In the Rough - The Blog of Joel McDonald Jr.

I decided to go for a drive today, and my plan was to go out to Sandbridge Beach to take some pictures. Once I got to Sandbrige, I didn’t see anything of real interest. Mostly the area has been spoiled by summer beach cabins and no parking signs. After leaving the area, I hopped on Princess Anne Rd. heading south, which eventually turned into 615 South, also known as Refuge Road.. This road winds though what is called the Roanoke, Tar, Neuse, Cape Fear Ecosystem in North Carolina. Zooming though the marshlands (because that’s what you do in a Mazda…Zoom, Zoom), and watching the fisherman out in their boats waiting on their next catch, and the seagulls diving down to the water to grab theirs, made for a wonderful afternoon. Unfortunately, there weren’t many places to stop and park to take pictures, but I took advantage of the areas that were available.

For those wondering how I managed the trip in regards to the Mazda’s manual transmission, I’m happy to report that the trip out to the end of 615 South, through the marshlands, etc., went wonderfully. As soon as I reentered the city and had to deal with traffic lights, I stalled at least twice at each light. After the first few lights, I was quite frustrated and seemed to do nothing right with the car.