Annual Mooning of the Amtrak

On Saturday, in a small city in Southern California crowds will once again gather to bare their bottoms at passing trains in the Annual Mooning of the Amtrak. Now in its 35th year, the event is attracting international attention. Last year, Scott Snowden joined the locals of Laguna Niguel who were all ready to drop their drawers

The summer brings many unique and eccentric festivals and rituals across the world as the warm weather warps our minds, from throwing tons of tomatoes at each other to deliberately putting yourself in the way of a charging bull. The Americans too are not exempt from the sunshine-induced shenanigans and each year on the second weekend in July crowds line up along the railway tracks and expose their arses every time an Amtrak train passes by.

It’s been known for up to 10,000 people take part and visitors are encouraged to leave their cars at home and arrive by train so that they might experience the spectacle from both perspectives.

Local legend has it the tradition began in 1979 when a regular punter told his buddies he’d buy a drink for all who would run outside to the railroad tracks and ‘moon’ the next train, which many did. Thus the ritual was born.

Up until recently the number of participants grew each year, with crowds gathering as news of this unusual way to spend a week was passed by word of mouth and enthusiastic reports on local radio stations. However, in 2008 there were reports of surging, drunken crowds and police units, including a helicopter, were called in from neighboring towns to maintain order.

The actual spot where all this mischief takes places is an industrial estate at one end of a long road called the Camino Capistrano that for many miles runs parallel to the I5 freeway as it undulates on towering columns of concrete. At the other end is the beautiful Spanish mission town of Laguna Niguel and eventually the Pacific Ocean. The railway tracks are on one side of the road, set against the rolling, sun-dried hills and on the other are an almost infinite number of car showrooms and bodywork repair shops.

Amongst all these auto outlets is a small, sequestered bar that goes by the name of Mugs Away. It doesn’t look like much from the outside – it is to all intents and purposes in the corner unit of an industrial estate – but inside it is every bit like you would imagine a backwater biker bar to be.

The walls are covered with road signs, neon signs, flags, beer-branded posters and stickers advertising the armed services. And the skimpy short-sporting, generously bosomed barmaid knows the name of everyone ordering drinks. Altogether fairly formulaic if you’ve seen this kind of thing before. It’s pretty dark inside so every time the door opens a bright flood of sunlight surges inward. On the day of the event, a live band was playing and there was as much of a party going on inside as there was outside.

Back in 2009, the city – which lies in Orange County between Los Angeles and San Diego – decided enough was enough. It warned on its website, “Avoid the area this year.” It added on a Twitter feed that the city was “saying NO to crack”. Moon Amtrak enthusiasts were not at all impressed.

Following reports of a few alleged inappropriate acts of behavior, the local police got involved. First they attempted a complete clamp down, but in the past four years efforts to reach a compromise have been at least a little successful. At the end of the road a law enforcement command centre has been set up and patrol cars regularly cruise up and down the Camino Capistrano just to make absolutely sure their presence is felt.

Last year, the two mile length of the road – from the traffic lights at the I5 access ramp past Mugs Away to the north end – have been marked with ‘temporary tow away no parking signs’ in anticipation of the event. The routine seemed pretty straightforward; hang out with the locals, have a drink at the bar and wait for someone to shout the inevitable phrase, “It’s coming!”

Rob Hutchinson, owner of Mugs Away, confirmed the origins of this quirky commemoration. “There was a guy by the name of K.T. Smith who used to come here and he offered everybody a round of drinks on his birthday if they’d go outside and moon the Amtrak. So they all go out and he buys a round of drinks. A year goes by and he was reminded of what happened, so he says I’ll do it again and then it just became a tradition after that. Obviously he couldn’t buy everybody drinks every year, but it just grew over time after that. It’s just a fun thing, I mean we’re down here, in an industrial centre and there’s no houses around. Rumor got around and it started to draw a crowd.”

On average the Amtrak thunders past about twice every hour and the Mugs Away bar has a special license so it can open at 8am. Only a few have gathered this early in the morning, but there’s still an undeniable air of excitement.

“We’re from Pittsburgh and we’re just passing through,” one excited mooner told me. “We’re on our way to from San Diego to San Francisco and this seemed like so much fun!”

The Amtrak trains are frequently filled with passengers who have come to see the “moon show” between the stations of Irvine to the North and San Juan Capistrano to the South. The mooning is on the east side of the tracks, and most trains will slow down at this point, use their horn and some of the passengers will even moon back. If you want to see the show from the train during time of peak demand at mid-day, you might need to board at a more distant station to better secure an available seat.

“There’s never been an arrest, there’s never been a fight or anything like that,” Hutchinson told me. “We’ve even had opposing motorcycle gangs here. They show up, as this is kind of neutral territory and they don’t intermingle much with one another, but they don’t cause trouble. But all this was before the City came in and tried to break it up.

“I’ve asked why they broke it up a number of times to the city council, the mayor and the chief of police and they always say it’s a matter of public safety. That’s a pretty broad term. In 2008 they claimed there were about 8,000 people taking part and they said that was too many so they sent down about 75 guys kitted out in SWAT gear and told everyone to disperse.”

The numbers might be a little smaller now, but it still draws a crowd. Many are locals but some are one-timers who are just passing through or visitors from out of state who have traveled in to see what all the fuss is about. I’d come all the way from London and there was even a reporter from a German TV news station there.

“Mooning is sort of taboo, but not bad, so getting a whole group of people lined up and doing what we used to do as kids I think is the biggest draw,” said Kelly, a regular participant.

When I asked if he joins in, Rob replied enthusiastically, “Oh yeah, I get involved. Everyone does. Even the bar maids.”