Oh yes, what a wonderful surprise! I got a message early in the morning that globe trotting balloonist & blogger Dahlia Jayaram was nearing the Nishijima sim and wanted to land at Yordie’s Zen Garden. I knew Dahlia from discovering her blog as a member of Second Life Bloggers, and I’d read of her amazing ballooning expedition, The Great Balloon Adventure across the Second Life continents. So I was thrilled that she’d made it to my corner of the world and gave her the go ahead for a landing.

Dahlia arrived with her 1st mate, MsPaddles Ninetails. They managed to land perfectly right in front of the teahouse. Speaking from past experience, landing any kind of aircraft is tricky business in SL. And there they were safe on the ground.

I was very eager to meet Dahlia because I could really identify with her quest. Readers from olden times might recall my land expeditions in 2008. I share Dahlia interest in seeing this great land, the Second Life continents. After a brief tour of the Zen garden, we made our way thru the bamboo forest to the Harvest Moon Cafe. And after showing the ladies the sights, we sat down to chat. Unfortunately, Ms Paddles had to leave early, but Dahlia and I continued.

For whatever reason, I felt immediately comfortable with Dahlia and we had so much to talk about. For example, she started her balloon adventure in January of this year and for 150 days straight, she flew every day. How cool is that! I also learned that in her travels, she sees very few people on the land, there just aren’t many people around. You really must read her blog (it’s in my blog list in the right column) to get an idea of the scope of her adventure. Another thing, I think our avatars create a real impression about who the person is on the other side of the pixels, and Dahlia has a truly beautiful and unique avatar.

We talked for quite awhile and I visited her home, where she live in an amazing tent, has a wonderful vegetable garden, and where we swung on her swing set and continued talking. Unfortunately, I had to cut the visit short as there were real life issues to deal with. Thanks for dropping in, Dahlia. I’ll continue following your adventure and, yes, I accept your offer to go up as 1st mate soon. And hope to see more of you in the coming year.

Note to self: When you think you’ve seen everything and know everyone in Second Life, just remember that one day an amazing adventurer might drop right from the sky. hehe