License Plate Game: Long-Distance Family Edition
My mother-in-law sent a message to the family group chat a few days ago that went something like this: “Hey, there’s still a few weeks left of summer and I think we should all play a long-distance game together. Let’s all download a license plate tracker app, and compete to find the most state plates. It’d be a good excuse to check in periodically so that I know you’re all still alive and well.”
I was all in.
On family road trips growing up, the license plate game was a staple for car entertainment. Granted, we typically played the alphabet version where you’d find letters of the alphabet in order using only license plates, but the idea was still there. You still had to be on constant lookout, afraid that your sibling would snipe the license plate you were scouring.
Then on a trip out to Colorado in college, my professor and I played the alphabet game but with car models as we switched off driving duties. That competition was likewise fierce.1
So, despite us not being on a road trip, I’m ready to win this battle. And I think my chances are good seeing that I live in a tourist destination. I’m up to six out of fifty states so far. Wish me luck! (Here’s the app I’m using.)
And I agree with my mother-in-law, it’s nice to have a specific reason to check in and stay in touch. I’m pretty bad about it otherwise — I just get caught up in all the other things to do. Maybe start a competition within your own family or friend group to round out the summer?
This is post #16/31 for Blaugust 2024.
Funny story about that trip, we got super stuck on the letter “O” for the longest time. We didn’t see any models starting with “O”, and we couldn’t even think of a vehicle that started with “O” that we could be on the lookout for. It was hours later that he smacked his forehead and exclaimed, “The van I drive is a Honda Odyssey!” We tracked one down soon after.↩︎