Episode 12: Weekend Mountain Escape — 5,000 Core English Words

📖 This lesson is part of the comprehensive series 5,000 Common English Words Through 46 Real-Life Conversations by Echo Stories English.

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Chapter twelve. A weekend in the mountains.

It is the middle of autumn. Ryan has been working late on a broken project, and Emma has a class of thirty students and a pile of tests. Both of them are tired, and the city feels grey.

Listen to how they decide to get away, how Ryan calls a small bed and breakfast to book a room, and how they drive out of the traffic and into the cool mountain air.

Emma: You look terrible. When did you last sleep?

Ryan: I don't remember. The current version of our software has a tremendous problem, and I have to supervise the team that's fixing it. I'm making no progress.

Emma: And I'm teaching six classes a day, plus the weekly test. I must have marked two hundred papers. Personally, I think we should run away.

Ryan: Run away where? I can't fly anywhere. I don't want an airport, a terminal, a taxi, or a ticket.

Emma: No planes. No ships. Nothing further than two hours by car. I know a place in the mountains, near the state border. It's a bed and breakfast with horses in a field, and the trees are yellow and golden right now.

Ryan: That sounds like a different world. How do you know about it?

Emma: A friend from my class at college grew up there. It's a kind of local institution. The owners are a retired couple, and they still do everything themselves. The husband even built the house himself.

Ryan: Okay. I'm confident I can leave on Friday at five. Should I call them, or should you?

Emma: You call. You're good on the phone. Ask about the price, and ask if they have a room with a view.

Manager: Good afternoon, Pine Hill Bed and Breakfast. This is Walter speaking.

Ryan: Hi, Walter. I'd like to ask if you have any rooms available this weekend.

Manager: This weekend? Let me look at the board. For how many nights?

Ryan: Two nights. Friday and Saturday. We'd return on Sunday.

Manager: And how many people?

Ryan: Two adults.

Manager: You're in luck. I have one room left, the blue room. It's on the top floor, with a view of the valley below. It has a king bed and its own bathroom.

Ryan: That sounds perfect. How much is it per night?

Manager: It's a hundred and twenty dollars a night. That's our low season price.

Ryan: Is breakfast included?

Manager: It certainly is. My wife cooks it herself. Nobody starves in this house. Eggs, bread, fruit, and coffee, from seven until ten.

Ryan: Great. And is it a non-smoking room?

Manager: The whole house is non-smoking. If you smoke, you can do it outside on the porch.

Ryan: No, neither of us smokes. What time is check-in?

Manager: Any time after three. If you arrive after dark, just ring the bell and I'll come down.

Ryan: Is there parking for one vehicle?

Manager: Plenty. One more thing I should tell you. We're in the mountains. The phone signal is weak, and the Internet is slow. Don't expect to work.

Ryan: Walter, that is exactly what I wanted to hear. Can I book it now?

Manager: Sure. I just need a name and a card number to hold the room. You pay when you leave.

Ryan: It's Ryan Johnson. I'll read you the number.

Emma: Did you obtain a room?

Ryan: I did. The blue room. With a view and no Internet.

Emma: You see? Good choice. You're a champion. What's the weather going to be like?

Ryan: Cold and clear. Walter advised me to bring a warm coat. He said the sun is nice during the day, but it gets dark early and the air is sharp at night.

Emma: Then I'll bring my big jacket and my boots. Are you going to be dressed correctly, for example in something other than office shoes?

Ryan: I own a pair of boots. I bought them in July and never used them.

Emma: Good. Bring a map, too. A paper one. You can't trust your phone up there.

Ryan: I don't have the knowledge to read a paper map.

Emma: I do. I'll speak, and you'll drive.

On Friday, they leave at five. The first hour is slow. The traffic does not move, block after block, and Ryan pushes his hands against the wheel.

Ryan: I miss it already. The beach in August. The sea. Anything but this road.

Emma: Be patient. Look, we're still moving. Should I check the tires when we stop? One of them looked a little flat.

Ryan: It's okay. I had them checked last week.

Then the buildings get smaller, and the road begins to climb. There are fields, and a river, and a line of dark trees.

Emma: Look at that! A big bird, over there, above the park. And a cat on that fence. Every animal is out tonight.

Ryan: Is that a horse?

Emma: That's a cow, Ryan.

Ryan: I told you. I'm a city person. I'd be less surprised by an elephant.

Emma: You have a real prejudice against the country. This weekend will have a good effect on you.

Ryan: I'm enthusiastic. I am. I just don't know what people do out here.

Emma: They sit. They walk. They look at things. There's a board game in every bed and breakfast in the world, and an old rifle above the fireplace that nobody has touched since the war.

Ryan: And no net. No phone.

Emma: Specifically, no work. This trip doesn't represent anything. It's just yours and mine.

Ryan: Then it's worthy of my best boots.

Emma: There it is. Pine Hill. Turn left at the sign. And the underground garage is, let me see, that tree.

That is the end of chapter twelve. Ryan booked the blue room, they packed warm clothes, and they left the city behind.

Keep these with you: "Do you have any rooms available?" "How much is it per night?" "Is breakfast included?" "What time is check-in?"

In the next chapter, summer comes, and Ryan invites Emma to meet his parents during the holiday.

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