License Plates

On road trips as kids, we loved to entertain ourselves in the car with all sorts of games. The favorite in our family was always who can spot the most license plates from out of state. Even as an adult now, I tend to take notice whenever I spot a car that seems to have gotten lost far from home.

With my job, I do a lot of day tripping. I have a number of clients in different parts of New England so I'm often in my car headed to Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut or New Hampshire. The best part of New England is that many of our states are small so even with meetings in so many different states I'm often home in time for dinner. I've gotten quite used to noticing the license plates around me as I drive, much like we did as kids, except now I'm just playing by myself. The other day while on my way home however I spotted a state plate that I had never seen before, New Mexico.

We see plenty of the North Eastern states up here, and there are lots of Florida plates ( there is a large population of retired folk who spend the winters in Florida and the summers in New York), and I've got quite a collection of Mid-Western state plates in my 'game board'. The New Mexico plate however was a first. I was so excited! The bold bright blue color is what caught my eye, and I may have followed the car for a bit on the Massachusetts turnpike, just so I could admire the plate for a bit longer. What a beautiful license plate! I have seen California and even Hawaii plates, but for some reason this particular New Mexico plate excited me the most. Maybe it was the gorgeous detail in the middle, maybe because it seemed so unexpected, or maybe it was because New Mexico is a state I simply don't get to talk about enough but my few minutes spent driving with the car from New Mexico kind of made my day. I couldn't help but wonder, what would the lovely folks of New Mexico think if a New York plate when driving through their town?