The 50 State License Plate Challenge!

It's a blog post 19 months in the making. 

In October 2020, after spotting an Alaska license plate leaving the playground, I decided to take Toby's picture with it. On that walk home we found 9 more states and kicked off the License Plate Challenge. At first he didn't know why we were doing it, but he caught on quickly.

As you would expect, we continued to find them at a pretty good pace, then progress slowed immensely. Sometimes months would go by without seeing a new one. A neighbor kept an eye out and a list of states we still needed on his phone.

This project kicked off Toby's love for geography for which I am very grateful. We kept a list that he crossed off with a red crayon with every new state.

Today, it all paid off. I'm grateful for the memories that many of these photos spark, creating some excitement during a time when many of our days were forced to be repeats of all the many days before and after. Some of the highlights:

Running out post-nap hoping the South Dakota you spotted

while Toby was sleeping would still be there.  

Walking about 1-1/2 miles round trip because Daddy spotted Arkansas on his run, only to find another Arkansas parked in front of your apartment building the very next day. 

Similarly, after well over a year of searching, all the sudden finding two 

West Virginia's on one street about 50 yards from each other. 

Chasing a Louisiana down a street just in case it parked. Losing it, but realizing it led us directly to Hawaii! Then Mommy and Daddy being a bit more excited about Hawaii than Toby was, but he fed off our energy and amped it up for the photo.

The woman that we didn't know was there who jumped out of her car and didn't understand enough English to understand why we were taking a photo of her Mississippi plate. (Sorry to freak you out ma'am.)

And of course the rest stop in Connecticut where we spotted the prized and elusive Kansas - the second to last one we found (!) as we drove up to Massachusetts for Christmas.

You'll see the seasons change, hair be chopped off and grow back, and many early photos in a once loved stroller. In the final photo taken, there's a special background appearance by a little brother who wasn't around when this adventure began. 

The sparkle of excitement in Toby's eyes and smile remain the constant throughout. 

I give you Toby and the 50 State License Plates:

And a bonus point for the District of Columbia!

 

Here's the list we kept all this time. Toby was very proud this evening and said, 

"Daddy, I don't ever want to lose this paper."