Truckin'

Today was a long ass day of driving, 14 hours of driving!! I made it to Keystone, South Dakota and now the real trip begins.  I don't know if I am more scared to stay in this seedy motel or camp in the pure darkness, the no mans land that is South Dakota.  My first night of camping will be tomorrow, I got in too late to have to set up camp tonight after all that driving.  I will continue to post a photo and song on Instagram but I may not be able to update the blog if I have no internet/cell reception.  Today I listened to a lot of podcasts.  If anyone doesn't listen to podcasts I highly recommend them for long commutes to work or airplanes.  Some of my favorite series are of course Serial, Strangers, Lady Lovin', This American Life, the list goes on.  Going with my song of the day theme I listened to a Lady Lovin' podcast which had Adrienne Elrod, communications director for Hillary for America, on their show.  Now I am not a political person.  I honestly can't understand why it seems that the entire country doesn't want either one of these candidates and yet we are pretty much forced to choose between the lesser of two evils.  On Lady Lovin' Lo Bosworth, who for those of you don't know was best friends with Lauren "LC" Conrad from the reality show The Hills and various spins-offs, and her two friends Jilly and Greta talk about empowering woman, relationships, sex, careers, and anything else going on in the lives of woman in their early thirties.  After listening to an hour of this podcast I was like, "Okay! I have made my final decision. Hillary it is.  She is experienced.  She has plans. She is a strong leader and a strong woman."  Now obviously this was a one-sided podcast where everyone was very much in favor of Hillary and brought up none of her negatives and there are plenty.  The bottom line is at the beginning of the election I thought for sure I was voting for Trump but as time goes on and he continues to make himself look worse and worse, I just don't know anymore.  It really isn't like me to discuss politics but I arrive in Keystone to visit Mt. Rushmore it seemed like an appropriate topic.

Song of the day "Good to Be Alive Today" Michael Franti and Spearhead

The reason for this song is talk about happiness from a global perceptive.  Last night sitting on a rooftop bar having a drink with Rob's sister Amy and her friend and co-worker Loren discussing how
doomed we felt as Americans between these two nominees.  We reflected back to four years ago and  how pissed off everyone was that Obama was going to stay in office for another four years.  Look at us now?  We have a country divided over these two individuals, that is anyone really satisfied with or just settling for?  Loren was explaining to us that the new president elected in the Philippines, where she is from, just started a war on drugs.  The plan he has implemented involved shooting dead all drug lords, drug dealers, and drug addicts. So far 1,900 people have died since he took office in June.  These are just political examples?!  There is also illness, poverty, a million problems that will never be solved.  My point is that you can seek your own personal happiness but in the current state of the world we live in, it is impossible to achieve ultimate happiness, would it mean that "love had won, the world was saved, and everyone could say its good to be alive today".  When I arrive in San Diego I am going to find an organization I am passionate about to volunteer at.  Volunteering was always a part of the curriculum in pharmacy school and I always enjoyed it.  In our day to day lives time is always a factor but I will definitely have the time, and I know it will be fulfilling and bring happiness. Aro wooooo!!!!!