The Chopper Chronicles

Still continuing from yesterdays post, brings me to the long anticipated Lunch Time ! After smelling a delicious sandwich for about 100 miles, ( 5 actually, but it seemed like 100 to this Sensitive Handsome Macho Pink Chihuahua nose ! ) we pulled into another little parking area beside the same canal that runs through Llangollen, just further down the road near Chirk. That Bearded Guy kept telling Mum there was a huge castle in Chirk, but we didn’t see even a glimpse of one. We trundled out of my chariot and walked just a short ways to a nice peaceful bench along this canal for lunchtime. WAY over due in My not so humble opinion, as I had already missed second breakfast ! Didn’t even Scratch and Sniff My way over to the bench I was so famished ! There were a few ducks around, but not many so I didn’t really pay them any mind.  We all sat down and That Bearded Guy unwrapped the sandwich. I am telling you, folks…ducks came from EVERYWHERE. They even came swinging out from the overhead trees, I swear it ! Big ducks, little ducks, medium sized ducks, Mallards, and even a herd of those big ol white Jemima Puddle Duck kind. Cheeky cheeky ducks…even worse than cheeky sheep !!! Never have I met such a cheeky bunch before !!! They obviously did not know who I was !!! Never before has The Grand PooBah, King of North Wales been mobbed by ducks ! Needless to say they didn’t get any of My…er…the sandwich ! I let Mum have some sandwich for driving the chariot, and I even magnanimously let That Bearded Guy have some for holding the map ( and really, all in all, he did a very decent job Navel Gatoring ) Lunch devoured, off we went to stroll along the canal again. The Chirk Aqueduct and Viaduct were this stops attraction !! Not far down the path I met up with a Westie walking his peoples back from the direction we were going. He began, by nosing respectfully, although I could feel some underlying hostility. Next thing I knew he was trying to have a go at me !!! Never in my life have I met such a cheeky bunch of creatures ! First the ducks, now this insolent Westie !! Luckily for him, his people had him leashed and scurried him away before I really let fur fly ! To make my displeasure well known I did a really deep scratching and left a reminder marker beside the canal. Rolls handsome green Chihuahua eyes…Mum, picked it up in a bag and threw it away as usual. Drums toe toes and looks indignant. She tossed it in a bin belonging to an empty holiday cottage rental beside the canal. The Bearded Guy was afraid someone would greet us on the return stroll grumpily swinging the bag and looking mean. Mum being a cheeky Yank didn’t care…. Before I knew it there we were at the aqueduct. Impressive indeed with the much taller viaduct right beside it !! The view of the Chirk River and valley far below was quite impressive. Bright green dotted with ships….er…sheep. Mum kept asking The Bearded Guy to take pictures of it and could not figure out why he was hesitant and kind of turning a funny shade of grey. THEN she remembered his distinct aversion to heights !!! I think he is contagious, because I have to say, it wasn’t too thrilling for me either ! We walked across anyway and found this really cool long dark tunnel on the other side…right behind this little sign that said ” Welcome To Wales” !!! Mum sputtered a very Irish sputter, stammered a bit, turned a funny color herself, sputtered some more, pointed at it and gave The Bearded Guy a very unusual look ! Stammered some more and finally spit out…”…You mean I ate lunch….in….( more sputters )….ENGLAND ?? ” Then she made a sound that sounded very much like a cross between an angry Donald Duck and a mad hen ! Well, I guess THAT explained those cheeky ducks and insolent Westie !!!! The Bearded Guy just looked innocent and honestly said he had forgotten it was England on the other side of the aqueduct, and went on to say it was an area that has been a border region much in dispute over the years. This made her feel better.  Mum and I wanted to walk through the long dark tunnel, but The Bearded Guy was suffering from  ‘Tall Aqua Duck Syndrome’ so we walked back across the aqueduct and watched him turn funny colors again !! Mum managed to take a picture of me half way back across, but it was veto’d during the downloading…it was not a very flattering shade of green I had turned, and it clashed with my Handsome Macho Pink Chihuahua nose. The Bearded Guy took a picture of My Mum standing next to the “Welcome To England” sign on the other side. She had something stuck to her mouth as he snapped it though ! I left enough peemails on the way back to the car to effectively reclaim the disputed border region for Wales. The dispute is now forever ended ( until it rains again anyway )! Such is the life of The Grand PooBah and King Of North Wales !  Back to My chariot and My Throne cushion position ready to steer from the aft once again, and we were off down the road to yet another destination !!!

To Be Continued……..

Looking through The Chirk Viaduct towards The Ceiriog Valley

Chirk Viaduct with a bit of the Llangollen Canal

The Chirk River

Ships in a sea of green

The Bearded Guy turning funny colors and feeling…um…woozy

Looking towards the Ceiriog Valley with a nice viaduct frame

Nice shot of both the Aqueduct and Viaduct we had just crossed

Mum with something stuck on her mouth and looking pleased to be back in England. Guess she was wearing the perfect bozo. It says ” Pog Mo Thon “  ( A tasteful Irish Blessing )

This is Chopper The Explorer, Grand PooBah of all I survey and King of North Wales, signing off for now……

I raise my Paw and Wag my tail in a *bark out* to my wonderful friend, Debbie with a new last name as of Oct 11, 2008, in Marana/Tucson, AZ !!!!! HellOoOooo and Thank You Debbie Of All Pet Travel ! HelloOoOo and Thank You’s to Rich and Erika, miss and love You’s ! You too,  Carmen,  All of Vail AZ, …. Lots of kisses and Wags.…Hiya’s to Maxx and Duke ! Chopper The Brave ” Going Where No Chihuahua Has Gone Before “

Tags: All Pet Travel, Area of Outstanding beauty, border dispute, Chihuahua, Chirk Aqueduct, Chirk Castle, Chirk Viaduct, Chopper, Donald Duck, Ducks, England, Jemima Puddle Duck, Llangollen, Llangollen Canal, North Wales, sandwich, Sheep, stunning views, Wales, Walks

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 at 9:22 am and is filed under 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty', All Pet Travel, Chihuahua, Chirk Aqueduct, Chirk Viaduct, Chopper, Donald Duck, Ducks, England, Jemima Puddle Duck, Llangollen, Llangollen Canal, North Wales, Sheep, The River Dee Valley, Wales, Walks, West Highland terrier, sandwich, stunning views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.