Bryn There, Done That: landscapes

Showing posts with label landscapes. Show all posts

Outback Awesomness

A friend of mine, Maia, and I were looking for something to do and she suggested that we drop by Australia. She had heard that the sim was under new ownership and that they had done some renovations. I'm always up for an adventure so we grabbed a taxi and were on our way! Care to come along?

Lots more to see on next page..just press Read More button below.

There are several different places to visit on the Australia sim but today we are gonna rough it and head into the Outback. To do that just find the silver TP signs located at the TP arrival point and select Outback.

G'day mate! Watch out for those Dingos!

It's wild out there, perhaps we should brush up on our shooting skills at this free Shooting Gallery or that Clay Pigeon launcher.

There are several ways for us to get around and explore, choose your poison.

You have GOT to jump into one of these trucks and drive around leaving dust trails in your wake. Be sure to hit any smoking barrels while you are in the highest gear...I guarantee it will be a BLAST!

There's even a place to settle in for the night and reflect back on your great adventure.

On a very serious note, the Australian government is making moves to begin to censor/ filter the internet that the citizens access. This is shocking to hear as I always assumed these types of things only happen in Communist countries, but I guess I was wrong. The filters will block out anything the Australian government deems inappropriate or adult in nature, including Second Life. To learn more and have a chance voice your opinion you can visit here.

Worn:
Eyes - Miriel - Standard Eyes - Vivid Hazel
Shape - Alady 2009 Perfect Tribute to Jula
Skin - Cupcakes - Seduction - Copper - Serenade w/ freckles
Hair - Celestial Studios - Annie May Hair III - Smolder
Shirt - Thalia - Open Shirt - Green
Pants / Skirt - Cupcakes - Corduroy Skirt / Leggings - Brown / Green
Jacket - Bare Rose - Inferno - Light Brown
Boots - Bare Rose - Studded Jockey Boots - Brown
Earrings - Ticky Tacky - Everyday Hoops
Bracelet - Miriel - Double Metal Bracelet - Copper/Gold

The Simple Life

Just wanted to drop y'all a quick note about a neat little place I found. It's called Rikugun Farm and it's a great place to go to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday second life.

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You can relax around the a campfire with friends while singing songs and maybe even make some S'mores.

Be sure to stop at the open air market to pick up some farm fresh food for a picnic by the pond while you watch the ducks.

If all that exploring makes you thirsty then you are covered. There's nothing like a tall glass of fresh squeezed lemonade with just the right balance of tart and sweet.

You'll see all the typical farm animals while you are there as well as lots of pretty scenery. This is a family friendly place in a PG sim and they cater to the entire crew with a swing set and a kid friendly activity center featuring gymnastics and even a rock climbing wall.

Check out Rikugun Farms next time you are looking for a wholesome adventure and a simpler life.

Eyes - Cipria Couture - Light Blue (glossy) - freebie...Shape - Alady 2009 Perfect Tribute to Jula...Skin - Tyranny Designs - Dazzle Me - Tone 5 - lucky chair freebie...Hair - Tekuteku - freebie hair2 - freebie in store...Dress- Capri's Designs - Pretty Woman Dress - 1L until 6/13...Bracelet - Dionysia Designs - Celtic Rose and Leaves - group gift...Necklace - Flavor Designs - Silver Heart Charm Necklace - freebie

Home, Sweet, Home

There is definitely something to be said for having your own little space in SL. Someplace to land when you log in, someplace to change clothes in private, someplace to express your personal style, someplace to just relax and get away when you need to. I know that I didn’t really feel “at home” in SL until I actually had a house to call my own. I’ve never felt the need to buy land but instead opt to rent for a few different reasons such as:

* I can rent with just a basic account
* I won’t ever have to worry about selling land if I decide to move
* I don’t need much space and it’s hard to find small tracts for sale

My first rented plot was very tiny (less than 500sqm), only had 200 prims and was pretty expensive considering the size and prim limit. But, I loved it nonetheless because it was right on a beautiful lake with mountains all around and quite a bit of privacy. I built two houses there, my first being a small one-room cottage and the second being a more elaborate two-level lake house. Unfortunately, that sim was sold and was turning into a commercial area so everyone had to vacate. I was heartbroken to leave but felt a sense of adventure about finding a new place to set down roots.

Let me tell ya, I had no idea exactly how much adventure it would end up being! I knew I wanted someplace scenic, semi-private, fairly small and with the availability to build my own house. I looked high and low and was amazed (overwhelmed) to find sooo many different types of rental plots all in different sizes / prim limits, permissions and environments. There were the plots that were too big, too small, too expensive, too ugly, too restrictive or not restrictive enough. I know I must have visited over 50 unsuitable locations and was feeling just about at the end of my rope when I happened to visit Romantic Isle Rentals. I instantly fell in love with a small plot on top of a mountain that had a wonderful sunset view and was beside a lake with a waterfall. The price was right, the location exceptional and I was so excited to have found this small piece of paradise. I was anxious to find out more about the island and kept my fingers crossed that I was going to be able to build my own house on the plot since there was a cute little tree house there at the time. I sent the landlord, Ben Turas, an IM and plunked down a few days worth a rent to make sure I didn’t loose that little slice of heaven in the meantime.

I heard back from Ben and he was very friendly and helpful. He told me that he could either provide a house (several available to choose from that didn’t count against the prim limit of the plot) or I could build my own (WOULD count against the prim limit). He also told me that he would be happy to do some teraforming on the plot if I desired. I was just in awe about how accommodating he was being as that was quite a change from some of the other landlords I had met in my travels. I told him that I would be building my own house and he whisked away the treehouse so that I could begin to create my own space in SL again. Woo hoo!

That was several months ago and my new house is mostly built (still lots of details to work on..ugh, I hate detail work) and I’m still loving living there. So much so that I wanted to share it with y’all in case you were looking for a place of your own. Ben recently sent out a group notice stating that he is now providing a Shoutcast radio (plays top 50 Shoutcast stations) and a YouTube Video viewer to all the renters. Just a little icing on an already yummy cake. :)

Here’s some general info obtained from a notecard provided to prospective renters:

We have 18 retreats for rent, each with their unique house on it, or your own house if you prefer. Privacy is accomplished between the retreats by waterfalls and hills between them. Our rents are very modest, 2L(inner land retreat), 2.5L(one beach retreat) or 3L(two beaches retreat) per prim per week. The rent varies from 700L to 4500L per week, no TIER! You decide how many prims you would like to have, within certain limits: The number of prims has to be at least 25% of the sqm of a retreat, the maximum is about 75% of the sqm. If you require a bigger retreat, or want to combine two retreats into one, we can accommodate that.

Suggestions Welcomed

Please feel free to leave a comment and suggest a place that I might like to visit or that you might like to see here on the blog. I've always felt that the best places are found by word of mouth...NOT the search function in SL.

Japan Tempura Island

So I was browsing through the discussion topics in the Photographers of Secondlife group on Flickr and someone had mentioned Japan Tempura Island as a good place for photo ops. It just so happened that I had on the perfect outfit for such a place so I decide to jaunt over there and see what's what.

OMG...this place is gorgeous! It always amazes me when someone puts in that much time and effort to provide an enjoyable place for residents to use at no cost. Kudos to those that provide such wonderful and imaginative spaces for us to explore.

As I looked around, I discovered that there are so many different areas to this island that I would definitely not be able to fully explore them all in one, two or even three visits. You will find a variety of different landscapes, each with areas to sit and reflect by yourself or dance and romance with another.

Besides some breathtaking landscapes there is also community areas to meditate and do some Tai chi. There is an elaborate ballroom in which to dance the night away and even a cozy submarine.

There is a little building just off the Tai chi platform that is decorated beautifully inside and the perfect place to catch up on some reading, cuddle with a loved one and even get a foot massage!

In catacombs underneath the main building, you will find a romantic spot with fountains, flowers and love nests.

There is so much to see on this island that it's impossible to describe it all here. You just need to go check it out for yourself. Be sure to turn on the local music stream while you are there as it really adds to the overall experience. Fair warning, there can be a lot of lag but that's not surprising with such a complex build that has so much going on. Don't let that stop you from visiting though, because this island is worth the wait.

You can see more pictures of this sim at the Japan Tempura Island group on Flickr.

All pictures: Model / Photographer - Braunwyn Cleanslate...Photo taken at Japan Tempura Island...Eyes - Miriel - Vivid Hazel...Shape - Alady 2009 Perfect Tribute to Jula...Skin - LionSkins - Suzana - pale 80 (discontinued)...Hair - Celestial Studios - Annie May - Auburn...Outfit - BareRose - Rose Aozai - Black...Earrings - Ticky Tacky - Pearl Teardrop Earrings - freebie...Bracelets - Ticky Tacky - Daily Bangles - freebie