License Plate Game

My husband and I play a game that begins
on Memorial Day and ends on Labor Day.

The goal is to find as many license plates
before the summer is through

We go out to a restaruant the winner chooses
and the loser has to pay the tab and tip.

The first license we see is California of course
then all the neighboring states in various orders

Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Texas
New Mexico, Oregon and Washington.

Next come the farm states of Idaho and Iowa
Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin and Nebraska

Kentucky, Wyoming and Montana we see towards the end
of summer, South Dakota more often than North Dakota.

Maine, Indiana, Tennessee, and Oklahoma
we usually spot on large commercial trucks

While New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Pennsylvania
can frequently be found near Hollywood and Vine

Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts,
tend to travel along highway 40 and 10.

The southern states can be a hit or miss
but we usually find Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia,

South Carolina and Virginia but West
Virginia we’ve never seen even when

we traveled to the east coast but that was the first
time we saw Delaware, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Florida, with all its retirees, can be seen throughout
the year but Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maryland

we only see when we travel to Arizona
to visit Sedona or the Grand Canyon

Because of the military bases in Long Beach
and San Diego we always spot a Hawaii or Alaska

we saw Mississippi and Louisiana quite often
but since Katrina and other disasters not so much anymore

North Carolina was a no show for lots of years
but this summer we’ve already seen it three times.

The game will not save the world
nor solve the national debt

but we’ve played it so often we would
miss it if we skipped a year.

I just have fifteen more to find and we're
leaving for Sedona next month. Wheee!

Note: I just got back from Sedona -
8/26 Now I only have five to go:
Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire
West Virginia, and Deleware.