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Murder on the Bertram Flier
Aug. 22nd, 2010 03:18 pmYesterday I went to an event described thusly on the Austin Steam Train website:
"The Bertram Flyer steps back to the days of the wild west! JR Luling is a ruthless oil and cattle magnate in Central Texas. His father built the family fortune in the cattle business. JR was lured into the oil business shortly after the Spindletop well was successful in 1901. Before the night is over it may be up to you determine WHO SHOT JR? Event includes box meal and beer and wine. Ages 17 and up please. ALL SEATS ARE RESERVED AND PRE-ASSIGNED."
I didn't really know what to think of that. It may be up to me? Box meal? Pre-assigned seats? I went with low expectations.
It was a chance to finally meet Robin's intern. And a bunch of her friends. Some of our friends backed out due to the crowded seating arrangements, so we called some other friends who sat across from us.
We were on the same train as when we rode this car, but we were in a different car with two-person bench seats. They could all face the same way like on a bus, or you could swivel some around to face each other: this is what we did.
When I first sat down, the seats felt quite spacious. Then I noticed that it was because my feet were interlaced with those of the person across from me. On the way back, we all reclined a bit. Here was my view (sort of) at one point:
Extra fun during the college flirting years, still fun with friends across the way. But yes, not roomy.
The "box meals" were waiting for us on our seats when we arrived, with drinks available from an adjacent concession car. There was a chicken wrap with fresh vegetables, chips, potato salad, cole slaw, and a brownie from a caterer that included its business card in the box, so they were working to impress. Pretty good for a boxed lunch. Beer, wine, soft drinks, and bottled water were available; the root beer was a big hit as it was kept ice cold.
The event turned out to be a standard murder mystery dinner theater. (Isn't it cool that such a thing can be called "standard"?)
The actors came through the cars, re-doing each scene in each car and then moving to the next. So, they were quite easy to hear and, with sometimes a little bit of contortions, easy to see. They had a bit of fun interacting with those on the aisle seats, but it seems I don't hate that anymore like I used to (though, admittedly, I was at a window seat). The characters were all characters, many with funny accents, so it was all quite fun.
In the end, we were given additional clues by Inspector Poirot, and told to guess, ahem, work out who the murderer was, how the murder was committed, and why the murder was committed. Of course it was quite easy to imagine a motive for all of the characters (even Poirot who had not been able to find his private compartment and who had had an argument with the victim who both had his own private compartment and who told Poirot "If you can't stand the heat [in Texas in August], get out of the country").
None of my training in watching detective TV shows helped. For example, I know that multiple shots fired implies a crime of passion, and thus someone who just learned something that made them angry. But that logic did not apply to this mystery. Fortunately, like a poorly written test, it was obvious which clue was supposed to be the important one. And I also had the advantage of sitting within hearing distance of raaga123, and so was able to "figure out" whodunit without racking my brain too much more.
I didn't get to know Robin's intern after all. Her gang was having a nice time, too, but we didn't interact much.
It was a pricier excursion than I usually go for, but overall a lovely evening and fun diversion from regular daily life.
"The Bertram Flyer steps back to the days of the wild west! JR Luling is a ruthless oil and cattle magnate in Central Texas. His father built the family fortune in the cattle business. JR was lured into the oil business shortly after the Spindletop well was successful in 1901. Before the night is over it may be up to you determine WHO SHOT JR? Event includes box meal and beer and wine. Ages 17 and up please. ALL SEATS ARE RESERVED AND PRE-ASSIGNED."
I didn't really know what to think of that. It may be up to me? Box meal? Pre-assigned seats? I went with low expectations.
It was a chance to finally meet Robin's intern. And a bunch of her friends. Some of our friends backed out due to the crowded seating arrangements, so we called some other friends who sat across from us.
We were on the same train as when we rode this car, but we were in a different car with two-person bench seats. They could all face the same way like on a bus, or you could swivel some around to face each other: this is what we did.
When I first sat down, the seats felt quite spacious. Then I noticed that it was because my feet were interlaced with those of the person across from me. On the way back, we all reclined a bit. Here was my view (sort of) at one point:
Extra fun during the college flirting years, still fun with friends across the way. But yes, not roomy.
The "box meals" were waiting for us on our seats when we arrived, with drinks available from an adjacent concession car. There was a chicken wrap with fresh vegetables, chips, potato salad, cole slaw, and a brownie from a caterer that included its business card in the box, so they were working to impress. Pretty good for a boxed lunch. Beer, wine, soft drinks, and bottled water were available; the root beer was a big hit as it was kept ice cold.
The event turned out to be a standard murder mystery dinner theater. (Isn't it cool that such a thing can be called "standard"?)
The actors came through the cars, re-doing each scene in each car and then moving to the next. So, they were quite easy to hear and, with sometimes a little bit of contortions, easy to see. They had a bit of fun interacting with those on the aisle seats, but it seems I don't hate that anymore like I used to (though, admittedly, I was at a window seat). The characters were all characters, many with funny accents, so it was all quite fun.
In the end, we were given additional clues by Inspector Poirot, and told to guess, ahem, work out who the murderer was, how the murder was committed, and why the murder was committed. Of course it was quite easy to imagine a motive for all of the characters (even Poirot who had not been able to find his private compartment and who had had an argument with the victim who both had his own private compartment and who told Poirot "If you can't stand the heat [in Texas in August], get out of the country").
None of my training in watching detective TV shows helped. For example, I know that multiple shots fired implies a crime of passion, and thus someone who just learned something that made them angry. But that logic did not apply to this mystery. Fortunately, like a poorly written test, it was obvious which clue was supposed to be the important one. And I also had the advantage of sitting within hearing distance of raaga123, and so was able to "figure out" whodunit without racking my brain too much more.
I didn't get to know Robin's intern after all. Her gang was having a nice time, too, but we didn't interact much.
It was a pricier excursion than I usually go for, but overall a lovely evening and fun diversion from regular daily life.