2006 Pennsylvania License plate (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

New "gold" New York State vehicle registration plate (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

UTAH 2002 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES plate (Photo credit: woody1778a)

My brothers and I used to play The License Plate Game when we were kids on road trips with our parents. See who can find all (or the most of) fifty states represented by vehicle license plates first. I’ve had our boys play it on trips as well.

Here’s an idea for a new version of the game. Have you noticed all the U-Haul trucks displaying a unique state-themed ad display on the sides of their trucks? That isn’t new, but it just occurred to me that those could be used for a  variation of the license plate game.

U-haul Supergraphics Arkansas

Obviously, start with the basics. Whoever can find all fifty (or simply the most) states represented by U-Haul trucks wins. But now, add a twist. Take a digital photo of each state display. At the end of the trip, open each photo and discuss or further research all the interesting facts. State flower, tallest mountain, deepest canyon, official bird, etc. You get bonus points if the state of the license plate matches the state ad on the truck. There’s even more you can do, but first I need to tell you about how I got these photos.

When I thought I was done writing this draft, the WordPress media recommendations gallery did not display any of the state themed trucks, so I decided to venture to my local U-Haul dealership and get some photos myself.

Uhaul Supergraphics Maine

U-haul Supergraphics Minnesota

Now, I know from experience in Waymarking, that businesses don’t always like strangers taking pictures of their property. Truthfully, I don’t blame them in today’s world. They never know if it is for some unscrupulous party preparing to sue them for something, or perhaps a competitor. Who knows? But like I said, I don’t blame them.

I walked onto the lot and was able to snap about a half dozen pictures or so before a young man came out of the office and asked me if he could help me with anything and what was I doing? I explained I was simply taking pictures of the graphics of the trucks because I thought they were interesting. He explained that wasn’t allowed so I said I would leave. He went back inside. He didn’t ask me to delete the photos, so I didn’t offer. While there, I was able to more closely examine the graphics. I noticed they were numbered along with the tag line Venture Across America. 

U-haul Supergraphics Venture Across America

I then noticed some with the line Venture across Canada.

U-haul Supergraphics Canada

I’ve always tried to read as much information about each state as I could while driving, but I was always the one driving! I never noticed the invitation to Learn more at uhaul.com,

U-haul Supergraphics Learn More

though that should be obvious. So I went to their website today to learn more.

U-Haul Supergraphics Ice Age Trail

So here’s the rest of the game. At the end of the trip, get online and go to U-Haul’s website  and go to their Supergraphics page. You can learn interesting facts about each state, download a free coloring book, or shop for state t-shirts with cool graphics.

Finally, go the History page at U-Haul.com to learn how a large, successful company was born from the idea of a couple of entrepreneurs, to meet a demand with a product and a service.

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