A Mystical Christmas in Second Life

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more! 

Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

It’s that time of the year again.

We wonder where the past year has gone…

We look forward to the winter solstice…

And, with of all of this, some of us look forward to Christmas!

(I reassure Significant Other that a certain list has been received.)

In Second Life (SL), Christmas is very much alive just as in Real Life (RL).

But, perhaps, no more so than in Mieville where the indefatigable Perryn Peterson, its Mayor, and his elves have been pulling extra shifts to get ready for the Christmas Holiday inworld!   

In Christmases past, Mieville has been host to A Christmas Carol, an Elizabethan Christmas with a frozen River Thames, and a winter wonderland to name but a few themes.   

Perryn and his band of merry elves have not been lacking for ideas for this year’s Christmas. 

Its theme is Mystic Yule which as Perryn puts it is, “A full sim of snowy, forested, magical, faerie Christmas and Yule delights!”  (The man does have a way with words!)

And, it’s all waiting for you to come and enjoy!

There is much to see and do as always!

Visitors will be able to visit merchants in over one hundred booths and wagons peruse their goods.  There'll be entertainment, gachas, ice skating, dancing, food and drinks, and much more! 

And, of course, don’t forget the new and improved mini-hunt where each merchant will have a surprise gift hidden in their establishment for shoppers to try and find. 

Mieville wouldn’t be Mieville without new and magical attractions.

This year has almost all new buildings, gorgeous landscaping by Mike Olbracht,

beautiful dance area, wintery rides and the Wizard's Tower!  (Hint: Which you can find your way out of by following the "down" doors which are clearly marked!)    

Perryn and his crew wanted to do something faerie-like and mysterious, home in on the mystical nature of Christmas, and to cater to their large fantasy following.

They’ve outdone themselves as usual!

(Yes, admittedly, I’m biased.  But, given the wonderful experiences which Perryn and his team produce consistently for their visitors, I think I’m entitled!)

I heartily recommend visiting Mystic Yule in Mieville which runs from December 1^st to January 1^st and can be located here! 

Maybe you’ll even run into me there!

I’d like to thank Perryn and his elves for another wonderful seasonal event and for

assisting me in preparing this story for all my loyal readers!  (All three of you!) 

I’d also like to thank The Companion who took all the beautiful photos used in this story and the others which can be found on this flickr page. 

Happy Holidays to all from Significant Other and me! 

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. 

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

            Open roads and kind fires!

Helping Others in Second Life VIII – Assisting Someone with Lou Gehrig’s Disease

You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.

John Bunyan

Recently, I received an urgent request for assistance from my old friend in Second Life (SL) and the Mayor of Mieville, Perryn Peterson.    

One of Mieville’s citizens desperately needs help in Real Life (RL) and Perryn, as he always does in these situations, is organizing assistance.  (He serves as an exemplary model to RL leaders who fall short many times when it comes to helping those entrusted to their care.)

Let me tell you what’s happening and how we can help.  (Significant Other wants everyone to know that there will be no kibitzing this evening due to the seriousness of the situation.  Significant Other is also still in a state of shock after the recent US Presidential Election.  And, no, Significant Other is neither Hillary Rodham Clinton nor Tim Kaine.)

Lady B (BronwynPendraig Timeless), partner in SL and RL of Magician Spyke (SpykeMcCallister Kayvon). is a victim of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.  

The only way Lady B can currently communicate in RL is by blinking her eyes or smiling (which she does a lot we’re told!).  Perryn and his crew are helping to raise funds to buy her a computer that is controlled by eye movements to allow her to communicate with people around her. 

A benefit yard sale is being held inworld to raise these funds.

Here’s how we can help!

First, please comb your inventory for transferable (This is important!) items and send them to Perryn Peterson ASAP!  Your donated items (which can include your GACHA extras!) will help raise funds for Lady B. 

This is how to do it:

1.  Select your items.

2.  Box each item (or set of items), label with name of the item and original price if known.  Original price can be put in the "Description" section under "Edit" of your box.  Please make sure that the items are transferable!  (Yes, this is being repeated for emphasis.)

3.  Send to Perryn Peterson. 

Got that?

Good, here are some other ways that we can help!

If you are a merchant, please consider donating surplus items that you have created

to sell at the yard sale!  Please include a sign for your shop with a LM inside.  It will be displayed with your items. 

Please plan on coming to the yard sale to shop and to pick up some bargains!

There will also be the opportunity to make cash donations, which if you can’t make the yard sale, is a great way to help.

In case anyone feels more secure donating directly to the campaign outside of SL, the link is as follows:

https://www.gofundme.com/2eurea8k

Once again, SL residents are rallying to help one of their own.

People are selflessly giving of their time and treasure to help someone whom they may never have met inworld let alone in RL.  Not only that, but there’s plenty of great gifts to buy for the upcoming Holidays!

Yes, there is good in SL and Perryn and his fellow citizens are showing what it can be like! 

Please come and contribute if you can!

If circumstances preclude you from contributing then at least come out and lend moral support to those who are working to help Lady B! 

Whatever you do, it will be appreciated!

The yard sale starts from 10:00AM SLT on Friday, November 18th and runs through

the weekend, closing at midnight SLT on Sunday, November 20th. 

The yard sale can be found here. 

Picture of the items available for sale are included in this story and more can be found on this flickr page. 

I’d like to thank the Companion for taking the time to take all these pictures for the benefit of Lady B!

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. 

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

            Open roads and kind fires!

Sex and the Single Avatar in Second Life XVIII – A Visit to a Newly Discovered Nudist Resort in Second Life

Find me under the palms.

Anonymous

Wandering about in Second Life (SL) as I’m wont to do, an acquaintance recently recommended a nudist resort to me that I hadn’t heard of before.  (Significant Other seems shocked thinking I’d seen them all.) 

Intrigued, (Significant Other asks what else is new.) I made plans to visit and to check it out.

The resort is called Isla de Amores and I visited a few times to see what it was all about.  During one of these visits, I met Charlie Miami, the owner/operator, who agreed to

an interview with me.

The following story is based on that interview and my visits. 

Charlie is an old SL hand.

He began his time inworld as a guard at Wild Coast, a naturist sim.  Charlie says that he remembers me from my earlier visits there and I vaguely remember him.  (Significant Other suggests that I was more interested in certain other residents.) He left Wild Coast to establish Miami Properties with a partner but closed down that venture when the partner had to leave SL.  Charlie says that it’s hard to be a land business inworld unless you have a niche.

Isla de Amores was Charlie’s next venture inworld.  Being a naturist in Real Life (RL) when he can, he decided to go back to his roots inworld.  The resort was first opened for Charlie’s friends and then to the public in April 2015. 

Charlie believes that nudity and sex are part of human nature.  Some lean to it more than others, he’s one of the ones who leans to it.  The goal at Isla de Amores is for people to come and enjoy his efforts there.  It is a way to give back to the community by making it available to all free of charge. 

Designing and staying on top of the latest trends in furniture inworld is a pastime for Charlie.  (Remember this is an adult sim so we’re talking sex here folks!)  He has a large inventory of animations spread all over the sim, even the starfish have them!  Some of these

animations are custom made exclusively for Charlie and can be found nowhere else inworld.  This adds to the uniqueness of Isla de Amores.  I’ve checked out several of these and the variety offered is indeed broad and original.  (No more details, we’re still not that kind of blog!  Check them out for yourselves.)

Isla de Amores does accept donations from visitors but there is only one donation barrel located at its entrance.  Charlie’s not in it for the money.  While other sims have closed for lack of funding, he has no intention of doing so. 

Interestingly, the resort is clothing optional.  Nudity is not a requirement.  Group membership is a requirement but is free.  Charlie says this helps to keep poor behavior out.  All sexual preferences are respected.  Al that is asked is that everyone be kind and respectful to one another. 

There are no planned social events because Isla de Amores is only a homestead with a limit of twenty avatars at any one time which does preclude large gatherings.  Treasure hunts have been held in the past and may occur again in the future. 

Only adult human avatars are allowed entrance.  Attached ears, tails, and wings are allowed.  Complete animal or fantasy avatars are not.  Visitors who appear in such form are politely asked to switch to human form.

Isla de Amores is comprised of a series of small islets connected by narrow walkways or accessible by wading through shallow water.  Lush, tropical foliage covers them.  Highly detailed palm trees, tropical flowers, shrubs and bushes are scattered across

the sim giving a very lifelike effect.  The grounds alone are worth a visit.  Beautiful, small beaches offering privacy and opportunities for couples to be intimate are washed by waves.  Colorful birds fly overhead.  Waterfalls and rock formations complete the natural settings.

Small huts and cabins are available for use by visitors.  Row boats are moored along the shore.  Lounge chairs, blankets, and dance balls can be found on the beaches.  (Remember what I said earlier about the unique animations!)  Ruins for exploring are also hidden in the underbrush. 

There is a teleport to take visitors to the more popular places.  (My BDSM friends may be interested in the Red Room in particular.) 

I strongly recommend Isla de Amores to anyone who is interested in a quiet, enjoyable, tropical nudist resort in SL.  Since it’s clothing optional, as long as no one minds others being nude, the resort is well worth visiting to see how a beautiful, tropical resort can be constructed inworld. 

Isla de Amores is unique for being a very well laid out resort which is not cookie cutter produced like other sims inworld.  The use of multiple islands breaks it up allowing for

more beaches and private places.  (OK, I’ll admit it, I get lost every time I go there.  Significant Other is only surprised that I’ve admitted that.)  And, don’t forget those animations that are unique solely to Isla de Amores!

I hope that you’ll visit Isla de Amores and enjoy yourselves!

Who knows?  Maybe you’ll run into me!

Isla de Amores can be found here.

I’d like to thank Charlie Miami for meeting with me and for creating such a wonderful addition to the nudist community inworld!

I’d also like to thank my Companion who supplied all the pictures used in this story and that can also be found on this flickr page.  (She also keeps asking why I seem to only send her to nudist resorts.) 

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. 

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

            Open roads and kind fires!

Are You Going to Renaissance Faire VI in Second Life? (Hint: You should!)

 The phoenix must burn to emerge. 

Janet Fitch 

            Summer is drawing to its close in Real Life (RL), at least here in the Northern Hemisphere! 

            The last, long weekend of the American summer, Labor Day, draws nigh.

            All this means that the annual Renaissance Faire in Second Life (SL) will soon be here! 

So, when Perryn Peterson, the Mayor of Mieville, impresario extraordinaire, and my good friend in SL reached out recently to let me know that Renaissance Faire VI was soon

to be upon us, I was ready!  (Significant Other comments something about this being a rare occurrence.) 

            Since I’m still struggling to catch up after being away  I reached out to my latest Companion to join me and help with the photographs.  (She still wishes to remain anonymous to protect her professional reputation.  Significant Other suggests they form a support group.) 

            As with such Faires in RL, Renaissance Faire VI is a celebration of all things Renaissance.  The rebirth of knowledge and learning after the long night of the Dark Ages. 

In keeping with this theme, the SL Faire begins in a period village and hunters go off to find the marvelous gifts being offered by the participating merchants. 

            Renaissance Faire VI is located in Mieville Shelley, where it relocated to last year. 

            The site is a beautiful bucolic setting of a small village having its annual faire.  Besides the contemporary buildings located around a small pond, the temporary tents and booths of merchants and gypsies are set up on the outskirts of town. 

            Strolling through this scene, one hears the bubbling brooks and listens to period music.  Meriadne Merlin a RL performer has supplied several of the tunes which Perryn has been using for a number of years. 

            Trees, shrubs, grasses, and flowers decorate the sim adding a pastoral effect that contributes to the feeling that one has left the modern age and returned to a simpler time.   (Mike Olbracht, Mieville’s landscaper par excellance and Perryn’s partner has once again

shown how talented he is and I marvel at the subtle changes that he has made to the grounds since last year!  His work alone is worth a visit to the Faire.)

            Strolling through the streets and lanes of the Faire, I see the various wares on display by the merchants and am impressed by their variety and quality.  Perryn always strives to have the best inworld mechants at his events. 

            While I’m wandering through the gypsy encampment, peeking into their vardos, (Yes, there’ll be a fortune teller!), my Companion is off busily snapping away with her photographs.  (I really don’t deserve her help.  Significant Other says she’s not the only one whose help I don’t deserve.) 

            BTW Ktahdn Vesuvino will be broadcasting period music from the gypsy encampment during the Faire! So. Make sure you’re listing for his tunes when you visit! 

            The Tinies from Tinyopolis have their own Artisans Lane with high quality craftspeople participating and shouldn’t be missed!

            There’s also a gacha tent with all the latest gachas! 

            The maypole still has pride of place in the center of the village and a small stage is a

t the water’s edge for performances during the Faire and don’t forget to see the Punch & Judy show! 

            As for the Hunt itself, seventy-five of the best shops inworld are participating!  (There's also a mini-hunt at the Faire itself!)

            A complete list of participating merchants can be obtained by joining the Historical Hunts, Ltd. Group inworld.  Additional information can be obtained from the website. 

            As always, the Renaissance Faire is a fun community event offering great opportunities to meet other residents and to learn about life inworld.  It also helps the merchants who are a vital part of SL! 

             I heartily recommend joining the Hunt or at least visiting the Faire!

            The Faire can be found here and runs from September 1^st to 30^th. 

            Happy hunting! 

            As always, I’d like to thank Perryn and his team for staging these terrific events and putting up with me as I write my stories!   

            I’d also like to thank the Companion for joining me at the last minute (Significant Other says what else is new.) and taking photographs.  (Hers are the better ones here and on this Flickr page where all our photos from this trip can be found.) 

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. 

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

            Open roads and kind fires!

“Awt in da Pawk” in Second Life

Everything you can imagine is real.

Pablo Picasso 

             As part of my personal self-improvement plan, I’m trying to expand my familiarity with culture and the arts.  (This was after being told by Significant Other that reading Archie comic books didn’t count.  Who knew?)   

            So, when Perryn Peterson, the Mayor of Mieville, impresario extraordinaire, and my good friend in Second Life (SL) (Actually, one of the few willing to admit it.) dropped a line to tell me about an upcoming art show and sale that he was co-hosting with Miss Maggie Puss of Tinyopolis in Mieville, well, I just had to make sure I went and did a story! 

            I also reached out to my latest Companion to join me and help with the photographs as she’s a talented photographer.  (She also wishes to remain anonymous to protect her professional reputation.  Significant Other doesn’t blame her.) 

            The event is Awt in da Pawk and is being held in the Tinyopolis neighborhood in Mieville. 

            This is pronounced as if you’re from Boston and not from Brooklyn as I had to continually explain to the Companion.  (Not sure where she’s from but wherever it is, they certainly need more familiarity with regional American accents.) 

            Awt in da Pawk is an art show and fair open to all artists inworld.  Works can include photographs, paintings, drawings, sculptures, and whatever other materials suit the creator’s fancy.  Copies will be available for sale. 

            Awards for best in show pieces will be made on the third and final day.

            The show will be open to the public on August, 19^th, 20^th, and 21^st and takes place here at Tinyopolis in Mieville. 

            The Companion and I dropped by to visit the show as it was being set up shortly before its opening.

            The show is in the main square in Tinyopolis.  Open-sided tents forming a rectangle

house the various works on display.  There is quite a selection of art of very high quality.  (I’m ignoring Significant Other’s barbed query of how would I know.)

            While viewing the artwork, the Companion and I met a photographer, Noxoko, who was setting up his exhibit.  A long time SL resident, he has recently taken up photography inworld specializing in black and white photographs.  Make sure to check his work out and maybe buy some!  I hope to have a story about Noxoko and his work in the not too distant future. 

            As always with any event in Mieville, they’re guaranteed to be fun, worthwhile, and a great way to meet folks inworld!  In addition, this is a chance to see some incredible art created within SL. 

            The Companion thought there was a good variety of artists and that the show was a

local, small town, kind of fun thing to do!

            I strongly recommend that you visit Awt in da Pawk, you won’t regret it!

            Maybe you’ll run into me and the Companion!  (She’s the good looking one!)

            I’d like to thank Perry and Miss Puss for hosting this show and allowing us to visit it beforehand for this story.

            I’d also like to thank Noxoko for taking the time to meet with the Companion and me, and answer our questions.

            Last but not least, I’d like to thank the companion for joining me and taking photographs.  (Hers are the better ones here and on this Flickr page where all our photos from this trip can be found.) 

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. 

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

            Open roads and kind fires!

Sex and the Single Avatar in Second Life XVI – Lost and Nude in the Woods and Making a New Friend

The difference between nudists and clothed people is that nudists don’t mind if you are wearing clothes.

Anonymous

           Running a blog and posting weekly, not to mention doing it for over five years, is not the easiest thing in the world.  (Significant Other just giggles.  Please note that Significant Other was a major encourager of my initial blogging efforts.)  

          Of course, many opportunities for stories present themselves and part of my job is juggling all these possibilities against commitments, expectations, and changing conditions in Second Life (SL).  (Significant Other is having a blast right about now.)  One story that

I’ve been meaning to write about for a while is the nudist resort at Mango Island – Adult Nude Forest.  

          As no good deed goes unpunished as a good friend of mine in Real Life (RL) (Yes, I have a few.) once explained to me, my prevarication in doing this story was rewarded by a recent announcement by Mango management that the current sim would shut down shortly, as in now, for demolition and would subsequently reopen to begin new builds. 

          I was stuck, enough material for a story but no good photos of Mango, actually, none at all, and no time to go take any.

          Then my luck began to change!  

          I’d recently made a new friend inworld.  She and I had met randomly (Significant Other says that she was just too polite to tell me to get lost.) and she has joined me on some of my journeys and also takes superb photos in SL.  In fact, she supplied me with several for another story already.    

          My friend stepped up and offered to take and supply me with pictures of Mango for this story.  I quickly agreed, my friend promptly dropped her clothes and went off to obtain

photos of Mango in its “before” state.  (Needless to say, my friend is fairly uninhibited when it comes to wandering around nude.)    

          Now, for the catch, you may have noticed that I keep referring to this talented female photographer as “my friend.” She wishes to keep her SL identity a secret.  (Significant Other doesn’t blame her and wishes for the same privilege in RL.)  

          I asked my friend what should I call her?  “Anonymous photographer” while accurate just didn’t seem to have the appropriate flair.  She asked time to sleep on it overnight.  I readily agreed. 

          The next day I received an email saying that she wished to be known simply as “The Companion.”  So, that’s who she’ll be!  (I think SL has more Whovians than Gallifrey.)  

          Now, as with all my SL friends, I take them as they present themselves. The Companion presents as an adult woman and says this is who she is in RL.  For all I know, she could be a community college dropout living in his parents’ basement outside of Detroit. Irrelevant to me.  I take people as I find them inworld! 

          The Companion and I have been to Mango together to explore which means my invariably getting lost and her finding me.  (So much for that much vaunted male sense of direction.  Significant Other becomes hysterical.)  

          Anyway, back to Mango!

          Mango is a sister sim to Lupes Magic Forest.  Seeing Mango being promoted there when it first opened I joined. 

          Mango is a nudity required, fee sim.  The layout is a lush forest with heavy brush, tall trees, flowers, waterfalls, streams, ponds, and coastal stretches.  Birds and insects

provide the natural soundtrack.  There are few manmade objects about and the few that are draw heavily on the natural surroundings.  Examples are footbridges made from fallen trees and tree houses.  Signs of civilization are buried deep in the sim and require some looking to find.         

          Once found, these quiet oases provide peaceful places to either be alone or to show an intimate moment with another.  Basic romance is the theme but there is one mild BDSM spot which The Companion found.  (Honest, I had nothing to do with this!)  Unlike Lupes where there are obvious paths and landmarks, navigating in Mango and

trying to find places again can be difficult.  

          Mango never has many visitors at the same time.  The Companion and I have both had this experience in our various visits both together and alone.  (I’ve been going to Mango longer than The Companion.) Folks we meet are friendly and polite.  

          By the time, you read this story, the former Mango will be gone and demolished.  The new construction will have begun and all are invited to drop and to check its progress.  The Companion and I will be visiting soon after to check the new build and to report back.  So keep an eye on this space for an update!  

          In the meantime, please enjoy the beautiful memories of Mango captured in The Companion’s photos in this story and on this flickr page!    (BTW These are only scenic shots.  Don’t go looking for nude people, we’re still not that kind of blog!) 

          I’d like to thank The Companion for both her friendship and making the time to take the photos accompanying this story!  Look for more of her work in future stories!  

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.  

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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. 

          Open roads and kind fires!