Few things can make a long road trip even longer than whiny children in the backseat, constantly asking: "Are we there yet?"

So what is a parent to do? Well when I was a kid, riding in the backseat of our family's 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass on our way to Michigan on vacation, we played the license plate game.

It was really quite fun to sit there, in anticipation, as a car would approach in the lane next to us and then drive past, revealing the nameplate of their state. I usually had an advantage because I always sat behind my dad, who was driving, so I got the first glimpse of the plate as the car whooshed past.

The Illinois plate was always easy to spot with its plain -- and ugly -- off-white background and light-blue bar that ran across the top. If I remember right, it read "Land of Lincoln" in blue letters across the top.

Then there was the Missouri plate with its chocolate-brown background and white letters across the bottom that read "Show-Me State."

Ohio had a plain white background and featured blue and red letters across the top with the phrase "Heart of It All" scrolled across the top.

Finally came Kentucky and Michigan with sea-blue backgrounds and white letters -- no pictures, no symbols, no character at all.

A few years ago, all the states surrounding Indiana decided to add some pizzazz to their plates. Kentucky got a picturesque mountain background and Michigan took on a little more class. Even Illinois went multi-colored, adding an image of Lincoln in the center of the plate.

It is my opinion that Indiana started this trend of more lively looking plates when it moved from the solid-colored plates of the 1930s through 60s and went with a more stylish design.

But all that changed this year when the BMV unveiled its next series of plates. If you haven't seen them yet, you soon will -- and I'm sorry to say you will.

They are the ugliest plates I've seen since, well, the Michigan and Kentucky plates of the 1980s! If the state thought they sold a lot of "In God We Trust" plates last year, wait until people go to renew their plates this year. Anything is better than the plain blue ones we're going to be stuck with for the next five years.

What gripes me more is that the BMV did away with the system of numbering the plates by county. For example: Putnam County plates started with a "67" because we are the 67th county numerically.

Apparently they didn't listen to the public, and the state police, when they said they preferred the current numbering system. I saw a trooper interviewed on TV and he said the police liked the numbered plates because it was easy to tell which county the plate was from. The new ones have the county written out, in small letters, across the top of the plate. Goodbye numbers.

From a purely aesthetic point of view, I liked the numbering system on the old plates because it set Indiana apart from other states that have a bunch of numbers and letters all squished together in a tiny space.

The people of Indiana may have voted for the new plate, but like the "Back Home Again" plates we have right now, the finished product always seem to come out looking different.

My point is that a license plate is a reflection of the state from whence it comes. As much as possible, it should highlight the things that make our state unique -- and great -- among every other state in the Union. And no it's not all about racing and the Indy 500, as much as those things bring revenue and publicity to the state.

Indiana has a rich supply of famous people, unique landscapes, tourist attractions and historic sites, along with many other features that could be used to represent us better than a plain blue background.

The truth is, it probably all boils down to money. I would imagine that more decorations mean more money. If we have to choose between attractive license plates or better roads, I'll take the nice roads.

I guess I'll have to wait five years for the next ones to come out.