Today we began the section of the ICW that cuts north through the creeks and rivers of North Carolina and Virginia to its ultimate destination in Norfolk. Instead of mega-mansion beach houses the scenery is dominated by miles of marsh grass, trees, open bays and rivers, normal sized houses and several towns which have (or want to) become cruising destinations such as Oriental and Belhaven, NC. We have anchored at the northern end of the Pungo River at the entrance to the Alligator - Pungo Canal, surrounded by open space, marsh and forest and about a dozen other cruising boats. Our underway was delayed a bit this morning while we respected the Law of Gross Tonnage and waited for tugs to dock a monstrous Norwegian freighter just behind us.