Exploring Second Life Meme

Alright, it's Wednesday and the ever talented Strawberry Singh was far more punctual with her Monday meme challenge this week: Exploring Second Life (original post here). Sue me. Regular readers of this blog know that  I often write about places to visit (heck, explore and exploration are among the mess of post tags I mishandle). After a hectic start to the week I've finally found some time to dig into my Landmarks so here goes ...

Meme Instructions: Share 1 to 5 of your favorite places on the grid. I feel like exploring and discovering new places. Share places you think everyone should visit and also tell us why they are your favorites.

Cripes! How to choose? My Cool Builds, Recreation, and Really Scenic Places landmarks folders have so many great locations. Here is a more or less random list because some I'd like to recommend are down for maintenance (The Calas Galadhon regions, for example), private access only, or no longer exist (I miss the Isle of Lesbos).

The Lydia Rose Memorial Park - SLurl

One place I often write about (like here) is the wonderful space my brother built in Nangrim, The Lydia Rose Memorial Park, one of my homes in Second Life. With just a few gaps, The Park has been here since before I came to the Main Grid, my brother (CC Columbo in SL) having set aside a space to remember the passing of his Real Life daughter. Today, a simple flowered cross is the only indication of the land's purpose. As I mentioned, it is our family home. CC lives in the cabin, my pixy characters live in the gardner's barn, and there's a family apartment not-so-cleverly hidden well up in the sky for all of us to use.

The "Las" Islands - SLurl

This simple archipelago of five regions represents what I believe to be the best tropical islands in all Second Life so I visit often and have frequently featured them in this blog (like here). Goodness knows that Our World is rampantly populated with tropical spaces, but these are executed so well and feel so natural, I'm drawn here with great regularity. Well worth a visit if you haven't been here and if you have, it's time to go back. Today.

Mhindepinde Rez Zone - SLurl

This location outside Bay City is a surrogate for all those wonderful Linden Department of Public Works "Mole" builds that fill Our World. Search my blog for LDPW and you'll see post after post of such places. Whether you want to launch a boat, fly an airplane, have a thrilling adventure, relax on a beach, explore a seaside village, or most anything you can think of doing, our Mole friends have built something for you.

And with that all-inclusive entry, I'm going to end this post so you can stop reading and get out exploring! I'd love to read your recommendation in the Comments sometime.

Lydia Rose Memorial Park

Too many things happening in Real Life to even notice that I've neglected my blog. To rub more salt in the wound, the pictures in this post aren't mine. Sitting down after folding some laundry, I found these ten pictures on the computer desktop. Looks like my brother, CC Columbo, has been busy, not just rebuilding the Lydia Rose Memorial Park in Nangrim (SLurl) but taking pictures, too. As well he should. He has artfully decorated some 1536m² of land and added a home for himself, the first in years (he lived in a cave for a while). I hope you enjoy these while I attend to even more Real Life tasks.

The land is also our family home, only a portion of it being labeled as the park.

It seems much larger at ground level. To the left is the park proper, but this layout blends it with the family land. Cleverly hidden like all other skyboxes in SL is our family apartment.

When I saw the barn I figured it was a good place to put out my hay stacks cuddle and one of my unscripted horses. I need to find a nice mesh one to save prims.

The Full Bright trees in the distance belong to a neighbor we've had for some six years.

My pixy alt, Zyx the gardener, snuck in some plants and pots.

A fairy statue for Lydia, letting a bird fly free.

I have to ask about the Celtic knot outside the cabin. Probably just decorative.

CC's cabin. My wife (Angela) calls it CC's Study. This is exactly what he'd have iRL if he could, I imagine. He's always favored this sort of setting when building in Second Life.

Books, a fire, and comfy furniture in a rustic cabin. 

The rare picture of CC himself. He almost never snaps his own image.

Memorial Parks

Queen Coronet: Linden Memorial Park - Now open Thanks for sharing this, Queen. Huggs.

As readers of of this blog may know, Memorial Parks are important to me in Second Life. One of the first spots I saw in the main grid was the Lydia Rose Memorial Park (one evolution pictured at left), a tribute my brother built for his daughter. A plot of land I own is now called just "Memorial Park" and is a tribute to her and others that I've been close to that have passed on. And creating the Memorial Park at the Isle of Lesbos was a both a great sorry and a great joy.