Welcome!

I’m sure my mom could have never imagined this.  What started out as a simple road trip game to keep me and my brother occupied during long car drives has turned into life-long passion and hobby.  The "License Plate" game began on pad of yellow legal paper, with me carefully numbering 1-50 and meticulously looking out the car window for plates from different states.  Some twenty five years later, I still find myself doing the same thing, whether I'm on a long road trip or simply just driving to work.  

To this day, the excitement of seeing a plate far away from my home base of New Jersey never ceases to amaze me.   My mind started rattling with questions – what was the travel route? What was the reason for this car to travel so far from home?  Was it a happy reason like a graduation or to welcome a new baby?  Or was it a sad reason?  Had someone just died and this car literally served as the vehicle to allow the driver to say his final goodbyes?  Was this trip a simple vacation or was the driver starting over?  Was the driver just passing by or were there still many more miles to go?  

It soon dawned on me that seeing license plates far from home was an invitation to a greater story.  Like a giant flashing neon sign calling to me, I realized I had to go deeper to find more out. Truthfully, I can never deny how much I still love stumbling across an Alaska or Hawaii plate in New Jersey – but there is something more than the fun of seeing something so rare.  License plates are the first step to hearing stories from the road and from across the country.    It’s the chance to get a glimpse into the lives of people that would otherwise just continue cruising down the interstate.

This blog is dedicated to the excitement of the chase – finding the license plates that are far from home-  and telling the stories that accompany the miles traveled.  So strap on in and get ready for the trip of a lifetime.