This year for spring break my friends and I road tripped down to North Carolina to a town called Oak Island. I knew we had our mobility journal coming up so I wanted to see what North Carolina had to offer. I noticed the presence of bike lanes and sidewalks in the specific area I was in. If you can see from the picture on the right the road is very rocky and uneven. The sidewalks were especially useful when my friends and I were walking back from the beach barefoot. As for the bike lanes, I found that they were a bit lackluster. As you can see in the picture on the left, you can see that the bike lane is just painted. There are no barriers or signs to indicate that the lane is meant for bikers only. During our trip I even noticed some bikers using the actual road lane instead of the bike lane. 

Oak Island North Carolina is right on the water so we were able to walk up and down the beach fairly easily. We also wanted to explore the boardwalk which was free for all. I liked the accessibility of this. In the past I had to pay money to have access to a boardwalk. Oak Island is right on the water and the locals ensure that their beaches are taken care of. There was a strict no bottles, and cans policy on the boardwalk as to prevent people from littering into the ocean. When it comes to a vacation spot like Oak Island, beaches tend to become overcrowded and polluted. According to National Geographic, plastic is the most common marine trash. This has resulted in harm to marine life, the infusion of microplastics in the seafood we consume, and much more. Unrestricted human activity like dumping trash into the ocean is what has led to climate change. When I was in Oak Island I noticed how clean and pristine the beaches were. I would like to attribute that to the numerous garbage cans and signs reminding us not to litter, but in reality the beaches weren't busy. Below I have included a picture I took of the sunset that we witnessed from the boardwalk.