Frisco, NC – May 5 – 7, 2022

The ferry ride to Frisco was uneventful. We were pretty excited about camping at Frisco campground, since we spent an afternoon in the area last year. Like Ocracoke campground, the campsites have no electricity or water. Also, the showers are cold. We would be using our new generator there, also.

Frisco is a very quiet section of the Outer Banks, especially before Memorial Day. The area seems to be mostly very large, ocean-front vacation homes. There are few restaurants and bars, none of which were open air or ocean-front. Most were not open until 5pm during off-season. We opted to cook in the campground and enjoy the outdoors.

We had great weather and spent a couple of afternoons at the beach. The surf and winds were picking up, as a major Atlantic storm was on it’s way. We checked out the Graveyard of the Atlantic museum, which is very small and covers far less ship wreck history than we expected. It was worth seeing, though.

We were watching the weather forcast the entire time and deciding if we would cancel our stay in Nags Head, at Oregon Inlet. We also had reservations at Assateague Island National Seashore, in Maryland. It became clear that the weather was going to be miseralble at both places, so we developed another plan.  The National Park Service issued a warning about coastal flooding, expected the afternoon of May 8. We knew we had to leave Hatteras Island well before noon, or risk being trapped there by flooded roads. With a near 30-degree temperature drop overnight, we hitched up and headed out into the strong wind and rain, away from the coast and bad weather, toward Williamsburg, VA.

(For more on the Outer Banks, check out my posts: Outer Banks, NC – Cape Hatteras National Seashore – April 30 – May 25, 2021, Parts 1 & 2, when we spent almost a month there)

Slushie, enjoying the ferry ride to Frisco
Our campsite at Frisco Campground
Our campsite at Frisco Campground
The long boardwalk between the Frisco campground and the beach. It was here that I saw what appeared to be a 3-4 foot Cottonmouth, coiled up, head up about 6 inches, mouth wide open and looking ready to strike at me. Dave and I scurried around it, staying as far away as we could, while some people behind us stopped with their dog, to take pictures of it. No thanks! I did not return to this area.
Hatteras Light Station, Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The lighthouse was closed while we were there, this year and last year.
Crab cakes and shrimp from South Carolina. We were happy to have our freezer stocked since the fish market in Frisco had no fish. We did score some fresh tuna by showing up at the marina, when a fishing boat had just come in.
Filling the water tank at Frisco Campground
Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, Frisco, NC
Bell from the Diamond Shoal Lightship No. 71 (LV-71), built in 1897, sunk in 1918 by a German submarine during WWl
The original 1854 Capetteras Lighthouse Fresnel Lens in the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. This was the highlight of our visit to the museum.
Our new Generac 3000i generator. It has a noise rating of 40 db, compared with 70 db (our bigger generator). It weighs only 60 lbs and fits in the bed of our truck, even when towing. It has 3000 starting watts and 2300 running watts, which runs everything we need except A/C. It’s the quietest generator we have come across, while camping. Many people stopped by to ask us about it.