We didn't Capitol-ize!

My wife's aunt calls me while I have the kids at McDonald's playland in Kaukauna.  She's driving home from work and is behind a Washington DC license plate on 41.  Crazy!  She tells me how she was just reading the blog before she left work to catch up and then knew we just needed Washington DC yet.  Is this karma?  Or irony?  Or coincidence?  I had no time to think about that as I shuffled the kids (as they complained about leaving so early) into the car and we were quickly heading toward 41.

She kept giving me updates as to where she was.  Eventually she takes the picutre below and sends it to me. It's in our grasp!  Kids are complaining from the backseat about leaving McDonald's.  I express my disappointment in them for not being more excited about this rare find and the possible end to our quest!  By the time I got on 441 to get onto 41 she was following it by Northland Mall.  I quickly changed course and took the OO exit.....we were ready to put the squeeze on this black Kia Sorento.  How I was actually going to get them to pull over and stop was something I hadn't accounted for....I figured I'd worry about that once we got there.  We were only minutes from where she was tracking them heading down OO when I got the message from her.....'I lost them'.  Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

They were behind the El Azteca off OO somewhere she thought.  We both scanned the area frantically driving up and down each street.  I felt like a mouse looking for cheese in a maze.  Except this was a very cruel scientific experiement because the cheese wasn't there.  Where could they have gone?  They had escaped like specks of sand through clenched fists.  Only thought was they headed toward downtown but that search turned up empty as well.  So close!!!

Still on the hunt yet?

Sawyer and I have been having an argument about whether this quest is really over.  On his license plate game there is one plate left yet that we haven't flipped over.  I'm saying it doesn't count because it's not a state (and Dad is ready for this all to be over).  He's saying it does count because it's on his game (see red arrow in picture below....the only one he hasn't turned over yet).  This one will be much more difficult than Rhode Island or Wyoming.  I told him this might have to wait until we visit the place when he's in high school or maybe he'll go on a class trip there sometime. 

So Sawyer might look a little bigger on the next update to this blog!

WFRV-TV was here!

I never really thought this would turn into what it did, and now it has received some media exposure. I told our neighbors about the Nevada plate (see blog post Silver Car = Silver State) parked outside their house that we needed and about the entire quest.  They thought it might be something the news would be interested in.  That never occurred to me.  So on 8/1 I decided to just send WFRV an email with a link to the blog to see if it's something they'd be interested in.  I actually didn't expect to get a reply, but within minutes I'm emailing back and forth with Chelly Boutout and making arrangements for them to come to our house.  Crazy!

It's now 8/7 and they just left our house.....we took these pictures.

Air times are as follows:

Thursday August 21 at 4:40
Thursday August 21 at 6:40
Sunday August 24 during their morning show (not sure on the exact time)
Website link to the story:
http://www.wearegreenbay.com/1fulltext-news/d/story/uniquely-wisconsin-license-to-smile-50/29941/ibcFHnM26kqU1ZqLUES__g

License to Smile 50: The Movie

I took a song off the Brain Beats CD available here....

http://www.marblesthebrainstore.com/brain-beats-cd/

and added pictures of Sawyer and the rest of the gang to make a movie.

EAA Part 1 & 2

Desparate times call for desparate measures.  With this quest nearing an end and the chances of finding these plates diminishing as each summer day passes I get an idea.  You can decide for yourself if this really was a good idea or not.  I shake my head looking back now at the absurdity of it all.  If you recall from a previous post we did score Idaho and Oregon on the EAA campgrounds before they had everything locked down.  We were able to drive our car around freely.  Once EAA started they force you to park somewhere and then walk unless you have special permits.  We did however see plenty of people on scooters and pedal bikes in the campgrounds.

The campgrounds are pretty much a gigantic field mowed short for the convention.  They erect street signs so you can tell where you are....yes....street signs.  I know I was on streets named 53rd street and possibly higher so that gives you an idea of how massive this place is.  Without these street signs it would be easy to get lost in the maze of campers. 

So here's my idea:

I decide to try to bike through the campgrounds in search of our last 4 plates.  I find out my parents have my sister's mountain bike (I only own a road bike) in their basement....hasn't been ridden in 13 years.  I pump the tires up and all seems well although I can't get the bike seat raised.  So not ideal but it's not terrible.....I can probably make it work.  Did I mention the color of this bike is purple?  I shrug it off....I'm on a silly quest might as well be on a purple bike.

I also load Sawyer's bike in the back of the car.  I head down to EAA by myself at 7 AM.  Before too long I'm parked and off biking through the campgrounds.  I eventually get a comment 'nice ride' from a guy wearing a purple hat to which I respond "thank you, are you from Rhode Island?"  That leads to a nice conversation, but this person is unable to help me (he is from Iowa). 

After 2 hours of biking and no new plates I am starting to give up hope.  Not to mention my @ss was sore from riding over bumps for 2 hours.  I was thirsty and starting to think I should have put on some sun screen as well.  I did find a convenience store in the middle of the grounds thankfully. Here's a picture of my ride and the water and snacks I decided to get after 2 hours of hunting.

I decide to get back on my back and hunt a little more yet before giving up.  Then I see a Wyoming!  Alright....finally found one.  I text my wife as a way of remembering where these are....'Wyoming....48th Street'.  Then one street over is West Virginia!  5 minutes later I spot a Mississippi.  I'm texting my wife, and she starts heading down to Oshkosh with the kids.  All we have left now is Rhode Island.....the proverbial needle in a haystack.  I basically found 3 of the 4 plates in a 10 minute span.

The plan is to meet them at the side of the road, have Sawyer jump out, and we'll meet them for lunch later.  I get Sawyer's bike out of the car and I'm waiting for them to arrive.  Now EAA is an absolute zoo of cars, trucks, campers, planes, and people.  It's about as well organized as you could expect.  I'm trying to describe to my wife where I'm waiting for her.  She's stuck in traffic a few blocks from me as cars continue to file into parking spaces. 

I'm on the phone with her when I see it.  It's Rhode Island turning away from me onto a road leading to more parking.  I flip out and I start running after it (in retrospect I should have gotten on my bike).

I know at this point I have crossed the line between reality and something else entirely.  To my dismay it doesn't turn into the parking lots and continues around a corner and over a hill.  After sprinting for about 300 yards I'm out of breath and have lost Rhode Island.  'I lost it!  I lost Rhode Island!'  I frantically say to my wife who is still on the phone trying not to laugh too hard.  I now sprint back to my bikes in time to meet her as she drops Sawyer off.  Luckily, the bikes are still sitting there as I now realize I left my keys, money, and credit cards in the storage pack on the purple bike!

Sawyer and I get on our bikes and we are biking back to where I last saw Rhode Island.  Allison tried to take a picture thru the car window because she couldn't stop laughing and got this shot of us as she drove off.

There is a parking lot over the hill.  We look through it.  No Rhode Island.  After that is the exit to get on 41 and also an entrance to a restricted area requiring a permit.

Words cannot describe my disappointment at this point in the quest.  What are the chances we'll see that one again or another Rhode Island?  We might have to just cap this at 49 and be happy we got that many.  At about this time Harper and Mom spot a West Virginia in the Outlet Mall parking lot (see picture below).

We are right next to a large fenced in area that houses all the small aircraft people flew in on.  Their tents are set up right next to their planes.  I tell Sawyer that I flew in a small plane like that one time.  He asks me when and I said 'when I went to visit my girlfriend in Colorado'.  He then says 'Is she still your girlfriend?'  I almost fell off my bike, and I finally said 'mom is my girlfriend'.  He thought that was pretty funny.

So Sawyer and I bike back to the other 3 I saw earlier to get those pictures taken.  I then get an idea when I see the Security office nearby.  I decide to tell them the story thinking either we'll get kicked out of there or they'll be able to help us.  They were very receptive and thought it was cool but they didn't have a way to help us out.  They suggested biking through the campgrounds and looking.  Check that....already done.  We were both biked out by this point. 

I call my wife to tell her we'll meet them for lunch in 30 minutes.  Sawyer and I are going to check another parking lot or two on our way out then we'll be there.  To Be Continued....

Mississippi

West Virginia 

 Wyoming

EAA Part 2 - 2 needles in a haystack?

We head back one more time toward where Rhode Island was headed and I start checking rows of cars as we work back toward where my car is parked.  These aren't campgrounds.....this is general parking.....but I'm seeing plenty of different plates here.  I see people next to their car with a Massachusetts plate and I foolishly think hey maybe they know someone from Rhode Island here.  I'm almost desparate enough to ask such a silly question.  By this point Sawyer is now off his bike complaining about being tired and wanting to leave.  I tell him let's just look through a few more rows of cars then we'll head back to the car and go get some lunch.

A few more rows turn up empty like expected.  I almost decide to call it quits but decide to take on 2 more rows.  We head down another row of cars like we've been doing all day.  I wonder how many rows of campers and cars we've checked.  Next thing you know we are both off our bikes high fiving each other and acting like fools.  We did a selfie together as well.  This is definitely a different Rhode Island plate and car than the other one.

We got all 50 in about one month!  I kind of wish I would have left this person a note on their windshield with the name of the blog.  If they only knew how happy they made an entire family just by seeing their license plate!

Any Rhode Island license plate number will do!

This license plate hunt has been very educational for our family....myself included.  Here's a little fun fact I learned about Rhode Island plates.

Here we will Green Bay Packers season tickets to family members.  In Rhode Island they will something else. 

Low-Numbered License Plates are a Status Symbol.

Outside of Rhode Island, mentioning the social cachet that comes with having a low-numbered license plate is met with blank stares. But here, low-numbered license plates are very, very valuable. These aren't vanity plates, just the number that's not-so-randomly assigned to every vehicle.

Low plates are so valuable, people will them to favored family members. It's considered somewhat of a state-wide shame when one of those plates is auctioned for cash and the take divided among survivors, who no doubt grieve that Uncle Jim didn't leave two "low numbahs." Those who have the good social fortune to drive a car bearing a plate with both their initials and a low number are either very wealthy and/or involved in organized crime.

Low plates are such a commodity that they can be a source of scandal -- enough so that current Gov. Donald L. Carcieri included fighting plate-number corruption in his platform. On October 28, 2003, Governor Carcieri officiated over an impartial lottery at the State House, drawing the first three numbers. Thousands of people submitted postcards, selected from a drum by the governor.

More info on it at Wiki....

Since 1904, when the first black and white porcelain license plates were issued by the state, politicians have distributed low-numbered plates as a way to reward supporters or associates; such plates have become a status symbol. State officials have seemingly legitimized this by making Rhode Island one of the few states which allows the owner to leave license plates to other family members in their will. For "preferred plates", (Passenger plates with 1 letter and 1-3 digits or 2 letters with 1-2 digits, Passenger plates with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 digits, Commercial/Motorcycle plates with 1-4 digits, Combination plates with 1-4 digits, Suburban/War Veteran's plates with 1-3 digits, and National Guard plates with 1-2 digits), there has also been an official license plate lottery through the Governor's Office. The value depends on the category of the license plate, the general "Ocean State" is the most valuable followed by "Combination" or "Suburban" license plates; license plates under the category "Taxi", "Commercial", "State", "Public" or "Bus" are less important because the total number of these plates are fewer. The main branch of the Division of Motor Vehicles is cooperative in allowing choosing the two letters beginning the license plates if available in the plate room, as long as not a preferred plate.

The Final Four! Will we find them?

 

 

The 1st State is our 44th!

I'm at Sawyer's baseball practice with his sister when I get a call from my dad.  He says he's parked right next to a Delaware in the mall parking lot.  I ask him how he found it, and he said he dropped mom off at the mall and he drove around looking for plates.  Hilarious.  I can't get there for at least another 45 minutes.  He says he'll hang out there until I get there or until they come out to their car.  I'm not even sure where to begin with what's wrong here with this situation.  My family is stalking cars for us. 

It's now 45 minutes later, and I'm in route.  My dad calls and asks me where I am because he is now talking to them and telling them about this crazy quest.  He says they think we are definitely crazy, but they are really nice.  They are now driving to Walmart so he says he will follow them and meet us there.  This silliness I never could have imagined.  We drive into Walmart and there they all are.....My mom, dad, and a younger couple.  I sheepishly pull in a few parking spots away, and we all get out and introduce ourselves.  She is from Wisconsin, and he is from Delaware and they are in the process of moving here.  The Vermont couple love the quest and apologize for the dirty license plate.  As you can see from the picture it turned out just fine to us!  We tell them about the blog so perhaps they will see this and smile.  Thank you very much!

But our night is not quite done.  My dad says he drove through the nearby hotel parking lots already so I'm satisfied with heading home since it is getting late.  My wife says let's just go through them again because there are likely more cars there now.  We check out a few of them....lots of different plates, but none that we need.  We decide to check one more before heading home and we strike gold twice.  Now there have been times during this quest where I'm sure my wife thought I had taken this way too far (this blog....getting stupidly excited when we see a rare one we don't have yet) but her reaction took the cake.  When we all spotted Maine simultaneously she let out a 'holy s&it ' that seemed to reverberate off the closed windows in the car.  Our 4 year old daughter was quite upset not because of what Mom said (she apparently is used to hearing that phrase) but because of how loud she said it.  So she's crying and it almost caused me to break into Clark Griswold's speech to his family in the movie Vacation about how this is a quest for fun and needing plastic surgery to remove our smiles.

46 down 4 to go!

Arkansas

Maine

The Silver Car = The Silver State

There's a silver Lexus parked next door on our street all week long.  There's no license plate on the front.  In fact, for most of the week another car was in front of it.  So we could barely even see it from our house to begin with.  My wife's sister's family is over for a little birthday celebration.  They end up driving around the court to park on the street in front of our house and notice what appears to be a strange looking plate.   Allison's sister tells Sawyer, and he goes running outside to check it out.  He flips out when he sees it because he's pretty sure it's one we don't have yet....he doesn't know what it is yet since the Lexus dealership overlay covers up part of 'Nevada'.  Sawyer's cousin and sister try to get in on the action as well with mixed success.  Still shaking my head at all the twists and turns we've had in this quest and then this happens.

43 down 7 to go!

Nevada

$2 for Vermont

It's a Friday night with no plans.  After an intense game of family baseball, we head out looking for license plates.  We no longer get sitters anymore on weekends....this is what we do now.....please help us find these last few plates so we can have our lives back :)  We bribe the kids with ice cream and license plate hunting if they get their pajamas on.  We drive through the parking lot of a local favorite supper club/reception hall. Lots of out of state plates here ranging from Massachusetts to Kentucky to California.....we have them all however.  This is becoming a common theme now.  I ask my wife which state she thinks will be last and that we should place a bet to see who wins.  She picks Vermont and I pick Wyoming.

We eventually end up downtown and decide to drive through the parking ramp of a downtown hotel.  It's $2 to get in.  My wife left her purse at home and after getting ice cream we only have 4 singles left.  It's barely enough to get us past the attendant at the gate.  I wonder if it would have cost less if we told the lady that we were just planning on driving around and then leaving.  We should have done this kind of thing earlier because there are once again many out of state plates here.  But we have all of them.....so far.  We turn the corner and I spot a green plate.  Definitely not one we've seen before, and I instantly recognize it as Vermont. I call it out and everyone goes crazy.  My wife is beside herself.....she already lost the bet.....and I never even had time to determine the stakes.

We've added the remaining states left to our Summer bucket list.  Sawyer is shown below crossing off Vermont.

42 down 8 to go!

Not the Maine Event

I was afraid of this happening to us and it eventually did.  We are down to the end needing just 9 more states.  It's my wife's birthday.  We have a babysitter at the house, and we are on our way to HuHot.  We come across a Maine license plate parked downtown College Avenue.  No!!!!  We go ahead and eat and plan to leave a note on their windshield (not exactly sure how I would have worded that note) if it's still there when we come back.....but it's gone.

Beavers and Potatoes

We are down to our last 11 states and it's getting much tougher, as expected.  These plates aren't coming to us anymore-we have to hunt them down.  The Experimental Aircraft Associated (EAA) has its yearly convention in Oshkosh, WI.....not far from our house.  People fly their planes in as well as drive their campers in to hang out for a week or more on the grounds.  We are 2 days before the official start of the convention, but there is already plenty of action.  The campground areas are filling up.  We drive around and eventually find our way in without having to pay for parking or show anyone tickets. This place soon turns out to be a goldmine for the license plate seeker.  Unfortunately, we have most of these out of state plates by now.  But I suspect all of our missing states are potentially here.....if we only had the time to drive around and find them.  Time is short but we manage to find 2 of them we are looking for.  Nobody was by Oregon so that was an easy snapshot.  I was forced to explain what we were doing to the Idaho family and they were happy to let us get the picture.  They were very friendly, and we were soon in a conversation about their beloved Broncos college football team, so Sawyer got his picture taken in front of their Broncos sign as well.

41 down 9 to go.

Oregon

Idaho

Packers fans from New Hampshire

My brother-in-law decides to take his son Drew (with the cheesehead hat) to Packers training camp today and brings Sawyer along. They see the Packers do the traditional bike ride and give a bunch of them high fives.  They also happen to spot a New Hampshire plate in the parking lot.  Jackpot!  45th toughest state to find is now off the list!

39 down 11 to go!

My mom's list

My mom sent me this picture.  She keeps this list in her car of which ones we need yet.  Both our families and a bunch of our friends are on the lookout.  What you don't see in the picture is a pre-written note ready to put on the windshield of any of these cars they find which explains the quest and asks them to call me.

This has evolved into something beyond absurd.

It's a Family Affair!

This day might be our craziest day yet with this license plate quest.  A lot of what made today possible is the fact that my wife is a teacher and has some time off in the Summer.  So today was one of those days they had nothing planned and that turned out to be a very good thing.

Sawyer's Aunt (who works at a hospital) calls his mom to tell him she just saw a South Carolina plate in the parking lot.  Within minutes they bolt out of the house and are on their way.  My wife calls me to tell me the news.  While I'm on the phone with her I get another call.  It's my parents....they are hot on the trail of a Black Kia with a Utah plate.  I'm shaking my head as our entire family seems like they have joined in this search.  Here's where it gets a little whacky (yes, I know....even more whacky).

My mom says 'do you need this one?'  and I think she says 'do you have this one'.  When I respond with a 'no' they stop following it for a brief moment.  By the time I get the confusion cleared up they try to find it again.....thinking it pulled into a Lowe's or Festival parking lot.  They search down the rows and come up empty.  Very disappointing.  I'm actually embarassed by my level of disappointed.  This quest has beomce something much more meaningful to us than ever imagined.

But Sawyer did get South Carolina so that was cool. 

But the story is not done.  Mom tells the kids that if they are good this morning they will drive through the mall parking lot to look for more plates.  Not go into the mall mind you, where there are cookies, ice cream, build a bear store, etc.  No, just drive through the parking lot itself.  The kids get all excited and are on their best behavior all morning.

So just before lunchtime they head out there.  You won't believe what they see.  No, it's not a Black Kia but they do find a car with Utah plates.  Crazy.  They snap that one up and then find two more yet.  Oklahoma and Nebraska!  The Nebraska one Mom pulls into a handicapped spot next to it and they jump out only to realize there's a guy in the car and the engine is running.  They quickly snap it without him even noticing (they think) and hop back in to make a quick getaway.

Whew!  Who knew taking pictues of license plates could be so exciting.  We are getting down to the end....now it's really going to get difficult. 

38 down 12 to go!

South Carolina

Nebraska

Oklahoma

Utah