Rethinking Vacations: What happens in Vegas doesn't have to stay in Vegas
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We landed in Las Vegas on a Saturday night. We drove our rental car to the hotel, parked it after circling the block several times trying to figure out where I could even park at this behemoth of a casino, dropped our bags in the room, changed, and began our vacation. We hit the casino floor and that’s when the casino floor hit me.
The lights, the sounds, the people, the electricity. The stale cigarette smell, the cards being dealt, the booze.
“We hit the casino floor and that’s when the casino floor hit me. ”
Oh, the booze. It was everywhere. I saw four bars just from where I was standing that I could have used to kick off my vacation. I would start with maybe an Angel’s Envy whiskey, just one or two ice cubes. That would have hit my lips and vacation would have begun officially. Then I would have switched to a lesser, cheaper whiskey or, since we were in Vegas, the best thing that sitting and gambling could get me for “free.” Let the black out begin.
The first night of vacation was always my night to shed myself of the stress of work, of travel, of responsibility, and just drink. I earned it, right? Right?!
Those thoughts all happened in a fraction of a second when we got onto the casino floor this past June. I strolled into Vegas 775 days after my last drink and this atmosphere flooded me with total recall of how I was supposed to act at this very moment. It was a visceral reaction. I was surprised and not surprised all at the same time. In the end, I happily grabbed a giant slice of Brooklyn-style pizza folded and devoured in 4 or 5 bites, accompanied by an icey Diet Coke. Now this alcohol-free vacation was ready to begin!
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Why is it that we work so hard all year or longer to go on vacation and relax, then when we get there, we drink all day, wake up with hangovers, and repeat until we go home? Then we complain about the fact that we need another vacation to recover from the one we just went on.
Guess what — you don’t need another vacation, you’re just doing it wrong! I know I was.
While my previous trips weren’t exactly like The Hangover, they were still full of hangovers.
I remember the time when I got to Vegas a few days ahead of my wife (big mistake) and I proceeded to drink almost an entire bottle of rum poolside and passed out on a lounge chair by late afternoon. Oh yeah, that was after I threw up under said lounge chair through the rubber slats. I know that my memory got hazy by midday, already four hours into drinking, and the next thing I knew I was awake and by myself in different clothes … in my room … at 10 p.m. Turns out, the people I was with couldn’t move me, so they covered me with towels so I wouldn’t look like a spanked lobster (i.e., the “Ginger Tan”), and left me there until later. Then they got me moving enough to get me back in the room. Day one black out was a success!
“While my previous trips weren’t exactly like The Hangover, they were still full of hangovers.”
Are we having fun yet?
I spent the next few days apologizing while still getting back into good drinking condition. Because, while I may have taken a little bit off the next day, this didn’t deter me from drinking heavily the rest of the trip.
But every vacation, whether to Vegas or really anywhere else went the same way. I would drink the entire time, do stupid things on occasion, and then arrive back home ready to finally try and relax before going back to work the next day. I always had a lot of pictures of drinks and drinking, proof to me and everyone looking that we had a good time. I’m not trying to portray myself as a constant train wreck. We all have those stories of excess where we drank too much and lived to tell the tale. I just happened to chalk at least one up every vacation.
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The million dollar question: how can you have fun on vacation if you don’t drink?
“But every vacation, whether to Vegas or really anywhere else went the same way. I would drink the entire time, do stupid things on occasion, and then arrive back home ready to finally try and relax before going back to work the next day.”
I hate the “How do you have fun?” question that comes with removing alcohol from anything. The question is somewhat valid since the whole world is obsessed with alcohol and it can’t fathom an event without it. What we forget is that there are so many other things, other emotions, that really matter that aren’t ever considered in the narrow minded, alcohol equals fun viewpoint. How about enjoyment? Enjoyment and fun are not the same. I can enjoy something that you may think is lame or not fun, but your take on it doesn’t detract from my enjoyment of it, unless I allow it to, of course. What about fulfillment? Being fulfilled is a good emotion, like when we work on something we’re passionate about. That may not be fun all the time, but fulfillment can bring happiness. Speaking of which, what about being happy? Happiness and fun are not the same thing. I can look like I’m having fun while I’m drunk poolside, but I can assure you I probably wasn’t truly happy. What about feeling peaceful? Being at peace in a moment is a beautiful thing.
We’ve been conditioned to accept that alcohol equals fun, and therefore, if you don’t drink alcohol, you don’t have fun. I’m here to tell you that I finally have real fun now that I’ve stopped drinking.
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Alcohol free vacations are certainly different. To be successful, we need to know where our triggers lie and plan for them. My biggest vacation trigger is the arrival. If I can get through the initial stress after arriving at my destination, then I rarely even think about alcohol the rest of the time. This is why my boozeless vacation kick-start now includes Brooklyn-style pizza and Diet Coke!
On this year’s vacation, we decided to do some adventuring first and relaxing second. With this in mind, I found the easiest way to be alcohol free in Vegas is to get the hell out of Vegas! Seriously, there are so many sights to see within a short drive that it’s almost a shame to have not really done it before. So we hopped in our rental car on day two and drove to Zion National Park. First thing on the docket was to hike the Narrows. It was beautiful to see and walk through this canyon with the cool water of the Virgin River almost up to our knees at times. It was hot as hell but it was so worth it to see this. Joy… — check. Fun — check!
The next day, my daughter and I went canyoneering in Elkheart Canyon. We followed our guide and hiked up a little ways before descending down the canyon walls at three different sections from as high as 80 feet up. Going from the heat above into the cool canyon and seeing the beauty below was something I won’t ever forget. Or how about watching my daughter not hesitate to go down these walls?! Proud — check! Happy — check! Fun — check!
Next up on this whirlwind tour was the Grand Canyon, which really is breathtaking. I just can’t describe it any other way, and pictures won’t do it justice unless you took them yourself. If you have a chance to go, you definitely should. Standing there the next day at 5:30 a.m. waiting for the sunrise, a cool breeze blowing, the quiet … my God the quiet. I’ll never forget that moment. Peace — check! If you want fun too, how about helping your 13 year old record a TikTok video on the edge of the Grand Canyon at 6:00 a.m.! Fun — check!
We eventually made it back to Las Vegas and spent four more days eating, gambling, hitting the pool, eating, finding coffee, gambling, zip lining, and drinking. Yes, it became a game for me to see how best to ask what NA drinks a restaurant or bar had without getting a run down of the sodas they carried. What I found worked best was to look at a drink menu and ask, “What nonalcoholic options do you have?” That’s it. I didn’t say it was going to be earth shattering research here!
But how do you have fun?!
Do you want to know how you have fun after you quit drinking? You change, or better yet, you upgrade your definition of fun. Stop being so narrow minded and unimaginative about it. You can relax or have fun poolside without a drink and enjoy it so much more. Do you really think gambling would be more fun if you were making dumb, drunken decisions? Las Vegas was built on dumb, drunken decisions.
“Do you want to know how you have fun after you quit drinking? You change, or better yet, you upgrade your definition of fun.”
Do you want to know how I had fun in Vegas? I ate great food without worrying if I should order another drink every time the server came around. Date night with my wife having dinner, talking, playing slot machines, and actually (luckily) winning! I woke up with a clear head every day and I went to the pool some of those days to relax with my coffee. I got a massage with the money I wasn’t wasting on expensive booze. I gambled for hours, got free Heineken 0.0, soda, or ginger beer and broke even in the end. But do you want to know what I looked forward to most? At the end of the day, I would get my daughter and we would go to the market in the lobby and get candy, chips, soda, whatever we wanted and we would go back to our room, sit and eat, and watch Friends together every night before falling asleep.
Maybe that sounds old and lame, but that was happiness to me. CHECK!
About the author — Kevin Bellack
Alcohol-free husband, father, tax accountant, coffee addict, and tattoo enthusiast. I started this new life on January 22, 2019 and my last drink was on April 28, 2019. I’ve been sharing on Instagram at @thesoberginger for awhile now and just wanted a separate space to share a little more of my thoughts and ideas. I love reading and audiobooks and like to share many of the things I come across there so keep a look out for more of that. Learn more about Kevin at thesoberginger.com.
