LAGUNA NIGUEL – Scores of people dropped their pants or hoisted up their skirts to bare their bums at Amtrak and Metrolink trains Saturday for the annual “Mooning of the Amtrak” celebration, a tradition that began more three decades ago but has become more subdued in recent years.
Everyone from grandmothers, bikers, housewives, and even couples on dates came out for the daylong mooning along the tracks, just across the street from Mugs Away Saloon.
“This is so much fun,” said Kim Norris, who arrived at 10 a.m. with her husband. “It took me about a week to build up the courage to do this, and another week to talk my husband into it. But it was all worth it.”
The scene the past couple years has been considerably more tame after the Orange County Sheriff’s Department last year instituted a strict enforcement campaign. In 2008, deputies turned away an estimated crowd of 8,000 to 10,000 after they witnessed sex acts and complete nudity. The shutting down of the event was the first in its 30 year history. Last year, about 400 people participated, with some vendors selling hot dogs and other food and drinks.
By noon this Saturday, about 100 people lined the tracks. Authorities reported no incidents.
At times during the day, deputies outnumbered mooners. Dozens of deputies patrolled on the area on motorcycles, squad cars and on foot for much of the morning. Hundreds of signs were posted on the street, from the intersection of Avery Parkway and Camino Capistrano to a business park where the road dead ends. The signs notify drivers that parking is prohibited until Sunday at 3 p.m.
“It was definitely a lot more fun when there were more people here,” said Cypress resident Carol Wickenheisser, who brought her granddaughter Sara to the event. Both grandmother and granddaughter stood next two each other along the chain link fence, laughing as they mooned trains.
“There is no where else I’d rather be today,” Wickenheisser said.
The event began as an impromptu dare among a group of bar patrons at Mugs Away Saloon when K.T. Smith vowed to buy a drink for anyone who would join him mooning the train across the street. The mooning now attracts participants and observers from across the country and has become an all day party full of drinking and mooning.
Last year, the City Council adopted new ordinances to prohibit drinking alcoholic beverages, urination, and defecation in public to protect residents, visitors, and business property that might be damaged.
Lake Forest neighbors Janice Sparks and Ramona Lotito have driven out together to Laguna Hills each year for 30 years for the event.
“It’s a shame that a few people had to spoil it for everyone when all this trouble started two years ago,” Sparks said. “It’s a great tradition. It’s not somewhere you want to bring your kids, but it’s good, clean fun.”
Lotito said the she plans on coming out to moon the trains for as long as she can.
“I think the best part about this experience is meeting all these new people each year,” she said. “We make new friends every time we come out here. We all have a good time. That’s what it’s all about.”
Related articles:
- Annual Amtrak mooning has become expensive for host city
- Nudity and drinking in Laguna Niguel? Not while mooning Amtrak
- Some readers resent police response to mooning
- Jody Payne: The bare truth: My mooning days have been eclipsed
Contact the writer: 714-704-3773 or fleal@ocregister.com
