Cavea (6) – Exploring the labs

The last spot on my first orientation tour to Catena et Cavea was the Harem. It is located a little bit below of the Cliff house and offers the right environment for harem scenes – very luxurious!

Impressions of Catena et Cavea (7) – Harem (let pictures), some art and a view inside of a Residential house

Catena et Cavea offers a lot not only for those seeking adult fun. The whole sim is also lovely designed and glowing in the colours of Autumn. The houses offer space for different activities and the sim offers background for those loving to take pictures as well as for those seeking the right environment for roleplay.
I hope that Catena et Cavea will stay for a while. Thank you Ororeia and Kyra for sharing your homeplace with the public. It is really worth more visits (for me at least).

Landmark to Catena et Cavea
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Catena/225/71/24
Fluffy Chains on the Marketplace:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/209470 

Simploring 2019 (113) Huntington Beach

09 Nov 2019 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , ,

Saturday, October 26th, I visited Huntington Beach. I got the landmark once again by following scoop.it SL Destinations. The landmark description is a cross reference to Huntington Beach in the physical world: “Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located 35 miles southeast of Downtown Los Angeles“. It further contains the link to timeline article with pictures “Photos: Dark beauty in the oil fields of old Southern California“. This article and the pictures in it inspired Jade Koltai to create Huntington Beach in Second Life.

Huntington Beach is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population is about 200,000. It is known for its long 9.5-mile (15.3 km) stretch of sandy beach, mild climate, excellent surfing, and beach culture (source wikipedia)
I have been in Huntington Beach in the early 1990’s and I remember seeing long wide beaches, surfers and many overground powerlines (in Europe powerlines are mostly subterrestrial) disturbing the view. I knew that California not only had a gold rush but also large oil occurrences that were depleted during the 20th century. But I was not aware how the California beach looked like in the 1920’s and 1930’s. If you look up the above mentioned timeline article you will get an idea!

Some impressions of Huntington Beach, CA

Jade Koltai, the owner of Huntington Beach, created a sim that gives us an idea about how Huntington Beach might have looked like in the 1950’s. In the virtual world of Second Life we’re able to travel the world and to travel in time.

Huntington Beach in Second Life – overiew

Huntington Beach is a (moderate) homestead consisting of four main parts: the pier, the beach, the town and the field of oil derricks. The landing point is at the pier, which is quite famous in Huntington Beach. The original Huntington Beach Pier was built in 1904. With it’s length of 1,850 feet (560 m) it is one of the longest public piers on the West Coast. The pier in Second Life is way shorter and just offers a snack bar and some opportunities to sit. I met Jade Koltai there and we had a short chat.

Impressions of Huntington Beach (1) – at the landing point

The town right next to the pier offers a motel with a pool and a tennis court and quite some shops: a pet shop, a barber shop, a toys shop, a butchery, a clothes shop, a donut shop, a cheese shop and a confectionery. All of them are furnished and it is fun to have a look inside of them.

Impressions of Huntington Beach (2) – the motel and the shops

There’s also a large gas station and an abandoned drive in movie theatre. Next to the gas station is a quite large red building with on open court. It could be a restaurant as there’re some tables and chairs in the court but for sure you can dance in the court (there’re couple animations for dancing available). Last but not least there’s a trailer park at one end of the town.
The whole town has a little bit morbid charme as you can sense how flourishing it was in the 1950’s and that it is in decline.

Impressions of Huntington Beach (3) – the trailer park, the shops, the abandoned drive in movie theatre and the event area

Directly adjacent to the town is the field of oil derricks. Because there’re so many they are really scaring. You get an idea that it was not at all environmentally beneficial. I walked a along the derricks and made quite some pictures also using another windlight setting to get a more threatening atmosphere.

Impressions of Huntington Beach (4) – the field of oil derricks

Finally I visited the beach. Here you get an impression of how beach life was with the derricks in the background. Intriguing!

Impressions of Huntington Beach (5) – the oil derricks and the beach

I enjoyed my visit to Huntington Beach. The sim offers a lot of opportunities to sit and cuddle, to explore, to take pictures and to enjoy yourself. And for me it also was quite instructional in addition. It made me read about the oil rush in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Thank you Jade for creating Huntington Beach in Second Life and for sharing it with the public.

Landmark to Huntington Beach
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Prohibition/89/215/26
Flickr group
https://www.flickr.com/groups/huntingtonrigs/
Huntington Beach in Wkipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntington_Beach,_California
Timeline article “Photos: Dark beauty in the oil fields of old Southern California”
https://timeline.com/photos-dark-beauty-in-the-oil-fields-of-old-southern-california-f8aea365d38d

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