Seagull Island Park

By Bixyl Shuftan

Several years ago in 2008, JamesT Juno's Second Life Newspaper wrote about the Germania sims. Among them was Seagull, owned by Angel Baxter and her partner. There were a number of them, with numerous places for boating, underwater ruins for mermaids, old castles for exploring, wilderness areas, and a residential and shopping area. Seagull then was a mix of shops on the oceanfront, and houses further inland. Today. the Germania sims are gone, but Seagull remains, as "Seagull Island Park." I recently met up again with Angel, where she showed me around the place.

Angel told me the sim had been completely redone. Her partner had in mind the goal of making it look like a Norwiegen fjord, with tall hills. But there would be no snow and ice here, not even in winter. Angel told me they found changing the place over would be too much trouble.

The area intended as the entrance is the docks, which has a pier area with a few buildings, including a general store, and some seats and chairs. Some of the chairs on the pier are for a fishing game there, with a caught shark on display not far away for decoration. This is not a 7Seas game, but there are cash prizes given out every so often for the three biggest fish caught. A few birds and dragonflies are also there, either flying around or standing on a pier post. There's an ice cream stand and a fish n' chips stall where one can pick up a snack. Strangely enough, there's also a Bloodlines mini store where a vamp short on blood can pick up a quart. There's also a short stretch of beach and a one room beachhouse to the east.

To the northeast is a small nude beach, the only place on the island where public nudity is permitted. It's fenced off at ground level with a sign warning against peeping and oggling. Besides lying in the sun and swimming, there's also dancing available at this spot. Just offshore is a lighthouse. Angel told me her partner based it off a real-life one, but didn't know it's history.

Not far from the beach are some ruins, presumably of a castle or similar structure, which are ideal not just for sightseeing, but also to take pictures of. There's also an ancient circle of stones, and a build resembling Stonehenge somewhat. There's also a lookout tower.

Around the sim are several cabins, which can be rented on a weekly basis. They range in size from small and basic to having a separate bedroom, kitchen, and living area. Some of the buildings have a roof of sod and grass, which acts as a natural insulation. There's also a campsite reserved for the Second Life Boy Scouts.

Around the sim are various critters. These are not static, but wander around a little. They include weasels, sheep, crows, cats, and others. The sim is not flat land, but very hilly, with streams and waterfalls. In places there are log bridges and wood walkways. One walkway leads up the hill to the high point of the sim where there's a vacation house with a deck. Near one corner is a humming noise. It turned out to be from a hornets' nest. Not good!

Walking back down from the house was a path of stone steps, with a few circular stones along the side of the trail. I think Angel told me they were for some puzzle way back. There was also a huge stone scuplture set into the rock of the hill. I think Angel told me it was supposed to be a troll.

Eventually, Angel's tour ended where it began, at the pier. She told me that a friend of hers would soon be opening a club in the area, but in a skybox far above the sim. This would be an adult-rated club with strippers on dance poles: a contrast between the park atmosphere of most of the place at ground level.

So if you have a moment, stop by and have a look around. This is a sim that stands out.

Seagull Islands, Seagull (168, 167, 22)

Bixyl Shuftan