Bob & Nicole

Bob and Nicole, the Inspired Travelers, created this website to share their travel adventures—primarily road trips—along with tips and neat things learned along the way. They hope to inspire others to travel and recreate responsibly by providing the confidence and information to get out there! Both of them love exploring, especially the great outdoors, often camping out of their Honda Civic throughout the Pacific Northwest. These “weekend warriors” are constantly seeking new adventures, escaping the city as often as they can get away. (Read the About page to learn more about their mission and why they started this blog!)

In addition to outdoor adventures like hiking and camping, Bob and Nicole enjoy historical landmarks, ghost towns, quirky roadside attractions, and food—always food, with a fondness for diners, dives and general stores. A little dirt doesn’t bother these two so they often tent camp, but every once in awhile they’ll indulge in a cute cabin, beach house or hotel with soft robes and complimentary breakfasts. When they’re not traveling you can find them doing a number of things, like thrifting, cooking, gardening, never-ending yard-work and house projects, running races, or eating and imbibing at their favorite local spots. While chilling at home they’re most likely listening to the Grateful Dead, drinking vodka and White Claws, and eating quality baguettes.

Though currently living in Portland, Oregon, both were raised in the same small town in Western New York. Years after graduating and moving on,  the middle-school sweet hearts reconnected on social media and found themselves reuniting on the West Coast where they now share a home with two spoiled cats, Purrito (Pete) and Luigi (Weeg)—the real bosses.

Bob is a loyal and dedicated Buffalo Bills fan who hates wearing shoes and eating most forms of melted cheese. If he could only eat one thing for the rest of his life it would definitely be hamburgers. He gets his stellar red beard from that Norwegian Viking bloodline, but he’s not a redhead. Bob’s favorite part about camping is tending to the campfire, probably because it reminds him of growing up, making fires with the boys at the fort and getting into typical youth shenanigans.

Nicole is a crazy cat lady, a road runner, and a creative—somewhat artistically inclined, she loves crafting, DIY projects and writing. Her days as a weekend warrior started young, when she used to road trip around the East Coast with her family and friends. Having been raised in the woods she’s a comfortable and experienced camper— in a tent, a fifth-wheel and even on a boat. After years of practice, she takes much pride in her marshmallow and hot dog roasting skills. One of Nicole’s greatest accomplishments was completing an eight day back-packing trip on climb Mount Kilimanjaro! There’s no doubt these early life adventures ignited and continue to fuel her wanderlust.