Chillin at the Beach

Yes, gentle readers, it rains in the Pacific Northwest. A lot. And often. In fact, there is a weather term called "sunbreak" here. So Perfect decided to do the "escape" thing and find a warm sunny beach where she can work on her pixel tan. And of course, not just any beach (insert cute smiley face here). Dressed in a rather conservative swimsuit and scrolled through many pages of beaches in the search list to find something that interested me.

Biker Beach, 36,236,21 looked like great fun, with Harleys everywhere and dance poles, but the folks there weren't too friendly. The bikers I know in RL are rough but good hearted - I put this on my list for a re-visit. Next was a reggae themed place called Epic Waves, 17,10,21, cool music, nice folks, good color scheme - when I landed, I instantly felt comfortable.

Sky Romantic Beach, 251,221,21, lives up to its name - found a secret room under a waterfall that has distinct possibilities (insert winking smiley face here). Hawaii Tropical Island Paradise was delightful, offering a friendly crowd of regulars, a place to sky dance near the waves, palm trees and Hawaiin music. 151,124,22

Took a break from the endless beach/waves/deck chairs/semi-naked people/palm trees at Bacuzzi Beach, 190,89,21, pictured here. There are boats on this pier where you can drape your avatar on the back of a hot boat or yacht and maybe convince someone you are in the jetboat set - lol - the pelican must have run off all the people because this was an empty sim. This is one where I will return - sometimes Perfect prefers the company of large shore birds to difficult avatars......

Daydream Island was my next stop, 217,156, 23 - excellent detail, lots of surprises - be prepared to do some exploring here! Found an exquisite blanket next to the shore that offered "paradise" pose balls - expected something sexual, but it was a wonderful series of poses for chatting with a good friend - maybe a good first date place.

I passed by many sims who offered a beach but actually were just shops, and whose titles left no question as to what I would find there (i.e. Orgy Island), but had to check out Lovers Beach Hotel - 227,70,21 - just what it says - rooms for rent near the beach. Naughty Isles, 49,222,21, was really quite nice, and the lifeguard on duty there was pretty darned handsome. I stood ankle deep in the water and said help help, but alas, he must have been on IM"s because I got no response (surely it wasn't because I was the only one there wearing clothes?)

Stopped by Laguna 243,195,23 - this is still a popular place, but the not-nude area was once a hot spot - maybe in late 2006? I sat on a mushroom at the beach, remembering the people I met on SL at Laguna - don't we all have places like that? Where the winds of SL gently send people to our location, we begin friendships or romances and the memories build. Laguna was like that for me, for a time, and then Inspire was - a familiar place, a favorite spot on a couch or chair, somewhere to drop anchor for a bit and allow SL to swirl around you.

Enough reminiscing! Always new memories to be made, and I found a wonderful place to make them Aloha Nude Beach, 39,49,21 - loved the sign at the entrance - Nude fine, but no erections! I was lucky enough to encounter Huffa Doobie, the owner of the place, and a fun guy. You can show up there with clothes on (Perfect remains shy even after almost four years of SL) and join in with the dancing, music, conversation and general silliness. This is a popular site full of friendly regulars, comfortable setting, good music and they do live events as well. My most favorite SL musician Washed Up Sideways will be performing there tonight, Tues March 2nd - check it out.

Sitting on the beach at Aloha, looking at the stars, surrounded by friendly naked men & engaged in intelligent/silly/provocative/flirting - relaxing in true SL style, I looked back over my list and realized it wasn't just a warm sandy beach I was seeking. I wanted to know there were still places like this in SL - where you can be comfortable, unbitten, unmolested (unless you want to be!) with no bots, no campers, no visible erections, and a club owner who takes the time to keep a sim looking good. Thanks Huffa, for restoring my enjoyment of SL!

A Good Cuppa Joe

I know that some of you, gentle readers, think I have been spending my time with a new bf (pictured below) dancing, and neglecting my duties as Explorer of the SL Universe, but NO! RL has placed its unreasonable & ridiculous demands upon me, and in the last month I have moved, ended a 3 year RL relationship (imagine my surprise when i found out I had one!) and spent far more time in a dentist chair than should be expected for a free spirit such as myself.


So now that I have moved closer to Seattle, fertile soil for website launches, innovative music and the best coffee in the world, I decided to find a good coffee house in SL. Now, remember, folks, a coffee house in USA is where you actually drink coffee, and bears little resemblance to the ones in Amsterdam (damnit). I wanted a place with ambiance, good crowd, bookish decor, and big comfortable couches to lose myself in while I chatted with friends. The very best place I found is the one pictured at the top of this blog, but you have to read through the whole damned post to find out which one it is!

First stop, Truthball at 217,29,22 - very comfortable, muted browns and reds, but no people there. *Sigh* Next was Madhu's Cafe, 28,13,701, themed of India, outdoors, more of a bar than a coffee house. Again, not a pixelated person in sight. Jittery Junco, 142,240,23, was not for me, lacking in cohesiveness and some pretty serious details. A fire on the wooden floor with no fireplace? A bit dangerous - why, they might have burned the whole grid down! And as we all know, SL is capable of doing damage to itself, no help from us avatars! Cafe de Paris, 151,162,1115, is a beautiful house, with classical music and plenty to explore; however, wrongly billed as a coffee house. Another time for that one. Sweets, 24,122,79 is a shopping mall.

Red Dragon, 70,195,26 - great blues in the background, cozy - this is a keeper. Nobody there, but that is fine - alert to my friends! This is where we can sit and chat for hours while the real world goes to hell. Ro-Sheen Coffeehouse is another keeper 213,114,42, more like a beach house with beautiful scenery and nice grounds.

Okay you old SL people - do you remember the Mill Pond? Now it is Village @ Gesso, 244,152,23 - more upscale, no sitting on the backs of turtles in the Pond while listening to blue grass, but this is a nice place, worth a visit. Next was Concord Coffee House, and I am getting a little weary of places that throw Coffee House into their description without a trace of a house or coffee in the sim. Concord was a bit sparse, but I did like the bean bags - nice touch! 228,83,27. The Killing Moon Cafe 91,225,40 was too tiny for my taste, and let me just remark here I do not like any words associated with death or dying in a place where I intend to eat or drink. Just saying.

Cafe Amore 177,233,22.....let me just say there was no Amore there. Zazen 148,229,132 is listed as a coffee house, but no music, sitting on the floor in front of a long empty granite table just was closer to meditating than coffee chatting for me. Campus d Art at 139,134,21, was very interesting, but....no coffee.

Final stop was the best: Calypso Coffee Spot, 191,19,22 - set on a beach, colorful, unusual furniture, great music! That is the photo at the top of this entry. If this was in real life, I would probably never leave it. Reminded me a bit of Laguna Beach before the nude beach part opened and everyone left, off to explore each other's parts. Wonder how that worked out? Anyway, this is a fun place and I hope everyone checks it out! And btw, still no coffee to be found.

In Search of Adventure

New year, new adventures. Decided to head out on a sim-hopping search for adventure, first by entering the word Adventure on the SL search engine, then eliminating everything that came up offering adventures in BDSM, lesbians, vampires, and role playing. That left.....5? So I started at the bottom of the list (as I am wont to do), and prepared my avi for adventure!

At Seaplane, 138,3,23, I "borrowed" this jeep, although the pose my avatar took when I climbed in looks more like a deer caught in the headlights than an adventuresome creature, but hey, now I cannot be blamed for actually driving the jeep off the road, into the sea, and smack into a mountain. Who can drive when you look like this?

I went to Equus, 165,225,22, for ice skating adventures, but instead met a horse who would not talk to me. At Adventure Tourist Travel, 22,80,22, I did the macarena (how passe') while waiting for a travel agent. Those of you who follow my blog know that there's nobody anywhere, so I left. Adventure Cove 102,147,24 definitely did NOT live up to its name, unless you consider walking across a bridge to be an adventure.

At Alchemy Sims, 23,130,26, there are some creative crafts for sale there - check it out. Had a very pretty balloon ride and a tube ride at Tathlina Falls, 218,52,95

The absolute best place was Great Marine Adventure 157,134,24 - grab one of the notecards and check out all the landmarks there. I crashed while exploring.

Another travel agency after that, but it ejected me because I was not shopping!

I checked out a riding stable at 104,138,27, a place called "Hush" at 122,158,82 (pretty clear what the adventure in store was there - every room was equipped with a pole for dancing)

Next I went to a place that advertised "Encounter - fosters exploration and discovery" sounds noble and even....educational, huh? Nope - involves exploration and discovery through sex with animals....ewwwww yuck, tp'd outta there before anything found me, but crashed instead.

After that "adventure" I met the captain of the Titanic, visited some pirate ships, and ended up in the Bermuda Triangle. Crashed at least three times during those trips. *Sigh*

What did I learn after an evening of seeking adventure? That the real adventure is just trying to move around SL without crashing!

Looking for Love in All the Wrong Sims

After my failed attempt at finding Heaven in SL, sitting at home alone on a Friday night, and with temps in the single digits in RL, I thought Perfect needed to go looking for love. And here I learned that Love, when typed into the SL search screen, doesn't exactly mean the hearts all aflutter, but maybe some other body parts are. Oh yes, and the wallet - as in "I just LOVE these 6 inch heels!" Rather than hit the top of the list provided to me by SL's helpful love search, I dropped to the bottom and started there. Heart Reef Resort, 218,76,21, promised love in its ad, and sure enough I landed on a man named Hotrod! Stop the fantasy right there. He never responded to anything I said, and communication is pretty high in my "To Love" list. So I left him looking at his watch, and headed to the Smooth Jazz Club, 209,76,21. Lots of love there, but they were all couples. Next stop was Hot Island Sex Club on Nirvana 68,68,21. A woman pole dancing, a couple of guys camping, and two different music streams at the same time. Clutching my pixel addled forehead, I left as soon as I could. Next stop: Le Flam Club, where the first person I saw had the first name of Ebola. Fleeing from that enchanted spot, I went to a Huge Garage Sale at 168,196,36, that had Love on its list of items for sale. Hmmm. Did not see one avatar there, so perhaps that item had already been purchased. Next it was LoveHo, which is very appropriately named, at 117,122,23. There was a man there. He is a Eunuch. No kidding. It says so in his profile. He said someone needed to watch the cattle. I left before someone got out the ropes. At Salamander's Island 235,23,96, where love is on the ad, I had the opportunity to join the Salamander Torture Group....is that like a Book Club? At the Land of Seven Sins, the ad lists fun-kill-torture-love-wrath.....I did not even tp there. Too confusing! A bit weary now, and waaayyyyy off my original path, I hopped around to some more "love"ly sims and found the guy you see me pictured with above. Nice guy, but we still have a problem with that communication thing. No love for Perfect North this time! Damn.

Searching for Heaven, Part I

Wearing my good girl white wings (commercial break: wings designed by Pardoes of Absolutely Different Wings), I decided to look for heaven on SL. Have not found it yet, just several places with "heaven" in their name. Thisphoto shows me at Closer to Heaven, 189,166,552 - beautiful and peaceful, but hmmm nobody there. Is no one else searching for heaven in SL?

Just Heaven, 222,162,230 claims to be a sanctuary from the craziness of SL. I was there approximately 3 minutes and was thrown out. Not a good sign.

Promise of Heaven, located curiously enough in a land called "Cursed", is actually the site of an immersive role playing game set in a (get this) correctional facility. I could NOT hit that teleport me outta here button quick enough.

Next stop: Nude Heaven Beach 171, 61, 23 - need I say more? I tp'd to Antiques Heaven thinking it would either be a furniture store or a 60+ dating site, but it was just rental property. At Site of Heaven, 47,85,61, I could buy Charm Knickers, whatever those are (charming underwear????). At Halloween Heaven - 51, 13, 1500 there were enough carved pumpkins, scary witches and spooky fog to go around, but no one to sneak up and BOO to, so I did not wait for anyone.

Heaven weary, I glanced at the long list of more heavens and decided to go visit my friend Parrot at his gallery and that was a Bit of Heaven catching up with my old friend and his creative art. *sigh* - friends are the best. Romances tend to turn into pixel dust and blow away as soon as the transporter turns on, but my friendships in SL have endured. Packed the wings away for the night and signed off. Damn.

Exploring for September 1st

Headed out to explore SL, no particular destination, just opening the map and tp'g to wherever there was more than one green dot. First landing was Freebie Dungeon, 17, 27, 54 - almost left immediately (gentle readers know how PN feels about dungeons, slaves, etc.) but this freebie place is not exclusively for dungeon denizens. There are a LOT of boxes there for L$Zero, which is my favorite price to pay for anything. My inventory is full of very interesting items I have found along my travels - find me inworld sometime and I am glad to share - have a flametail, a batmobile, and even a couple of rockets. I did pass by a couple of items at Deva Loka, though: Pee Puddle and Evil Floors. ????

Next teleport drop in was Kusanagi, 85, 157, 61, where the landlords sell dance club supplies. I am standing here in the middle of a lightning floor and more lightning coming from the sky - with all of the dancefloors lined up next to each other, the music, the jukeboxes and vending machines and the wild lightning, I frankly got a little dizzy! I remember the first dance floor I ever saw on SL that moved like these did - it was at Heaven Above -

Landed at Cassowarry, 34, 136, 58, an unusual underground art gallery where Sabrinaa Nightfire seems to be the main artist. Great stuff! Before I realized this was an art sculpture, I thought the residents in the house above had some SERIOUS plumbing problems. See below.

Ended the evening early at Tempura, dancing in the meadow to their beautiful music. I was supposed to meet my dear friend Jurian a couple of hours later for dancing and talking, but fell asleep watching Robot Chicken. Damn.

Back in the saddle again

So where were you when USA landed on the moon? July 11, 1969 - I was working at my first job - I was a telephone operator for Southwestern Bell, Houston TX. We got to take a break that evening in time to crowd into the break room and watch Cronkite. Now I can go to SL and suit up (but obviously I chose not to mess up my hair with a confining space helmet). Check it out at 183,213,22 Apollo Landing.

From the moon to underwater (again, no sensible helmet) at Heart Reef Resort 223,27,2 - this is the mermaid tour. Now and then an Orca drifts by, and a clueless harbor seal (Orcas eat harbor seals), but all is peaceful and pretty and you can curl up with your SOOD (Signficiant Other Of the Day) in an oyster shell and watch the fish drift by.

From the moon to underwater to the future, where apparently, you can still get pizza delivered. This was Bladerunner City, 126,130,433 - great concept, but needs some work. There is a big scary robot that I could not sit on, interesting art but not enough of it, and of course, nobody was there. Not even Harrison Ford. Damn.