Waiting for a Pod

Tags

mainland, virtual travel, Yavascript Pod

Waiting for a Pod in Serpentata

Real life and virtual life calls for resilience and hopefully graceful adaptation to change.

My learning of the suspended operations of the YavaScript Mainland Pod Tours was received from Inara Pey’s blog, and Second Life Newser, after I’d noticed chatter in the Pod Riders group. In the photo above I’m sitting by the road on a Linden bench in front of a newly constructed parcel in Serpentata that a friend and I are renting from Xiraz.

Waiting for a Pod in Rosieri

This weekend I’ve done a casual photo shoot of mainland parcels where I create spaces, almost always in collaboration with others, focusing on parcels on Pod routes. There is often seating near the road/tracks/water from which to leap up and jump into a passing Pod.

The Rosieri parcel belongs to a land group owned by Kate Silver.

Waiting for a Pod in Shipton

All these parcels were selected with travel in mind. The Mainland is where I first began to find value in, and also to feel more safe in the virtual world. Traveling on a route, I’d pick up landmarks to places that looked worth exploring, or I’d stand up and poke around immediately.  The Shipton Rest Area by the SLRR is owned by Vera Ruchames, and created by Klaus and me.

Waiting for a Pod in Jiminy

This route is in the snowlands on Amundsen Road. When we were alert enough, we could hop in a passing Pod from this distance. Sometimes we’d have to fly to catch up or teleport the other avatar. Fortunately, there’s a rez zone in front of this parcel.

It’s easier to type conversation when riding.

Waiting for a Pod in Aglia

Most of these favorite parcel locations were found while traveling via YavaScript Pod. Here, the trains were often noisy enough to hear them arriving in the area. Aglia Station is nearby, so we can still rez a trolley. Sometimes other avatars will catch a ride in trains we’re driving.

Waiting for a Pod in Hookton

For years the 2Girly Shop in Quentin was located close to the road where the background buildings in the above photo are now. There were two old rocking chairs out front. I’ve rented a tiny Markland parcel nearby, and rezzed two chairs. A notecard can be found in the telephone with landmarks to mainland destinations.

When collecting the pics for this “album” I was amused to see that a lovely fresco I’d  made several years ago has now been tagged.

Waiting for a Pod in Erzulie

Sure, we can still ride horses, or wearable or rezzed vehicles. I enjoy that, and sometimes it takes too much energy and attention.

Waiting for a Pod in Baddest

I love the mainland. As a friend has reminded me, not everyone wants to live on Bellisseria, and spend all their time in clubs or shopping. In my more cornered moments I would add or “dating”, or supporting the art careers of others non-reciprocally, or being distracted with Straw Men after expressing an opinion.

Waiting for a Pod in Sedge

When a topic of conversation would come to a natural end, it was fun to leap off this rooftop onto a passing Pod. There is a nearby YavaScript station that was operational on Friday, and I believe they will continue to be functioning.

Checking the land description on this parcel, there is evidence that the graffiti on the front of the villa, in a place we were unlikely to see it, has been there since July.  Exploring the Mainland this weekend, we noticed a quite a bit more tagging, and I hope this does not end badly.

Waiting for a Pod in Crameri

The Crameri parcel is a Markland rental where I set up a park on the ground and an exhibit of Hilma af Klint art in the sky. There were Pod routes going in both directions.

Walking through the Wandaland Port across the road in Alcis, I could sip champagne outdoors and wait for a boat going by in either direction.

Waiting for a Pod in Montara

The 512 plot under the Hooper Bridge had just been listed for sale as Kate Silver and I rode by in a boat. In addition to boats going by in both directions, there were routes on the bridge road just a few steps away.

Waiting for a Pod in Spini

There isn’t roadside seating on my small rental (Xiraz) in Spini, but vehicles can be rezzed on the parcels on both sides. I haven’t noticed the improvements in sim crossings yet; I’ve experienced substantial crashes and lag the last few days which might be my internet connection.

Waiting for a Pod In Wetas

I respect Yavanna Lianfair’s decision to choose her health first. As someone who lives with neurological and fatigue issues, I tend to believe in simply taking someone’s word for it when they say they need and want to take better care of their health.

The rental (Xiraz) in Wetas has a seat cushion near the road, as well as tai chi balls (transparent) in the yard.

Waiting for a Pod in Taeniatum

Elle Thorkveld’s Cultured Goats Gallery is close to the High Mountain Road in Taeniatum, one of my favorite roads for horse riding. And sometimes Pod riding. I exhibit some art there and Klaus and I have also set up a Last Drop Cafe.

Waiting for a Pod in Spike

Pod watching seating in Spike took a bit more work to construct. The vehicles would pause for the sim crossing in front, giving an avatar a few seconds more time to scramble.

Waiting for a Pod in Ambulyx

The boats would go by in one direction here, the direction where it was easier to notice them arriving.

I don’t multi-task well, and when I’m sitting and working on something I sometimes get incoming IMs in which the conversation takes some time to conclude. A pleasant solution is often to hop into a Pod to entertain the other part of my brain not involved in the chat.

Waiting for a Pod in Patagonia

Here we could drink and socialize, then go for a ride if we got restless.

Waiting for a Pod in Rosewood

In Rosewood the Pods would go by very fast and more often than other places, sometimes aiding an altered sense of time. There’s a coffee shop on the ground, and an art gallery in the sky exhibiting the works of Hedda Sterne and William H. Johnson. This land is rented from Markland.

Waiting for a Pod in Eschen

My friend and colleague Klaus and I created a small roadside park in Eschen for salsa dancing and hanging out. An avatar can currently walk down the hill over abandoned land to SH Tutti Creations gallery. It is a short ride to and from Rosewood.

This “album” of very current photos showing the importance of mainland traveling to my virtual life has 19 pictures! This is in addition to all the spaces made by friends, acquaintances, and strangers that I can arrive at by means other than via teleportation.

I’m unable to foresee when this will be resolved. I’ll continue to enjoy my favorite projects, engage with my good, kind friends, and explore the interesting, heart-warming and sometimes ridiculous parcels on the mainland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Route 10 ~ Silvercreek to Lill Burn Valley

Tags

Jeogeot, mainland, Route 10, Second Life, secondlife, Yavascript Pod

Beginning where I last stopped on Route 10, Jeogeot which I blogged here, I crossed this bridge which was not nearly as long as I expected. I approached the bridge in Silvercreek and walked off it in Aberhart.

There are some very noisy gulls around the bridge which weren’t nearly as challenging as the security orbs while I was snapping photos.

Not much further on is this small bridge over a dry gully in Cambrian.

Trees and shrubs are very sparse along this stretch of road. There is Linden foliage mixed with resident purchased trees and shrubs a little ways off the road shoulder.  I didn’t investigate as the first bridge took much longer to photograph than I anticipated.

In Sien Lok I saw a bench by Garden Mole. The description promises (naughty poses!).

On the other side of the road, close by is a guard rail.

In Dalhousie the road paving changes.

I continued on through Crowfoot and arrived at the Route 9/10 Intersection Rez Zone in Quenloo.  There was an avatar standing by the side of the road, perhaps waiting for a passing POD.

There are trees, bushes and flowers near the intersection. The crossing beacons are by Garden Mole. The large tree is an 11 Li sculpt also by Garden Mole. These trees are constantly moving which is very noticeable  from quite a distance away.

Across the intersection, continuing Route 10 in Deltide, the paving changes again.

There’s another rez zone in Hangflame Ridge. Next, in Quiet Mile, the name of the road changes to Protected Land, Quiet Mile, then back to Route 10 in Blue Hound.

Route 10 continues through Badly Moor, Trumbull, Auriga, Wollendilly and Lill Burn Valley. (I especially like the names Badly Moor and Wollendilly.)

What stood out for me on this stretch or road was the very sharp edged terrain on the shoulder. This photo was snapped at the rez zone in Trumbull.

I ended this part of my journey in Lill Burn Valley at a bridge by Mighty Mole.  It’s possible that by riding a POD through the area you might learn info and history in local text that is offered on many POD tours.

These photos were taken on September 12, 2017.

Gaeta 5 ~ Inner Ring

Tags

Bad Coffee, Best Coffee Shop and Travel Agency, Cafe Lachman, Castle Benthem, Gaeta 5, mainland, Second Life, Yavascript Pod

Here are some photos of my visit to part of the inner ring on Gaeta V the last week in May. This will be my only post about the mainland in June, what with other areas I want to attend to.  I started at the Yavascript pod station on foot, taking a right. Pods for this route leave at quarter after and before the hour.

Close by is the cottage shown in the photo above; it looks great from the road.  I kept my draw distance low for this trip, but even so there appears to be less foliage along this road than other inhabited areas in SL. Usually I refer to any place on the continents as “mainland” but according to this map (from 2009) Sansara is called either “The Mainland” or “The Old Continent”. You can see Gaeta V in the upper right, planned as a group of five island continents sharing versions of the name Gaeta. I showed photos of Gaeta 1 last week in the post just before this. There are areas of unfinished roadwork.I looked at a work-in-progress personal Tardis.I haven’t explored inside Castle Benthem, built in 2008, yet. The land descriptions states that the club is open to the public and the sky ballroom is for group members only.Cafe Lachman in Nemmers is a communal area for the residents of Nemmers.I had liked the minimalist look of this area and on closer inspection saw that it is the “Second Life Art Guild”. It’s less than four months old and the doors were locked. On the road nearby, I took another right.There are the usual shops, lots of gas stations and homes with banlines.  I don’t recall every seeing this much road construction on a continent.Solved: The Mystery of the location of Bad Coffee #2. I hadn’t been able to recall where I’d seen it when I wrote my post about Bad Coffee #1 and #3 last September. It wasn’t listed in the picks of the owner at all and according to the SLurl, I’m guessing an offer to purchase the place might be welcome.

It does exist, for those who have cast aspersions on either my veracity or my sanity! (Sorry, I’m making time for some Victorian roleplay again.)

The grass is quite short on this part of the island and it’s more sandy.Further on, the sand has taken over. There’s a lot of land for sale or rent in this area.

I walked and flew to another fork in the road on Route 7 in Goldbach and took a right.Soon I saw the welcome sight of one of my favorite places, the Best Coffee Shop and Travel Agency.  There’s seating outdoors and in, with an art collection upstairs. Just inside the door is a clickable photo with a frequently changing landmark for travelers. There’s a wandering duck in the pretty garden in back of the building.  I’ve popped into this place many times in the last few months, not realizing it was on Gaeta 5.

Running out of time, I flew more quickly until I ended this trip at another fork in the road in Pucetta.