Beach Meetings - 12 Step Recovery on the Sand by Kelly K
The Beach Meeting is a great tradition at Sober Living by the Sea. Kelly paints a great picture of what the morning is like in this entry.
At Sober living by the Sea we do a lot of activities at the beach. Most all our rehab houses are either directly on the sand our within 100 yards of the beach.
One of my favorite activities we do is the beach meeting that has been going on for the last 15 years or so, it is every Sunday morning at 9:30am. The residents meet at 40th street and seashore around 8:45am and they do a quick bike inspection with one of our staff members, making sure that each beach cruiser is in good operating order and that the lights are fully functional. A safe and properly functioning beach cruiser is very important for the recovery lifestyle on the peninsula. For the men and women who are taking medication, we also dispense the morning meds around 9:00am
While a "40 cup" coffee urn is brewing, one of the clients is in charge of getting the donuts (usually 2 dozen so). Helping with commitments like this at our beach meeting is a privilege that is bestowed upon a man or woman who is adhering to their recovery program and showing an inclination to help others and act as a good example. At around 9:20am we start carrying chairs and tables and coffee and donuts onto the beach where at 9:30am we begin the meeting.
The meeting itself is called “Dolphins on the Beach” more times than not we will be doing our readings and someone will yell “Check out those dolphins cruising by!”
To me it is one of the most spiritual meetings I have ever been to.
Where else can you have a meeting with board shorts on your feet buried in the sand catching some sun and watching 
dolphins sipping on coffee eating a donut? It is really hard not to be grateful and I often times remind the residents that their Higher Power loves them so much that they get to recover in this humble paradise called Sober Living by the Sea. This is only one beautiful piece of the puzzle that makes up Sober Living by the Sea a great place to get sober.
F.Y.I. – This is a open meeting – check it out in the online AA directory.
- Kelly Kettle
Beach Meeting