Balloon Adventure Update: Week 27

I completed Week 27 of the Great Balloon Adventure in early October and am just now getting around to picking through my flight notes to post a blog that highlights some of the more interesting sights I've seen along the way. My summer and autumn have been extremely busy both in RL and SL, resulting in quite a challenge for me to find a decent block of time to concentrate on a focused flight. On occasion, I've even taken to flying during the overnight hours so I can make up for progress lost due to other activities. So it is with my apologies that I have taken from August until early October to string together a measly seven days of flying.

Nevertheless, in the seven days I HAVE flown, I can see now that I've covered roughly 40% of the Corsica continent...a greater distance than it ever felt like until looking at my progress map just now. Considering that, I've seen a LOT of interesting places to report on, so without further adieu, here is the cream of the crop of highlights from the western half of Corsica!:

> Baitoushan Intercontinental Airport is a large, Executive Class ground-level public airport residing on the southwestern shores of Corsica. It has two well lit 200mX30m runways, a few plane hangers for rental, a few shops, and a very large international airport terminal with a striking row of flags to places in the world your SL plane could never reach. Underneath the airport is a beach, marina and Second Life Coast Guard station. A spaceport 3000m above the airport can be accessed via a transporter located in the vendor area on the second floor of the terminal.

> Right next door to the north of Baitoushan IA, is the town of DeMortesville town in Tengchong. DeMortesville can boast to be one of Second Life's true full towns, complete with a multitude of services one would expect to find in RL. This role playing town has both commercial and residential tennants. After I had landed at Baitoushan International, I walked through the town to find a place to stay overnight. The town's mayor, Sandy Morlim, was kind enough to provide some background about DeMortesville and offered to check me in to the local hotel free of charge, which I appreciated very much! It was so nice to find a room with a hot shower and big bed to overnight in for a change.

> Skeptical Buddists Sangh in Railrider

Here you can walk the Virtual Buddhist Eightfold Path, an 8-fold path the Buddha taught recreated as a virtual path offering an explanation of the way Buddhists live all over the world. Plain English descriptions of the basic concepts of Buddhism are offered along the way, and you can even take copies of the banners if you like.

> Marina Sport Racer Sailing Club in Ghloogums. One of the rare northern sailing club and marina's beyond of the Blake Sea, this one still gets the job done with offerings for sailing, power boating, windsurfing, scuba diving water-Skiing, wake boarding, swimming, and team racing.

> RLetc at Gulf Of Moles in Lisselmain. Now, I have to admit that I seriously don't know anything about social gaming online, but RLetc sounded impressive in its description and worth mentioning for those who might know better than me!: "RLetc is a free online community dedicated to adult virtual worlds, both social and gaming, and those who spend time in these those worlds. Currently we have members using Second Life, Utherverse, Opensim, IMVU, Twinity, Startrek Online, Eve Online and just about any other worlds we stumble upon. Think of RLetc.com as being kinda like the Mos Eisley Cantina from Star Wars where world weary travelers from all points of the metaverse can kick back and shoot the breeze for a while."

> Twills Muse Group in Kierman: a really striking record player and records levitate at 450m up in the sky. Full of delightful musical and especially Beatles memorabilia, it offers "a great place to kick back, relax, just be. Explore the caves, romantic nooks, dancing, sail, elven drums othello, backgammon, meditation, ice skating, rodeo bull, love treehouses, rugs, gift boxes, baku boho, christmas, skirts clothes, fashion," and more.

> PUCP-Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru in Showashinzan: Reunión, trabajo formación. Auditorio Sandbox Idiomas Education Arte Español Educación Perú Peruano Enseñanza Aprendizaje Docencia Estudios Superiores University Spanish Art Learning.

> Temple of the Prim, Kwaito: this temple high atop a hill is owned by the Linden Department of Public Works and shows an old map from the early days of SL inside. Could there be some hidden secret or treasure around? It made me feel very "Indiana Jones" while I was there!

> Airport LaTour in Gorgonzola: the only airport in the north of Corsica continent. For medium and small planes, they have hangars and vendors available for rent.

> Waterfall by Vanity Mole in Evora. A wide and delightful waterfall that cascades down a rocky slope near Route 8. Very well constructed!

> Virtual Sayama City! in Exomorogon: An urban area with streets decorated by Japanese festival banners, Virtual Sayama Circuit is a go cart race course. I remember having been there on an earlier occasion during a Japanese holiday. During that time photos were on display of the holiday street festival processions and had explanations of what the many decorations were.

> Classy Village Commons in Zimnago and Norstrilia is a nice little village neighbourhood of homes nestled around and along the slopes of a towering hill of baren rock protruded upward, and topped with a small country church. Large letters spelling "CLASSY" are set along the hillside and reminiscent of the letters for HOLLYWOOD in real life. From the top of the hillsideone can look out over the southern aspects of Corsica and perhaps on a good day, even see the northern coastline of Nautilus.

> Suboceana in Wyrldmaker is on the southernmost island between Corsica and Nautilus. It provides a good central location for more than 30 connected ocean sims filled with sea life, treasure and many other surprising things! You can go scuba diving, sail boats, yachts, use Heps Virtual Dive Systems, rentals, scooters, and more.

> Degrand Info Hub in Degrand: If you ever started out as a newbie on a desolate island with seemingly no way off of it, this might be where you began your first day in SL! Degrand is in the southern sea of Corsica, about halfway between its far eastern and western continental shores. Within the past year, a new sailing route opened up between southern Corsica and northern Nautilus, not far from here. If only you had known, right?