Eeny, meany, miny, moe … With nearly 3,000 vanity license plates photos, what’s the best way to choose only 12 to appear on a new Maine postcard? By making two postcards, of course! But that’s another blog post.

This postcard is inspired by all the best that Maine has to offer: camp, loons, lobster, moose, chowder, hockey, lighthouses, wicked good humor, and more … that is, if you can decipher these license plates.

If you like this postcard, please do just that — give it a Like, Share, Tweet, Digg, G+ or email it to a friend. Currently these postcards are in limited supply, but with enough interest I’d like to place them into stores across Maine.

For more information or if you’d like me to send you a postcard — or surprise your license-plate-loving-friend with one — send me an email with the address to: myplate@themaineplate.com.

There’s a popular saying we have here in Maine, “You can’t get there from here.” (Appropriate Maine accent must be applied.)

However, I do believe I’ve found evidence to the contrary in the vanity license plates shown above. Not only can you get to Popham Beach or the Midcoast island of Isleboro, but you can get to a number of other popular Maine destinations — and from out-of-state, too! Can you name each of the Maine towns in the postcard above?

If you like this postcard, please give it a Like, Share, Tweet, Digg, G+ or email it to a friend. Currently these postcards are in limited supply, but with enough interest I’d like to place them into stores across Maine.

For more information or if you’d like me to send you a postcard — or surprise your license-plate-loving-friend with one — send me an email with the address to: myplate@themaineplate.com. (Also see our other vanity license plate postcard, Maine: The Way Life Should Be.)

Two dog lovers - one in Maine and one in Utah - share their love of Greyhounds with identical license plates.

Pam and Sarah have one thing in common — no, make that two. Each is involved in Greyhound rescue and each has a FASTDOG vanity license plate on her car. How is that possible? Because, Pam lives in Utah and Sarah in Maine.

I’ve known of Sarah’s love of Greyhounds for quite some time and took a photo of her FASTDOG license plate long ago. Pam contacted me just a few months ago to order our specialty dog license plate poster. When she told me that she had her own vanity license plate, FASTDOG, to represent her passion for Greyhound dogs, I knew I had a story to tell. Here’s what each had to say about their love of Greyhound dogs.

Pam from Utah writes,

Pam at Almost Home For Hounds in May 2011

I am a rep for Greyhound Rescue & Adoption – Utah Chapter. While I have personally has the pleasure of sharing my life with four Greyhounds over the course of 10 years I have helped place close to 50 and I have volunteered at Almost Home For Hounds and helped with hundreds of Greyhounds as they transition to rescue groups and their forever homes.

Sarah from Maine writes:

Delilah, adopted in 2004

To be honest, I can’t remember why I was drawn to greyhounds. I think I was probably drawn to adopting a dog who had a hard life and deserved to have a good retirement. We adopted Tula in 2002. She was the best dog ever, but we felt bad seeing her sad face when we went to work in the morning. So in 2004 we adopted Delilah. What we didn’t anticipate was that now we would have TWO sad faces at the door when we went to work in the morning.

Tula, adopted in 2002

We got the FASTDOG license plate after we had gotten a Jetta Wagon. Our previous car, a Toyota Echo, was great but after we adopted a 2nd greyhound, just didn’t cut it for transporting two big dogs. The state of Maine had a website where you could type in what you wanted for a vanity plate, and it would let you preview what it would look like. As soon as I typed in FASTDOG, I knew we had a winner.

We adopted both dogs from Maine Greyhound Placement Service in Augusta, Maine, and I just can’t say enough positive things about the organization. Everyone in the group has been great, offering good advice when needed. They even offer greyhound-only boarding, which made me feel better when we did have to board the dogs.

With nearly 100,000 vanity license plates in the State of Maine, it shouldn't be a surprise that we could come up with a small assortment of them to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Saint Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious holiday that commemorates Saint Patrick (c. AD 387-461), a patron saint of Ireland, as well as the arrival of Christianity in Ireland [Wikipedia]. According to legend, Saint Patrick used the shamrock a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish people.

Whether you celebrate the holiday by attending church, wearing a spot of green or by indulging in a bit ‘o green beer, have a happy St. Patrick’s Day!

On this day in 1820, Maine became the 23rd state admitted into the Union. Happy Birthday, Maine!

For the story behind this Maine vanity license plate and others like it, check out The Maine Plate: Maine Vanity License Plates and Their Meanings,  a one-of-a-kind book with photos of more than 250 Maine vanity license plates. 

It seems there’s a special day for just about everything these days, and pancakes are no different. IHOP established National Pancake Day in 2006, raising nearly $8 million to support charities in the communities in which it operates.

A self-designated holiday for a pancake company is one thing, but what would possess someone to put PANCAKE on their license plate? Perhaps they are a franchise owner, or perhaps there’s some other meaning to this vanity license plate that we have yet to learn. Anyone know the owner of this breakfast plate?

February 27, 2012, is International Polar Bear Day. The polar bear is also the mascot of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where I spotted this license plate—crafted with an appropriate Maine accent. To quote the athletics chant of Bowdoin, “GO U BEARS!”

Our plate lets people know, I hope, that we have a wonderful chocolate lab that is our constant companion and best friend. She is our third Lab (the other two blacks) and just as well loved. After losing our second one suddenly to an illness, we went to our local humane society and met her and fell in love.

She was about 3 year old then (6 now) and looked AWFUL! She came home with us bathed and nails clipped went to the vet and was spayed and has been with us since. She was found wandering and dripping milk. It is assumed she was a puppy mill throwaway when found, and had had pups every cycle from her first until the last that the vet felt was probably a c-section.The money maker became a money loser sooo–out the door.

Luckily for her she ended up at the humane society, and VERY lucky for us.

—Jane, East Vassalboro