The dreaded influx that have clogged Portland,
jamming up traffic,
stealing the good jobs,
raising up housing costs...
Born from a community in San Diego,
Point Loma,
that kinda prides itself on localism,
I'm aware of the importance (to me) of blending in.
Nothing's worse than the out of state plate guy,
driving like an idiot,
taking up valuable space.
When I was a kid,
we visited Oregon.
I remember seeing a bunch of these bumper stickers.
In the 70's and 80's Oregonism was very strong,
and about 10 years ago the new wave created another push back.
Now it seems like the invaders are winning.
The locals are retreating to Washington and the outer regions,
the city locals are like the French in WWII.
I've written a "how to" before about this blending in,
and acquired a couple old trucks,
which really fake deep Oregon roots.
Coffee and craft beer drinking newbs
are most likely to drive the subaru line...
In October the van brought up its last load north,
and it was here to stay,
or that's the plan.
It was time to do the out of state registration dance.
Oregon has a bevy of plate styles,
the extra fees partially go to the representative need.
Bike riders,
fisherman,
environmentalists
wine-o's...
How to choose?
One of the cooler versions is the original Pacific Wonderland plates,
and similar to California's black plates,
they did a reissue.
Of course there's a $100 gift fee to the historical society,
but what do you do for self consciousness.
While I was blowing our hard earned money
on frivolous vanity,
the DMV clerk said to make sure you use special fasteners.
Thieves steal plates and sell or transfer them.
What?
Well in Oregon the plates are not state owned.
You don't turn them in,
they are the owners property.
You can sell your car,
and keep the tags.
There's no plate # check to transfer either,
for a $7 transfer you can bring in a pair and register them.
"Write your legislator to change it" she said...
At that moment I realized I just blew $100 for nothing.
Instead of fixing a leak,
I'd rather reap the benefits!
The coolest Oregon plates are the old yellow ones,
with the embossed month.
I found the month we needed on eBay,
and pushed my luck on a DMV transfer.
The plate # was from a discontinued # series,
but these were from a 1966 VW that was still in the computer.
The wild card being they were still a live plate.
Luckily the transfer completed!!
Now the van looks like an local snow beaten work truck...
A huge giveaway are our two SoCal dogs.
These thin-skinned pups aren't too fond of the cold...
TP
Dang... that's a thorough post! Compliments!
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