Every time we drive on I-10 and pass through Beaumont, CA, with about 160 miles to go to Arizona, I think back to myself and remember driving to see Tony in Louisiana, driving from Austin. On that drive, you take US 290 southeast, skirt Houston and meet up with I-10 again, then head through Beaumont, TX as the last big metro area in Texas before you reach the Louisiana-Texas state line. So I start to imagine, in those moments on that hot California desert stretch of interstate, about a Beaumont to Beaumont drive. Are those the biggest same-named cities along the same freeway? Maybe, but I finally got to Google Maps to take a look:
1500+ miles? Okay, nice. I still wasn't sure about places in the US with he same name, and after a quick Internet search I realized that Arlington, TX and Arlington, VA have the same name and have a specific cultural cachet, so far apart are they?
Okay, 1300+ miles. But really, while the Rangers play baseball in Arlington, and Jerry-world, where the Cowboys play, is also in Arlington, but Arlington, TX is really DFW, and Arlington, VA is more closely associated with Washington, DC, so really this iteration of Arlington to Arlington is more like Dallas to DC. So...
And then I thought, sheesh, what about Portlands? Portland, OR and Portland, ME. I didn't need any Internet search to think about those two cities, the two as a kid I always lumped together because I was fascinated with the same-name phenomena. I knew they'd be farther than either of the last two pairs:
Okay, almost 3200 miles. Sounds about right. My real takeaway from that part of my looking was: Wait, is Portland Oregon north of Portland Maine? This is a bet I would have lost. Check out the circled latitudes below:
There's a whole state above Portland, Oregon. I guess there's a while state above Portland, Maine, but out west it's a different state. In general, the western states are further north than most Americans understand. I'm always looking to unpack that a little more...
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