School is in session.

Hippo tries on the sweet Cal safety glasses he received for his Civil Engineering Materials laboratory. They are a bit large, but they will do.

This week, Hippo went to the green roof under construction on top of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park for his Landscape Architecture field trip course. But where is Hippo?


Hippo is proud of his solution for a homework problem in his class on PDEs and ODEs. The coursework is somewhat tedious and difficult, but the professor teaching this course is Hippo's favorite by far.


Hippo is indifferent to another one of his classes. He decides to take a nap on his professor's illegible and incoherent notes.

Hippo takes it easy.

Hippo likes relaxing and reading during long weekends. Hippo currently loves The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

Occasionally, Hippo goes to stores on weekends. However, instead of shopping for home essentials at IKEA, Hippo samples the Swedish Meatballs and the Swedish apple cake.


Hippo likes grilling out on weekends as well. What does Hippo with leftover tomatoes? He makes a garlic tomato sauce and keeps a watchful eye as it simmers.

B visits Hippo and T in California

B, T, and Hippo go to the farmer's market in Berkeley, where there are lots and lots of sweet, juicy, and ripe peaches. Hippo wants to see what it is like to be a peach on sale.

A visit to the observation deck of the Sather Tower on the Berkeley campus reveals a great view of the Bay Area. Hippo takes a moment to think and relax.


It's an hour-long ride from Berkeley to SFO on BART. Hippo got kind of lazy.


Hippo doesn't want to miss an important stop, so he finally decides to sit up correctly. Don't worry, Hippo got off at the right station!

A day in Santa Cruz

Hippo takes in the gorgeous view at the top of some hills in Santa Cruz.

It's a beautiful day to go to the beach. Hippo enjoys watching the waves.


Back in San Francisco, Hippo eats a delicious seafood dinner at Tadich Grill, California's oldest restaurant.

Hippo'ing around CA

Of course, Hippo's got to have a library card.

Guess who went to the NASA Ames Research Center?


Hippo enjoys breakfast from The Posh Bagel with his friend G.


On the way to Santa Rosa, G, T, and Hippo stop in San Francisco. What a great view!


To cap off the night, Hippo enjoys a candlelit pizza dinner by the water while listening to live music in SF.

En route to Cali

Hippo is all buckled up to be safe on the plane.

Hippo takes advantage of a stop at DFW to eat some fresh peach cobbler.

Oh no, Hippo ate too much!


Hippo travels with special, jumbo-sized luggage. He's a heavy packer.

Hippo's Summer

Last week, Hippo flew in an airplane for the very first time. On the way to his new destination, Hippo reminisced about all of the fun things he had done this summer.

Hippo went to the beach at Lake Macbride.


Hippo went to the Iowa City Farmer's Market and bought a zucchini.


One weekend, Hippo enjoyed a delicious sticky bun and some pink lemonade for breakfast at Deluxe Cakes & Pastries in Iowa City.


One day, Hippo's friends B and T went canoeing. B tried to teach Hippo how to paddle.


But Hippo would have none of it.