Jonathan Hopwood
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jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Jonathan Hopwood
@jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
39 followers 43 following 80 posts
Architect. Cook. Traveler. Cancer. Year of the Monkey. Spurs and Jets fan. Beer drinker. Food lover. Not necessarily in that order.
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jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Backup plan to polar bears in Churchill? Beluga whales. The backup plan paid off spectacularly. #FiveYearsProject #belugas #Churchill

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/09/whit...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
September 26, 2026 at 1:51 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
There were people in Canada long before the first Europeans arrived on these shores. #FiveYearsProject #Canada #FirstNations @altparkscanada.bsky.social

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/09/the-...
The Treaties
Canada and the United States have a lot in common. It may not seem like that today in the year 2026 but they do. For sure. And "a lot in com...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
September 19, 2026 at 4:03 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Before we went to Churchill for polar bears, we stopped at a place called Riding Mountain National Park. It was amazing and disappointing (in a me-acting-like-a-spoiled-child way) at the same time. #FiveYearsProject #Canada @altparkscanada.bsky.social

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/09/ridi...
Riding Mountain
Last month, we went to Churchill, Manitoba to find polar bears . We succeeded, seeing six in our four days in town. And it was really findin...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
September 9, 2026 at 1:16 AM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
We went to Churchill to find polar bears and we succeeded. But we also saw some other wild wildlife in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. #FiveYearsProject #Churchill #CWMA

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/08/tund...
Tundra Wildlife
On the first day of August of this year, we headed north into Manitoba, Canada all the way up to Churchill on the Hudson Bay with a stop or ...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
August 31, 2026 at 1:56 AM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Over the last 10 plus years, we've searched for and seen a lot of wildlife all over the world. This summer, it was time to head north and see if we could find some white bears. #FiveYearsProject #polarbears #Churchill

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/08/chur...
Churchill
Every night at 10 o'clock in Churchill, Manitoba, a siren rings out across the downtown area. Time to think about calling it a night before ...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
August 13, 2026 at 12:34 AM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Four years ago, we accidentally visited the site of a Pink Floyd album cover. This year, we did it on purpose. #FiveYearsProject #PinkFloyd #London #BatterseaPowerStation

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/07/pigs...
Pigs On The Wing
In late 1979 at the age of 11, I bought my first Pink Floyd record. It was the 7" single "Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2". The record was...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
July 31, 2026 at 12:52 AM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Over the last 12 years, we've become @tottenhamhotspur.com fans. Our trip to London this year included a home game. And it was tense and amazing at the same time. #FiveYearsProject #THFC #COYS

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/07/come...
Come On You Spurs
In 2014, I attended my first football (soccer) match in England ever. Yes, despite living the first 11 years of my life in England and being...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
July 25, 2026 at 11:15 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
We've gone birdwatching on every 2026 trip so far but England / Wales is the only one that worked out well. And it was all due to brute force. #FiveYearsProject #birdwatching #Wales #London @visitlondon.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/07/blac...
Blackbird Singing In The Dead Of Night
Photo post time! Before our late May trip to the United Kingdom, we'd taken just two very short trips in 2026: a long weekend in northern Ar...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
July 18, 2026 at 1:55 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Visiting castles on vacation? Not something we'd normally do. But we did in Wales because Welsh castles are better than most other castles apparently. #FiveYearsProject #Wales @visitwales.bsky.social

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-...
The Ring Of Iron
The title of this post sounds scary, right? You have no idea. But only if you are Welsh. I am fairly confident that growing up and going to ...
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July 15, 2026 at 11:38 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
If you ever get a chance to take a sheep for a walk, I encourage you to take that chance and never look back. #FiveYearsProject #Wales #sheep @visitwales.bsky.social

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/07/shee...
Sheep
Until the age of 11, I grew up in England, which meant I grew up with sheep in my life. By that, I don't mean like we had a flock of sheep i...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
July 9, 2026 at 12:17 AM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
We wanted to visit the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on our trip to Wales. But we wanted to do it right. I think we got there. @visitwales.bsky.social @llangollen-wales.bsky.social #FiveYearsProject #Wales #CanalLife

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/06/cana...
Canal Boat Diaries
One thing that becomes completely obvious when you travel a lot or even a little is that all travel days are not created equal. Some days yo...
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June 28, 2026 at 1:29 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Annual birthday blog post. I'm still going. #birthday #FiveYearsProject

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/06/58.h...
58
Today is my 58th birthday. I'm still here. I'm still traveling. I'm still blogging. And I'm still thankful for all that. I feel like I'm slo...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
June 23, 2026 at 12:00 AM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Every so often when we come across a mountain on vacation, we have to get to the top. We did that with Mount Snowdon in Wales. @visitwales.bsky.social #Wales #Snowdon #FiveYearsProject

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/06/snow...
Snowdon
Ask any kid raised in England in the 1970s what the tallest mountain in England and Wales is and I guarantee you 90% or more of them know it...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
June 21, 2026 at 12:49 AM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
I never wanted to go back to Wales. When I did, I regretted not doing it earlier. #Wales @visitwales.bsky.social

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/06/wale...
Wales
It's easy to overlook Wales. Or not know it's there. Or forget about it entirely, even.  Assuming you even knew about or had heard about Wal...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
June 14, 2026 at 6:58 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
I love unexpected travel trips. Especially when they come with a lot of great music. #FiveYearsProject #jazz #NewOrleans

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/05/new-...
New Orleans Jazz
Every so often life hands you a travel gift. Something unexpected or completely unplanned or relatively inexpensive but always way, way too ...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
May 11, 2026 at 2:03 AM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Apparently one canyon wasn't enough on our recent Arizona trip. #FiveYearsProject #Arizona #AntelopeCanyon @flagstaffinspires.bsky.social

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/04/memo...
Memory Of Water
Last month we spent a long weekend in Northern Arizona visiting a canyon. And of course by "a canyon" I mean the Grand Canyon . What else co...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
April 5, 2026 at 2:58 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Not celebrating the death of this dude at all here but I’ve been to a bullfight and these things are cruel, rigged and and one-sided. There a little karma going on here.

www.cnn.com/2026/04/04/e...
Retired matador killed by bull ahead of bullfight in southern Spain | CNN
A retired matador was killed by a bull on Friday as he prepared the animals for a bullfight at an arena in Málaga, in southern Spain, organizers said later that day.
www.cnn.com
April 4, 2026 at 8:50 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Our first trip of 2026 took us to Northern Arizona and the Grand Canyon. It was a chance for me to take care of everything I didn't do on my first two trips there. I didn't come anywhere close. #FiveYearsProject #Arizona @altnps.bsky.social

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-...
The Biggest Goddamn Hole In The World
Apologies for the language in this post title. I blame Clark Griswold. There are times in my life when I realize how lucky I am. March 2026 ...
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March 29, 2026 at 12:58 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Feel like a little institutionalized racism on vacation? We did. We had to track down some sites associated with Nelson Mandela while in South Africa. #Apartheid #SouthAfrica #Mandela

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466/64
This post is about one man: Nelson Mandela. It is by no means intended to be a biography or really all that detailed whatsoever. We'll see h...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:54 AM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Wouldn't it be great to travel to somewhere that could tell us how humans evolved into what we are today? Don't get your hopes up. It's complicated. #FiveYearsProject #SouthAfrica #Maropeng #evolution

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2026/01/to-o...
To Our Children's Children's Children
So it's our first full day in South Africa and it's about 10:30 in the morning on a Saturday and we are standing in a cave pretty much in th...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
January 10, 2026 at 10:09 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
We've been trying to find penguins in the wild for over nine years. This year, we finally found some. #FiveYearsProject #SouthAfrica #penguins

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2025/12/peng...
Penguins
I have three South Africa blog posts left (including this one) from our late October / early November trip to the very bottom of the Dark Co...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
December 28, 2025 at 2:55 AM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
You would think that we travel so much that we have premier status in all sorts of hotel and airline programs and get tons of perks. Nope. Don't happen. Although it did a very bit this year. #FiveYearsProject

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2025/12/stat...
Status
I'm done traveling for 2025. My last night in a hotel was a couple of nights ago (for work). So in a completely non sequitur way, it's confe...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
December 20, 2025 at 2:28 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
I currently own three pairs of Timberland boots. This fall, one of those three pairs visited their sixth continent. #FiveYearsProject #Timberland #Timbs #SouthAfrica

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2025/12/timb...
Timbs
In the spring of 2017, I bought myself a new backpack. I ditched the Samsonite one that I bought maybe four years earlier that had just simp...
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December 10, 2025 at 2:03 AM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
This is my last safari post for this trip. And yes, it's basically a whole bunch of pictures. #FiveYearsProject #SouthAfrica #Kruger #safari @gadventures.bsky.social

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2025/12/krug...
Kruger Mammals
Photo dump time!  Our four full days in Kruger National Park was the best concentrated safari experience we have had in a single Park ever. ...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:44 PM
jonathanhopwood.bsky.social
Each time I've been to Africa, I've taken a wish list of species to see on safari. This year, my list was mostly birds. #FiveYearsProject #birds #Kruger #SouthAfrica @gadventures.bsky.social

fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com/2025/11/krug...
Kruger Birds
The first three times I visited sub-Saharan Africa, I went with a wish list of creatures to see. For the most part, those lists consisted en...
fiveyearsproject.blogspot.com
November 30, 2025 at 3:05 PM