Cosima11

My intention was never to bash, I actually love Vegas and met a lot of amazing people there. Sorry I keep coming back to this thread because truth be told I still really miss it. I don't think the city itself encourages or causes people to have addiction issues.. I think it's alluring to those who already do, and it expands the term "functional" beyond what might pass as that in more conservative settings. I also don't think the "drinking culture" there is limited to only the strip but maybe that's just a personal opinion.

Overall it's an interesting place and I'd like to be able to spend time there as a sober person. I gained a lot of courage to think outside the box in Vegas.. there's a mindset of abundance there which I miss and is in stark contrast to where I'm living now. Of course I recognize my experiences are largely subjective there and everywhere else.

SoberCAH

I would like to visit Las Vegas one day.

I don't gamble, drink, drug or hire prostitutes, all of which I can find here in my own smaller "Bible Belt" city I may add, but I have studied a whole lot about the history of Las Vegas and the gaming industry and I would like to visit some local sites and museums.

If we visit Las Vegas, my wife will invariably drag me to shows (e.g. Celine Dion) and I may drag her to your city's NASCAR race track if it's a race weekend.

My favorite place on the planet is Key West, Florida and it is known for drunkenness and loose women and men and pretty much all of the other pleasures of the flesh.

I have been there ~45 or so times and they have all been since I got sober.

I have been attending AA meetings since I started traveling there in the early 1990's and my wife will even sometimes attend an open meeting with me.

We take in all of the culture, art, literature, dining, vegetation, architecture and friendliness the island has to offer.

It's a great, great place, notwithstanding its well-deserved reputation as a den of iniquity.

But, beyond Duval St. and the Hemingway House, there are 25,000 people, mostly working, who call it home.

They don't walk around with Mardi Gras beads and hang out it the bars listening to guitar players who aspire to be like Jimmy Buffett.

I'm sure that's the way it is in Las Vegas.

Winslow

For realz.so much more to places than what we are sold or think in our heads haha,i havent been to The Strip or Freemont in probably 8 years! Its boring to me i like the outskirts for shopping, eateries,coffee shops then theres Red Rock,Mt Charleston,Floyd Lamb Park just "normal" fun things to do

doda

I need to chime in on this thread. As a single mother who raised a son in Western Colorado, Las Vega (Mesquite & Laughlin occasionally) was our vacation spot every year. Why? I-70 in Utah is the most beautiful and easy drive you can imagine. Cut down to Zion and into Las Vegas through Lake Mead Recreation Area and the Valley of Fire. Breathtaking! If you stay off the strip, Las Vegas is very affordable, and the weather is fantastic in the spring and the fall. Back in the day, there was Wet n Wild, the Pinball Hall of Fame, the pirate fight at the Treasure Island, bowling (a lost sport,) kids arcades, basketball games at Thomas Mack, the Lion's Den, etc....Plenty of clean, affordable fun for a single mom (and her only child) who didn't have the resources to fly off to Hawaii or elsewhere. One of my favorite memories is surprising my son to see The Backstreet Boys at the MGM. That was a stretch!

When my son turned 21, I drove to Las Vegas and flew him in from South Carolina where he now lives. It was special visiting and remembering all the good times in that wonderful city like the moving statues at Ceasars and the "special" dinner at Vic and Anthony's.

This is why some parents take their kids to Las Vegas.

In my early sobriety, I heard a saying that I try to live by: "There are two types of business, my business and none of my business." It's none of my business where others vacation and why they make their choices. Living by that saying, helps to keep me serene.

LadyBug66

Thank you for that! I am really going to find some of those normal fun things to do the next time I go! I was kind of trying to find some of those places but I didn't try to hard or I would have found them. My son went with me because he had never been to Vegas. I kept warning him "I'm no fun in Vegas because I don't gamble and I don't drink" but he wanted to go anyway. (he's 24) The first night we were there we were tired so ordered room service and watched the Patriots and Cheifs game. It was a nail biter! It was fun. The first time I sat down and watched a full football game with my son. (I'm not much of a football watcher) It's a sweet memory that will be with me forever! He was even patient with my stupid questions! LOL
We went to a concert "Puddles Pity Party" while we were there and it was amazing! and had great fun!