The Last Dove

After seeing lots of pictures of this sim on Flickr, I added the Last Dove to my list of sims to visit.  As a resident of a very rural town, and a very rural state, in many ways, this sim feels like home.

You can almost smell the wood smoke and feel the dust coating your face as you travel across the bridge into the town proper.  I love how the building on the left has a large board propping up the signage/facade of the building – like you’re walking onto the set of an old spaghetti western.

I think this house/shack is one I pass on my way to work every day – including the chickens in the road I have to dodge.  -.-

We don’t have longhorns where I live, but we do have plenty of cows and bulls.  A long ago piece of advice I received:  If you find yourself in a field with a cow or a bull, and you don’t know the difference – run.  I don’t know if it’s true or not, but thankfully I’ve never had to worry about it.

There’s a lot to see at the Last Dove, so hit that tp button and go see for yourself.

Exploring Unconditional

Time is the one thing I always wish I had more of.  There never seems to be enough time in my day to accomplish all the things I want to get done.

I suppose I should be grateful that I have things I want to do on my list, rather than it being full of things I have to do.

There – that’s me, practicing gratitude.  😛

I did manage to carve out some time to head in to SL for some exploring.  I visited several places, but I always have more on my list.

One of the places I visited was Unconditional.

The sim is gorgeous and full of little hidden areas. I’ve seen pictures from it all over Flickr, so clearly lots of people find it as pretty as I did.

In some places, it reminded of home – I’d see this sort of thing traveling around the roads where I live. 

I think this is one of my favorite pictures of all those I’ve taken.

Of course, there are no beaches where I live, so I always find those areas fun to explore, since I can’t do that in real life.

Whatever you’re looking for, you’re sure to find it in SL.  But be sure to stop by and give Unconditional a visit.  You won’t regret it.

Orcadi Island Home

Home is something I’ve been pondering a lot lately.

My visit to Orcadi Island brought back childhood memories of playing outside, watching the combines harvest wheat, and laughing at the birds’ frenzied feeding when the grain truck dropped kernels as it rounded the corner.

Now, I don’t remember anyone having a home that looked like this, but if I had, I would have been knocking on the door, wondering if there were any kids inside to come out and play. 🙂

I love the placement of the tree here – as if it’s standing behind the windmill, peeking around to see what’s so interesting. Or stretching away, seeking something unknown on the other side.

This angle captures a view nearly every kid I grew up with has had at some point – laying in the tall wheat, playing hide and seek, or just taking a break to enjoy the wonder of the outdoors.

Another angle of the house – it looks so cozy and comfortable, I could move right in! After, of course, I installed some indoor plumbing. 😛

I was wandering around, trying to find interesting angles, and stumbled onto this ruin with a window intact, and the house captured just perfectly through it.

Hop on over and have a look (and perhaps a wander down memory lane) for yourself.

Honeycomb Expedition

When I have a chance to explore (which isn’t nearly as often as I would like), I often hit several stops at once.  As I was looking through the Destination Guide for some suitable places, I came across Honeycomb.

Home to Hive, a home and garden store, Honeycomb is a wonderfully sweet (pun intended!) and charming area.

When you land, turn around and head away from the main store.  This sign greets you as you enter the area. A terrific sentiment. 🙂

You all know my love of lighthouses.  This broken one made me happy and sad at the same time.  I loved how the sunlight was glinting off the water – so beautiful!

There aren’t any beaches near where I live, so I am always happy to explore them virtually whenever I can.  My husband loved this area, – mostly because he loves old VW campers, but it’s still gorgeous!  What a life – a beach bum, living out of your camper, getting to see amazing sights like this every day.  *Sigh*

This little area was one of my favorites.  I don’t generally like the white-washed, shabby chic look, but here it absolutely works.  The trees, the birds flying around, the windmill – spectacular!

This was another favorite area – but this time because it reminds me so much of the things I see every day.  Old barns, tractors, water towers, and trees – my daily view outside my car windows. 🙂

So head on over to Honeycomb and spend some time exploring – it’s absolutely gorgeous.  Then when you’re tired of exploring, you can head over to Hive and pick up some fab H&G items for your own little corner of SL. 😀

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Quaint Beauty at Devils Point

Periodically I take a look through the Destination Guide to see if there are any new places that I want to visit. This time, I discovered Devils Point.

There’s a lovely train station, complete with this angry looking owl.  (I stayed out of his way and quickly made my way into the town proper.)

There are several lovely houses, like the one above.  I tried to ask the figure in the background some questions, but they didn’t seem very talkative.  And the goat’s head mask was a little off-putting, to say the least. 😛

After wandering by a much larger house, I found this quaint little apothecary store.  I didn’t see anyone about, and my feet were quickly getting tired, so I ‘borrowed’ the bicycle and continued my exploration of the town.

Though it seemed at first a bit dreary, it started to grow on me.  Up on one of the cliffs, I found this tenacious tree, still standing despite its obvious battle with the elements.  (I don’t know who made this tree in SL, but it’s one of my favorites.  And judging by the number of times I’ve seen it in builds, many others feel the same!)

Outside of the town, the rest of the area is decidedly rural.  I found this small herd of deer grazing peacefully in one of the meadows.  Of course, they scattered as soon as they heard me stumbling through the grass. 😀

I’ve seen this thatched cottage used in a number of builds, but it seems so at home here.  The overcast grey sky adds to the feeling of an old town in the British Isles.

There are tons of little areas to explore, including a graveyard, more store buildings, and some houses not pictured here.

It’s quaint, quiet, and quirky.  Some of my favorite ‘q’ words. 😀

So, hop on over and see for yourself. (I put the bicycle back, in case you need to ‘borrow’ it as well.)

Exploring Legacy Ridge

Legacy Ridge has been on my ‘to-visit’ list for quite some time now.  Things always seemed to get in my way, however, so I didn’t make it until yesterday.

Legacy Ridge is a mix of urban and rural areas.  From the landing area, you enter a small town, complete with a mix of businesses and a few homes.

The first store I spotted was the florist – the bed of sunflowers caught my eye, since they are my state’s official flower. 🙂

I love wandering around all the different places people build – in part because I don’t own a lot of land in SL, and I never seem to have enough prims to go around. 😛

I thought the ‘Falafel House’ was a hilarious pun, so I just had to snap a pic.  The main street of the town in Legacy Ridge is fantastically decorated, with tons of little touches and details.  I also liked ‘Joe Mamma’s Coffee House.’

I found this fabulous fifties diner, complete with vintage neon sign.  There was also a terrific motel, which included an outdoor pool.  It reminded me of all the places we stopped on our vacation to the Grand Canyon when I was a child. (Not that I was born in the 50s – just to clarify.) 😀

I think this is my favorite pic of the ones I took at Legacy Ridge.  You can see the whole town – main street, the motel, the bay, and the private homes up on the ridge.

I did wander up onto the ridge, and had a peek at some of the homes.  The information at the landing point said that some of the homes were private, but most of the ones I saw looked unoccupied.  It gave the whole place kind of an empty, hollow feel.

There were a lot of nice touches, though, including the mailboxes posted on the roads for each house – something I see every day where I live.

After wandering past all the homes, I came across a more rural area of the sim, which included this fantastic farmer’s market stand.

This little farm was behind the market stand, complete with outhouse and chicken coop. 🙂

Pop over and have a peek for yourself.

Nusquam – Welcome to Nowhere

I often say that I live in the middle of nowhere.  I really do – I live smack in the middle of the United States.  In fact, I live in almost the geographical center of the contiguous 48 States.  Can’t get much more ‘middle of nowhere’ than that, I don’t think.

My nowhere looks pretty similar to Nusquam, except for the water and the rocks. Trees, railroads, old barns – those I can find everywhere around where I live. My small town is surrounded by farms, fields, pastures, and livestock.

This is another familiar sight – tractors, fields, hay bales, old and/or dilapidated farmhouses.  Somehow it’s much more attractive in SL. 😛

Horses grazing in the fields – also common, though around here it tends to be cows much more often than horses.  Horses are prettier. And smarter.  😀

Lighthouses seemed pretty scarce in the middle of nowhere (go figure!), so I had to content myself with pictures of tractors.  I love the grungy, rusted, worn textures on these.  Although these days, the tractors I see are new, bright green and yellow, with enclosed cabs and air conditioning (farming seems very lucrative around here).

I think this counts as a lighthouse, though the building portion is much more reminiscent of an old train station.  The old train stations in nearby towns have been converted into offices and museums.  One town still has a passenger train come through it, though.

Nusquam may be the middle of nowhere, but it is sure a sight prettier than my every day view.  I took these photos earlier this month, but just got around to editing them.  Nusquam seems to be a popular spot for photographers, as I have seen it all over Flickr and other social media.

It is well worth a visit – be sure to wear your boots, in case the horses left any ‘presents’ in the fields as you wander through. 😀

Exploring Netherwood

On a recent photography jaunt around SL, I came upon Netherwood.

The land description says, “Experience the natural beauty of Netherwood. Inspired by the picturesque English Lake District.”  Now, I’ve never been to the ‘picturesque English Lake District,’ but Anglophile that I am, I made a beeline for Netherwood. 😀

I’ve confessed before that I am terrible about exploring and only after I am done, do I read all the notes you sometimes get when you arrive at a new place. In my defense, when you land and see something like this intriguing rail line, it’s hard not to start exploring.

I loved the windlight, so I didn’t spend a lot of time faffing about with those for photos. I just started walking. There were little scenes and vignettes sprinkled liberally around the sim, and there was something to look at no matter where you turned.

After following the rail line for a bit, it opened out into this lovely agrarian area, with animals and tractors and adorable little farmhouses. The imposing mountains in the background are just spectacular.

There were lots of animals here, there, and everywhere.  Cows, horses, sheep, and these cute little goslings with their mother goose.

Directly across from the farm was this fantastic stone bridge.  I love the ivy growing on the bridge.  According to the notecard from the sim creator (which I did read, eventually), she modeled the sim after the Lake District in the UK where she lives. If this is what she sees every morning, I’m so jealous.  It’s absolutely gorgeous.

This little scene in front of one of the farm cottages is chock-full of nostalgia.  The mix of toys, the wagon, the worn suitcase on the porch – this could be the house my grandmother grew up in.  Warm, welcoming, and comforting all at the same time.

One of my favorite things about my visit was the end – because of this.  I love it when there is a sense of mystery about a place.  Where do the tracks go?  What’s beyond the tunnel?  The only limit is your imagination.  🙂

Netherwood is absolutely stunning, and whether you are looking for a great place to take some photos or just relax for a spell, you won’t be disappointed.

Exploring the Crystal Gardens

I haven’t had much time lately to wander and take some photographs, so yesterday I just put everything else on hold and made time. 😀

During my explorations, I found the fabulous Crystal Gardens.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I have a thing for lighthouses – probably because we don’t have any where I live.  😛

There were a ton of areas to explore on this sim, and the landscaping was just gorgeous.

I loved this view – the majestic mountains in the background (something else I don’t see much) and the hot air balloons floating gently above.

The little thatched cottage and windmill are adorable, and I loved all the farm animals wandering around.

I don’t know who made these rocking chairs, but I want one!  The scroll work on the arms and legs is so elegant and well done.

This is the sort of gazebo I would love to have but can’t, because I live somewhere that 30-50mph winds are pretty standard.  All this loveliness would be two states away after a stiff breeze. 😛

If you have a few minutes free, take a quick trip over to the Crystal Gardens and have a look-see.  It is truly enchanting.

Ocho Tango

Last week was a bumpy week for me in RL, so on Friday I sat down in front of the computer and spent some quiet time wandering from sim to sim.

I keep a list of places I’d like to visit and photograph, so my first stop was Ocho Tango.

I’ve seen other people’s photos of the place and I wanted to check it out for myself.

I didn’t realize it was actually a dance club (where you can tango!), so there were a few couples dancing when I arrived.

I’ve no idea who this adorable couple was, but I couldn’t resist snapping a few pics while they danced. 🙂

I generally try to keep to one windlight/filter when shooting, but this statue just screamed for something different. 😛

I stumbled across this little guy while wandering around the area.  I love it when you find whimsical vignettes like these scattered around. It adds so much personality to the build.

As I was about to leave, I stopped for one last look.  I found the tree in the distance perfectly framed by the gnarled tree in the foreground, and I had to take a photo.

Ocho Tango is a beautiful little area.  Take a few minutes out of your day and go do some exploring.  Be sure to take a friend so you can do some dancing while you’re there!