Travel Mobile

It is no secret that I have been dreaming of owning an adventure vehicle for quite some time. My first obsession was VW Westfalias, but then I realized that I have NO mechanic skills (nor do I really want to have any) so I started stalking camper vans I could re-finish. Finding a van that has good bones, an engine that runs well and something within my previous 5K price range is a bit of a stretch, but I ventured out and looked anyways. duh. 

Last year I went so far as to test drive several vans (all under 1,000$) with an intention to call it home for the following year after I left my marriage. It would seem that someone would give up on a dream when their Kickstarter campaign didn't work out, or when all of their attempts to live and work in a van didn't pan out, or years of fighting to save for a van would leave me defeated... but nope. DREAMS WILL COME TRUE. 

who isn't in love with The Nugget from Vinstage Rivivals?!

So I dream about my little van. I dream of one day being able to hit the road and pull over wherever I want and sleep..with my dogs..in my bed. I dream of waking up on the beach (it doesn't matter which one, because I have a VAN!), crawling out of bed and diving in the ocean with my dogs and my surf board. I dream of waking up on uncharted roads in California and watching the vast landscape of our country from my BED in my VAN (so cool, right?).

My heart aches for adventure, but my body slows me down. A van allows me to take in the beauty and the vastness and the magic of nature without having to hike to get there. Because lets be honest, I can't really hike anymore. I love tiny spaces, I love cozy nooks, I love being able to be in my own space while visiting with friends and family across the country. Can you imagine? being able to travel without flying (the barometric pressure really messes with POTS), being able to take photos of my friend's children all over the states, and being able to do it at my own pace. 

Now, with my dream of the in-visible project, I hope to merge my love for adventure/travel/friends/photography and capture these stories in different areas of the United States. My goal will be to target different support groups and book elopements/sessions while I am on the road.. being able to ultimately serve different parts of the US while still calling Savannah my home base. Traveling will take a bit longer, but I will have all of my medicine, comforts, animals, gear.. right at my finger tips. 

I am not really sure how, of if this dream will play out the way i invision it... but I can trust that whatever comes will be just what I need right when I need it. I can trust the dream inside my spirit and know it's intentions are pure and beautiful and that if I am open, the adventure will come. The unknown is very exciting, isn't it? 

If your curious about the research I've done, I have a few pinterest boards that I've been pinning different things to as I am curious. Here's all of the pins I've got on van interiors , here's what I've got on different space-saving living solutions for interiors (I LOVE TINY) , and here's my pinterest boards if your bored :).

A Letter of Gratitude

Over the years you guys have liked and commented and messaged here on Instagram as I have shifted this account from my blog eat.live.make ( remember those gluten-free recipes, Lacy and Meg GF, and all those DIY’s?!) to my photography business, m.newsom photography. Last year you were kind and gentle as i changed the name of my business to meg hill photo. .
Most of you have been there for me as i have navigated life with undiagnosed illnesses, job changes, some pretty awful photos as i was learning how to shoot, a diagnosis of ehlers-danlos syndrome, heartbreaks and moves and divorces and puppies and kids and friends and trips and tears and laughs. .

You have traveled with me all over the united states, and you have quite literally put food on my table when we navigated lean years while David was in nursing school. .
You have been patient with me as I navigate my faith, my relationships and my life rhythms. .
I have hurt some of you, I have loved some of you too hard, i have decorated your homes and picked blueberries with your kids. I have loved you from my bed as i painted and binged netflix. .
You have helped me get out of bed. Especially after my miscarriages and my hysterectomy. I have watched your bellies swell, i have seen you adopt and give birth to these amazingly complex little humans that I fall in love with every time I walk through your doors. I keep them in my heart as if they were my own. Thank you. .

You have loved me when i have needed it the most, your doors always open to me when i need a place to stay on my journey. Your early morning family breakfasts, your late night snuggles, and your magic hour walks have been my heartbeat as I have seen you through my lens. .
You have showed me what love looks like, and have opened my eyes to the beauty of the world around me. You have encouraged me and wiped my tears when the weight of life has been too heavy. .

Lately I find myself wiping tears from my eyes even more often than I did when the darkness surrounded me. I look around me and all I see is beauty and my heart overflows out of my eye balls. Literally. I just can’t help it. It’s like a heart-flood. .

Keep that faith you have had in me for the past, what?, seven years?! I am going through the process of finding myself. Of forgiving the hurts and healing the wounds that never seemed to scab over. I am going through this crazy process of becoming, and i honestly cannot wait to share myself with you. 
So much lies ahead that we cannot even imagine. I’d love the opportunity to give you the same gift you have given me.

Upwards and Onward to New York City

It has been a full year since i first visited New York City. Growth and change, beauty and grace along with  heartache and pain have painted the landscape of the past 365 days of my life. I was agreeing with my whole heart to venture back into the city that so rocked me merely a year ago, and felt a strange kind of peace as I packed my bag. I was asked to use my camera to capture my little cousin’s proposal to his boyfriend on stage after The Lion King. Memories of our childhood games of Nala, Simba, timone and pumba flooded my consciousness as I soared over the low country into the city that keeps launching me into the future. 

He came to my seat five times during the flight delay to make sure he had all the specs right. Did the battery unplug fully? Was there a way I could make sure it did not turn on while in the plane? Did I know the pilot had been on the phone the past 2 hours trying to get this damn mobility device in the air? I didn’t have any answers to his questions other than the documentation I had on my person. I also had a quarter. 

At the end of his rope, I tossed out an idea, “ heyyyyyy, soo what if you taped a quarter over the ‘on’ button and then put cardboard and an ass load of tape over it to keep it in place? I know, that’s pretty ghetto, but maybe it could work?” The baggage worker  looked at me with hesitation and a playful smirk in his eye. We didn’t speak the same language, so I guided him as he taped caution tape over the quarter. 

We held our breath as he “tested” his “prototype”. It worked. The segway was officially TSA ready, and I was on my way to New York City with my futureriffic mobility device under my bare feet. 

At 12:30 am i finally rolled through the doors of my safe haven in the city: Adam and Tansy’s Astoria Abode. The bed welcomed me after a long 14 hour traveling day with countless hiccups and delays. My legs were numb and my body tired, but my heart soured as I felt a sense of homecoming in my heartbeat.

“When was the last time you had a saturday to do absolutely nothing?” I asked Tansy with a yawn. We both giggled agreed that TODAY was going to be the Saturday of rest in the garden while we talked and gabbed about life and sex and friends and marriage and owning your own business and alabama and love and the future and soul mates and lovelovelovelove and beautybeautybeauty and omg i’m so happy to have a girlfriend in my life who gets me again yesssssssss. She took me to dinner to eat the best burgers. During our crash course on “using instagram stories for dummies”, we stumbled upon  the catalyst for the Sunday Funday we would spend together.

His name was Ranier and he was available for adoption and they were open ALL DAY on Sunday. We, well at least i know that i....went to bed on Saturday super excited and anxious and nervous and ready for what the next day would bring me: puppies, time with my new soul-friend AND THEN the proposal and partypartyparutyparty. The last time I danced was at Field  Trip in March. I was ready to get down with my family and my friends. I closed my eyes as my soul sighed, hopeful that tomorrow would redeem my bad experiences in THE CITY of so many dreams. 

The morning light was easy and slow as I prepped for the day ahead: did I have all of my cromolyn sodium bottles? Did I have compression socks? Spanx? Did I need more bracing for my knees? Do I look cute and are all of the ugly medicinal things I need to wear to covered? I masked the medicinal qualities of my outfit and the pain i was carrying with a beautiful dress my best friend Kim made, and a bit of makeup and lots of herbs and herbs and herbs. 

Our objectives for the day were easily attainable: visit tansy’s work studio, go find a dog (super easy), take dope photos at kirk’s proposal and not cry the whole time, hang out over the city with my friend and then dance all night. In hindsight, i realize that this was pretty ambitious. But, the pain was muted so I pushed forward. 

* all photos are film shot by meghillphoto unless otherwise stated