As a vacationing child, I was prone to play the “license plate” game – especially on long, interstate travel. If your are not fimilar with the game, here’s how it’s played: you try to observe cars from with license plates from all 50 states. The first one to fifty wins or if non one reaches 50 (usually the case) – the person with the most wins. If you’re not competitive; the game can also be a collaborative effort.
The Holy Grail of the game is Hawaii. Because there is no highway that connects the islands to the continental US. DC and Canadian providences are usually fair substitutes, but no one gets all 50 anyway.
Vacationing this week by air travel has left me without my usual road trip distraction. No cars, no license plates, no game. That is until I realized that it’s summer and baseball season is in full swing. Finding caps, tshirts, and jerseys from all 30 teams (one from each) became the new game.
The hardest teams to find thus far have been the AL West teams. I’ve found the Rangers, but no one else. Come to think of it, the AL teams in general have been quite difficult to find. The NL teams on the other hand have been quite easy to find. On this trip, I am only missing three (Dodgers, Marlins, and Pirates). Atlanta was a virtual goldmine of team support – Raliegh-Durham was the least helpful. Although I think some went ran by with an oriels hat on, but without a full viewing if stands as unconfirmed. Even La Gaurdia was no help. In case you were wondering, the nine MLB teams with no support on my trip were: Dodgers, Marlins, Pirates, A’s, Mariners, Tigers, Royals, Blue Jays, and Oriels.
