Yes, I am the one
responsible for this here lil' ol' website that you are currently surfing.
Blame it on my
parents. Yep, it's their fault. One of my earliest, most thrilling memories is driving up, up, up
the dark and creepy road that curved it's way up the mountain to the
Piedmont House... El Paso's local "haunted house,"
which lies at the very edge
of the god-forsaken dead end road on the mountain's edge. It's a looming, malignant
looking place perched on the shelf of rocky terrain, it positively glares down at
you when you drive past. I remember huddling in the backseat with my siblings, peeking
just over the edge of the windows in anticipation as we drew nearer to the spooky dead-end
of the street where the house stood... and where our Dad would inevitably, always
turn off the lights and motor and feign a breakdown just as we pulled up next to the
place!!! And we'd fall for it every time... hugging each other and squealing in
delighted terror as Dad frantically tried to "re-start" the car so we could make
our escape from the haunted old dwelling! It was the best. I also loved it when
they took us on road trips to magical, timeless places like the incredible, ancient
Gila Cliff
Dwellings, the living ghost town of Tombstone, or the magnificent underground bat-inhabited kingdom of Carlsbad Caverns.
I found it amazing and exciting that there were places like this to be found just about
anywhere, if only you were looking for them. It made everyday things like riding the bus
home from school into tantalizing treasure hunts as I peered out of the windows in search
of things hidden and unexplored. Finding magic through a car window became, and still is,
my passion. I admit it, I'm totally obsessed.
Wandering is in my blood. My heritage is
Welsh-Italian; the Welsh people
have always had a strong history as explorers and map-makers (much of this country was
mapped by Welshmen), and our
Italian
ancestors had wandering gypsy natures (my family originated from Genoa, the place
Christopher Columbus was from) Traveling was a huge thing in our family for as long as I
can remember, we took trips constantly... I think I've always had that wandering urge.
When I got my first set of wheels, I spent hours just driving, driving, driving
with the windows down and my music blaring. It was back then that I began to cruise around
and try my damnedest to get lost on purpose, and then enjoy my explorations as I tried to
find my way back... something that I still loooove to do to this day. Exploration
set me free; I remember the excitement of stumbling across ancient ruined remains
of ghost towns while wandering out in the deserts around El Paso. And I remember the
peaceful enjoyment of exploring and shooting photos of some of the area's
legendary old missions,
which are some of the oldest structures in this country. There was so much waiting to be
found... enough to occupy my curiosity for many lifetimes, an endless opportunity for
discovery. When I was a little older, and I got my first "nice" car- a cute
little Saturn SL- I began to venture further... first to the neighboring state of
New Mexico, and then
Arizona,
California... when my Sis got older, she
would come along with me, and we had a blast exploring our way from the desert wastelands
of Texas
to the beautiful beaches of the West Coast.... wandering the lushly gorgeous Riverwalk and the ghostly,
majestic Alamo in San Antonio...
driving through the eerie swamplands of Louisiana into New Orleans, and the lavishly decadent celebration of Mardi Gras...
those trips with her are all some my happiest memories. Road trips and getting lost have
always shaped my life.
Back when I first moved from
Texas to Jersey, I was really homesick, and definitely LOST. Everything was soooooo
very different from what I was used to, it was pretty disorienting. It was compounded by
the fact that I sold my beloved Saturn to help finance my move; for awhile I had no way to
get around... aggggh... torture. Buuuut... then I got a great new set o'wheels-
my Shady Lady, a tricked out little
Rav4 and watch out- I was mobile again!! It was time
to take advantage of being lost. With my trusty camera slung
around my neck, I began to explore. I first started out by looking for certain
things I had seen along some of the roads nearby, usually by myself. I
got lost a LOT at first, and less lost as time went on and my sense of territory grew. I bought
some maps. I explored some roads. Then, I was learning my way around... and it was
gratifying in a kind of funny way when a New Jersey native marveled at how I'd found
things in Jersey that they never even knew existed.
Then, to make it even better,
the entire Scooby Gang made their way into the adventures one
by one. And as we spanned the Garden State's many hidden, wacky corners
on our many crazy road trips, well, usually, we just got
lost, and found things along the way. That really sums up this site,
actually. The more we explored, the more we learned, the more we loved
our weird wonderful quirky state. And the more this site
grew- I started out online by posting and sharing
some of the many pics of the weird and incredible places I was collecting
during these trips with
my family and
friends. That grew into it's very own dot com (you're on it now) that somehow
kept expanding and expanding as our explorations racked up. Although I am the
webmistress of the site, I am not the
leader so to speak... maybe more like the driver of the online vehicle. I work on it constantly and
put a lot into it. It's hard work, but it's also great fun (and I hope that you guys have
been enjoying the ride as well!)
After spending a few amazing years in New
Jersey, I had a job offer back in Texas which I couldn't pass up, so I packed
my things and headed across the country to yet a new home in the beginning of 2003. Now
I am living back in my hometown of El Paso again, and exploring the Southwestern lost stuff- it's dusty desert ghost
towns, forgotten Old West graveyards, ancient missions and mysterious
legends. And of
course, I still have tons of pics from my NJ explorations that I have yet to post, so
there is lots more to come on both fronts. So, stay tuned!
Now, you've seen my
website work, joined me and my Gang on some wild and weird road
trips... wanna visit my online lair? I just moved in, and I'm discovering that the place
is a bit... haunted. Come visit my personal homepage and find out what I
mean...
+Shade's Virtual Lair+
Questions, comments, suggestions,
complaints? Send 'em to shady@lostdestinations.com
Want
to purchase any of my original photographs...?
O W N A P I E C
E O F L O S T H I S T O R Y:
All
of my pics are available for purchase as
high-quality prints on Kodak glossy paper, in 5x7 or 8x10 size; framing
is available. Click
here to order!
|
