Two highways converged to bring an extended family together. One was I-10, that concrete and asphalt highway that is a part of the US Interstate Highway system. And the other is the Information Superhighway ... the Internet. When Tom IM's me (IM= a verb for using Instant Messenger), his identification tag always includes his location. Right now it says "tomv in Ehrenburg, AZ". And, our location is almost always noted on the Datastorm map. He has a laptop on the passenger seat of his truck and he gets online using WiFi at Flying J Truck Stops. So, it was only a matter of time before we figured out when our paths would cross. Yesterday was the day.

Here's his truck. He's carrying a load of boats.



And here's Tom.





As much as I love living on the road, I don't think I'd like the truck driving lifestyle. Where we drive 3-4 hours in a day, he often drives 10! And that's 6 days a week. We might drive a day or two, then stay put for a week or more. He has a bed, cooler and microwave in his rig, but I wouldn't call it 'home'. I was surprised to learn that he eats most of his meals in the rig. He really seems to like what he does. He gets to see the whole country in every season.

After seeing his rig, we brought him over to see ours. Here's what invariably happens when Jim brings up Google Earth on his computer! They're looking at some place in Colorado where Tom used to live.



Happy Trails Tom! I'm sure our paths will cross again, now that we're connected.

Don't you just love that internet?