The Further Adventures of the Dread Pirate Petal

Ahoy! The Unicorn set sail from Murray. My mission? Find cool stuff underwater, and sail north to Heterocera while passing Bay City on the way!

(by the way, did you see what Auntie installed on the sides?  ARR!  No quarter, mateys!)

A Kid Avatar's Guide to SL9B Builds

So, holy cow, SL9B already!!  SLB's are like my favorite time of the year. So this year I got a free camera at the Bay City build (yay, thanks!) and went to see what's some good spots for kids like me to visit. It doesn't mean these builds are not for adults! It just means that their they're good for kids. Also this isn't all of the places good for kids to see either. It's just some that I saw today.

Willowdale Elementary A couple classrooms, a locker room, a football field, and lots of good stuff about being a school-age kid. That's real good because not all kids are babies!!

First Church of Rosedale It's got a merry-go-round, lots of yummy food (ICE CREAM!) and the most epic waterslide EVER. You can't go to SL9B without going on this!!

Horse Events Make sure you stop here and get a FREE PONY!!!

Dench Designs A scout camp setup with a free dog!

Second Life Children Did you know that one time kids weren't even allowed at SLB?! It's true!! Go here and learn about stuff kids in SL can do, and even how adults can turn into kids!!!

Ahoy, mateys!

The bold pirate Captain Petal is looking for shipmates for a special occasion. Be ye brave souls, willing to adventure on the high seas? Then piece together this Letter of Marque and see how you can join!

Say hello to Bug!

Joline (left), me (Petal)(middle), and our new friend Bug (right) at the surfing display at SL8B.

The story of how we met Bug and how she became one of our gang coming soon!!!

PONY!!!!

More SL8B

Happy Birthday Second Life!!!!

Free cool stuff I got at SL8B: the Cake Top Hat (for Tinies but apparently also for kids), the necklace, and the T-Shirt

Cats and Coastal Towns: Day 12

Early in the morning we rescued a kitty cat.  The poor guy was nearly drownded near the docks.  I heard him yell and Joline and I ran down to the dock and got him out of the water.  He was paniced panicced paniked freaked out.  Soon as he was on dry land he shook the water off him and booked it far away and hid.

But after we had our breakfast at the diner in Bolinas, he walked right over to me and started snuggling and purring!  He was all dry now.  He let me pet him and pick him up and now he's one of our group.

Look at that face!  We named him Max the Wonder Cat.  If I can't take him home after all this, then I hope I'll find a good home for him.  But I hope mom lets me keep him!!!

((OOC note: Max the Wonder Cat came from here.))

The roads are all opened now and the newspapers say the volcanoes far away have all calmed down.  So it was safe for us to ride again.

Mermaid Story Night

Seanchai Library, Imagination Island

A very good and family-friendly way to spend Thursday night at 7PM SLT: stories at the Library.  Here Shandon is in a Merman costume, telling stories about mermaids.

Presenting: Max the Wonder Cat!

I rescued a stray kitty today.  He's my best fuzzy buddy now.  His name is Max.  I feed him and take good care of him.  He likes to sit up on my shoulder.  Say hi, Max!

A Birthday for Petal?

Petal has been nine and a half since her creation in March of 2009. I like the idea of an ageless character; the idea that while my RL nieces get older (despite my demanding that they stop it right this minute!) Petal will never be too big or too old to just be an adventurous kid.

However, one of the joys of childhood is birthdays. Cake, presents, all that good stuff. I'm pondering the idea of giving Petal her one and only SL birthday, in which she turns 10 and stays there. But I'm curious to hear what other people think.





Let me pre-empt comments by saying I don't care if you don't like child avatars. Move on to another blog if that's the case. This isn't a blog for that sort of discussion. Nobody's interested in hearing your tired and rehashed old rant about how they "creep you out" etc.

Petal texts her mom

In case you haven't heard the news, there has been volcanic activity and earthquakes occuring off the coast of Sansara, just west of Abbots.  Bolinas was barely affected, but as a safety measure, roads have been closed and flights grounded for a while.

Don't worry, Our Heroines are safe and sound, but their travels have been temporarily put on hold.  Stay tuned to see what happens next.

In the meantime, Petal has racked up 11km so far for her fundraiser.  Click here to read about it and to sponsor her.

The Voyage of the Unicorn: Day 11

Petal in the Labyrinth

This song was in my head tonight as I explored the Hedge Maze. I couldn't sleep, so while Joline was asleep I thought I'd check it out.

The trick to finding your way out of a maze, Auntie told me one time, is to follow along one wall as far as you can. Well finally I got to this strange glowy hedge, and I saw bright sparklies drifting by from above. They were really beautiful.

Help Petal raise Ls for Charity!

Ladies and gentlemen!  Petal will be resetting her odometer to 0 starting May 1st.  Why, you ask?  Because from May 1st through June 31st, she will be logging her distance traveled and collecting sponsors per virtual km to raise funds for Love146, an organization that fights child trafficking and provides aftercare to survivors.

How can you help?
Either post a comment here, or send Petal (username Petal LittleBoots) or a NC inworld with the following information:

• Your SL name
• How many Ls you pledge per km

If you want to just make a lump-sum contribution, you can either send USD via PayPal to jennifer@love146.org , or lindens to Lovey (username Love146 Serendipity).

To give you an idea how many kms you may be sponsoring, so far Petal has covered roughly 13km.  She rides once per week on average, and the event covers 8 weeks.  She'll be pedaling extra far for this event, so if you're not sure how many lindens you can spare, you might want to make a lump-sum contribution to Lovey.

Thank you for supporting this important cause!

This virtual event coincides with the RL event Tread on Trafficking.  To support Mistletoe's RL team, click here.

Attack of the Giant Blue Nipple Guy: Day 10

At last, it's time for a new update from those intrepid explorers, Petal and Joline, as they explore the roads of Second Life!  Day 10 marks a bit of a milestone for Petal, as she reaches (and exceeds) 100 sims visited since her trip began.

So far they've been on hot air balloons, flying pods, ski jumps, ice skates, and of course their trusty bikes.  What new exciting experiences will Petal and Joline discover on Day 10?  Read on to find out!

The sun was rising at YavaScript's touring pod station in Durango.  Joline took this picture while I was still asleep.

Recovering: Day 9

It's time to check in with our intrepid young adventurers, Petal and Joline, as they explore the roads of Sansara on their bikes. No flying, no TPing unless stuck, photographing and blogging as they go.

When last we left off, Joline had gotten a bad cold while they were staying in the Chamonix City sims, so they stayed a while longer while Joline recouperated. Petal's mom Clover shipped some of her famous chicken soup to the Chamonix City Post Office. And sure enough, Joline was feeling better after a good, warm night's sleep.

In the Warming Hut by the fishing pond, we sat by the fire and planned out our route. We got out our maps and our phones and decided we'd go back out of Chamonix City, pick up our bikes where we left them at Off Sides, then get back on the main road in Braggiani. From there, we'd follow the Amundsen Road, which went south and looped back up north on the other side of the mountain.

Petal's New Gig: Day 8

Brief OOC note:  in the original posting at Mistletoe Ethaniel's Blog, this was part 2 of Day 7.  However because of scheduling conflicts (which were RPed as Joline having a cold), it seems more realistic that another day or so would go by.  So, this is now Day 8.

It's been a busy adventure for Petal and her new BFF Joline. They've been riding along the roads in Sansara on their bikes, making discoveries and blogging about what they see. When last we left the intrepid nine-year-old and her BFF, they had discovered Chamonix City. Joline fell ill with a bad cold, and so she and Petal decided to stay put until she felt better. As Joline got some rest and plenty of fluids, Petal (in her restlessness) went out and about in Chamonix City to see what she could see. It's a short update, since they're staying put for now.

I don't know if you know it, but I LOVE hockey. And my new favorite team is the Mustangs. Because, hello, horse for a mascot!

Warmth Amid the Cold: Day 6

Yes, once again, it's time to check in with our intrepid nine-year-old explorer, Petal, as she makes her way along the Mainland roads on her bike. When last we left off, Petal had left her bike in Belmondo, got carried away in a sleigh ride to Moritz, climbed a mountain, and snowboarded all the way to the Infohub in Anzere. Let's see if she can find her way back to the road and her bike.

Deep in the mountains, in the Snowlands, is the Anzere Infohub. I had hot cocoa and a good night's rest, but now it was time to get back to Belmondo and my bike. I hoped it wasn't towed while I was away, because with only a couple Ls to my name, I'll have a hard time getting a new one!

Day 4, Part 2

Brief OOC note: This was originally published Feb. 9, 2011 at Mistletoe Ethaniel's Blog.




It's time once again to check in with Petal, that intrepid nine-year-old explorer as she pedals her way along the main roads on the Mainland. Today being what would have been Jules Verne's birthday, it seemed especially apt to include her visit to the Jules Verne Museum. So here we go...