RSS Look out for licence plates
Filed in Living an Interesting LifeWhen I was a kid, we went on a lot of road trips and played road games. Going to Europe, we’d love to see the stickers on the back of people’s cars showing which country they were from. Especially as we drew close to Slovenia, a “GB” plate was a rarity and occasion for much waving and smiling.
Dad had an atlas with a key to all the codes and we would check them off as we saw them. In Slovenia we’d look for the regional codes (GO = Gorica, MB - Maribor, etc.) Back home in the UK, we’d look for the letters that used to denote what year a car was registered in.
Over here in the USA, I do much the same with state licence plates. It’s quite something when you find plates from Alaska or, say, North Carolina. I wonder what they’re doing here, whether they’re having fun such a long way from home. It’s really kind of a Bingo game.
Don and I have been playing a variant of this over the last few weeks. We drop off our trash and then wander around the campground, looking at where everyone is from. California is (mock) “boring.” Up the West Coast is “not bad.” But we’ve also seen plates from Utah, Florida, Texas and even North Carolina–over three thousand miles away.
Licence-plate watching is a simple pleasure, child-like in a way. And it passes the time in a car.
Suggestion: take a wander through an RV park sometime, or keep an eye out on the road. Pay attention to where the cars are from, and spare a moment’s imagination for where they might be traveling or what they might be doing.
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4 Comments, Comment or Ping
Rebecca (6 comments.)
Oh we still play the license plate game! From Memorial Day to Labor Day we try to collect all 50 states and the provinces of Canada.
Alaska actually isn’t a hard one, neither is Hawaii. Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota on the other hand — well, those people just don’t seem to travel much. (Although going up to N.D. every summer to see DH’s folks sure does help)
Now that my sister and I are grown and travel with our husbands the game has become a competition, and there are set rules!
1. No trucks (except pick-ups)
2. The plate must be seen by at least 2 people.
3. You can’t begin before Memorial Day.
4. The homestate doesn’t count if you see it while in that state. You have to see it while physically in another state. (Not that difficult here in the Midwest where you drive over the state line to get gasoline)
There are two levels to the competition. The first is being the first family to get all 50 states. Usually we have a winner around mid-July. The second, and much more difficult is to also get the provinces. I swear, Nunavit has four cars, total. I’ve yet to see a plate for Nunavit, CA.
Nov 15th, 2007
pussreboots (156 comments.)
I used to play variations on the game with myself when I was commuting.
Nov 15th, 2007
Linda R. Moore
Pussreboots: It’s rather fun. We find it a relaxing way to end the day. :)
Nov 16th, 2007
Linda R. Moore
Heeee! You have it down to a fine art :)
I love the whole two-family contest thing. :)
Nov 16th, 2007
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