Trip to Vegas
 

Tomorrow morning I leave for Vegas on a business trip and I am very nervous. Up until Wednesday I had been sober for 8 days and now I am on day #2. I am trying to view my Vegas trip as a good opportunity as I have looked online and there seems to be an abundance of AA facilities, activities and meetings. I have not attended an AA meeting where I live because I am a professional in a relatively small community. I realize the meetings are confidential but the thought of people seeing my vehicle or me walking into a meeting has prevented me from attending (at least for now). I am also going to make a list of attractions in Vegas that I want to see. Additional the resort I am staying at has great excersise facilities that I hope to take advantage of and wear myself out. I will also take my laptop and probably be on SR regularly in the evenings. Any other advise or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

Valueofsobriety, does the hotel offer massage service? If not, I am sure you could find that in the area. It would be a good reward mechanism for not drinking. I would stay away from the attractions for now and focus on SR.

WOW! There are a TON of meetings in Vegas! Check it out!

Meeting Schedule | Las Vegas Central Office

I love going to meetings in places I visit. It's a trip (dah-dum-dum)! I notice from this website that some of the Vegas hotels and Casinos actually host meetings. Cool.

Please take care of yourself.

Tanja, what kind of massage services? I think there are a lot of happy ending massages around the area, but that's probably not a good choice for sobriety. Anyways, I just laughed when I saw that.

To be honest, Valuesobriety, Vegas trip this early in recovery is very dangerous. Even if it was 6 months, it would be dangerous, however, I see that it is a business trip. I do think that writing activities down is a good step. May I suggest that you make yourself an exact itinerary, hour by hour? Make this before your trip so that you know where you can be and where you shouldnt be. That way you'll make yourself accountable.

Hi Valuesobriety,

You don't mention if this is your first trip to Vegas? If not, be prepared. The hotels/casinos know that someone drinking is more likely to hit the casinos and will be offering free drinks the minute you hit the door of any establishment.

There is plenty to do in the area, and if you have time, a drive out to the painted desert will provide memories for a lifetime. You can also check with the Concierge for ideas.

I love the idea of a massage. You can schedule that with pretty much any of the resorts there -- all will have inhouse day spas. That would be a nice treat to destress if you are feeling tense while you are there. I also like the idea of an itinerary. If it is a conference, plan out your sessions in advance and then add in your evening activities (gym, meeting, etc).

You may also want to ask the hotel to remove all alcohol from your room. Better in advance than to find a bottle of wine sitting on the table or a stocked minibar calling out to you.

Take care and I hope it is a productive trip for you. Not ideal this soon in sobriety, but if it is a business trip, not much you can do but buckle in, buckle up and make the best of it.

The truth is the trip to Vegas was making me nervous long before I decided to try and get sober. I was/am able to cause enough chaos in a relatively small town that does not have a huge party atmosphere and free drinks. My days and into early evening will be filled with meetings so that part of the day won't be a problem. I also have to be "on my game" the whole time so I am incentivised by that and the Spring Valley Club (an AA establishment) looks pretty interesting so Ipaln on checking it out. Thanks everyone for the encouragement and advise, its greatly appreciated!

I know there's a few people here who've been to Vegas and emerged unscathed - some of our members live there- so it is possible not to get lost in the lights :)

There is a thriving recovery community there I know - why not check it out? What have you got to lose? :dunno:

D