Tuesday, March 2, 2010

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!