Simploring 2022 (4) Wilson

15 Apr 2022 Leave a comment

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

As a member of her group “Nantes” I got an invite from Elizabeth Jewell (ElizabethNantesJewell) to visit her newest creation “Wilson“, which is open for the public now.

Wilson is an lonesome island somewhere where it is warm and where cocnut trees grow. It’ nothing but a larger rock with a beach, and a smaller fully forested smaller rock. Wilson is an adult homestead owned and designed by Elizabeth Jewell (ElizabethNantesJewell). As usual I zoomed out first to get an overview. From the bird eye perspective you see another, a third island with a huge modern building. There’s Elizabeth’s inworld store “Gravity Poses“. But mostly the store can’t be seen when you’re on Wilson island

Wilson: Bird eye view and orientation map

Right where you land is the wreck of a yellow rescue rubber boat. I began to explore the island. I was alone .. and felt a bit like Robinson Crusoe. There are some coconuts on the beach and some driftwood. Walking along the beach I noticed the rear end of a wreck plane with the FedEx sign … a plane wreck and a yellow rescue rubber boat ….

Wilson: a remote island with lots of cocnut trees .. in the middle of nothing

I walked to the forest on the island and came along a big campfire on the beach – someone is seeking rescue. And nearby is a campsite made of what could be saved from the plane. Luckily among the things saved is a pair of ice skaters. The sharp blade is used to crack coconuts which is the only food available at Wilson.

Wilson: a taste of Robinson Crusoe

Farer away on the horizont I noticed a raft and is swam over to it …. a rescue raft with three coconuts. And that’s it already! I found not a single opportunity to sit and watch, just the lonesomeness of a remote island, very nice views and I could almost feel the heat and the sun. Elizabeth wrote in the landmark profile: “…keep Breathing. Tomorrow the sun will rise, who knows what the tide will bring… also watch for falling coconuts….“

I headed over to the store and had a look. The store has a nice environment, you can see that Elizabeth wanted a nice setting for it. From the shore you see some boats, you can sit in a boat nearby … and you can see Wilson.

Wilson: at the shore / the rescue raft / Gravity Poses store

ElizabethNantesJewell Resident, known as Elizabeth Jewell, finds sim design relaxing, a positive focus, and a creative outlet that she can not only do from home, but also share with others. “That’s the real enjoyment, when I see other people feeling good visiting my sim!” she stated.
I have seen quite some creations of Elizabeth Jewell (ElizabethNantesJewell). Back in 2016 and 2017 I visited “Follow Your Bliss” (read here, here and here). In 2018 I visited Nantes (read here) and the Nantes Gallery (read here). In 2020 I visited “Ghosts of Jericho”, another sim built by Elizabeth at “Sim Quarterly” (read here). And last year I saw Krak Bak Caye at The Sim Quarterly (read here).

Thank you Elizabeth for sharing your remote island publicly. I appreciate it when store owners make an effort to create something around their store. Wilson made me smiles. It was fun to explore – and it is a remote place for just sitting at the beach and dream.

Landmark to Wilson
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gravity/88/46/21
flickr group
https://www.flickr.com/groups/nantes-sl/
Landmark to Gravity Poses
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gravity/76/234/22
Gravity Poses at the marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/189692
Gravity Poses flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/3895197@N20/pool/

Simploring 2021 (21) Krak Bak Caye by Elizabeth Jewell at The Sim Quarterly

29 May 2021 Leave a comment

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

As a member of her group “Nantes” I got an invite from Elizabeth Jewell (ElizabethNantesJewell) to visit her newest creation “Krak Bak Caye” as Simquarterly.

Krak Bak Caye is inspired by Caulker Caye, an island off the coast of Belize. Krak Bak means “relax” in Kroil Patios, the language spoken here besides English.
The landmark brought me to a sky platform with an airport for small planes admist the rain forest. A friendly hostess greated me: “Hi Diomita, and welcome to Krak Bak Caye by Elizabeth Jewell at The Sim Quarterly! Happy you’re here! Krak Bak Caye is just a short flight. If your reservation was for the Resort please take the closest plane. If you want to start your visit at Main Street take the farthest plane. Just click the plane’s stairs to start your journey!“

Landing at Krak Bak Caye by Elizabeth Jewell at The Sim Quarterly

I got the advice to turn my sound on (I did) and I got a “Tourist guide”, a booklet to rezz or to attach as a HUD with more information about Krak Bak Caye. The sound is very well done and fitting, the tourist guide is just great and made me feel as if I were on a short vacation in RL.
I took the closest plane and traveled to the resort (the teleport takes you to the ground level).

Krak Bak Caye by Elizabeth Jewell at The Sim Quarterly – overview and orientation map / introduction of the tourist guide

The resort “The Reef” is just as you picture your stay at a luxury resort in the Caribbean, a modern welcoming reception building with a reception, places to meet and great pictures. And the vacation homes at the beach are wonderful.

Impressions of Krak Bak Caye by Elizabeth Jewell at The Sim Quarterly (1) – The resort “The Reef”

I began exploring, came along “The Split”, a narrow waterway dividing the island in two. It’s said that is was cause be hurricane Hattie in 1961, but villagers maintain that it was hand-dredged after Hurrican Hattie opened a passage a few inches deep.
I visited “Jronkin Lizard”, a strand bar and café, I came along rezzer for paddling and for windsurfing. I didn’t try them out but i can imagine it is great fun. Close by the bar is a “Krak Bak Caye” sign which is said to be an attraction. I really can imagine that such a sign would be a landmark for tourists to take pictures (and I did that in Second Life *winks*)

Impressions of Krak Bak Caye by Elizabeth Jewell at The Sim Quarterly (2) – “Jronkin Lizard” strand bar and café / rezzers for windsurfing and paddling / “Krak Bak Caye” sign

Continuing my walk I came to the main street, the other desination I could have taken at the landing airport. It is a small town with more bars and restaurants, souvenir shops, bike rentals, motel and some more stores. The main street offers quite some nice details and great motifs for photographers.

Impressions of Krak Bak Caye by Elizabeth Jewell at The Sim Quarterly (3) – The main street

And finally I visited “The Blue Hole”, a marine sinkhole. It is filled with ocean life and much to discover if you’re a snorkler or SCUBA enthusiast.
I roamed aroud the island a lot and searched for other wildlife. According to the tourist guide you could see quite some birds at Krak Bak Caye. I could hear them (keep the sound on, the background noise is very realistic and adds a lot to the vacation feeling) yet unfortunately I didn’t see any – maybe just like in RL *winks*.

ElizabethNantesJewell Resident, known as Elizabeth Jewell, finds sim design relaxing, a positive focus, and a creative outlet that she can not only do from home, but also share with others. “That’s the real enjoyment, when I see other people feeling good visiting my sim!” she stated.
I have seen quite some creations of Elizabeth Jewell (ElizabethNantesJewell). Back in 2016 and 2017 I visited “Follow Your Bliss” (read here, here and here). In 2018 I visited Nantes (read here) and the Nantes Gallery (read here). Elizabeth Jewell (elizabethnantesjewell) still owns Nantes and Fusion City (located above Fleur de Sel), which is also home of Nantes Gallery. And in 2020 I visited “Ghosts of Jericho”, another sim built by Elizabeth at “Sim Quarterly” (read here).

Impressions of Krak Bak Caye by Elizabeth Jewell at The Sim Quarterly (4) – The Blue Hole / The Split

Sim Quarterly is a sim and initiative of Electric Monday:
“Art and the virtual world, Second Life© are very similar — you are able to both find yourself and immerse yourself (and maybe even lose yourself) in something totally unlike what you already know. The experiences you gain help you grow and form new opinions about the world. That is what I hope this sim can provide over time. I am very excited to bring to you a quarterly art project by way of The Sim Quarterly.
The project features one creator every 3 months (every quarter) as an artist in residence. The purpose of the sim is so that residents can experience something new and even create a community.”
Sim Quarterly has an own website.

Caye Caulker in RL (source wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caye_Caulker) / a page inside the tourist guide of Krak Bak Caye

I had a lot of fun visiting Krak Bak Caye! Thank you Elizabeth for this beautiful installation that provided a short vacation for me. And thank you Electric Monday for providing The Sin Quarterly for installations like this one. I learned that you made the great sound and all the graphics on the invites and posters.

Krak Bak Caye by Elizabeth Jewell at The Sim Quarterly will stay open for the public until July 25th.

Landmark to Krak Bak Caye (simquarterly)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Sim%20Quarterly/7/10/1403
flickr group for simquarterly
https://www.flickr.com/groups/thesimquarterly/
Simquarterly Website
https://thesimquarterly.com/
Blogpost on simquarterly.com about Krak Bak Caye
https://thesimquarterly.com/2021/05/05/welcome-to-krak-bak-caye-by-elizabeth-jewell/

Simploring 2020 (73) Ghosts of Jericho

27 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

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

Back in 2016 and 2017 I visited Follow Your Bliss (read here, here and here). In 2018 I visited Nantes (read here) and the Nantes Gallery (read here). Why do I list these entries? All these places were created by Elizabeth Jewell (elizabethnantesjewell), who still ownes Nantes and Fusion City (located above Fleur de Sel), which is also home of Nantes Gallery.
On Saturday, October 3rd, I got an invitation to visit “Ghosts of Jericho“, a sim built by Elizabeth at “Sim Quarterly“.

Sim Quarterly is a sim and initiative of Electric Monday:
“Art and the virtual world, Second Life© are very similar — you are able to both find yourself and immerse yourself (and maybe even lose yourself) in something totally unlike what you already know. The experiences you gain help you grow and form new opinions about the world. That is what I hope this sim can provide over time. I am very excited to bring to you a quarterly art project by way of The Sim Quarterly.
The project features one creator every 3 months (every quarter) as an artist in residence. The purpose of the sim is so that residents can experience something new and even create a community.”
Sim Quarterly has an own website.

The current installation “Ghosts of Jericho” is “a scenic installation designed, curated, and posed by by Elizabeth Jewell (elizabethnantesjewell), with an original soundscape concept and experience by Electric Monday.” According the the concet of Sim Quarterly it should stay open until the end of this year. I recommend to read about “Ghosts of Jericho” on the Sim Quarterly website here.

“Ghosts of Jericho” – Landing and welcome platform

The landing at “Ghosts of Jericho” is on a seperate platform above the sim itself – and it is already impressive. You get a notecard and some instructions about the settings: Advanced Lighting activated, Sun and Projector enabled, ambient sound on and preferably high or ultra high graphics settings. You also get a notecard with background information about the installation and about Sim Quarterly. I took some quite nice pictures already at the landing platform. You need to sit in the boat nearby (the ferry) to get to the sim itself.

Overview and orientation map of “Ghosts of Jericho” / at the landing pier

The first views of Ghosts of Jericho are impressive. You land at a fishermen pier. At the end of the pier is a house used for fish processing and to the fishermen to change and take a break from work. Outside you find some rack with drying fish. The view from the pier to the rocky island with its trees and to the neighbour island is breathtaking. Fog is rising from the ground and from the flattened sea. Nearby is a larger waterfall.

Impressions of “Ghosts of Jericho” (1) – the fishermen’s pier

I went cross country and came to the bridge connecting the two islands, but stayed on the main island and walked on to the lighthouse. On my way I heard voicea .. and I read in the public chat:
Ghosts of Jericho: When will you be back?
Ghosts of Jericho: Do you think it was one of the wolves?
Ghosts of Jericho: There’s SOMETHING in the cave…
I didn’t see any wolf or and ghost but I enjoyed the views. The windlight setting and the environment is really great for taking pictures!

Impressions of “Ghosts of Jericho” (2) – the lighthouse

I continued my simploring tour and walked to the other side of the main island. There you find one inhabited residential house with a nice porch to sit and furnished with love for the detail. I stayed there for a while and enjoyed the view.

Impressions of “Ghosts of Jericho” (3) – at the residential house

Following the shoreline I came the the entrance of a cave. The light insight is very well set up and provides another great place for taking extraordinairy pictures. Yet I didn’t see any ghost nor “SOMETHING” .. I might have to return and have a more detailed look at every corner

Impressions of “Ghosts of Jericho” (4) – the cave

My first simploring tour to “Ghosts of Jericho” ended with a visit of the smaller island. There is a hut with a panorama window from where you have a great view on the lighthouse. And I heard a voice and read in mainchat .. “Ghosts of Jericho: She was there…” … Who? Some questions remain unanswered.
Don’t miss the views on the main island from the smaller island, they are just intriguing.

Impressions of “Ghosts of Jericho” (5) – the smaller island

“Ghosts of Jericho” convinces with its great windlicht settings and with the atmosphere it provides. You can immerse yourself into another, lonely world and enjoy. I did enjoy my visit and I took lots of pictures again. A very well made, artfully created place, that showcases what can be done within Second Life. Thank you very much, Elizabeth Jewell (elizabethnantesjewell) for this sim. Thank you Electric Monday for the Sim Quarterly initiative.

.. one last picture 🙂

Landmark to Ghosts of Jericho
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Sim%20Quarterly/7/9/1403
Simquarterly website
http://thesimquarterly.com/
Blogpost about Ghosts of Jericho on Simquarterly
http://thesimquarterly.com/2020/10/03/welcome-to-ghosts-of-jericho/