Jim gets phone calls and emails from people located all over the world asking questions about traveling along US Route 89. It’s still a marvel to me that we are all able to be so interconnected. Every once in a while, Jim develops an ongoing friendship with a former stranger from a foreign land via the website. Bob Marsellos from Queensland, Australia is one of those people. He and Jim have been corresponding for quite some time and have become online friends.
Lo and behold, Bob and his wife Andre decided to fly over and do a trip along 89, including Tucson in their itinerary. Imagine Jim’s excitement at the possibility of getting to meet Bob in person! Alas, the timing didn’t work out for Jim–he was at a photography conference in Palm Springs during the time Bob and Andre were in our area. I, however, was lucky enough to meet them. They drove up to Oracle and we had a wonderful visit. They are people with a ferocious travel bug, and this was one of a number of trips they’d made to the US. Since I’d lived in Australia for several years, we had lots to talk about. I felt like I’d made some good friends.
The great part is that they’re coming back in September to visit the Grand Canyon and parts of US 89 they’ll be missing on their current trip. This will be an opportunity to meet with them again. And this time, Jim will have a chance to meet his friend Bob in person. The wonders of our interconnected world!
