Have you ever felt like you were having a darn good time when you realized other people were having a much better time? We recently rode the Amtrak Coast Starlight train from Seattle to Los Angeles. Between our bar setup in the sleeping car bedroom and the drinks in the observation/lounge car, we were catching a pretty nifty Buzz as the scenery whizzed by. A chance meeting in the dining car revealed that some fellow passengers were having a really, really fun time. Much laughter and the kind of friendly banter unique to train travel led to our introduction to the Crazy Train Drinking Game. The game was much like the games we played as kids on long trips in the family station wagon. Except for the drinking part. The Crazy Train rules were simple. Take a drink whenever one of the following happened:
- Tunnels & bridges
- Announcements over the speaker
- Train stopping traffic at crossings
- Cameron (sleeping car attendant) walks by
- People waving at train
- “Runners” (people racing up platform to catch train)
- Golf course or casino spotted
With one blank, add your own opportunity, Maserati Mike added “cows”. We learned pretty quickly that you might as well just keep your drink in your hand because there weren’t a lot of resting moments.
We usually travel by plane. Good thing. No cows up there.
- Jet Cannon
