If you’re newly sober, pregnant or abstaining from alcohol for medical reasons, you might be wondering what exactly you should be doing with yourself in St. Louis now that your world doesn’t revolve around alcohol. Even if you’re one of the lucky few who has figured out that you don’t actually need booze to have fun, you might still be wondering what to do with your time now that you’re not spending lost weekends at one of our many local watering holes. Well, there are actually plenty of things to do in St. Louis if you’re in recovery or just trying to abstain for the night, and every last one of them can still involve hanging out with your friends and having a great time. Dig into these options and make some plans.
Visit a bar (no, really)
Pop’s Blue Moon
(5249 Pattison Ave., 314-776-4200)
Visit a sober bar. Ever heard of it? Well St. Louis now has what’s being advertised as the first booze-free bar in America. Get yourself to Pop’s Blue Moon on Saturday nights when the oldest bar in the city goes booze-free for the entire night. Instead of alcohol, they’re serving up a variety of fancy-flavored sodas, NA beers, entertainment and pop-up carbs from Master Pieza. You’re sure to make some new sober friends, too.
Check it out here.
Find your zen
Shinzo Zen Meditation Center
(1610 Olive St.; 314-254-3243)
Get your mind right. Big life changes often come with big mental changes, too. If you need a way to calm your mind or refocus where you’d like to spend your energy, you can’t do better than building a good meditation practice. The people at Shinzo will walk you through the basics and also offer other options for the more advanced student.
Check it out here.
Photo courtesy of Courtesy of Shinzo Zen
Let it all hang out
The Forty Acre Club
(104 Ridge Acres Loop; Lonedell, MO; 636-629-0050)
You’ve already conquered some of your biggest fears, you might as well get all the way free, right? If you want an adrenaline rush without the alcohol depression, put yourself in a new situation at this nudist resort. Not far from St. Louis, this place is sure to bring out your fun side and put you in a new frame of mind.
Check it out here.
Photo courtesy of Paul Naturist / Flickr
Get a pet
Animal Protective Association
(1705 S Hanley Rd.; 314-645-4610)
If you’ve been thinking about it, now is the time. Chances are you’ll be spending more time at home while you adjust to your new schedule and priorities, so there’s no better time to bring a new furry bit of love into your life. Your new dog or cat won’t judge you, they’ll just love you. And that might be exactly what you need.
Check it out here.
Photo courtesy of Jill Encarnacion / Flickr
Join a night hiking or biking group
Meetup.com
(meetup.com)
There is a group for everything and if you’re not sure what to do with your nighttime hours without drinking, there are plenty of options to check out on websites like Meetup.com.
Check it out here.
Photo courtesy of Raul Lieberwirth / Flickr
Float in salt water
Float STL
(3027 Locust St,; 314-833-3444)
If you used to have a shot of whiskey to get your chill on and aren’t sure what to do now, check out one of the area’s salt water floating spas. You’re basically required to chill here.
Check it out here.
Photo courtesy of Kelly Glueck
Organize your life
IKEA
(1 Ikea Way; 888-888-4532)
Getting your life in order? That should include your closets, too. Organizing the heck out of your living space might help you feel productive and positive during an otherwise confusing time. Take yourself to IKEA, buy all of their organizing gear and get to work. (It will keep you at home, too.)
Check it out here.
Photo by Danny Wicentowski
Take in a concert
(6161 Delmar Blvd., 314-726-6161)
Live music will heal you in new ways. It will help you sort through your problems. Let it in; you’ll be glad that you did.
Check it out here.
Photo by Jon Gitchoff
Check out a local art gallery
Flood Plain
(3151 Cherokee St.; floodplaingallery.org)
Don’t shut yourself away at home. Go try out new things, maybe things that you didn’t do before when you were boozing. When is the last time you checked out a beautiful little art gallery?
Check it out here.
Photo courtesy of Flood Plain
Throw an axe
STL Axe Throwing
(1862 Scherer Parkway, St. Charles; 888-321-2937)
Chucking an axe can be a lot of fun and a great stress reliever. And it’s certainly not something to do while you’re drunk, so take your sober self to STL Axe Throwing and check it out.
Check it out here.
Photo by Daniel Hill
Win at bingo
Bandwagon Hall
(2151 Lemay Ferry Rd., 314-845-1877)
If you miss sitting around a table with your friends, go get rowdy at the bingo hall. None of the fun here is about drinking; it’s all about luck.
Check it out here.
Photo courtesy of Paul Sableman / Flickr
Slay at an arcade bar
Bars don’t have to be all about the booze, you know. If you go to an arcade bar like Up-Down and play some games, nobody will even notice that you aren’t drinking, and you won’t even have to talk about it.
Check out bars to play at here.
Photo by Erin McAfee
Escape a room
Escape From St. Louis
(7403 Manchester Rd., 314-202-8880)
So you get locked in a room and then have to figure out the secret to escape. Go ahead, you can conquer anything.
Check it out here.
Photo courtesy of cropped photo, original by Paul Sableman / Flickr
Arrange a staycation
Airbnb
(www.airbnb.com)
Mix up your life and escape in your own city. Stay in a neighborhood that you never visit, you’ll feel like you’ve given yourself a nice break from your regular life.
Check it out here.
Photo courtesy of Paul Sableman / Flickr
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