License Plate Game

I love road trips! I have been on MANY, MANY road trips in my life. I've gotten to see 43 states, and I've driven to each of those. I've also flown a lot, but I don't think there's a state that I've ONLY flown to, not driven to.

All that to say, I've played the License Plate Game a lot. I've gotten really good at picking out license plates from far away, knowing the design, not needing to wait to see the words.

In all those different road trips, I've realized that there are many different ways of playing the game. You can work as a team, or have a friendly competition. You can compete with someone to see who sees a different plate first. You can compete to see who sees the most. You can start with a geography lesson and first think of all the states and write them down, then cross out the ones you see. Or, you can just write them down as you see them. If you're really ambitious, you can name the state capitals as well! It all depends on how long the trip is, and who's in the car with you! I've learned that everyone plays a little differently. I'd love to hear comments on how YOU play the game -or any other car games for that matter!

Well, when I left Burnsville yesterday, I headed south on I-35. About 75 miles later I turned west on I-90 and realized I was already bored! And, I realized that would be my interstate all the way to Seattle. Looked like a long trip ahead of me! I hadn't planned on playing the License Plate Game, because, well... let's admit it... being alone in the car meant I already knew who would win. But, boredom got the best of me and I decided to play. Wow! Was I sure in for a surprise! I drove through the rest of Minnesota, and then hit South Dakota, and by the time I left South Dakota last night, I already had 39 states!! I think that must be a record!

When my parents and I spent two weeks on a road trip to Montana this summer, it took us the whole trip and we finally saw 49 plates total (Rhode Island still eludes us!). Last summer a friend and I went on a National Park trip, and we ended up walking up and down the parking lot in Yellowstone to see the final few. I know, it's probably cheating, but there aren't really rules anyway...

So, to only get through the first two of six states on my trip and already see 39 different state's plates, I was pretty pumped! Also, that was really the only excitement of the day (luckily!) and I really take a lot of pleasure in the little things in life!

I'm not sure when I'll get to post again (I didn't think it would be until WA) but check back for updates and see how the rest of the trip goes! Thanks to those of you who called yesterday. I'm back in for a long drive tomorrow, so feel free to give a call!