The Untroubled Sound - Memories of NZ

Opening the showcase I was excited to find The Untroubled Sound.

Home of the Southern Cross Marina and The Shipwrights club, the gardens and surrounds are open to chill and relax.

This Sim has been themed on The Marlborough Sounds, South Island, NZ.

Being that I used to take the inter-island ferry from Wellington to Picton often for day or weekend trips I had to go see what they had done.  I wasn’t disappointed.

The club layout was unique...

Something I don’t say often with clubs in SL. With DJ Laurence spinning deep house from 4pm on Fridays I will definitely be back for a look. 

7Seas is available for the fishing devotees (a store is in the fishing supplies shed at the end of the pier).

As I wandered around the foreshore and saw the flora it brought back memories of childhood when a group of friends and I would play chase in and out of the toi toi. 

Climbing over the barbed wire fences also brought back memories of green pastures, and quiet coves. 

The DOC (Department Of Conservation) Hut is open to for overnight stays.

I have been away from NZ for 23 years and this is the first time I have felt homesick.  The sim owners nailed this sim.  Perfect.

Please leave a note in the guestbook located in The Shipwrights Boatshed.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cosmo/87/170/22

Wretched Hollow

Wretched Hollow is a dark, whimsical sim inspired by the love of Gothic Romance and Neo-Victorian things. As one of Second Life's best-kept secrets, Wretched Hollow is home to the Wretched Dollies store and has several places to explore, including a small town and a fishing inlet with dock.

The description and image in Showcase was enough to make me go and explore.

I only have one problem with the sim... it's set out so well I couldnt decide which windlight setting I wanted to use for pics LOL.

The feeling of the sim is eerie but not foreboding.

The little stores are in keeping with the theme and an interesting collection of items.

The use of off-sim reefs and islands added to the feel of the area and the general landscaping and terraforming is well done and is easily enhanced with a Foggy setting on windlight.

If you are a photo taking nut like me then this is a great sim.

Build is enabled with an autoreturn of 5 minutes.

Perfect to place some pose balls for the perfect pose.

For those who like to dance there is a club called Lucidity, in a castle perched on top of a rocky outcrop, though when I popped in there wasnt anything happening.

I was tempted to see what Zoltar had to say about my future so I clicked and he advised "[15:41] ZOLTAR: A good idea doesn't care who has it, and neither should you."

I did find the price of 10L a little steep however.

Overall the sim is beautifully done and I enjoyed wandering around seeing what surprises were in store for me along the paths.

I would thoroughly recommend a visit to this gorgeous sim.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wretched%20Hollow/150/124/33

Calas Galadhon

The urge to explore swept over me again.

What caught my eye was the Spring Glass Pavilion in Calas Galadhon.

What a joy this exploration was to become.

The Glass Pavilion is just a small part of this spectacular region which is themed on the early American Coastal Countryside with various sims based on farm areas, a small town, and wooded sims.

Upon landing a feeling of serenity and relaxation radiated from the scenes before me.

The creators of these sims have provided this as a gift to the public.

The main sim (one of 9 in the group) as a gorgeous quaint town complete with clock tower and homes, and stores set in lucusious gardens. The interesting thing about this entire region you cannot buy anything as the stores are not real and the houses are not rentable but can be wandered through.

The scenery is breathtaking.

Look in the fields and under trees for strategically placed pose sets to enable you to dance to the quiet tunes or cuddle with a friend in peace and quiet.

The possibilities for photo opportunities abound but what struck me was the gorgeous landscaping.

There was a true sense of nature that will bring me back to this sim time and time again.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Calas%20Galadhon/21/211/2523

Valentine Town

This excursion comes with special thanks to Capo Freenote who mentioned the destination on his facebook.

Being a sucker for all things romantic, and taking a bucket in tow, it was off to Valentine Town I skipped to see what I could find.

The first thing that came to mind was the Chocolate River. Well I think it is supposed to be chocolate. It looks kinda like something else but ewwwwwwww I dont ever want to see a river of it like that in my lifetime.

Beside the landing point is "The Story of Us". A photo studio you can buy for $750 where you can take photos of you and your loved one. Can't say it's my cup of tea but someone out there will love it for sure.

Then there is the gorgeous red tree ($350L) that you can carve a message into with a knife. Not that I am suggesting you should multilate a tree but...



Now it was time to have a wander around the cute cartoon-like themed stores.  Sooo cute.  The stores available were Clothing, Sale items, Lingerie and Boxers (rawr), Full Perm for Builders, Decorations, Fun, Gag Gifts, Lights, Jewellry, Trees and Plants, Flowers, Balloons, Gifts and Cards, and finally Sweets.

Two items that particularly stood out for me, apart from clothing of course (well I AM female) was this little joy of joys (above) that was situated in the Gag Gifts store, and the "Make your own card" (below) that was in the Gifts and Cards store.

The sim and its concept is fantastic though a little bright LOL.  I would thoroughly recommend a visit.  Play in the ball pit and grab a gumball to float around on.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Elizabeth%20Town/173/78/1090