One concern....
 

One worry I harbor is traveling/vacationing without alcohol. I can do it, but I don't have the confidence I need to make dang sure I don't drink.

Over the years, the alcohol and vacations have become so tightly intertwined. Seems like vacations were really not much more than new places and people to get hammered with. Pretty pathetic.

I need to take a deep breath and enjoy the vacation instead of the booze. Slow down and take it in, and make a no changes allowed decision to not drink no matter what. I can do this. Thanks for any tips that have helped you.

:thanks

You don't drink, right?

Right!

Some of the things folks frequently advise for any event, etc where booze is (for you, was) a big part:

Plan your time in detail- activities, things to keep you occupied. Ex, if kids will be around, plan things focused on them.
Always have water bottles/nonalc bevs handy (I ALWAYS have a water bottle in my purse, in the car, multiple places, really- not to mention all the diet coke!) - and snacks - let sugar be your friend if you need to - I find that certain protein bars are actually tasty - I keep one in my server's apron at work so I don't go 8 or so hours without eating
Be the picture-taker, the organzier, the chauffeur, whatever keeps you busy and requires you to be focused and engaged
Do not isolate!!! Don't put yourself in a solo jaunt or a situation where you can sneak drinks or such
Have exit strategies - excuse yourself from an activity entirely, decide to take an early exit if you need to - claim you're tired and need a nap, ready for bed, WHATEVER
Check SR, call or text your sponsor if you're in AA, call a friend
If you can, have a sober partner in the group who you can lean on when you get the first inklings of being squirrelly.

Or, don't go.

Planning and being willing to execute your sober plan are the keys.

Good luck.

So don't travel or vacation until you are confident you can do it without threatening your sobriety.

took me a while to see the enjoyment in activities that ususally involved alcohol. there are some vacations that I still dunno if i'd truely enjoy without booze. IE a trip to the keys or a cruise ship.

But in time many activities i used to find only enjoyable with booze became ok again. I still feel a bit empty handed if i'm burning trash. But its not like some miserable expiereince or something. life goes on just fine without booze.

Lots of good advice her already CLAS, and I think the best is to simply avoid travelling until you feel secure enough in your sobriety.

You got this.

Confidence is 90% of accomplishment

I avoided extensive travel until I felt I could handle it. In the past, travel and drinking were inextricably linked for me as well. It just took some time to 'undo' that association. We went on vacation recently and I was fine. This is year three for me.

I avoided things until I felt I had the sober muscles to handle them.

It was some short term pain for long term gain :)

D

I recently went to the beach for a week and did not drink. I never thought that would be possible for me to do. I kept myself very busy with the kids which is not hard to do. I packed in a lot of activities I normally would not have done because I would be drinking, drunk or nursing a hangover. You can do it if I can!!!

For myself at a few weeks sober if I had put myself in a circumstance that I associated with alcohol I would have been planning my own relapse

you don't see a connection between your vacation and your drinking after Skipper?

it happened to me many times I was 'good' and got through a tough situation sober, only to drink later on...:dunno:

D

Do you have a specific vacation planned? There are lots of great things to do, and finding someplace that you won't be surrounded by people drinking all day.

In 2012 I went on the trip of a lifetime to Thailand. I was there for 21 days and I was drunk 21 nights and hung over for 21 days. I remember being on top of an elephant in the jungle and wanting to puke and it felt like my head had been hit with a baseball bat. One morning I woke up on a small cruise ship and I had vomited on the floor. The trip was honestly a blur of being drunk and then hung over the rest of the time.

This year I had the chance to go back to Asia. I was sober for the whole trip. I woke up every day feeling good. Even though I've been sober for two years, I won't say it was easy. But I never woke up on any of the days of the vacation wishing I had drank the night before.

The sober vacation was immensely better without the hangovers.

I have seen a delayed reaction to drinking situations more times than I can count with many drinking soon after.

I go to a couple of heavy alcohol events a year and I have sober for awhile. Even with years of sobriety I feel off for a few days afterward