Hugo's Beat
Along Chesapeake Walk
[Hugo is a four year-old (going on five, he claims), 20-pound French bulldog, black with two white paws -- his homage to diversity. He patrols AotB avenues with a keen nose for street life, especially sniffables. An ambitious writer, he digs his namesake Victor, and occasionally offers his sniffings to readers of The PIER. The translation from his native barque is strictly the fault of the Editor.]
This is a magical spot in our community. Other places can have their "Chesapeake Avenues;" WE have a WALK -- even though it used to bear a railway line (don't ask me how I know that).
Formally designated as "undeveloped green space," it's turned white today (March 3), but that's okay, for it remains a wonderful strip to stroll, open exclusively to AotB pets -- and their
appropriate property owners.
So as I walked the Walk (and barked the Bark) today, just picking up fresh scents for this column, I had to cope with six inches of new snow -- tough for an animal with four-inch legs. But it was lovely and I was glad to see all that marker fluid still rolling and sloshing in the Bay.
My leash-holder doesn't let me paw through the community Directory, so I can't fit names to properties. Still I can tick off the highlights, from north to south. Note, please, that even a well-bred, property-owning dog can't reach the Walk from Cedar Avenue, because of something called erosion; somebody ought to do something about that [Editor: somebody is; read elsewhere]. So you come up from the south at Linden Avenue, turn around halfway between Walnut and Cedar and head back south again.
At the northern end you pass a few respectable houses that look over your head at the Bay; some of them could use a quiet dog or two, to give the place some style. Then there is that one Egyptian queen who proves she owns the yard inside her fence; she can be scary at times, but means no harm. Anyhow, I'm used to exciting plenty of other sisters and brothers who bark from the safety of their enclosures even along the normal (paved) streets. The Walk's no different -- and you can't stop canine charisma.
Across Walnut, there's the delightful place that's AotB's version of Disney World, with spinners and flyer things, crab lures, and lots of other amusements. I enjoy playing among them, and I leave my calling card.
Then there are some imposing structures south of Disney World, one with a spectacular garden (though all white today), another that even has a discreet sign welcoming us to the Walk, another festooned by busy family life. It all ends at Linden Avenue, after three and one-half blocks. What's not to love?
For some reason, my leash-holder likes to scan the horizon from the Walk, making sure that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is still there, as well as the Big Bridge, Highland Beach (with its Douglass House), and Venice (where I'm told dogs get seasick in the gondolas). Me, I just read the scents, Nature's own living museum.
