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!