Wordle

Hippo's head is full of hippo thoughts. He played with Wordle to make a picture of what he thinks about most.

Hipp-O-lympic Fever!

I've been watching the Olympics almost around the clock (except when snoozing, snacking, or blogging)--especially the swimming competitions! Hippos really like to swim.

The International Olympic committee should consider adding a few more sports:

• Underwater Breath Holding (Did you know that hippos can hold their breath for 6 minutes?)
• Couch Potato Snacking Marathon (make sure you get all the food groups in for a balanced snack--sweet, salty, cheez covered, iced, frozen, and chocolate)
• Endurance TV watching (hippos are especially good at the "dead stare." It intimidates the competitors.)

I'm a gold medalist in all three of these sports. I feel kind of sorry for all the Olympians, though. Their medals aren't filled with tasty chocolate like mine!

Red Cedar River Horse

I learned a lot on my trip to Michigan this summer--like how to navigate with a mitten. It's a good thing we didn't go anywhere located on the "thumb" of the Michigan map. I have trouble finding mine, and we didn't want to take a wrong turn!

I also learned that there are no river horses in the rivers in Michigan. I guess that is because it gets cold enough in the winter to turn us into hippopsicles! It was plenty warm in the summer, though! Here I am by the Red Cedar River. The water was just a little too rough, and the fish just a little too big for a tiny hippo to take a dip.

So, I just cooled off at the nearby Starbucks. I couldn't decide which flavor Frappuccino I wanted, so I had two. Watch out for the brain freeze!

Ludington State Park

I can't resist a good nature walk, so when my staff suggested a day of walking the trails at Ludington State Park during our vacation, I just had to say yes. We decided to walk to the top of the big sand dunes.


There are a lot of steps to climb! Good thing I have staff to carry me when I get tired.


Alvin was also out for a walk.


Comet, Cupid, or maybe Rudolph stopped by the side of the trail for a snack.


Along the way, we found some signs were more helpful than others. I like the ones that tell me where we are.


Now which way do we go?


Phew! I made it all the way to the top!


What a great view!

Detroit Zoo

Another stop on my summer road trip was the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak, Michigan. I made lots of new friends that day.

My first stop was to visit one of my relatives. Doesn't he have a nice smile?


There were some free-range peacocks who walked around with us. They make good tour guides, but I didn't like it when they tried to get too close to my lunch!


Speaking of lunch... We got to help feed the giraffes! That is Raspberry eating from his keeper's hand. Raspberry's dad is in front. They have a really nice yard with a big Egyptian palace.


Those horses are wearing some really fancy striped suits! I wonder if they make them in petite hippo sizes?


There appears to have been a multi-roo pile up!


Don't forget the 'Noceroses! They were feeling a little bit shy that day, but they were nice enough to pose for a picture with me.


I made friends with a lot of other creatures, too! I hope I get to go back and visit them all soon!

Orphanage

Hippo often wonders about these brightly lit booths he sees in airports and welcome centers. They seem to be mechanical orphanages with a lever and claw so that visitors can choose an animal to adopt.

Those animals look so cute and lonely. Hippo would like to take one home but it's so hard to choose. Maybe he should take them all! Unfortunately, with his lack of pockets, Hippo has no quarters.

Ann Arbor

For Hippo's big summer vacation this year, he went on a road trip across Michigan. One important stop was a tour of Ann Arbor. We watched some weird cartoons at the old Michigan Theater.

And ate some authentic pastrami at Zingerman's Delicatessen. (Well, Hippo stuck to the carrot salad; the sandwiches were too big for his mouth!)

One of Hippo's favorite spots is this fountain sculpture of Father Triton and his sons playing called Sunday Morning in Deep Waters.

Ann Arbor is of course home to the University of Michigan whose school colors are maize and blue.

When the music starts playing, Hippo starts dancing. Thanks to some salsa lessons he now has yet another boogie move.

Adopt a hippo

Happy, the resident hippopotamus of the National Zoo, is looking for a new home. His current pad is due to be replaced by a spacious elephant habitat so he has to move. His long-time keeper, JT, will miss his big, bulbous buddy.