Do you like going on day trips? My family does. We go
on a lot of trips every year! And we usually have a good time. It's really
great even if the day isn't always as good as we planned.

Everything starts
with Mum. She plans the trips, because she is always very organized. The night
before the trip she packs the car with clothes, umbrellas, maps and, of course,
with suntan lotion. Then, on the day of the trip, she makes everybody get up
very early. "We must avoid1 the traffic," she usually
says. It seems other people think the same because we usually stay in a traffic
jam2 among thousands of other cars.

I remember one
trip we had to the seaside a few years ago. We left the house at 4:30 a.m.!
But, you know what?! I think you guessed that we had to queue for hours on the
motorway... Well, we didn't get to the beach until lunchtime! Since then things
got worse. It was really very hot on the beach and my Dad went to sleep. He got
sunburned, of course. Besides, I was stung by a jellyfish3 while
swimming. The whole day seemed a complete disaster after the car had broken
down on the way home.

Those trips to the
seaside are not the only trips that my Mum and Dad go on. The day trip to
London that took place last year is unforgettable as well. That day started well,
indeed. We all went to Madame Tussaud's and watched the wax" models of
famous people.

My Dad took a photo of me standing next to Robbie
Williams!

Then Dad suggested
to go to the British Museum. We decided to go there by underground. The station
was very crowded, and soon I noticed my little sister wasn't with us. We saw
her when the doors of the train closed — she was still on the platform! We went
back. We were looking for her everywhere till someone told us that she had been
taken to a police station. We rushed there and found her chatting happily to a
policewoman. We were so relieved!

After that we
didn't go to London for a long time. And when my birthday came, Mum and Dad
took us to Alton Towers instead. Oh, Alton Towers! It's a wonderful theme park
with lots of great rides! This time there were no disasters. It's true, we
spent over an hour waiting to get on the new rollercoaster, 'AIR'. As soon as
the ride which lasted only for about two minutes finished, we joined the back
of the queue again. It was fantastic!

My parents wonder why I enjoy rollercoaster rides and
I can't understand why they like going to those boring museums. But I've got an
idea about our family trips. Though things sometimes go wrong, the main thing
is that we live over the situation doing things together.

These days trips are the experience of spending time
wjth the family — ' the time we are going to talk and laugh about remembering
our disasters as real adventures.