When I was little, I loved to blow on the dandelion seed heads to watch the "parachutes" float away.  I didn't get to do that often as it seemed the neighbors where I grew up were very effective at keeping them out of their lawns.  I remember being very excited when I found them in various park lawns or within easy reach at roadside stops on vacation trips.  

I think I would have thought I was the luckiest kid on the planet if I'd have found these along the highway.