Speaker 1: Why don't you take a short getaway from what you
were just doing and check out today's podcast English lesson.
I'm pretty sure that doing so will make you a
happy camper. Let's do it.
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.
Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode eight thirty six,
Summer Getaways. Hello and welcome. Thanks for joining me for
another episode of the Happy English Podcast. I'm your English
teacher Michael, and I'm so glad you're here with me.
This summer, I'm doing a special series called This Week
in American Life, where we explore how Americans spend their summer,
from food to fun to everyday habits. Each week, I'll
share a few cultural facts, teach you some natural English expressions,
and ask a question or two to help you practice.
This week, we're talking about summer getaways, road trips, camping,
and national parks. Let's dive in. First of all, you
may be surprised to learn that about eighty percent of
summer travel in the US is done by car. That
means a lot of Americans are skipping flights and hitting
the road for road trips. Why well, road trips give
people flexibility. They can stop whenever they want, take detours
to see roadside attrack, or just enjoy the ride with
music and snacks. It's also more affordable, especially for families
or groups, and with so many scenic roots like Route
sixty six or the Pacific Coast Highway, It's not just
about getting to your destination. Sometimes driving down the road
itself is the vacation. And of course summer is the
perfect time to get away for a few days, even
if it's just a weekend road trip. That brings me
to our featured phrasal verb get away. Get Away means
to escape from your usual routine or from your usual location,
like the workplace, like I need to get away from
work for a few days, or after working non stop months,
Emily decided to get away to San Diego for some
rest in relaxation. By the way, we also use the
noun getaway, which means a short trip, like we had
a nice getaway in the countryside last week. You know what,
The Jersey Shore is a nice place for a weekend getaway. Now,
for a lot of Americans, the perfect summer getaway isn't
a fancy hotel, it's a tent and a campfire. Camping
is a big part of summer culture here. Every summer,
over fifty million Americans go camping. Some people go intents,
others prefer to camp with recreational vehicles also known as
RVs or in camper vans. People love getting outside, unplugging
from their phones, and spending time in nature. Popular camping
spots include state parks, national forests, and of course national parks.
Campgrounds often have fire pits, picnic tables, and trails nearby.
It's common for families to bring marshmallows and make s'mores,
a classic campfire treat made with gram crackers, chocolate and
roasted marshmallows. By the way, if you like camping, then
you'll want to know that setting up your tent is
called pitching a tent. Another great phrase to learn, like
we pitched our tent near the lake and watched the sunset,
or it took us twenty minutes to pitch the tent
because we lost the instructions. And speaking of camping, if
someone says they're a happy camper, it doesn't always mean
they're literally camping. Happy camper is an idiom that means
a person who is satisfied or someone who's in a
good mood. Give Jenny a beer in some chips, and
she's a happy camper. Today in the office, the boss
was a happy camper for a change. The opposite is
also true. Jack said that he wasn't a happy camper
when the tent collapsed in the rain. Happy camper can
be used both seriously and playfully. It's great for describing moods. Okay,
so the last phrase for the day is let's call
it a day. After a full day of hiking, driving,
or working, call it a day is one phrase you'll
hear a lot. In American English. We use let's call
it a day when we've done enough for now and
it's time to finish, Like let's stop and rest. We
saw two national parks today, so let's call it a
day and relax at the campground. Here's another example. After
driving six hours straight, we decided to call it a
day and find a hotel. Call it a day is
a useful everyday expression, not just for vacations, but for work, studying,
or anything you've been doing. For a while. Try using
it next time you want to wrap up an activity.
So if you've been wondering how Americans escape the daily
grind in the summer, it's usually by hitting the road,
pitching a tent, and soaking up some fresh air at
a national park. By the way, there are over four
hundred National park sites across the US, including famous ones
like Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Yosemite. Many people plan
a whole road trip just to visit a few. How
about you. Have you ever been camping or taken a
road trip? If you could visit any US National park,
which one would it be? Send me a message or
tag me on social I'd love to hear about your
summer escape plans. All right, that's it for today's podcast
English lesson. Keep in mind, the best way to remember
English like this and any other word or phrase in English,
is to take that word or phrase, write it in
a sentence that's true for you or true in your world,
and then memorize your sentences. Hey, do you want to
get more practice using your English, then you should join
my podcast Learners study group. There you can make new friends.
Join us for live group lessons every week where we
practice these podcasts lessons together, Plus you get access to
the PDF, transcript and audio download for every Happy English
podcast in the past and in the future. And on
top of that, each episode has exercises where you can
practice this English point with speaking and writing checked by me.
To learn more, just visit Myhappy English dot com and
choose podcast lesson eight thirty six. Remember, learning another language
is not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm here
to help you on your journey.
Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please
visit Myhappy English dot com show your support for Happy
English by leading us a review. Get English, Get Happy,
Happy English
Speaker 1: Things