In my third year of sobriety I got together with three guys in my Men’s Group and planned a fishing trip to northern New Hampshire. We went for the weekend. We all drove up together. It was about a three and a half hour drive and when we got to the Canadian border we rented a cabin and spent two days fishing for trout. A couple of the guys were brand new to recovery and it was one of my first experiences away from the security of my local meetings. We had a great time and spent the whole weekend talking about recovery and how great life was without a drink. We were practicing our newly found freedom fishing with friends and enjoying nature.
As the years went by this trip became a tradition and more and more people became involved. I think that this year was the twentieth anniversary trip and now about thirty guys go. It occurred to us that the fishing had become really an excuse to have a spiritual retreat. We were all too macho to admit this in the earlier years but after a while we all really understood that fishing was just an excuse to get together and celebrate our recovery. It was an occasion to spend time with those you love and enjoy the great gift of sobriety.
When I moved to Florida I met a guy who remembered this kind of fellowship from his early days in recovery. He calls these expeditions “road trips” and over the years we have done several trips. They are usually pretty spontaneous and involve getting a few people together and taking off for a few days to a new and different location. Past trips have included the Keys, the west coast of Florida and a trip to Sarasota. The focus of these trips is usually on some goal unrelated to recovery like picking up furniture, delivering a washing machine to the Keys, going fishing, etc, but by having a bunch of recovering guys together in a car for a long drive and several days together the trips inevitably become retreats.
These trips always include daily meetings at clubhouses and meeting halls. Its fun to go to meetings out of town and it always is fun to raise your hand when they ask if there is anyone from out of town. After the meeting we are always able to learn about good restaurants, sights to see and good fishing areas in a place we have never been before. It’s these kind of “road trips” that make us realize that we are part of a world wide fellowship. No matter where you are in the world there is always a meeting nearby and new friends who are willing to share with you.
Road trips are only one form of fellowship available to those of us in recovery. Many members of our fellowship have informal meetings at mealtimes like “breakfast clubs”, “lunch bunch” clubs and dinner meetings. There are recovering golf tournaments, bowling leagues, softball leagues. This time of year there is the Annual Florida State Convention and many other 12 Step Group get togethers.
My favorite thing remains these “road trips’ and they don’t even need to be a big deal. Simply throw four or five people in a car and go to a new meeting in a different town. You’ll be surprised at the great time you have just hanging out with friends in recovery!