I'm back from vacation!!
Today's my first day back to work. Sucks!! We had 3 awesome days in Puerto Rico and then 7 days on a cruise ship. The cruise was great!!! It was interesting from a non-drinking perspective. You have the same assigned tablemates at dinner time. It was fun to dress up every night, especially for formal night. I couldn't help but notice my formal night pictures had my face looking very fresh - I'm not used to that. Anyway, one tablemate kept going on and on about all of his boozing. I mean, every single topic of conversation was about drinking. He even referred us to this awesome snorkeling excursion. His high point was the booze, mine was the crazy amount of angel fish!!!!
Finally, the last night, we are talking about some giveaway at the casino. I asked, what do we win? He says, $500 off your bar tab!!! My husband says, we don't have a bar tab. The guy looked shocked!!! He says, you-don't-have-a-bar-tab????????? My husband tells him, nope! He looks at me questioningly, and I say, "I don't drink". And then you see the wheels churning. Hilarious.
My husband had one alcoholic pina colada at dinner early on in Puerto Rico. Beyond that, I think he had one other during a repeat cruise guest party on the ship. I told him to go ahead if he wanted to and so he did. But it was hardly noticeable to me since he's a normal drinker.
Oh also, to those with upcoming first sober vacations (MUNCHKIN!), the excursions that offered booze also offered tons of non-alcoholic drinks. No one gave me a second look for having them.
I also had a minor mishap. Every island we were on, they happily offered booze-free drinks. So the last island, St. Maarten, we are on our way back to the ship. There's a stand offering fruit drinks. And I think oh man I could use one of those, I'm hot and thirsty! I ask them what fruit they are using and this lady says, "here try a taste!" So I take a sip off of one of those little dixie cups - they are offering samples. And...immediately I realize my mistake. I should have asked her if booze was in it. Because rum was in it. Thankfully I only had a little sip and tossed the sample away. My husband drank his and then realized what was happening - he then grabbed mine and tossed it aside! He said "YUCK! That tastes like Pepto Bismo!!" LOL!!!!!!!
I freaked at first, like my world would crumble. It didn't. And I'm right back here, sober as usual. Lesson learned. Diligence is key.
The rest of the trip was sooooo fun. I did lots of things I wouldn't have before. And it was super neat to have pina coladas and not have the booze in them. Puerto Rico's pinas are the bomb. So is their coffee.
Cruising does have a lot of booze-like activities. But --- tons of people weren't drinking. I played bingo, danced my tata off at the club, stayed up super late watching the sea rush past on our balcony, played trivia games, watched a few awesome comedy shows, and loved every bit of it. I was able to pop up early for some excursions and also our return day in port -- so that we could exit the ship easily. So glad I'm sober.
I went to one Friends of Bill meeting. No one showed up. But it was alright. I didn't feel a need or have any burning desires. All was well.
We are already planning our trip to Europe next year.