Ever wanted to hop from San Francisco to Los Angeles for an afternoon of shopping? Or spend a couple hours soaking up the sun in Orlando after lunch in Atlanta? Want to catch a great concert in Nashville but be in bed in St. Louis later that night?
Hyperloop, a futuristic tube style of transportation, may have you covered.
This innovative concept proposed by Elon Musk, the mind behind PayPal, SpaceX and the Tesla electric car company, would be a safer, faster, less expensive, more convenient, self-powered system of moving you from point A to point B.
And, if that's not enough to impress, the estimated travel time for that afternoon of shopping between San Fran and L.A.? A mere 30 minutes. That's less time than it would take to fly there, without even taking into account the possibility of delays. And if you could avoid the hassle of an airport-security checkpoint? We're relaxing already.
In laymen's terms, Hyperloop would consist of an aboveground tube that connects two cities. Inside, a large amount of air would be used to shoot a pod full of passengers from the beginning to the end, reaching speeds of more than 700 mph along the way. That's not too shabby for a system that is vaguely reminiscent of getting cash from the drive-through window at the local bank.
But, just imagine what this new method of travel could do: Enjoy a bowl of Cajun-style cooking in New Orleans and attend a meeting in Houston that same day. Take a weekend trip to somewhere exotic and new. Meet your friend from another state for dinner.
Even if it costs a lot more than Musk thinks it would, Hyperloop could link all your favorite cities, creating endless, quick travel possibilities. So in the spirit of dreaming big, these are the five travel routes we at Where would link via tube-travel:
Phoenix to Grand Canyon: Cut out the four-hour-plus drive and go right from this major city and transportation hub to Arizona's natural masterpiece, and yet be back the same night to stay in one of Phoenix's posh hotels.
Las Vegas to Los Angeles: It's only a four-hour drive, but if you're returning on a Sunday afternoon at the end of a "Hangover"-style weekend, sitting in a pod and being whisked back to L.A. in 30 minutes sounds better than gripping the wheel and staring into the sun for four hours. There just aren't sunglasses dark enough for that.
Washington, D.C., to New York: This could be the ultimate, iconic-experiences travel route. Follow up sightseeing in the nation's capital with a showing of the newest Broadway production in New York.
Atlanta to Nashville: Work your business deals in Downtown and Buckhead, then let down your hair and spend an evening under the stars in Nashville at a great country concert.
London to Paris: International visitors don't have to debate Big Ben vs. Musée d'Orsay. Do both! A Hyperloop trip could be even faster than the 2.5-hour journey on the Eurostar high-speed train -- and at 186 mph, that train trip is hard to beat.
-- Jennifer Harlan, Where®/WhereTraveler.com