The idea was born by Ryan several years ago after our third trip to Europe. Joelle was less than enthusiastic at first, but over time, he wore her down. Travel was something Ryan always dreamed of but never in his wildest imagination thought would occur. It was life-changing for him and one of his greatest joys, after his son, of course. Joelle, a first-generation American born to French immigrants, had spent much of her life traveling. Travel fueled her soul, and she could never get enough. She had made a goal of flying somewhere at least once a month and maintained that for many years. Most trips (often business trips) were in the US, with at least once a year overseas. Over the years, Ryan joined Joelle on family vacations or local trips when she was on his side of the country for business. Our first trip to Europe was only going to be a one-time thing. Ryan had a rough road after leaving the active-duty Army and had turned things around. He had saved money for the trip, and Joelle was anxious to get back to Europe. The timing worked perfectly. An unlikely travel duo was born as we learned we shared similar travel styles and interests on that trip. Ryan, with his youth, brought energy, unbridled curiosity, and enthusiasm. His appreciation of history and culture was invaluable. Joelle, with her years of travel experience, brought a mindset that made travel seem effortless. That, along with her love of adventure and the unexpected. We both learned we shared quite an obsession for castles too. Each with our unique strengths and weaknesses when we traveled, we balanced out well. Our trip taught us to think out of the box and open our hearts to unforeseen gifts for ourselves and others. As a disabled veteran and still currently serving Army reservist Ryan had this warm-hearted idea that a blog could help other Veterans like himself find the joys of travel. He wanted to help them find what he had discovered and how traveling could positively and meaningful impact their lives. It was the selling point to get Joelle on board. He found her weak spot. The process wasn't easy as neither of us had even done anything like this or were tech-savvy. The learning curve was massive; there were many moments of doubt, some of them angry, but we stuck with it. We believed in our dream and committed to making it a reality. A launch date of March 2019 was set. But it wasn't meant to be. The very same month of our scheduled launch, the Covid 19 pandemic took hold on the world. Our hearts broke as we watched the devastation that came with it. We put the blog launch on hold. This served as valuable time to learn in-depth the ins and outs of our platform and blogging. We discovered wonderful resources for new bloggers, and during this time, we took classes, read extensively, and studied hard! When the world was ready to reopen to travel, we were going to be prepared! At the beginning of 2021, the world began to see the light at the end of the tunnel after a challenging year. With that hope, people started making travel plans. It was the ideal time to provide a resource to guide them in making those plans. In March 2021, we launched Wanderers Compass. We were ready this time. The learning will be a never-ending process as the blog grows, but we now have the tools to adapt as we do. Welcome to our journey. We are thrilled you are joining us. If you would like to read more about our story and find out a bit about each of us other than the Frequently Asked Questions, click here to go to our About Us page.