Lindsay McMahon
"The English Adventurer"

Do you want to start a conversation about road trips in English?

In today’s episode, Aubrey and Lindsay share with you four idioms you can use to start talking about road trips.

Listen in and learn how to build a deeper connection with friends and colleagues about hitting the road.

Roadtrip Stories

Lindsay and Aubrey love taking road trips.

Lindsay shared that she recently took a trip to New Mexico.

Aubrey said she lives near New Mexico and they should have met up.

Lindsay laughed and said that would have been a great idea.

She didn’t know Aubrey was so near. Lindsay spent time with friends in Taos, New Mexico.

Aubrey shares that she is in a state that is just near New Mexico and she has never been there.

New Mexico has so much raw nature and being exposed to elements really is the point of going on road trips.

Aubrey agrees and she adds it gives you a chance to see all the landscape of where you live and where you are going.

It is very American to go on a cross-country road trip and see so many cool sceneries.

Lindsay and Michelle did an episode related to road trips.

It is episode AEE 1772: American Road Trip Games.

The games are Aubrey’s favorite part of riding a car and driving to different states.

Check out that episode for games you can start when you go on a road trip with family and friends.

Four Idioms About Roadtrips

In today’s episode, Lindsay and Aubrey share with you four idioms that you can use to start a conversation with a friend or colleague about an upcoming trip or one that they recently took.

These are really fun idioms to make you sound more native and natural when starting that conversation.

A road trip doesn’t necessarily have to be as long as a month.

This may be a weekend trip.

Aubrey shares that she did a quick hiking trip to the Grand Canyon with some of her friends that were experienced in hiking.

She wasn’t prepared for the rigorous trip and is still recovering from it.

But she enjoyed the journey of driving to the Grand Canyon.

The view was amazing.

Talking about experiences during a road trip is a very good topic to start with so you can build that connection.

So, here are the idioms you can use:

  • Hit the road

The term “hit the road” means setting out on a journey or road trip. Aubrey encourages you to use this phrase instead of asking what time you are going on a road trip. This is a more casual way of asking someone the time they left. Here are a few examples of how you can use these phrases.

Example:

What time are you going to hit the road?

What time did you finally hit the road on Friday?

  • Get off the beaten track

This phrase means to go places that tourists don’t usually go to. These are often places that are hidden or aren’t popular destinations for tourists. Lindsay gives Aubrey’s recent Grand Canyon trip as an example. Tourists often stay on the top of the Grand Canyon and just look down but Aubrey and her friends got off the beaten track and hiked to the bottom.

Example:

Get off the beaten track and see places that not everybody sees.

  • Living out of a suitcase

Aubrey explains that this term is used when you are going somewhere quick so you do not need to unpack and put your stuff in a closet in a hotel. You are literally leaving all your things in a suitcase. Aubrey doesn’t recommend living out of a suitcase if you’re on a trip that’s going to last for more than a week because sooner or later your stuff will be all over the place.

Example:

I’m going to live out of a suitcase in the next couple of weeks.

  • Travelling light

This term means to not overpack. This is when you travel with the bare minimum. This is often used when you are backpacking. Lindsay shares that she is a very bad packer. She often packs the wrong things and does not necessarily overpack. Aubrey mentions she is an over-packer. She is annoyed by her overpacking sometimes because she ends up with tons of laundry for even the clothes she didn’t get to you.

Example:

When backpacking in Europe, you have to travel light.

Roleplay

Lindsay and Aubrey do a quick roleplay using the terms and expressions shared in this episode for you to get a better idea and understanding of how to use them to start a conversation about road trips.

In this scenario, Aubrey and Lindsay are friends discussing their summer plans.

Aubrey: Any fun plans this summer?

Lindsay: Yes, we are going to hit the road. We are planning to drive up the coast from Arizona to Washington.

Aubrey: That’s amazing! I drove out once and it was so cool to get off the beaten track. Are you going to see the Red Woods?

Lindsay: Oh definitely. I can’t wait! We’re gonna camp a lot so we’ll for sure need to travel light

Aubrey: Oh yeah. When we went, I lived out of a suitcase for two weeks.

Lindsay: Well, I hope you at least found showers along the way.

Takeaway

Everyone loves to share about a cool place they went to or their experience about an amazing trip they did.

Don’t hesitate to start the conversation with your friends or work colleagues in English.

Use the phrases shared by Lindsay and Aubrey in today’s episode to get talking about travel experiences.

Build strong and meaningful connections with the people around you in English.

All you have to do is initiate the conversation. Good luck!

Where do you want to hit the road?

We’d love to hear what your road trip stories are in the comments below.

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