Basic Disclaimer: Again, this high-speed rail network does not currently exist beyond my imagination. If you would like to see it, talk to your representatives and business leaders. You may see real events and locations who I don’t have any affiliation with and who don’t have affiliation with me unless stated otherwise. On to the post.
This exploration will be a bit different than my previous ones as this is less of a specific trip that one would take in a weekend and more of a longer, exploratory trip that would not make nearly as much sense via air travel and would be pretty lengthy even with a car. In this one we are going to explore zoos and botanical gardens in the different cities of my imaginary network, not necessarily in the most logical order. I picked these because I feel that zoos are pretty popular with families and botanical gardens can be really lovely for adults. I understand that not everyone agrees with the idea of zoos but I hope that you can at least enjoy the botanical garden idea. Please note that while some of the zoos are also aquariums, I didn’t look at aquariums for this list. That can be its own list if you would like. If you are aware of zoos or gardens not included, or ones that are more convenient, feel free to comment them below. Again this list is gathered through the help of Google.
Botanical Gardens
Durham: Sarah P. Duke Gardens
Charlotte: UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens
Nashville: Cheekwood
Memphis: Memphis Botanic Garden
Louisville: Waterfront Botanical Gardens
Lexington: The Arboretum State Botanical Garden of Kentucky
Indianapolis: White River Gardens
South Bend: Potawatomi Conservatories
St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden
Chicago: Chicago Botanic Garden
Toledo: Toledo Botanical Garden
Cleveland: Cleveland Botanical Garden
Columbus: Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
Cincinnati: Hauck Botanic Garden
Ann Arbor: Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum
Zoos
Durham: Has a Wildlife Center and the Museum of Life and Science which seems to have animal exhibits
Charlotte: Shares the North Carolina Zoo with Durham (the zoo is halfway between the two)
Nashville: Nashville Zoo at Grassmere
Memphis: Memphis Zoo
Louisville: Louisville Zoo
Lexington: Nearest zoo seems to be the Louisville Zoo
Indianapolis: Indianapolis Zoo
South Bend: Potawatomi Zoo
St. Louis: St. Louis Zoo
Chicago: Brookfield Zoo
Toledo: Toledo Zoo & Aquarium
Cleveland: Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Columbus: Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Cincinnati: Cincinnati Zoo
Ann Arbor: Doesn’t seem to have a dedicated zoo but does have the Creature Conservancy
So here is the list of zoos and botanical gardens. My main premise with this trip is that if you enjoy either of these activities, high-speed trains could make it more convenient to visit multiple gardens or zoos for a single vacation or explore different ones as a running series of weekends. For example, perhaps you decide to visit the North Carolina Zoo, the Nashville Zoo, and the Memphis Zoo or the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, Cheekwood, and the Memphis Botanic Garden. From Durham to Memphis is over 10 hours of driving, which would be a bit much, even over a few days. Meanwhile the same trip via our bullet train network is 3.5 hours. This could easily lend itself to an 3-Day exploratory weekend if a day is spent at each location. Meanwhile, the cost of a plane tickets or simply just the hassle of going through security that much could make a similar trip less appealing. Would you take this kind of trip? Let me know down below!
unknownclimate 