Balloon Adventure Update: Week 24 (including Nautilus)

The conclusion of Week 24 of The Great Balloon Adventure found me pulling into Elinor Airport, in Bertaggia, Nautilus with passenger Mandor Darkwatch. The six days before, I wrapped up my extraordinary flight through the Blake Sea & Island Communities when I touched down on Spyglass Island—and it was from there that I began my first day of flying in Nautilus.

Blake Sea & Island Communities was a dream adventure, filled with beautiful open skies, interesting people, and a reminder of how ever-changing the landscape is in our twin life existences. While I flew by day, I wrote my book by night and was keeping good pace with my actual progress on the map. And while I wrapped up writing and fact-checking what I could for the book, I continued my flying into Nautilus.

So here is my last installment of highlights from the Blake Sea & Island Communities region, and my first couple for the next flying adventure covering the continent of Nautilus:

> New England Village sims and New England Island Estates One of the biggest developments still in the process of being sorted out during my expedition was the fate of the New England Village sims. With its tier not having been paid for months, its seven sims were on the verge of collapse and sinking back into the Linden off-grid seas. I waited for a couple of weeks after completion of Week 24 to include in this blog highlight their fate, which was to in fact be removed from the grid during the first week of March, 2011. The New England Island Estates—not part of the New England Village Estates—were to then be moved down into the space vacated by the Village sims in order to maintain a link to the mainland grid.

> Sea Plane Base, Aurora If you have a sea plane, then this airport is perfect for you! A great location for reaching points north and south along the eastern island communities and still be in a nice central location to fly westward into the greater open air of Blake Sea.

> The giant stone aqueduct, Mare Nostrum Rising high above the sea, this aqueduct is dedicated to the memory of a famous Italian architect, and delivers water to the neighbouring Greenhouse atrium. The aqueduct has three sets of high arches that tall masted boats can pass through...even hot air balloons. I was graced with the video taping talents of Roberto Highfield to film my daredevil stunt flying under these overpasses just to prove that it could be done!

> The atrium and surrounding sights of Greenhouse Learn about mangrove ecology inside the impressive botanical atrium, enjoy the delightful flower field and trees, see the art gallery offerings, row a boat around the island.

> Foliage Airport, Foliage A delightful little airport with a beautiful art deco terminal building. Still one of my favourites to fly into due to the sounds of bustling passengers inside the terminal...and now with a little bar too!

> Jeremy Point, Billingsgate

My favourite mainland beach to get one of the most scenic, expansive views of the sea and New England. Some of the best sailing too!

> Tugyby League match in Santa Rosa If you like rugby and have a tugboat, you can play "Tugby"! Go check it out sometime. It looks very interesting and unique!

> Hollywood Airport, Santa Catalina I would be remiss to not mention this, the busiest airports in the region, if not all of Second Life.

> The Lighthouse, Blake Sea Crows Nest No landmark stands out quite like the Crows Nest lighthouse. Topping out at 85 meters high above the surface of the sea, it is a gigantic magnet for eyes from as far as three sims away. It was one of the first locations I knew of in the Blake Sea and it continues to be one of the most iconic of all in the region.

> Spyglass Island This mysterious looking half-bowl shaped island is surrounded by high mountainous walls on three sides and opens up on the fourth to a small bay with a short dock. If you pass through the foliage, you'll find a small camp site and if you're really paying attention, another surprise or two! I also met resident, Jeri Pinion, who frequently organizes parasailing flights starting from the area, so give her a call if you'd like to join in the fun!

> Elinor Airport and Marina, Bertaggia I met the owner, Lynn Parkin, who was very kind to tell me all about the airport she built in honour of Elinor Smith Sullivan, an aviatrix who who flew under all the bridges over the east river in New York, back in the 1910's, in the same era as Amelia Earhart flew. The airport has a great variety of things to see and do, such as the historical control tower, based on the Ford Island tower in Pearl Harbor; an LAX terminal building; a carnival; a large Jules Verne Nemo exhibit 4000 meters in the sky; and an air race track and maneuverability course complete with timed gates.