Welcome to the Stray Compass Life Blog! We're so very glad you found us here. My name is Thomas Corrao and I started this page as a way to facilitate becoming a nature and travel blogger in retirement. You are currently viewing my home page where you will find posts about my final year of working in the Kenosha County Jail, my life's journey, and my connection with nature through photography, as well as my wife and I moving closer to our next big challenge in life, traveling full time after retirement.
When I first started this Blog it was still pre-covid 19 and as I'm sure you are all aware, a lot has happened since then. There have been lockdowns, stay home orders and a myriad of restrictions placed on travel by the states. People have been stressed to their limits during it all. The pandemic and the feeling of uncertainty it has brought to all of our lives has made me second guess our plans of traveling after retirement but we are going to carry through with our plans, just in a more cautious manner. Originally the blog was going to be about travel adventures in retirement so I named it Stray Compass Travels. Now with everything that has happened I have changed the name from Stray Compass Travels to Stray Compass Life. I just figured that no matter how set in your plans you are the forces of nature can always change your path if they want to. There simply are too many things we don't have control of in our lives.
If you look up towards the top of this page you'll also find the Stray Compass Okinawa tab where you will find videos about our travels in Okinawa and Japan. I was in the United States Air Force for many years and met my wife overseas while stationed in Okinawa. We've been married now for 39 years and we frequently travel back and forth to Japan. I plan to use this page of the blog to promote travel to Okinawa. We've been involved with the Chicago Okinawa Kenjinkai for many years and through them, I was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador to Okinawa. It's an official position given by the governor of Okinawa to those active in promoting all things Okinawa. Well through my travels I have accumulated a lot of video footage which I have decided to post here as a way for people all around the world to virtually discover all that Okinawa has to offer.
Please subscribe to our YouTube page if you like what you see here as that is where you will be able to find our various playlists on a variety of topics. We're hoping to build a base of followers before that time that will follow us along the way. Please follow us and I will promise to work hard creating new and interesting content for you to view.
One of the things I plan to film once we are traveling is the sun. I love getting up early enough to see what mother nature has in store to the day. She has a way of painting the sky even when the weather seems like it wouldn't allow it. Here is a time lapse I took just today. If you like it you may want to check out the playlist I created that will showcase the sunrises I've filmed.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHT9DzQ3GQbtp-u-aramcH5pIJCykJcFM