AHERN TELEHUB

The Ahern area has a Welcome Area (Hub) at the center of 4 sims: Ahern, Morris, Bonafacio & Dore.

DORE

AHERN WELCOME CENTER

From the SL Wiki:

"Ahern was brought online on March 31st, 2003 along with Morris as a new welcome area, replacing the previous one located in Ritch.

The Ahern/Morris regions became the main welcome area for new residents. Residents would arrive at telehub pads on the ground in Ahern and beaconed forward by a boardwalk leading into Morris, with various informational kiosks along the way to help new residents become familiar with Second Life."

A HUB VISITOR

At the telehubs/infohubs, you can find a lot of helpful information from Linden Lab. You can also meet many residents. Some offer very intelligent conversation, such as this:

[11:10]  (Random) Resident: FHDJAFHDUJSAFHUEILKFHUDLKFHUFUL SDJLHFJKDHAFUKNJK;L SANFALEH;UAEHGIVFUNA SJAHLuiHUINFUGJKANJKAHSDBUL

Don't ask.

TELEHUB WILDLIFE

The Hubs are interesting for a little bit if you like to People-Watch. There are some residents who hang out there regularly, but...socially...that's sort of akin to hanging out at the local Buds 'n' Suds laundromat...so you may not want to start your Second Life experience that way.

EASTERN EDGE

I was Missing In Action a week d/t real-life camping. We love to escape the city & all technology & dive into a tent for a few days. My husband's recovering from a serious illness, & was very stir-crazy. Though camping was a challenge with his current mobility issues, we had a very good time. My virtual journey is fun, but nothing beats a real life journey.

 PICKING UP AGAIN AT ABBOTTS

It is pretty nice to stand here & watch the planes take off. I must have fallen asleep on the landing strip last weeks...Whoopsie...

 BRILLIANT

From there I travelled north & trekked across a group of 6 sims known as the "Vehicle Sims". They're Linden Lab owned, & made up of treks & roads with "Rezzing Areas" where people can bring out their vehicles & have fun scooting around.

 LAKE AT BRILLIANT

From the SL Wiki:

"The vehicle sims are a set of six simulators located directly to the north of the mainland sandbox sims: Balance, Bethel, Briliant, Fame, Fortuna, and Georgean. They are Linden-owned and are the "official" designated place for residents to test out vehicles; on most days they're set up with a race track, lots of open space, and some water for boats.

Linden Lab formerly rented (or for offical Linden-sanctioned events, loaned) the vehicle sims out for large-scale events and expositions. Notable examples of this in the past include the SL Relay for Life, the Second Birthday Event and Third Birthday Event, Gay Pride week events, and the Scripters Trade Show."

BRIDGE AT BETHEL

ABBOTTS

ABBOTTS AERODROME

I'd heard that Cubey Terra, long-time SL resident & famous for vehicles throughout the virtual world, was going to be retiring, so I thought I'd next document this wonderful region of Abbotts. It's been here since the early days & claimed by Cubey in February of 2004.

Abbotts Aerodrome

You're probably familiar with some of Cubey's work. For many years, aircraft has taken off from Abbotts and traveled the mainland, so you've likely seen them if you look up!

ELEVATOR INSIDE

FLOATING BY THE SIGN =)

THE SHOP

COFFEE!!!!

THE HANGER

TELEPORT MAP

Cubey posted a message on SLU, a large SL-related forums (link below) & was also offering to sell it. I don't know any details yet on if it was sold but anyone who might want to help preserve a longtime landmark could look into it.

Cubey Terra Retiring

By the way, SLU is a great site to join =)

SL Universe

 I HAD TO TRY A JUMP!

 THE RUNWAY

There is still some time to visit this lovely place; you can follow the link below.
Wherever you go, Cubey, we'll miss you & thank you so very much for all the vitality you brought into SL over the years!

VISIT ABBOTTS AERODROME!

CLICK TO VISIT CUBEY'S WEBSITE 

FOLLOW THE JOURNEY!

A break in the action for an editorial! I hope you're enjoying the photographic journey so far & the historical & trivia information.  Much of my casual research as I travel around comes from the very helpful SL Wiki which can be found at:

SL WIKIA

"Wikia is a collaborative publishing platform that enables communities to discover, create and share content on any topic in any language.Wikia sites are written by community members that are passionate about subjects ranging from video games, TV shows and movies to food, fashion, and environmental sustainability."

Second Life is the most fun when you can share it with friends. I gladly welcome anyone to join me on the journey. In the past journey, we developed into a small group of travelers & had a blast. I felt like Forrest Gump. 

You can contact me inside Second Life. Also, I have a profile on the marvelous site of AVMatch.com. (You can use that for romance but also just for finding inworld companions & friends)

CHECK OUT AVMATCH

If you sign up, please put me down as your referring source. I get points that way. Thankee sai!

My Second Life Tips!

I've been hanging about SL for 5 years. (Almost Ordinary & one other avatar share the same human.) In this time, I've learnt & can offer some tips on SL Survival.

1. Don't wear facelights. Everyone hates them except you.
2. Never teleport when you can walk.
3. Try not to use Text-Speech but standard language, unless you're very tired or high.

4. It's okay to initiate a conversation. Saying just a plain "Hello!" can open doors to you. Join groups & get involved.
5. If you go AFK, try to remember to put your "Busy" or "AFK" flag on. (I try but sometimes forget.) If someone doesn't respond to you, assume they're AFK. Don't assume they are ignoring you.
6. Be a good neighbor. Remember that they also have to live with the view (or lack of view) that your creations demand. We all have different levels of skill, but there are some things anyone can avoid particularly blocking a neighbor's views with huge ugly boxes or panels.

7. This is just personal taste..but...common sense..Try to put some effort into your avatar's image. Get some decent clothes, put some work into your shape, pick up an AO (even a freebie is better than none) & don't wear your genitals in public. Trust me if you can't talk decently & you're walking around like a duck with your dick out, no girl wants to see you in her bed.
8. Pick up a freebie radar. They are nice!
9. Put yourself out there. SL isn't boring or lonely if you make the effort. Go to events, talk to people, get involved.
10. Remember, it's for FUN!

I hope all of this helps you enjoy your Second Life all the more!

Love, Almost Ordinary

SAN FRANCISCO, CLEMENTINA SIM

Clementina was added to the grid in 2003 & is home to the Governor's Mansion & a huge park with gathering spots & little romantic areas.

CLEMENTINA ENTRANCE

From the SL Wiki:

"Clementina Park is an early natural setting mimicking real world park sites. It takes up almost the entire Northern and Western sim borders.The park was home to concerts performed by Astrin Few (Known simply as "Astrin") beginning in July of 2004. These early live shows were regularly attended by both Linden and resident alike."

GOVERNOR LINDEN'S MANSION

The Mansion was originally built by Steller Sunshine way back during the early days of SL. The mansion was given by Steller to the Lindens to preserve it for the crossover from Alpha to Beta testing. 

ANOTHER SHOT OF MANSION

Research tells me that there was a Time Capsule was buried there under the Governors Mansion until being opened during SL's First Birthday Event in June 2004 by Philip Linden. I did find this still under the mansion:

 BURIED BUTTERFLY

This belongs to Steller Sunshine, who was Second Life's very first resident & built the Governor's Mansion.

From the SL Wiki:

"On Wednesday, June 23rd 2004, Second Life turned a year old (a year from its initial launch date into "public" status of June 23 2003), and many events were held in its honor! The celebration spanned over several days and was also known as the "Second Life First Year Anniversary Gala". The main events included a "Gala Parade" featuring floats created by residents, a festival and kid avatar contest, and the Time Capsule event with a live broadcast by Philip Linden.There were also a lot of unofficial events held by other residents through-out the week of the celebration. These events ranged from sales, to club openings, to parties and more."

OVERLOOK AT CLEMENTINA PARK

A very historical place in Second Life & I spent a good hour here.

VISIT CLEMENTINA!

SAN FRANCISCO SIMS

These sims were the first sims to come online, in November 2002 after Beta. They were named after alleys near LL's office.The sims are named: Clara, Clementina, Clyde, DaBoom, Federal, Freelon, Hawthorne, Lusk, Minna, Natoma, Perry, Ritch, Shipley, Stanford, Stillman, Taber, Tehama, Varney, Welsh, & Zoe.

 VIEW OF LUSK SIM

 YEA MORE HAND!

I was hoping to get another nice informational card, but the Hand doesn't talk. Scripts are turned off in the region, so the notecard can't be dispensed.

 DE HARO SIM

In this region, there is a themed campground!

***Campground Zoning Guidelines***

Here are some helpful guidelines to maintain the Campgrounds.

You may only use the standard cabin or tent as your main building. These items are for sale at the Supply stores located around the perimeter of this region. You can modify it, change textures, etc. You can add accessories like a picnic table.

Residents may buy as much land as you like.

**Note: the following zoning regulations will be enforced:.

* No terraforming. The land stays the way it is.

* No buildings taller than 8 meters

* You must build within your own property lines.

* Noisy or flashing textured scripts, or any script that puts unnecessary strain on the region will be removed.

* No selling items.
This region is located within a PG-Rated territory. All applicable rules, laws and community standards apply.

VISIT THIS CAMPGROUND!

IVORY TOWER OF PRIMS

This is found in Natoma & is a famous, old SL landmark. The Tower offers "A Self-Guided, Self-Paced, Comprehensive Building Tutorial" for learning how to work with prims (the SL building block) in SL.

INSIDE THE TOWER

I'm not much of a builder, but if you're interested, you can learn how to work with prims here. The directions are straight-forward & offer a lot of tools of the trade.

VISIT THE IVORY TOWER!

NICE HOUSE OVERLOOKING THE TOWER

STATUE ON THE GROUNDS BY PUMPKIN TRIPSA

COLOR SIMS, III

Starting out the morning in Lime.

EXITING LIME

It's kind of silly, but I like this empty sim.

 EMPTY HUB IN LIME

This must be that "extra" infohub mentioned in the Wiki to be used in case of overly heavy grid traffic elsewhere.

NIGHTMARISH TERRAFORMING

A good example of the probable reason why most land is only terraformable a few meters in each direction. The Color Sims, and some others on the older part of the mainland, can be terraformed 40 meters in either direction. It's nice flexibility, but results in things like above...NASTY! If you own a private sim, the land can be terraformed 100 meters up or down. MOST private sim owners do take more time to make it look nice so you don't often see this crap on private sims.

 BOARDMAN

Boardman was originally opened as a zoned sim, with prefab homes and an Open Market. It was advertised as a "no-hassle" and "inexpensive" way to buy land and set up a home in Second Life. Residents were also encouraged to use "I AM" signs, which would give a notecard with information when clicked, to easily find fun neighbors and tell others about themselves.

BOARDMAN INFORMATION

Talk to da hand! This little stand gave me an old info card, circa 2003 from Eric Linden:

Welcome to Boardman!  Boardman is a controlled building community.  A small suburban area, Boardman is the perfect place to build your home if you're looking for a nice, quiet region without the stores and looming towers you might find building elsewhere.

Here are some helpful guidelines to help maintain Boardman:

You can own as much land as you want, but your build in Boardman MUST be a conventional residence that might be seen in a suburb.  This means that stores, dance clubs, sheep farms, and any other non-house builds are not permitted within Boardman.  
**Note: the following zoning regulations will be enforced:
 * No terraforming. The land stays the way it is.
 * No buildings taller than 15 meters.  All buildings must be attached to the ground.
 * You must build within your own property lines.
 * No objects for sale, except within the stalls in the center of the region.
 * No signs permitted.
 * Noisy or flashing textures, particles, excessive and/or looping sounds, or any script that puts unnecessary strain on the region will be removed.

This region is located within a PG-Rated territory. All applicable rules, laws and community standards apply.

***Open Air Market***

 This area in the middle of the region has been set up for people to sell or trade goods.

OPEN AIR MARKET

GARDEN

This is owned by a group called the Boardman Preservation Society.

My thought is, historically the records indicate that Boardman "didn't do well" in popularity. But I think the idea would work good in the new Linden Home areas.  There are no general gathering spots in those where people could rez things for a party, have a little stall...etc..Linden Homes might be more popular if the sense of community was broadened.