Zyx's Road Trip: Day Seven

Zyx Flux and her trusty pack snail, Shelly, have been wandering Route 9 on the Second Life Mainland for several days and reporting back regularly. By my estimates, they started today nearly three-quarters of the way home. Shelly was given most of the day off so Zyx was able to fly quite a distance, which put her an easy half-day's journey close to home. Her report is after the map.

Leaving the beautiful Jasmin's Hollow in Zeds Pitch behind with more than just a bit of reluctance, Shelly and I headed East on Route 9 (SLurl) past another Apolon Motors store (SLurl) without grabbing a vehicle but stopping at Domino Designs in Spinolds Flat (SLurl) for a few free textures and then in Edgecumbe (SLurl) to see another huge purple roadside crystal (and another in Putiki Fold; SLurl).

While looking at the last crystal, an overnight dragonfly delivered a message from a friend that she's found a number of crystals on other roadways, including Route 1 in Lambeau (SLurl) and Lunalis (SLurl). If I hear back from crystal crafter Pelxore Lumiere, I'll have to ask just how extensively these things have been spread, especially since I've passed five just between Zed's Pitch and Bennafield (SLurl) with little else of interest along the way.

Jiwecu Haiku, Movie Star

Except for another Movie Star. I saw Jiwecu Haiku eschewing a roadside rest bench to sit on the bare concrete in Wombat (SLurl). Her Profile didn't show her groups but it seemed pretty complete otherwise, contrary to what "bots" normally have for Profiles, though her appearance differed from her Profile pic. I tried talking to her but avoided IM assuming that like the others I'd "met" she'd ignore me completely. Also like the others, her entire appearance was made up of freebies that one might find at The Free Dove (SLurl), a really popular stop for noobies. I wonder if we'll see other so-tagged 'Movie Stars' on our journey. Better yet, I wonder if we'll see actual movie stars. Wouldn't that be exciting? So, being bored, Shelly and I kept heading East on Route 9, prepared for more empty parcels with the occasional home or shop.

I think some of the critters
were steam-powered.

After passing another crystal in Munford, we left the road when we spotted what looked like an oasis. It turned out to be Cosmic Steam, a little meadow with mechanical kangaroos and a beautiful pond with waterfalls, mechanical dragonflies, and mechanical frogs. A very interesting combination, certainly, but it was a comfortable place to break for a snack and a refreshing swim. There were some "natural" creatures there, too, including swans, and all of them seemed to get along fairly well. It was a nice stop with both Shelly and I enjoying the rest.

In Dokkaebi, Shelly and I found a huge surprise! A greenhouse like the one I saw in Clearwing (Web)!! Shelly shook off her pack and scrambled into the greenhouse like a snail possessed. While she romped about, chasing butterflies, I worked to rid the greenhouse of pests (giving the smaller ones to the tiny frogs to teach them what they should be eating) and to do a bit of weeding. We spent the better part of the day here, but I eventually moved on, leaving a bus pass with Shelly so she could have the day off and catch up tomorrow. I hitched a ride with a squirrel and kept going, excited about maybe finding another greenhouse.

Making friends with the frogs.

Shelly chased me around a shallow pool, splashing me then running when I chased her.

The pests didn't bother Shelly much, but they were playing merry Hob with the delicate plants.

Lines of magnetic force around a coil.
Or something like that.

The Yongwang-Cheonma border (SLurl) was a study in contrasts with three good-sized castles, several adobe-brick houses, Native American tents, floaty skyboxes, fantasy caves, and ugly modern shops. I had a wonderful picture framed up, but some technical glitch wouldn't let me save it. I won't blame my iPhone, but the App — always trust the basic one that comes with the phone. Anyway, the squirrel dropped me off at another crystal in Ungnyo (SLurl) and from there I stretched my wings and flew for a bit. The land became less empty as I flew on and became down right densely packed by the time I hit Madhupak and some sort of odd magnetism display (SLurl). There were several rez-on-demand science exhibits there and all were fun to play with. Near by was a fairly organized community called Chilbo, with a town hall and everything covering a large tract of land across a few regions, but I couldn't figure out a purpose or find any citizens, so I gave up and continued my journey.

In Anma (SLurl), across from an art gallery with some nice photographs (many Not Safe for Pixies) was an amusement park with a train, a trolley, a carousel, and other rides, plus a kiddie park. It was kinda dull without Shelly, so I took one ride on the roller coaster and hit the road again. Not far along I found Mystery Lake on Han Loso with it's free kayak rental (SLurl) and some really mean-looking giant mutant catfish. Thank goodness my pixy magic air bubble protected me. If you decide to swim or dive here, be very careful.

There were a number of shops and homes around the lake and further along in Chiaksan I found another Outy's store (SLurl). But I kept going, through the heavily developed urban region of Kyung and into Haean. Finally I stopped in Seoraksan (SLurl) before the big underwater tunnel I saw on our maps and camped out for the night to wait for Shelly to arrive after her day off. She needed the rest and the greenhouse was a great place for that. I missed her company, but I chased some fireflies and generally enjoyed the fine copse of pine trees on a hillside. I could probably fly home from here — it is that close — but I wanted Shelly to share the finish line with me.

I really blended in with the deep forest vegetation.