Don't let it be forgot
That once there was a spot
For one brief shining moment that was known
As Camelot.
That once there was a spot
For one brief shining moment that was known
As Camelot.
Arthur, Camelot
This is a sad story for me to write.
Just several days ago, I learned that Utopia Naked Isle Resort in Second Life (SL) will be closing on March 31st.
I’d first visited Utopia last May shortly after they
opened. I was visiting nudist resorts
inworld (No snickering please, they’re a large community inworld. And, yes, Significant Other is aware and is
content to have me at home – where shoulder surfing is possible.)
Then I met two of the three owners, Dai
Aloix and Lori66. They took the
time to answer my questions, show me around, and make me feel welcome.
I found a well laid out clothing optional resort with a
tropical theme and a very active social calendar. For those seeking something a little quieter
there were pathways, beaches, caves, and jungles to wander off into either by
one’s self or with a friend. The free
areas were well appointed and fee based VIP zone added additional
features. Utopia was not was of those
sims bloated with every AO that was ever scripted inworld.
Overall, a nice place to visit and hang out at.
During the course of the last year, I visited, not as often
as I should have. As I suffer from in
Real Life (RL), I have a very bad habit of regretting not going to see someone
or visit somewhere until it’s too late.
(Significant Other tries to reassure me that I’m not as bad I make
out. This is one of those days when I’m
not so sure.)
My first story came out.
It was received well. Utopia even
put my picture on their friends’ wall at the landing zone. (My RL mother didn’t even have my picture on
her walls! Significant Other cautions me
about bring up my mother.) I wrote
another about the time I accidentally almost caused a near riot at an erotic story telling event. (I still say it
was all an accident.) Another was
about the beautiful renovations recently done on the VIP zone. My story about
Utopia’s Winter Wonderland was fun to write.
I was planning a series of stories to coincide with the first
anniversary celebrations in April.
Along the way I made many friends. Lisah Lorefield is one I’d like to call out as she helped me with background for my
stories and showed me several other sims which will be the basis of future
stories. Lisah was also a great help to
me when technical problems kept me off the Grid for a while last year and she
helped get messages inworld for me. Meanwhile,
she was doing superb work as a builder in Utopia.
But, now,
all this will be gone in a few days.
Utopia had
a weekly tradition every Tuesday evening called Pack the Bar (PTB) with a
different theme each week. This past
Tuesday, March 24th, Utopia had its last PTB event with a Disney
theme and I made sure I attended.
I arrive
on time and walk down to the dance floor.
Since there was short notice, I didn’t have time to find a Disney
costume so I wandered around nude. All
the other guests who eventually arrived wore some sort of costume (although a
few might have raised old Walt’s eyebrows) but, Utopia being Utopia, no one
even noticed.
I ran into
Dai dressed as Minnie Mouse and asked what happened. She replied that trying to balance RL
commitments and running Utopia was getting a bit complicated so the decision
was to shut down. I guess it’s better to
go out on a high note unlike some sims that outlived their useful lives and
still don’t know to shut down. (No names!)
I stayed
for most of the evening. Guests
continued to arrive. This was the
largest crowd that I’d ever seen at Utopia which is saying a lot.
DJ Xavia
did her usual superb job of spinning the tunes mixing Disney songs with
favorites from PTB’s gone by.
Occasionally, the crowd broke in song singing along. There was banter about Disney movies and
characters. Somehow Marvin the Martian
snuck in and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
played but no one seemed to notice.
The mood
was festive and happy. People didn’t
focus on this being the last dance. A
few like me wished they had come more often.
As guests left they said farewell, wished everyone well and hoped to
meet them again elsewhere inworld.
Bubbles flowed overhead and the most poignant moment for me was when the
closing theme from the original Mickey Mouse Show was played.
Then it
was my time to leave for the last time.
The dance
floor was full as I made my good byes and took my leave. I walked a short ways toward the landing zone
and turned to look back for one last time.
What I saw was how I want to remember Utopia. People laughing and dancing, having a
wonderful time with their friends.
That’s what I want to remember.
I then
teleported home.
I’ve
blogged before about loss and community in
SL. Since I began my journey across the
Grid way back when I’ve learned that the value and the enjoyment inworld come
from the people and the groups they form and where they hang out when they rezz
in.
Whenever we lose an individual or a community we all
lose. Yes, maybe in this case we know
what happened and we’ll probably get to meet everyone again someplace
else. But, that one brief shining moment
that was known as Utopia will be gone shortly and SL is the poorer for it.
Utopia will be open until March 31, 2014 and then will be
nothing but a memory. I encourage
everyone to visit and walk around (Remember either bathing suit or nude!) and
see what a really beautiful sim could be like.
Dai says the VIP group will remain open for possible future events so
you may wish to consider joining.
I’d like to thank Dai, Lori66, and Max, the third owner,
for all their hard work over the last in creating Utopia and a fun, welcoming
experience for all their guests during this past year. It was a great run guys and I hope to see you
doing something soon elsewhere in SL.
I also want to thank Lisah and all my other friends from
Utopia for their friendship and the good times we shared. I’ll be seeing all of you around the Grid!
Below, I’ve included links to a few pictures
from Utopia as it is and some earlier shots from prior stories. But, please go and see for yourselves before all
that we have left will be these pictures!
As always, I’m grateful to
all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who
was passing through their lives.
I welcome feedback from
readers, please either comment on my blog or
e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com
.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
Photo No. 1 Utopia
Logo
Photo No. 2 webspelunker
on the Wall
Photo No. 3 Final
Iteration of the Arrival Area
Photo No. 4 Utopia
Welcome Sign
Photo No. 5 Utopia
Pathway
Photo No. 6 Waves
Breaking on the Rocks at Utopia
Photo No. 7 Ruins
at Utopia
Photo No. 8 Lisah Lorefield
Photo No. 9 VIP
Area
Photo No. 10 Gazebo
in the Rain at Utopia
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