8 Things to Do Instead of Drinking on Your Vacation
Alcohol addiction can make you feel as if it pushes you backward on a regular basis. However, your vacation can actually feel better during your recovery. Here are some ways to indulge in luxury and comfort while on vacation.
1. Seek Out Hidden Gourmet Restaurants
Local restaurants (the kinds that are always busy because they’re that good) are the perfect places to indulge in fantastic food and to start a new culinary taste fest. Remember to always try a favorite of local cuisine while on vacation so that you can expose yourself to new things while in a comfortable, familiar-like setting. Always order at least one dish with which you are familiar so that your tummy can go home satisfied, no matter what.
Is your body feeling bad? Use your natural born endorphins, instead. Find a great local favorite dance spot and rack up loads of amazing hormones by dancing and socializing with new friends. This is a great way to make new friends and impress members of the opposite sex on the dance floor. Remember: The recovering alcoholics always dance better and longer than the active alcoholics. You can really wow and impress with your new, healthier (and sober) body.
3. Swim with Your Partner or a Sexy Stranger
If traveling together, go swimming (preferably at night) with your partner, indulging in the water caressing your body as you dive and explore the water. If you are traveling alone, find an attractive stranger who would like to go swimming together. The water increases intimacy and the feeling of adventure, especially in a heated outdoor pool at night.
4. Shop at the Local Open Markets
Nearly every city has some type of marketplace where both fresh produce and artisan goods and crafts are sold. Find the prime spot in your vacation town and stroll through it at the most pleasant time of day. This would be late morning in hot zones and early afternoon in cooler temperatures.
5. Action Adventure with Rollercoasters and Waterparks
If you really love adrenaline (or your body is screaming from another craving), silence your demons with rolling, screaming adventures in your waterpark and rollercoaster-filled amusement park. Start with the lighter rides and work your way up gradually to prevent disorientation. Riding park rides is a great solution for the active adventure types and the quiet restful types because it produces the same positive chemical endorphins in both bodies. It also has the added benefit of leaving you feeling “accomplished” at the end of the day, as if you just went through a full day of recovery and training.
6. Standard Tourist Guided Events
Allow yourself to be a standard, cookie-cutter tourist! There is nothing like the nice, quaint experience of traveling with a group of fellow travelers on a guided tour, whether it is through a museum, on a bus in a city, or into the caverns of a nearby set of caves. Being an Average Joe or Jane will help you feel like part of society again.
7. Read a Repeated Old Favorite
If your vacation becomes too unpredictable at some point and you need a way to settle yourself down, bring your favorite book along on your journeys. Reading something with which you are already familiar can calm the sense and soothe the nerves. It’s also a great tool to use when waiting for your friends or family to return from being lost.
8. Curl up with Your Partner in front of a Cozy Fire
Are you traveling someplace cold? Curl up with your partner in front of a crackling, cozy fire and sip some hot cocoa with them. Share secrets and childhood stories from your past. Rekindle the romance by recalling favorite times together. Bask in the closeness and beauty that surrounds you and that you have in each other.
Vacationing can be simple, fun, and pleasurable without being hard or stressful. Think of ways you normally use to cope with changes in your life and consider ways in which you can use these same coping mechanisms to really indulge in your awesome vacation.