Around the U.S. in 51 plates
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I’m a fan of license plates. Or rather, I have idiosyncratic obsessions with them.
Beginning in January 2020, as the pandemic was revving up, I began a quest. At the time, California license plates began with 8N, and I wanted to watch them progress step by step through the rest of the alphabet to get to the 9s. It took more than two years to get there, but there I got.
With that complete, I took a break … then took on a new challenge. My latest goal: How quickly could I spot a license plate from every United State (plus the District of Columbia)?
As you can see, I was only going to go after the continental United States, but then it became about the whole magilla. Things started quickly in the fall. Buoyed by a Rhode Island sighting on Day 1, I reached the halfway point of my pursuit within the first week. Then, understandably, the pace slowed to steady, then sporadic, then practically non-existent. I greet you today, stuck.
As I write this, I have spotted 49 out of 51. Unsurprisingly, two states have proven to be major holdouts. But those two states aren’t Alaska or Hawaii. In fact, I’ve seen these non-continental (incontinent?) states more than once.
Nope, it turns out that the evanescent states of New Hampshire and Delaware are the most vexing. Four months into the project, I haven’t laid eyes a plate from on either. I know they are small states from a yonder coast, but really, not a one?
Don’t try to help me. I can only do this on my own. But spare a thought if you can. Grant me the Granite State, and may the First State soonest be the last.
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