Hippo goes to the Fair - Part One

One of my absolute most favorite things in the whole world is my annual visit to the county fair!


It gets kind of crowded, so you have to remember where you park. Luckily, I got VIP parking in the "H is for Hippo" row, so it was easy to remember.


I watched people make things, like the chainsaw sculpture of a piggy. I wonder if Santa would bring me a chainsaw for Christmas so I can make one, too?


And there are all kinds of competitions to enter, like sewing, baking, flower arranging, vegetable growing, and a lot more! ...Suddenly, I'm really hungry for a tomato sandwich.


There are even funny competitions like toilet decorating. I like the googly toilet.


I even entered a photo of a very handsome and adorable little hippo in the Arts, Crafts, and Photography department. I didn't win, but the fun part is entering and having things displayed all week.


Of course, no visit to the fair is complete without a snack! I just wish my staff would wait until after I wipe my snout before they take my picture.


And don't forget the carnival!

Red Cross Hippo

The same day I visited Glen Echo Park, I stopped to learn a little about the American Red Cross by visiting founder Clara Barton's house.


I didn't get any photos inside because I didn't want to damage the historical stuff with the camera flash, but I read all about Clara Barton, her house, and her work while I waited for the tour to start. You can see a virtual tour.


I also learned about first aid after I got itchy from the poison ivy.

Hippo-go-Round

One day this summer, I went to Glen Echo Park just to ride the merry-go-round. This one is a very nifty and historic Dentzel Carousel built in 1921.

There are all kinds of cool animals you can ride – bunnies, tigers, giraffes, ostriches, and – of course – horses.


I really wanted to ride a bunny, but some other kids got there first, so I found a friendly looking horse. It was kind of tall for a little hippo like me, so my staff had to give me a boost.


Glen Echo has a lot of other fun things to do, too!


I also went to some of the galleries to look at a lot of art and had an ice cream cone, but I didn't stay for dancing at the Spanish Ballroom (although hippos loooooove to boogie). I'll have to plan another trip!

Summer Games

moar funny pictures

Staunton, Virginia

For Hippo's Memorial Day trip, we traveled to West Virginia. He's gotten very good at packing all the essentials for a few days on the road, in the wilderness, and relaxing at hotels.


Speaking of hotels, there aren't many in West Virginia. So we chose the neat old town of Staunton, Virginia as a base camp.


Downtown Staunton still has a functioning train station and lots of neat shops and restaurants nearby.


Staunton was also home to President Woodrow Wilson.


Grumpie Duckie stayed home for the weekend, but Hippo packed their finger puppets so they could continue to play while he was away.


We went for scenic drives in the mountains of West Virginia, although most of the scenery was clouds and rain. Still, we enjoyed hikes through the soggy outdoors to see bogs and waterfalls.

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

When we had a few days free for Memorial Day weekend, I gave Hippo a choice of where to go for our first road trip of the summer. So we looked at a map and tourbook to see what was nearby and found... a GIANT RADIO TELESCOPE!


The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is in Green Bank, West Virginia, about four hours from Washington, DC. Scientists use the telescopes to study stars, the sun, and interstellar space. The telescopes are so sensitive to electronic signals that digital cameras are forbidden. We bought an old film camera just for the occassion.


The biggest telescope is two miles from the visitor center (where we learned about radio astronomy and ate a couple space hotdogs). Since it was raining, we traveled by bus rather than walking it. But clouds and rain don't stop the telescopes – the wavelengths of light they study shine right through the clouds, so the telescopes keep working day and night.


The Green Bank Telescope is the largest moving structure on land. It's taller than the Washington Monument. It's studying the formation of galaxies in the early universe, black holes, pulsars (listen), and supernovae.