We study the relationship between galaxies and intergalactic gas to create a picture of how the baryons are distributed and, by comparison with high redshift observations, how they evolve. To understand the relationship between the galaxies and the intergalactic gas we need to study them locally, where we can observe the galaxy distribution down to faint limits. I will review what we know about the distribution of the galaxies locally and the distribution of the gas, as delineated by the Lyman-alpha forest. We have initiated a survey for galaxies near low redshift Lyman-alpha absorbers and I will present preliminary results. I will also discuss the particular case of the 3C 273/RX J1230.8+0115 sightline on the outskirts of Virgo where a series of metal line systems gives us information about the physical properties of the absorbers, but lead to as many questions as answers about that nature of the connection between the intergalactic gas and galaxies.