Hi, We're Nathan & Shelby!
We’re humbled that you want to get to know us more! If you couldn’t tell already, we’re travel addicts, adventure seekers, and nature lovers. Having been together as lovers and partners for 8 years and best friends for 13, we’re stoked to continue this crazy ride called life by each others side.
Read more about our story below and get to know exactly who we are!
OUR STORY
WHERE IT ALL STARTED
Our story goes way back to 2007 during our early days of high school. We both met at the age of 16 in a fairly unconventional way. I approached my friend, who happened to be hanging out with Nathan at the time, looking to evade another student who was creepily stalking me.
Nathan quickly put his jacket over me and threw the hood up over my head. Basically letting me “hide out” until the person I was avoiding left the area we were in. It was through this incident that we officially met.
After this unique greeting, we quickly became friends and a close bond soon formed. Plans were often made through texts on flip phones and messages typed out on MySpace or AIM. (Yep, we’re millenials.)
We’ve been involved in cake fights, boba wars, grocery cart racing, and other ridiculous shenanigans. Skateboarding a few miles away just to grab a Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino was common place.
Spontaneous adventures to everywhere & nowhere became normal for us.
With little time, it was easy to see that we’ve become best friends.
FROM FRIENDS TO ROMANTIC PARTNERS
It wasn’t until 2012, during our college years, that our romantic relationship started. Many ask, “why did it take so long?” Well, we were both in different relationships and honestly never considered any romantic connection between us. To put it simply, we were both thriving as being best friends and that’s honestly all we wanted during that time.
As the years continued, both our individual relationships dismantled and it quickly became apparent that one should ultimately be with their best friend. So we made the leap and there was no going back.
We took a spontaneous road trip down Route 66 for 4 days with no set destination or any idea of what we might see. Shelby was eager to escape and Nathan has always been enchanted by the feeling of being free.
We fell in love with the open road and the freedom of travel. To do what we want, wherever we want, at any time. It was this trip that confirmed our new shared passion for travel and new experiences.
CORPORATE PATH TO ONLINE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
As time went on, we continued to embark on adventures: day trips, weekend trips, week long road trips, and eventually a 3 month long road trip across the United States. It was on this long trip across the US that we decided we wanted to do this full time.
Not only did our passion grow for travel, but our love for nature, the great outdoors, and each other grew immensely too. All of our travels soon revolved around hiking, National Parks, and many other beautiful nature destinations.
With this all being relatively new, passion has not yet transitioned to paychecks. We still need our day jobs.
After college, we both moved to the over populated city of Los Angeles. With her degree in Film and his degree in Business Marketing, it only made sense to live where the jobs are most abundant. Working the 9-5 daily grind isn’t the life we want to always live. Especially living in the dead center of a big city. While we love our conveniences we’re very much nature lovers and prefer to be closer to it.
February 2018, We Who Roam was born. Our first step towards making our dreams of full time travel possible.
Since the birth of this blog, the train hasn’t stopped or slowed down one bit. We’re always planning our next adventure, continuously creating content for We Who Roam, and escaping the city to explore nature as much as we possibly can.
It’s been a wild and incredible ride thus far and it’s just the beginning!
Oh and did I mention that we recently got married?! September 2019 to be exact!
So yes, to say we’re busy is an understatement.
MEET SHELBY
Hi! I’m Shelby, or otherwise known as Shnoodle, Kirby, Cake, or Ratchet Sunshine.
My daily thoughts consist of, “where should I go next”, “what am I eating for dinner”, and “why is it so cold out here?” Damn my lack of body heat.
Everyday I live with a constant desire for new adventures and to be continually exploring new places. I mainly crave being outdoors, specifically in warmer temperatures. The desert being my favorite environment. If Nathan was a bigger fan of hot weather, you’d probably find me living in the scorching state of Arizona. 
I grew up in a quiet suburban town called Yorba Linda in Southern California. Very much a tomboy growing up, it wasn’t until high school that I started embracing my more feminine side. My younger days consisted of skateboarding, roller-blading, video games, making mud pies, and getting bruises daily from all the rough activities.
Come my teenage years, I cleaned up my appearance a bit, developed an interest in boys, and found my first group of female friends to spend time with. Although you’d still catch my destructive side burning holes in shoes with a magnifying glass and diving my hands into people’s birthday cakes. I guess some traits never die.
Today you’ll see both my tomboy and girlish sides very much alive in me.
Once I got my first car at 16, I was basically always gone. Either alone or with friends, driving out to new locations was the typical way of spending my free time. It was an endless mission to the mountains, the beach, parks, random towns, and numerous Top of the World spots. Of course finding a partner who would join me on all my adventures was important for a happy Shelby.
In college, I was never really sure what to major in. I randomly chose film thinking it was more fun than any other degree. Soon after living in Los Angeles and working in the entertainment industry, my path has obviously changed. My true passion lies in new experience and outdoor adventure outside the big city.
Today I am continually working hard to achieve my dream of full time travel, fitting in numerous nature excursions all in between.
RANDOM BLAST FACTS ABOUT SHELBY:
- I’M A LAZY HIKER – the best hikes are ones that involve the least amount of effort. (whoops, secret’s out!)
- COOKING – other favorite hobby, will want to cook anytime there’s a kitchen around. Part of being a huge foodie
- LOVE HORROR – Halloween mazes, horror movies, events – I’m there
- MUSIC IS HUGE – ranging from trap, dubstep, future house, trance, emo rock, indie rock, dreampop, and shoegaze
- DON’T MIND BEING DIRTY – rolling around in dirt, getting muddy, sandy, sweaty, etc – not a big deal
- SAUCE QUEEN – what my friends call me. Love all kinds of sauce, especially hot sauce and will always saturate my food in some form of it
- OBSESSED WITH MAPS & PLANNING – Going somewhere new? Show me the map and I’ll run wild with ideas
- DISLIKE THE SNOW – It’s cold, wet, and requires too much gear just to be comfortable in. *SIGH*
- BIG PICTURE THINKER – like to know all the details, what/when/how things will go down
- GAMER & TV BINGER – if I can’t be outdoors, I prefer to spend my time cozied up with my PS4 and my favorite shows
- ADDICTED TO NOODLES. Hence nickname – Shnoodle. Pasta, ramen, pho, tortellini, udon, just to name a few loves of my life
- ALONE TIME ISN’T MY THING – will always choose to have someone with me than be by myself. (Thank goodness I have a dog!)
MEET NATHAN
Hi, hello, que paso! Yo Hablo ingles y un poquito espanol! (I speak English and a little Spanish!)
They call me Nathan, Bushy, NaterPOP, Nat(uh)tat, and Danger Hips.
While I moved around a bit as a kid, I primarily grew up in Anaheim, California. Known for Disneyland, the now LA Angels (baseball), Ducks (hockey), and Green Chiles (similar to Oretega chiles, but more mild). Opposite to these attributes, I grew up loving extreme sports and did many things independently.
A normal day was skateboarding, playing guitar, and getting into a little bit of trouble with friends. Even though my persona gave off the vibe of a misfit, I’ve lucked into higher education starting at a very young age. All I wanted to do were my hobbies and to socialize with friends, but I still managed to excel in school. (Thanks Mom and Dad)
GATE, Honors, and AP classes kept me book smart while skating, music, and friends with Type B personalities kept me street smart.
I’ve struggled my entire life between having fun and tapping into my “full” academic potential.
I have an insatiable desire to learn new things and progress.
Between my restaurant job, internship, and full time school schedule I had my hand in several hobbies including pockets knives, watches, flashlights, guns, cycling, and photography. I also frequented music venues, raves, music festivals, and parties.
It’s a blessing and a curse. I tend to pick up more hobbies, information, and work than the average person, but I have a hard time seeing any one thing to the end, because I’m always shifting gears to make room for the next experience.
In one sentence, “A Jack of All Trades, but a Master of None.” Does it now make sense why a doctorate in Psychology wasn’t for me? Too much time in one trade for someone who likes to bounce around and has the tendency to carry too much emotional weight for others.
I’m making intentional efforts to change this a bit as our devotion to our blog has taken precedence over all other hobbies and interests I’ve previously had.
NOT SO RANDOM BLAST FACTS ABOUT NATHAN:
- PISCES – love to go with the flow like water
- PERSONALITY – between an ENTJ and ENFJ
- TOP 5 STRENGTHS – Learner, Achiever, Includer, Connectedness, Strategic
- HOBBIES – Nature Travel, Hiking, Photography, Gear, Guitar, and Skateboarding
- MUSIC – Electronic including Bass, Future, Synthpop, Dreampop, House, Downtempo, Indie Rock, Shoegaze, Deathcore, and Punk
- NOT A FOODIE (also not picky) – defaults to burgers, pizza, and Mexican food when splurging – otherwise eating relatively clean and consciously
- LIKES UNSWEETENED DRINKS – Water, Espresso/Coffee, Tea, Beer, and Whiskey (Tequila if we’re shootin’ shots)
- MOSTLY CHEAP – so he can afford a few nice things and ultimately experience more places and people
- CLASS CLOWN – till the day he dies – Puns when you don’t want them – Willingly throws himself under the bus to crack a joke
- INSPIRED – Talk about anything positive that has to do with progress and watch him put on his “motivational speech” hat
- CAN TALK TOO MUCH – but also loves to listen to your story
- LOVES TO LOVE – Tries to be more conscious of love languages and their associative boundaries – Life’s Short – Don’t Be A Dick
MEET KIMCHI
안녕하세요! My name is Kimchi, and that’s Korean for ‘Hello!’
I was saved from the dog meat trade in South Korea and flown over to the United States where I was later adopted by my paw-rents.
I’m a Korean Jindo mix that loves outdoors adventures with my pack. I’m always looking forward to all that there is to sniff in this big world!
RANDOM BLAST FACTS ABOUT KIMCHI:
- LOVEABLE BUT SHY – I don’t bite but I am shy and nervous around new people – please don’t pet me if I don’t know you 🙂
- WILL HIKE FUREVER – No amount of miles scare me, let’s GO
- PICKY EATER – Unlike other doggo’s I won’t eat just anything…only the tastiest treats and meats or nothing at all
- AVID BIRD & SQUIRREL CHASER – If it’s furry or feathery, I must do my duty to INSPECT & PROTECT…even though I haven’t caught anything yet
- SMALL FOR A JINDO – I am a smaller than the average Jindo – my pawrents still don’t know exactly what breed I am or why I have floppy ears
- CHILL HARD, PLAY HARDER – Can laze & sleep at home all day, but outside the zoomies be CRAY
If you made it this far, thank you! And welcome to our blog. 
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