512: Elzhea's Coffe Stop and Garden (Catalpa)

 

I've watched this parcel with interest, having owned it for several months and sold it on when I'd still failed to work out how to best use its narrow shape and stepped terrain.

It is surrounded by abandoned land, but the parcel adjoining to the south once held the delightful Ticket Station at Catalpa. An embarkation point with decking and woodland arranged in a lovely little hangout area behind the tiny ticket building. It's therefore particularly delightful to find another embarkation point and hangout area has grown up here. It's almost a mirror of the old Ticket Station.

Out front is a rez area and a garage containing a Ford pickup by Myuki Mills. Behind this, a mystical, pink tree gives both light and shade to a decked seating area. From the decking are views of the cartoonish trees that flank the D-Lab station, the hillside and a be-castled residence towards the ocean.

Purpose: There's nothing being sold or advertised here. It's just an unpretentious offering of SL hospitality of the best kind: a place to rez a vehicle, a place to sit, and a couple of curiosities. There is 50LI left to rez stuff on a 30 minute return. Presumably it is also useful to the owner, who has parked a car in the garage.

For a "coffee stop", there's no coffee available, so I guess you bring your own - which is fair enough considering how many cups of coffee most of us have in inventory (one rainy day I'm going to wear them all just for the buzz).

Location: Even though it is surrounded by abandoned land, the parcel has access to the railway and the road at this point where the two run in parallel. Catalpa lies on the South Eastern Branch of the SLRR, and it is best approached by rail. D-Lab has the strongest presence in area. It's just where an explorer would be happy to find a place to park after traversing several regions of mostly abandoned greensward.

Look and Feel: The pastel pinks, light mint green, citrus yellow and blueberry hues on the build invoke battenburg cake and neapolitan ice cream and are gentle on the eye. After dark, the tree casts a pleasant pink, cool blossom light. The focal point of the seating area is a patterned egg lamp, which is beautiful to look at and radiates warmth. The assortment of chairs seems to offer something for anyone's taste: from the traditional barrel seat, to the couple's bench. Additional seating is found in an unusual and circa-2005-looking rail vehicle that doesn't seem to be driveable any more.

There is a pleasing openness to this parcel, some nice counterpoint between the natural and built shelters of the garage and tree, and the egg lamp brings a coziness into the cool, dispersed light of the tree. In a very economical way, the creator has succeeded in creating a distinct sense of space and a friendly atmosphere.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Catalpa/203/29/63