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Speaker 1: Why don't you take a short getaway from what you

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were just doing and check out today's podcast English lesson.

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I'm pretty sure that doing so will make you a

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happy camper. Let's do it.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from

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New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.

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Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael

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here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.

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And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode eight thirty six,

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Summer Getaways. Hello and welcome. Thanks for joining me for

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another episode of the Happy English Podcast. I'm your English

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teacher Michael, and I'm so glad you're here with me.

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This summer, I'm doing a special series called This Week

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in American Life, where we explore how Americans spend their summer,

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from food to fun to everyday habits. Each week, I'll

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share a few cultural facts, teach you some natural English expressions,

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and ask a question or two to help you practice.

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This week, we're talking about summer getaways, road trips, camping,

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and national parks. Let's dive in. First of all, you

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may be surprised to learn that about eighty percent of

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summer travel in the US is done by car. That

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means a lot of Americans are skipping flights and hitting

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the road for road trips. Why well, road trips give

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people flexibility. They can stop whenever they want, take detours

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to see roadside attrack, or just enjoy the ride with

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music and snacks. It's also more affordable, especially for families

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or groups, and with so many scenic roots like Route

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sixty six or the Pacific Coast Highway, It's not just

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about getting to your destination. Sometimes driving down the road

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itself is the vacation. And of course summer is the

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perfect time to get away for a few days, even

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if it's just a weekend road trip. That brings me

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to our featured phrasal verb get away. Get Away means

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to escape from your usual routine or from your usual location,

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like the workplace, like I need to get away from

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work for a few days, or after working non stop months,

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Emily decided to get away to San Diego for some

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rest in relaxation. By the way, we also use the

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noun getaway, which means a short trip, like we had

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a nice getaway in the countryside last week. You know what,

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The Jersey Shore is a nice place for a weekend getaway. Now,

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for a lot of Americans, the perfect summer getaway isn't

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a fancy hotel, it's a tent and a campfire. Camping

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is a big part of summer culture here. Every summer,

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over fifty million Americans go camping. Some people go intents,

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others prefer to camp with recreational vehicles also known as

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RVs or in camper vans. People love getting outside, unplugging

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from their phones, and spending time in nature. Popular camping

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spots include state parks, national forests, and of course national parks.

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Campgrounds often have fire pits, picnic tables, and trails nearby.

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It's common for families to bring marshmallows and make s'mores,

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a classic campfire treat made with gram crackers, chocolate and

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roasted marshmallows. By the way, if you like camping, then

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you'll want to know that setting up your tent is

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called pitching a tent. Another great phrase to learn, like

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we pitched our tent near the lake and watched the sunset,

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or it took us twenty minutes to pitch the tent

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because we lost the instructions. And speaking of camping, if

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someone says they're a happy camper, it doesn't always mean

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they're literally camping. Happy camper is an idiom that means

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a person who is satisfied or someone who's in a

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good mood. Give Jenny a beer in some chips, and

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she's a happy camper. Today in the office, the boss

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was a happy camper for a change. The opposite is

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also true. Jack said that he wasn't a happy camper

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when the tent collapsed in the rain. Happy camper can

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be used both seriously and playfully. It's great for describing moods. Okay,

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so the last phrase for the day is let's call

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it a day. After a full day of hiking, driving,

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or working, call it a day is one phrase you'll

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hear a lot. In American English. We use let's call

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it a day when we've done enough for now and

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it's time to finish, Like let's stop and rest. We

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saw two national parks today, so let's call it a

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day and relax at the campground. Here's another example. After

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driving six hours straight, we decided to call it a

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day and find a hotel. Call it a day is

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a useful everyday expression, not just for vacations, but for work, studying,

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or anything you've been doing. For a while. Try using

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it next time you want to wrap up an activity.

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So if you've been wondering how Americans escape the daily

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grind in the summer, it's usually by hitting the road,

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pitching a tent, and soaking up some fresh air at

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a national park. By the way, there are over four

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hundred National park sites across the US, including famous ones

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like Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Yosemite. Many people plan

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a whole road trip just to visit a few. How

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about you. Have you ever been camping or taken a

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road trip? If you could visit any US National park,

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which one would it be? Send me a message or

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tag me on social I'd love to hear about your

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summer escape plans. All right, that's it for today's podcast

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English lesson. Keep in mind, the best way to remember

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English like this and any other word or phrase in English,

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is to take that word or phrase, write it in

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a sentence that's true for you or true in your world,

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and then memorize your sentences. Hey, do you want to

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get more practice using your English, then you should join

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my podcast Learners study group. There you can make new friends.

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Join us for live group lessons every week where we

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practice these podcasts lessons together, Plus you get access to

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the PDF, transcript and audio download for every Happy English

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podcast in the past and in the future. And on

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top of that, each episode has exercises where you can

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practice this English point with speaking and writing checked by me.

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To learn more, just visit Myhappy English dot com and

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choose podcast lesson eight thirty six. Remember, learning another language

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is not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm here

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to help you on your journey.

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Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please

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visit Myhappy English dot com show your support for Happy

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English by leading us a review. Get English, Get Happy,

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Speaker 1: Things