December 10, 2005

What a perfect day. A perfect day for a parade.  The sun was shining, the temperature was above freezing, and the bands were playing.  The Christmas parade in Greensboro was just about to happen.

It had all started at 9:15AM when we left Herbie's. There was 29 members of GoodOleVolks, all riding in 16 VWs.  Leading the group was Lee and Sheari, then Erik, Kim, Samantha, and Rachel in their white Beetle.  What would a parade be without Robert in his Firebug? Dave and Bev were next in their Green Hornet VW.  Following Dave was Ron and Chris in their white bug. 

Next in line was Spencer with his two tone bug.  After Spencer was Steve and Betty, followed by Carl and Tami in their red convertible. Sixto and Kelly had their rail, then came Alan and Jan, then Deborah and Jack in their '69 bug.  The Duncan's, Scot, Heather, Kent, Sawyer, and Wyatt, had their Herbie bug. Next was Mary in her red VW, ahead of Elliot, who was leading Betty, and then Craig.

We sure looked great going to the parade.  And we looked even better in the parade.  We lined up with Sheari's help, four wide.  Someone said if we were not the best looking entry in the parade, we were the loudest with our VW horns blowing.  Wave to the crowd guys...

After the parade there were 22 of us who had lunch at the Golden Corral.  What a great way to end a parade, all you could eat buffet.  We are doing this again next year, so make your plans.

Lee

December 2, 2005

They have all been paid.....

All the bills for the year 2005 have been paid!  The invoices for the internet use, for our domain name of GoodOleVolks.com, for the GoodOleVolks business cards, have all been paid. And this has all been done without club dues. 

As we head into a new year, think of how we can attract new members.  How we can make our club better?  Remember the television coverage we got this year?  Remember the newspaper coverage we received? How can we spread the word about GoodOleVolks?

And how can we keep repair costs down for our cars in the year 2006?

Lee

November 29, 2005

Check this site.....

   http://www.yesweekly.com/main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=22&ArticleID=776&TM=81344.22

November 23, 2005

Hello Good Ole Volks,
Well, its been awhile since I have seen any of our group at the weekly gatherings at Herbie's Place. I just wanted to let y'all know that we haven't forgotten you. You wouldn't believe what Susan and me have got done in these last few weeks though. All of those things that get put on the back burner while we were attending Bug shows, club cruises, weekly gatherings, etc, took a toll on the household chores, and sadly to say.......we just had to catch up.

How about some good news! Guess who finally picked up their newly, almost completely restored Squareback? Come on now.....you're bound to know the answer to this! I'll give you a hint...it used to be orange! If you said Susan, pat yourself on the back. Yeah, it's real purty! No more rust( except maybe the bumpers), a new color paint, new seals, new dash pad, new headliner, with new sun visors, assist straps,& seatbelt hooks, new hinge covers, pop out windows with new seals, new floor pans, new rocker panels, new windshield, etc.......it's a big difference from what it was to what it is now. I hope that the GOV will like it as much as we do, and we're looking forward to showing it to y'all too.

I feel like we've missed out on a lot in the last few weeks, and I know that we've missed the GOV as well, but we will be back. Till then.....we hope that all of the GOV will have a Happy Thanksgiving.
 

Have a VW day,
Bobby
 

November 12, 2005

What a great day.  The weather was perfect, with clear skies, and a temperature of 70.  What a perfect day for a ride in the country.

The ride started at Herbie’s early Saturday morning, November 12^th with a few VWs.  What a great site as we pulled out of the parking lot, headed for Winston Salem.  There was Carl and Tami in their red Super Beetle convertible, Jack and Deb in their ’69 bug, Bud and Donna also in a red convertible, John and Ben in their new yellow Beetle, and Lee and Dwanna. We attracted a lot of smiles from passing traffic as we headed down the Interstate for Winston.  It is always great to watch the attention we get when we travel together. 

Waiting for us at Billy Bob’s Diner was another great group of VWs.  There was Dave and Bev with their green ’71, Erik with his white Beetle, Bill and Linda in another red convertible, Stick with his black ’67 bug, and Bobby with his blue bug.  What a great parking lot with all the bugs.  And while we were there a VW bus joined us. 

And as before, the food was excellent at the diner.  The staff at Billy Bobs is always on the top of the list when it comes to running a great business. Great food, great staff.  This is one of our favorite eating places when we cruise. 

Next were the open roads of Forsyth County as we headed towards Clemmons and the cookies.  It has become an annual trip to Mrs. Hanes Cookie factory.  Seems this trip always starts the holiday season for us. 

We were greeted by Mr. Hanes as we entered. As we entered, some of his staff was headed to the parking lot to take pictures of our cars.  And then we were there….  At the cookie place.  Feels pretty good to be surrounded by cookies, and the smells of all those cookies.  And me, without a glass of milk. 

We were given the tour of the factory.  Shown where they are made, cooked, packed, and prepared for shipment.  And one of the best parts was the cookie samples as we enjoyed the comments by Mr. Hanes. It is surprising how many cookies you can buy, and still fit inside a Volkswagen. With all the flavors, it was difficult to decide which ones to purchase for holiday gifts, and which ones to eat on the way home. 

Thanks to the fine people at Billy Bobs, and Mrs. Hanes Cookie Factory for making this a great cruise.  And special thanks to Dave Tosi for making all the arrangements for the trip.

Looking forward to our next cruise,

Lee

October 23, 2005

Hello Good Ole Volks,
Sunday was such a good day for a GOV cruise. It started with James & Leah leading our group from Herbie's Place, along a different route than we usually travel. Rt.#220 to #770 to #8 and then to #58, where the group met up with us in Stuart, VA. Our group caravan this time consisted of a new cruise record for our group. We had 16 VW's looking mighty nice, and garnering plenty of attention. These GOV's were Lee & Sheari in Quigley, James & Leah in their white Bug, Elliott in his gray Rabbit, Erhard in his gold Bug, Deb & Jack in their white Bug, Phillip & Jeanie in his white Oval Bug, Rodney & Donna in their brown Rabbit convertible, Nick & Paige in his white Rabbit Cabrio, Erik & Tosha in their white Bug, Sixto & Kelly in their teal Bug, Joe, Tabitha, Summer, & Bayleigh in their white Bug Convertible (just acquired from California), Steve & Betty in his blue Bug, John & Annie in his yellow New Beetle, Carl & Tami in his red Bug Convertible, Bill & Linda in his black Bug, and Susan & me in my blue Squareback. Now....this I will tell you! We looked mighty impressive going down those roads, with all of the attention that our caravan was receiving from the locals. You can tell that they don't see something like the Good Ole Volks that often.

The first stop on our cruise was at the Meadows of Dan Fire station for one of their "Pancake Days" events. These events always draw crowds in excess of 2000 people, and they all have the same thing in mind......eating all of the pancakes that they can eat. We had that same opportunity on Sunday morning. Of course, that was after having to wait in that 5 row waiting line with all of those other folk. Yeah, there were some motorcycle groups there, and some Volkswagen people, and all kinds of local participation. James said that he and Leah have been going to this event for quite a few years now, and he told me that this was a major event in the area. You know what.......I believe him! Once that our group got inside the building, we started our trek towards the pancakes. We did get to carry on some conversations with our other club members as we passed them in each row after row. After awhile we finally got into the final row, and headed into the main room with the pancakes, and sausage, and gravy, and of course our choice of coffee or a soft drink. For $8.00 we got all of this that we wanted, and if we decided to, we could even go back for seconds. Once was enough for most of us though. We did find out, that quite a few of our GOV members that was daring enough to try some of those "buckwheat" pancakes, didn't much care for those type of pancakes. As a matter of fact, most of them didn't make it past that first bite of them, without the word "nasty" being in their opinion of them. But, we did have plenty of pancakes, sausage, gravy, and drinks to satisfy our appetite.

Then it was onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for a cruise. It was suggested that we check out one of the wineries on the parkway. We heard that the "Villa Appalachia Winery" was having some event called "All Things Olive", and decided to check this out. We pulled all of our VW's into this small parking lot, and proceeded to fill up the entrance of this winery with Good Ole Volks, only to be turned away, due to them not being able to handle a crowd this large. AND.....even after telling them that we would break our group up into smaller groups, we were told that the wine tasting would be $20.00 per person. Can you imagine that......$20.00 just for a tasting! Well, a few of us didn't much care for these peoples attitude, and decided to go to a better winery. Just imagine how much money this winery lost by not taking care of us!

We then went to one of Susan and my favorite wineries....."Chateau Morrisette", to introduce our members to their wines. They have quite a few different wines.... a restaurant, and plenty of roaming space for when they have some of their "blues" & "jazz" festivals each year. Quite a few of us done the wine tasting, and others took the winery tour. Their wine tasting didn't cost but $4.00 either! One of the things that I've really liked about this winery, is when they built the building, they used these huge wood beams that they got from various sources and incorporated them into this main building with very dramatic effects. After we done some relaxing or exploring, we all decided that some lunch would be great, so we climbed in our VW's and took a side road back to the town. We went to the same restaurant that we had our breakfast at on our last parkway cruise. Only this time, they had a different location, so we had to backtrack a little ways to the new place. Now.....the food at this place was good, but it took some of us at least 45 minutes to get our order, and that didn't sit too well with yours truly. We had plenty of time to carry on a good conversation while we were there though.

After our meal, we were pretty much ready to come on back home. I really thought that anyway! Come to find out that Deb & Jacks Bug didn't want to start up for them after lunch, but Quigley being the "good Samaritan" gave their Bug a jump, and we were on the road again. Once again, the Good Ole Volks have helped a stranded VW driver, and with good results too.

There were a few members that had told me that they would be joining our parkway cruise, but for various reasons didn't get to make it. That was really a shame, because we had such a great time. Maybe next time! I do recommend that the GOV members join us on more of these cruises. This is the perfect time of year for our VW cruises with the club. The weather is cool at this time, the leaves are changing, and it gets warm enough to be an enjoyable day for whatever activities that we get involved in. Well, that's it for this time! So......till later!

Have a VW day,
Bobby
 

Part of the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed Tuesday (October 25) due to snow.  Looks like we selected the right day to travel.

October 20, 2005
We will leave Herbie's in Greensboro at 8:00AM, and travel to Meadows of Dan for Breakfast. The plans are to take the back roads from Greensboro to view the great country and to see the fall colors. Breakfast will be at the Meadows of Dan Fire Department. This is a pancake breakfast for $ 8.00 per person.

Next is to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoy the fresh air and Fall colors. Later we will stop for lunch on the way home.

See you there.

October 10, 2005

Note:  All Members Names and Passwords will terminate on Tuesday, November 1, 2005.  We are changing to new software and a larger database.  If you would like to remain a GoodOleVolks member, then you must renew your membership.  Just go to the section on 'Join', and fill out the form.  You can COPY the data, and then PASTE it in an email, and send it to us at join@goodolevolks.com, or print it and bring it to Herbie's.  If you do not renew your membership, you will no longer have access to the Members section.  The deadline is Tuesday, November 1.  You will receive a new User Name, and a new User Password by email.

October 9, 2005

I would like the GOV to know what the surprise was that I had for Lee & Sheari! As you know, we were at the "Circle Yer Wagens #22" show at Sevierville, TN last week, and we had a really good time. Our GOV members done right well in the awards, but it wasn't just our Greensboro GOV chapter that done well. As a matter of fact, "Good Ole Volks" done well! While at the show on Sunday morning, a young boy was going through the crowd with a clip board, collecting the names of all of the GOV members that were at the show. Towards the end of the show, one of the Kingsport, TN members, Ralph "Sonny" Brooks, came up to me, and wanted one of our Greensboro members to be a team spokesperson, which just happened to be me, and the two of us went up to accept the "Club Participation" award for the most members of a club that participated in the show. GOV had 52 members that participated. This award also had a cash prize along with it, and we donated that to a local charity. But the main thing that happened with this award, was that Sonny presented the award plaque to me, to bring it back to "our GOV club" in Greensboro. Now.....I can't think of a more deserving recipient for this award, than the person's that helped our ever growing club, and this would be Lee & Shearin Wimbs. Early Sunday morning, while dining at Herbie's Place, I let them know about the award, and later, at the Farmington show, I presented it to them. Please let them know how proud you are of them for their award and the time and effort, that they put into our club!

October 9, 2005

Hello Good Ole Volks,
I'll have to admit that I was wondering if there was going to be a "Fast Times at Farmington #4" on Sunday Oct.9,2005. In Danville.....it rained Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and it was even raining when we left to meet out group at Herbie's Place early Sunday morning. We had already received a phone call from Sheari on Saturday, letting us know that Quigley might not be making it to the show due to the chance of rain. But......as fate would have it......the closer to Greensboro that we got, the less drizzle we had......AND, Quigley, and his crew of Lee & Sheari, along with Robert and his Firebug, Betty in her black Bug, Alfred in his red convertible Bug, and Susan & me in my Squareback, met each other at Herbie's Place, for our caravan to the Farmington Dragstrip for the "Fast Times at Farmington #4".

Now, how about the "Fast Times at Farmington #4" show! We had quite a few members there. The one's that I knew were there were........Lee & Sheari, Robert, Betty, Alfred, Susan & me, Phillip & Jennie, Tommy & Luke, Gary, Tommy Joyce, Erhard, Stick & Beverly, Pete & Teresa, Craig & Jordan, Phil Parker, Carl &Tammy, Alex & the Gate City Buckets, Boyd, Wayne, Tony & Susan, Spencer, and I'm sure that there were others too. We all seemed to have a good time with our group and the activities. Susan finally got her that white steering wheel that she'd been wanting since the TN show.....I got me a nice looking fuel gauge.....Betty finally got her a bra for her Bug.......we got a few new decals, and found some dealers that have other goodies for us, but they didn't have them at the show.

Then....after doing our looking, searching, scrounging, and digging for those parts, we worked up an appetite. So, we headed on down to Stick's "BUG-B-QUE", for some great food and conversation. Susan brought some of her baked spaghetti, and then there was that baked turkey breast, the burgers, hot dogs, sausages, and chops. Ummmmmmmm! Man.....you've heard the saying, "It just doesn't get any better than this".......... that's what some of us were saying after that meal! And, don't forget the cake for dessert.

There were some really fast drag cars, making some great runs......plenty of great looking show cars.......quite a few vendors and swap meet dealers......and then there was the cooperative weather. Overcast skies and cooler temperatures made for a really pleasant and enjoyable day for all of us. It was such a nice day to just be hanging around, carrying on a good conversation, or even meeting new people. Lee introduced me to Mousey & Vickie, which are the president of our Kingsport, TN chapter and his wife, and they are a friendly couple too. As a matter of fact, it was these people that created our Good Ole Volks club, so you know that they have to be good people.

All and all......it turned out to be a great show, and we had quite a few club award winners. These were Carl, Gary, Lee & Sheari, Alfred, Tommy, Erhard, Alex, Robert, Phillip, and me. Then Tommy got the "Best Interior" award, and Erhard got the "Special Interest" award! As you can see, our club done right well with the awards, so make sure to congratulate them when you see them.

Now...... something else of interest. Our "Cruise the Parkway" is coming up on Sunday October 23, 2005. This has always been one of our clubs favorite "club cruises", and anyone that has joined us on this cruise, has come back wanting to do it again. I already know of several people that's planning on participating, and others that are planning on bringing other VW drivers to participate in what may be the largest cruise that we've had so far. I know that I will do my part, and I encourage all other members to do the same. After our first "parkway cruise" last year, the members that cruised on the first one enjoyed that one so much, that we had an even larger cruise a month later. That cruise had 15 VW's in it, with a large lunch get together on the parkway, and some great scenery and a great group of people. Make sure that you plan on joining this cruise, because this is one of the main club events of the year. And....try to invite at least one other VW driver to join us. I hope to see y'all there this year. Till then...........

Have a VW day,
Bobby

October 4, 2005

Hey GOV,
We're back from Circle Yer Wagens #22 in Sevierville, TN. A few of us got to experience the last show that will be held at the Sevier County Fairgrounds. And it was a really good one with quite a few things happening.

It started Thursday night, with a call from my buddy Stick, to make plans for our little caravan to Sevierville, TN on Friday. The cars had been prepared, loaded up with things, and gassed up. Susan & me got up early Friday, done our last minute things, then headed to Conover, NC to meet Stick & Beverly. After about 2 1/2 hours we hooked up with them, topped off the gas tank, and headed to Tennessee.

I couldn't get over the change in weather that we experienced. It was about chilly when we left Danville, and the weather forecast was predicting a weekend high temp at about 78 degrees for our area. I packed a jacket and a sweatshirt with hopes that the mountains would be a little cooler than that. I've done had enough heat for this year. Guess what.......it didn't work out like we planned. It was right hot! You know......the high 80's! And, it was like this all weekend!

As soon as we arrived in Sevierville, TN, we checked in to our favorite motel......the Riverview Inn, and got the same room that we had last year. We unloaded our cars and headed to the Sevier County Fairground, for pre-registration for the show, and to visit Alan & Jimbo, which were camping out at the fairground for the weekend. They had their camp set up really nice too. Yeah.....we hung around with them awhile, and made a couple trips around the area, looking for a deal, if we seen one. Then we headed to the Cracker Barrel for a well deserved lunch. Man....it sure was good! Then...back to the room again. Before the night was over, we had gone back to the fairground again, and then back to the room in time to see Gary Glass, with his son in law, Shane, and Tommy Davidson arrive at our motel. Susan wanted to check out a few of the shops in Gatlinburg, so we went to check those out, and then headed on back to retire for the evening.

Saturday.....October 1, 2005.....the first day of "Circle Yer Wagens#22" and it started early for the most of us. Tommy & Gary had already set up their VW's at the fairground for the show. After a quick "continental breakfast" at the motel, Susan & me headed out there to see what great finds we could luck up on, and we were joined very quickly by Stick & Beverly. I just parked my Squareback at Alan & Jimbo's site and went to searching. I met a really nice guy (I can't remember his name) with Good Ole Volks Unlimited, from our Kingsport, TN chapter, that had one sweet red 1957 Oval Bug with right hand drive, and a stroker engine.....another one of their younger members, that had a slammed Bug with his hand painted "Good Ole Volks" name on his back window. We did see Bill Hampton there checking out the area for some goodies. Alex Baker showed up too. Stick found him a new front bumper and some brackets for his Bug. The Type 3 parts were not to be found this year.....we couldn't find anything at all. Then.....the guys from "Dune Buggies & Hot VW's" magazine had Tommy to bring his Bus to an area to photograph it for an upcoming feature in their magazine. The magazine guy's came back the next day to photograph Gary's Bug too!

Then it was off to the carwash to clean up my Squareback some.....and back to the motel for some detailing. By the time I got done, it was a group supper at Damon's. We had our minds set on the Olive Garden, since quite a few of us like that place. But....we didn't want to wait a better part of the night waiting in line to be served, so our next choice was Damon's, and it turned out to be a good choice. I will recommend their steak. Ummmmmmmmm!!!

Sunday.....October 2,2005.....the last day of the "Circle Yer Wagens#22", and judging time for all of those great looking VW's. After stopping at the drive thru at McDonalds, we headed over to Alan & Jimbo's site again. Since they were leaving that morning, they suggested me parking where they were camped, because they had quite a few VW's arriving and looking for spots to park and shine their VW's. We spent the better part of the morning getting rid of the dew that had settled on our VW's. Tommy added a rear luggage rack to his Bus that looked really impressive. They were playing some great music at the show all weekend too. I'll have to admit that one of the exciting events at this show was an accident. There was a young guy that had a slammed 1969 Bug, with the car club Boltsdragen, that had his throttle stick on him, and he ended up driving over the bank, and into the rocks at the bottom of the Little Pigeon River. After some assistance and a great roar of applause from the crowd, the only damage that this guy suffered was a bent front rim, and maybe a blow to his ego.

At 3:30PM....they had the awards ceremonies, and it went like this. Tommy won 1st place in his class.....AND.....Best of Show, Gary won 2nd place in his class, and I won 1st place in my class. Make sure that you congratulate all of those guys for their awards.

After the show.......with the cars loaded back up......we topped off the tanks, and headed back towards home. We did stop at the Family Inn restaurant with Stick & Beverly to get a bite to eat, and then it was a long drive back home. We seen Stick & Beverly back to Conover, topped off our tank again, and then came on home. All and all......it's about a 6 1/2 hour ride for us, but it's so much fun. I know that some people don't care too much for a 2 day VW show, but there are so many things that you can do around that area, so many great restaurants, and shows, and scenery, and it was our yearly vacation too. Then, there's the VW crowd, and good friends like Stick & Beverly, and the rest of our GOV friends. I could have stayed a week and enjoyed every day. The only downside to this trip is that the Circle Yer Wagens will no longer be held in this area after this show. Our VW's ran great out there and back, which was good.

There is also a surprise that I have for Lee & Sheari. I wont tell them or GOV what this surprise is till we see them again, but this I will tell you! It is impressive! I promise that after I talk to them, I will inform the rest of GOV about this great surprise in a later BUG BITES.

Now......how about this last VW show coming up at Farmington Dragstrip! On Sunday Oct.9,2005, SEVWA will hold their Bugs at the Farm #4 at the track. Kathy Jacobs is again looking for volunteers to help at this show, and she's offering free admission to the one's that will help them. So, if you would be interested in this, let us know. Stick is talking about bringing his "Bug-B-Que with him to this show, and I'm here to tell you that some of the best tasting things out here come from the front end of this Bug. Everybody usually brings something to throw on his grill, so keep this in mind. Come with the GOV to this last VW show of this season. Till later.........

Have a VW day,
Bobby

September 26, 2005

Hello Good Ole Volks,
What a good day for a VW show! Overcast sky.....like it could rain at any minute....but cool and a breeze blowing. I didn't even have to open my window much on the way to Asheboro. We met the rest of our group at the Biscuitville in Asheboro for a leisurely breakfast, and then headed towards Rockingham Dragstrip for the "NORTH VS SOUTH SHOOTOUT #14"!

Our caravan this time consisted of Gary & Debbie in his red Bug, Tommy in his silver Bug, David in his maroon Bug, Lee & Sheari in Quigley, Tommy, Annessa, & Luke in his yellow & white Bus, Phillip & Jennie in his white Oval Bug, Billy & Daniel with their orange Thing, and Susan & me in my blue Squareback. We also had Gary to lead us on a cruise to the dragstrip by a different route, and it turned out to be a really neat scenic cruise. I can't tell you the last time that I seen so many long needled pine trees.........groves of them.......on both sides of the road. And peach orchards, a tobacco field or two, some cabbage patches, and plenty of open road to cruise on. It was a great day for a cruise as well. To the one's that missed this show........you missed a good GOV event.

We did have some other GOV members there, like Craig, Phillip, Alex, Steve, Matt, Kevin, Dean, and a few others were there for the show. Another Danville couple, Mike & Michelle Lewis, drove her new red New Beetle to the show too.

There was plenty of things going on all during the day. People cleaning their VW's, drag racing, car parts vendors, toys, food, good people, and good conversations. We got to be entertained by Luke most of the day, especially as he shared his bag of poppers. You know, those little bags of whatever that you throw on the ground, and they pop! Luke liked to stomp his. Then....it took Sheari so long, and so many trips by the grill, to get her a turkey leg, that the people gave her one for being so patient. And then there was Lee who didn't think that Quigley was nice enough to win any award.......even if it was one of the better looking dune buggies. I will admit that there were some nice looking dune buggies there, and Quigley was one of them.

Some of us got some good deals on parts. Billy came back over to our group with his hands and arms full of parts, with one of those, "look at what I got" grins on his face. We got us some more new decals, a VW clip watch for Susan, a good copy of the book, "Small Wonder" for my birthday present, & an event t-shirt each.

We did have us a little sprinkle of rain for a very short spell. Just enough for us show contestants to close our cars up, and then it stopped. Lee let Quigley borrow his umbrella!

Then around 3:00PM, they decided to hand out the awards. Each and every one of the members in our little caravan won an award, including Quigley. Lee looked so proud when he went up to receive Quigley's award. And Sheari got it on film. Ask to see the picture. Gary got one of the "Best Of" awards, and Tommy won the "Top Dog" award with his Bus again. And that other Danville girl Michelle, she got an award for her New Beetle too. Make sure that you congratulate our members for their awards. It turned out to be a nice day for everyone there.

Then....it was time to head home. We all just went our own way home pretty much, but Susan and me decided to hang around Greensboro a little longer, with a trip to the Cracker Barrel for supper. It sure was good! And then we headed on back to Danville with a smile on our faces.

While we're at it..... how many other people will be going to Sevierville, Tennessee to join us for "CIRCLE YER WAGENS #22"? I know that we will be going, as well as a couple more of our GOV members, but there are a lot more of us that would really enjoy this show if you were to check it out. We're going to meet up with Stick & Beverly in Conover, and ride together out there this coming Friday. If anyone has any questions about this show, let me know!

Then there's the final "VW's at the Farm" at Farmington Dragway the following Sunday on October 9, 2005! This is the last VW show for our area for the year, so if you want to make sure that you attend at least 1 show this year, you still have the chance to do it at Farmington. Then, its nothing again till spring of 2006.

I believe that's it for now! Till later...........
Have a VW day,
Bobby

September 24, 2005

Hello Good Ole Volks,
Well, once again, our Thursday gathering at Herbie's Place turned out to be an interesting evening. The crowd was down somewhat from the previous 2 weeks, but we still had an evening to remember. We had a trio of people from Belgium, who just happened to be visiting a friend in the area. They have a VW club back home called the "BAHA CLUB", and their names were Wim, Willie, and Rebecca. Willie is their mechanic, Wim is their secretary, and I'm not sure what place Rebecca fills, but it was interesting to talk with them, and they seemed really interested in our group too. Sheari walked them around the crowd for some introductions to our members, and everybody seemed to enjoy meeting them. I did exchange a few GOV stickers for one of their club caps, and I'm sure that you will see me wearing it from time to time. We got to talking about the various VW shows that we have been participating in lately, and they said that they have VW shows back home with over 3000 Bugs involved. Can you imagine what that would be like......man!

Then there was Elliott, who arrived driving a Dodge Brothers truck with a VW emblem hanging from the radiator to keep it all in the right perspective. And then there was Bill with his new banjo steering wheel, and his newly restored Bug pedal car. Harold Stepp was back to tell us some more interesting tidbits. And as usual, we had a lot of parking lot conversations going on at Herbie's Place. Wim really seemed to like it when one of our members started shooting flames out the back of his stinger, like he does for us GOV's every Thursday.

We had a discussion with Gary concerning our caravan to the Rockingham Dragstrip, and the NORTH VS SOUTH SHOOTOUT. He has been talking about a different route to the track that sounds like a good cruise, so some of us is going to meet him in Asheboro Sunday morning and check it out. If anyone is interested in joining us...... take Hwy.220 South to Asheboro....take the Hwy.64 East toward Raleigh....get to the first traffic light.....take a right at the light.....and look for Biscuitville and the VW's. Were going to be arriving there around 8:30 AM, so keep this in mind if you are joining us.

OK.......that's about it for now. Let's all wish Lee a welcome back from Dallas when we see him. Till then..............

Have a VW day,
Bobby

September 17, 2005

Hello Good Ole Volks,
I have been wanting to write something for Bug Bites since last Thursday, but sometimes things have a tendency to get sidetracked. Am I the only one that has noticed that our gatherings are getting larger these days? You need to keep an eye out for this because our membership is growing, and our members are getting more active in our activities.

Just last Thursday, after spending some time with some members that I haven't seen in a few weeks, Carl Bowman walked up to me and told me that he had bought another convertible Bug......a white one this time. This is right after having his red convertible Bug repainted. He said that it was too good of a deal to pass up! Then Bill comes up to me and introduces me to an older fellow by the name of Harold Stepp from McLeansville, NC. Bill referred him as the "VW guru", and with good reason. He has been around VW's all of his life, and actually worked with VW in the North Carolina area for over 10 years. He's now into collecting model cars, especially the British ones. He is a trove of information on a lot of subjects, and I would really like to take the time to sit around and talk to him when I had the chance. Then there was the new member Bob, with the yellow convertible Bug, that couldn't wait to get himself a GOV sticker. And I know that I seen at least one other "new" Bug in the parking lot. It was a blue Bug with polished 8 spoke wheels, and it was a clean one too.

There is something else that I feel that I have to say too. There have been several people that have told me that they like to read my letters on Bug Bites, and told me that I have a certain style of my own that is unique....interesting.....and informative. To these people....thank you for the compliments. I would also like to thank Sheari & Lee for their confidence that I could handle the Bug Bites that Sheari had done so well for all of this time. I feel honored to have been offered this task, and I hope that I can keep up the quality of the column that has been a mainstay of our club website for so long.

Another interesting item.....while watching movies on the AMC channel yesterday.....they had the movie, "DAZED AND CONFUSED", which had all kinds of VW's in the movie. It was based in the early 1970's and there were numerous Bugs, a couple of Things, and a few Buses too. I kept looking for some Squarebacks, but never did see any. I really like those early themed movies, so I can see how many VW's that I see. Another one is "BULLITT" with Steve McQueen. I actually seen a Fastback in that one.

One other thing! I was talking to Gary Glass from Asheboro on Thursday night, and he was talking about going to the NORTH VS SOUTH SHOOTOUT at Rockingham Dragstrip this coming Sunday. He was telling me about a different route that he takes to the track that sounded pretty interesting to me, and I thought of the term, CARAVAN! I plan on talking to him before the week is out to see if maybe I can hook up with him around Asheboro, and check this route out. If any others might want to check it out, let me know. Till then.......I'll see y'all Thursday!

Have a VW day,
Bobby

September 10, 2005 

Down home country...

On Saturday a group of us went to the Fairgrove UMC Missions Festival at Brown Summit.  This was another excuse for a GoodOleVolks road trip, an excuse to get together, and another excuse to eat.  And eat we did.  When we got to the festival there was a large tent in a very large field.  Plenty of Bar-B-Q, games, country music, old tractors, and everything was for a good cause.  This was an annual event with all donations going to Camp Carefree, Reidsville Outreach, and Camp Guilrock.

And the weather was perfect.  What a perfect day for a VW without a top.  There was Lee and Sheari in Quigley, Steve Hunt in his '67, Ron and Chris in a '67, Jack and Deb in a '69, Carl and Tami in a '73 Super, Phillip and Jennie in their '56, Elliott with his '70 Ghia, and Bev and Dave in a '71 Beetle. And the fine folks at the festival put our VWs up front and on display.

If only all events had the food and weather like this.  Add to this a ride in the country and it was a great day.

Lee

September 3-4, 2005

Hello Good Ole Volks,
Well...I'll have to admit, that I've never had the experience of getting ready for a GOV road trip, that I had this time. As you know, it's recommended that you run at least 90 octane gasoline in our VW's, and the closest thing to that is the premium grade, which is the highest priced grade these days. Then, there was the rumor that there was a gasoline shortage. I even went out here...bought a new steel 5 gallon gas can, that costs entirely too much....filled it with premium grade gas, which cost over $17.00, and then, decided not to take it due to safety concerns. I had a few people telling me that we were crazy for taking a trip like this during this time as well. But...if you have ever been on one of our GOV road trips, as we have on more than one occasion, then you know that all of that talk went in one ear and out the other.

It started early Saturday morning. The car was loaded...I had a full tank of gas....and we were headed for the Kangaroo station to wait for our GOV friends. The first to show up was one of our newest members, Betty, and after a while longer, some more of our members came, but we did have to wait for one person that actually ran out of gas. After just a while longer, our little caravan was off on our trip to BUGOUT 28 in Manassas, VA.

This time around...we actually had more people riding in our cars. We had a good size group of members that made this trip. There were Craig & Jordan in his white Bug, Bill & Phil in his black Bug, Betty in her black Bug, Chan & Jeremy in his blue Bug, Eddie and Stevie in his white Bug, Alex, Matt, & Kevin in his orange Bug, James & Leah in their creamy Bug, and Susan & me in my blue Squareback. There were also Tommy & Annessa, with their son Luke, and Tommy, and Billy, with his son and a friend, pulling their VW's......Tommy's yellow & white Bus, the other Tommy's silver Bug, and Billy's Thing, which he had just got back from the paint & body shop.

As you may have noticed, three of our group are our newest members to the GOV....Betty, James, & Leah!

Due to a series of events, our early start breakfast began at McDonald's in Tightsqueeze, and Golden Corral in Lynchburg. Then we were off on the road. We had 8 VW's heading north. 7 Bugs and 1 Squareback. I was definitely outnumbered. Our first pit stop was at our usual place, the Crossroad Store, for topping off our gas tanks, a rest stop, and maybe even a snack, then we were off again. We had a couple of really nice cruises....especially right before we get to Charlottesville, when we are into the curves, hills, knolls, and the canopying trees. Man, I like that part of this trip! Then we arrived at Restorations & Customs in Manassas, VA, which is our usual routine. The business had closed, but we did get the chance to pre-register for the car show on Sunday, get us a dash plaque, and get a t-shirt too. Day's Inn....here we come! We all got checked in at the motel.....and got started doing our thing. Some of us got a nap....some of us got to unload their cars and get them ready....some of us went to wash 200-300 miles worth of bugs off of their cars....and others just hung around and checked it all out.

And then it was off to our anxiously awaited meal at the Olive Garden, where we all left satisfied, and then back to the motel, for some socializing and relaxation. Then a good nights rest was in order to be ready for the BUGOUT 28 in the morning.

We were up early.....getting ready for an exciting day. We all got breakfast somewhere.....ours was from McDonalds, which was right across the street. Then, we loaded up our things, and headed to Old Dominion Speedway for the BUGOUT 58! The crowd was lower due to it being the Labor Day show, but evidently, the gas prices had some bearing on the crowd too, due to a lower number of people in general. But it still turned out well for our group. Now, one of the neat things about this trip, was watching one of our newest members Betty. She went to buying a little of everything that she ever wanted for her VW, along with a few other things that she found, and she just about bought a couple more VW's as well. You could tell that she really enjoyed herself at her first "BUG" show. Then there were our other guys who found a whole backseat worth of VW goodies, and those of us that just wanted maybe a t-shirt or that perfect decal. And by the way, the decal guy that travels to all of the VW shows, has come up with some new and interesting decals and t-shirts, so make sure that you check him out at the next show! We did get to see that guy in the Fisher Buggie's car, deemed the "World's Fastest Volkswagen", make a few runs on the drag strip, and some really great drag cars burning up the track as well. How about those show cars!!!!!!! There were a bunch of them there.  Bugs... Ghias.... Things.... Buses.... Squarebacks.... Fastbacks.... Dune Buggie's (Quigley's long lost cousins), Rails....  Golfs....  Rabbits.... Quantums.... New Beetles.... Jettas.... Foxes.... Trikes....And all kinds of other interesting VW oriented vehicles.

When the judging was done and the awards were given out, this is how our GOV club done. Tommy got 1st Place in the Air Cooled Bus Class......Billy got 1st Place in the Thing Class.....Alex got 2nd Place in the Modified Bug Class..... & Bobby Got 2nd Place in the Type3/Type4 Class.

Then it was time to head on back home! So the ride back home consisted of just 6 of our 8 cars, but we still looked mighty good coming back down the road. I really liked the big open sky that we had as we came on down the road too. Man there were these big fluffy clouds everywhere. Sunday was a beautiful day weather wise. It was cooler today, with low humidity, some cloud cover, and there was a good breeze blowing as well. As long as you were in the shade it was really great, but out in the sun.....let's just say that we all got some sun! We stopped at a KFC for some nourishment, and hit the road for a good cruise.....didn't stop again until we reached Lynchburg. Then we topped off our gas tanks, and headed on home. I turned off onto Hwy.29 South Business, coming on into Danville, and sadly watched 5 Bugs go past me, blowing their horns to say, "see ya next time", and we headed on home for a good nights rest.

All of our cars done great up and back from Manassas. I really got a thrill from following Bill as we came on back home Sunday. He doesn't mind letting his little black Bug come on down the road. I did finally find out after about 20 miles or so that I had my high beams on behind him and Phil. Susan said, "Baby, I sure can see the backs of their heads! Do you have your HIGH beams on?" I checked....and guess what? I did apologize to him afterwards! Now you know why that black Bug was coming on down the road.

In my opinion..... this little VW club of our's.... the Good Ole Volks.... is ever growing and maturing into something to be really proud of. We have a group of different people from various backgrounds, a wide range of ages, different races and religions, and we all have one thing in common. The love of VW's and the friendships that comes from having a group like ours. If you would like to know, what one of our GOV road trips is like...to experience the fun, and the friendships that are made, and the excitement that comes from this...then join us on one of our trips. Till later......

Have a VW day,
Bobby

September 1, 2005

A quick correction.  As mentioned before, Saturday, September 10th, is the Fairgrove UMC Missions Festival. In the past this was free, this year all proceeds will go to local groups.  The cost is $ 6.50 per adult. We are still planning to meet at Herbie's and leave at 4:00PM.  This is still a fun event, and all donations go to good charities.

August 27, 2005

Hello Good Ole Volks,

Well, I'll have to admit, that the people that missed this winery cruise Saturday, missed a nice one. Everyone was at Herbie's Place anticipating a great cruise, and expectations were high. The weather was working in our favor as well. We had a few brief showers in Danville this morning, and it was kind of overcast sky's en-route to Herbie's Place, but the weather worked out for us too. There were already a few people hanging around in the parking lot, waiting to see just how many members were going to join us, when we arrived. After everyone that was going had arrived, and we were leaving for our cruise to the winery, we had one last person to join our group.

In our little VW caravan.......we had Lee & Sheari in Quigley, leading the rest of us......Sixto & Kelly in their Rail, Bill & Linda in their red convertible Bug, Debbie & Jack in their white Bug, Rodney, Donna, & Paige in their convertible Rabbit, Phil in his silver and gray Bug, Eric & Tosha in their white Bug, Betty in her black Bug, James & Leah in their cream Bug, and Susan & me in my blue Squareback, down some scenic North Carolina roads. Through Sedalia, then Whitsett, we cruised our VW's. As usual we got a lot of attention, with the locals waving and smiling at us as we went down the road, and just about the time that we got to Gibsonville, as we just crested a knoll in the road, we came upon, what I usually call, an idiot, stopped half off the road and half on the road, talking to another idiot coming in the opposite lane, stopped to talk to them. We did find out that all of us had good brakes on our VW's. It woke a few of us up too. Man....I thought that we were going to make the evening news. " And now, a late breaking report.....there was a 10 VW pile up on State Rd.100 East, when an idiot decided to stop in the road to talk to another idiot!" Without too much more excitement, we went on through Elon, we got to see the Elon University, then we arrived at a little winery, about half the size of Herbie's Place, called Creek Side Winery.

We had 10 VW's to pull in their winery parking lot and find us a shady spot, due to the fact that the sun had popped out and the heat was on the rise. We were met by Angie, one of the owners, who took us on a tour of their facility. A truck had just pulled up with a load of big tubs full of grapes, and Robert, the wine maker, passed out handfuls of these grapes to us to sample. Then it was inside to see the vats, tanks, and all of the other things that goes into making wine. After we got the grand tour, it was off to the tasting room to sample their wines. Quite a few of their wines were really good, and some of us got a bottle of our favorite, along with our complimentary wine glasses. Afterwards, we found us a shady spot, and hung around for some GOV conversations, and made plans for the rest of the cruise.

Steve Hunt had informed us of a car show being held at Goolsby's Restaurant in Greensboro. He had his Chevy on display at the show, with his wife Betty. Our GOV members parked in a row, along the front row, so that everyone coming to the car show, or to eat at the restaurant, had to see us. A little later....Heather Duncan and her family arrived in their Herbie 53 VW. It started to look like a Thursday at Herbie's Place.

It had been discussed at the winery, that we should end the day with a meal at La Bamba Mexican restaurant on State Street in Greensboro. They had put a number of tables together for all of us to eat as a group. Because Sixto can speak more that one language, he told the wait staff, in their language, that it was Lee's birthday. So, at the end of the meal, the staff came over, put a large sombrero on Lee's head, sang happy birthday to him, and then covered his face with whip cream. Check it out on the activities page. It was a great day filled with VW's, good friends, and a lot of country miles. Keep up with the schedule, because I'm sure that we will be getting another club cruise set up for your enjoyment in the near future.

Now, for another topic! The BUGOUT 58 is scheduled for this coming Labor Day weekend. As usual, some of our members will meet at Herbie's Place, leave as a group, and caravan to the service station outside of Danville, to meet up with Susan and me, then carry on to Manassas, VA. Some news that I just learned about.....that service station that we usually meet at in Danville, is no longer named KANGAROO! It is now a BP station, so look for the BP station as you leave Danville, or just look for my Squareback. I'm really looking forward to this show, but the best part of going to this show, is to be able to hang out with a lot of VW minded people such as the GOV. Y'all come join us on our trip to one of the biggest VW event's on the east coast. Till later........

Have a VW day,
Bobby

August 20, 2005

Hello Good Ole Volks,
Well.....I will let you know that I spent the better part of Saturday cleaning a VW. By the time I got finished, I looked like I had walked under the sprinkler. Yeah, it was right hot and humid around the Danville area. But you know how it is....it has to be done. I had to have my Squareback clean for the Big Bug Shootout #1 at Piedmont Dragstrip on Sunday.

We got up early Sunday morning....loaded up the Squareback with the coolers, and chairs, and the E-Z Up, and the cleaning box, etc......had breakfast......and headed to Piedmont Dragstrip. The trip down went well, but I knew right off that this was going to be a repeat of last Sunday, with the heat and humidity. It was really hot at this show too! Susan started something last week that really worked wonders and it gives you a rush as well. She takes a towel....soaks it in the water from the cooler....you know , that icy cold water....then you put it around your head. Woooooooo!!! We even had Stick using the cold towels today, but he never wrapped it around his head for some reason.

This was the first Big Bug Shootout that the SEVWA has done, and I think that it turned out to be a pretty good show. They had some really nice show cars there, quite a few vendors, and some fast drag cars too. Some of the people that were there was Stick, Sixto & Kelly, Dave & Bev, Tommy, Craig & Jordan, Alex, Steve, Michael, Phillip, and a few others. They had the car show set up for the TOP 20 cars on this first show. Whether this will be the usual way they do it......I don't know! Tommy got the Promoter's Choice award, as well as one of the TOP 20, I got one of the TOP 20, and if there were anymore GOV that won awards that I failed to mention.....congratulations!

I wont go on and on about how hot it was today, but these last two weekend shows have been rough. It didn't matter where you were, or what you were doing......you sat or stood there and sweated. Then you put a cold rag on your head, said, WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!.....then started sweating again.

Over all.....I'd say that the show was a success. It was run well....you had grass to park on instead of asphalt, they have a nice drag strip there, a couple of food places, and decent facilities. It was hot too! We did get a couple of decals that we have been wanting for awhile, and I tried to get me an event t-shirt, but there were no 2X , so no shirt.

We did have a good time hanging out with the GOV that did take the time to come to this show. That is what makes these shows so special. I would have liked for more of the GOV to have been there with us. Maybe next time. Then, after the awards were given out.....it didn't take no time before people were getting ready and leaving. If they were anything like us, they were heading for some A/C. The trip back went well too, just warmer. My 2/55 air conditioner was blowing hot air. But after getting home, and visiting the shower, things were good.

Now....you know how us GOV likes these club cruises? You know....the one's where we have all of these VW's going down some country roads, and getting all of that attention from the people we meet! Well, we're going to have one this coming Saturday that sounds pretty good. Lee is going to show us some of North Carolinas scenic route's to and from another NC winery. It sounds like the makings of a good cruise, and I would like to see as many of our members that can make it, to participate in it with us. We will be leaving Herbie's Place on Saturday August 27,2005 around 2:00PM. Come join us! Till then........

Have a VW day,
Bobby

August 19, 2005

Hey Good Ole Volks,
We went and done it up right didn't we. We have now set a new world record of 67.5 VW's at a GOV gathering. I hope that all of you are as proud of this feat as I am. We didn't put on a car show, or have a drag race, or even have a swap meet, but we did have a bunch of good ole Volks getting together for a common goal, and we had a great time in doing it. We had the WFMY TV station to have a short clip on the Thursday night news about our event and even the reporter had a smile on her face as she talked about our little VW's.

I'll have to admit something.....when we left Danville with Paul & Deborah following us in their red Cabriolet, and started heading towards Greensboro, it looked as if the sky was just going to open up and soak everything. We even ran through some rain around Reidsville, but I had made up my mind that we were going to Herbie's Place. I don't think that we could have had a more pleasant night to have our "break the record night'' either. When we got to Herbie's Place......we had some cool temps, low humidity, and some cloud cover to keep it that way. As a matter of fact, when we got back home in Danville, we noticed that we had a good soaking that Greensboro missed.

We had a great group on people, with some that I hadn't seen in awhile. Lee had his brother Don there, who I haven't seen since Sheari's surprise birthday party, Stick & Beverly came all the way from Conover to be with us, we had another VA girl, Betty, to come join us, who was in Reidsville visiting a friend, heard about our event and came to see us, and we even had some new people to join our little VW club. Then there were all of our regular friends that we have the pleasure to see each week at our gathering. And then we had some supper at Herbie's Place. Now tell me....does it get any better than that?

I also got an e-mail from Kathy Jacobs of the SEVWA (South Eastern Volkswagen Association) to ask me a favor. Since they are having their 1st Annual "Big Bug Shootout" at Piedmont Dragstrip this coming Sunday, she is in need of some volunteers to help with things like directing cars to park, the registration table, and maybe helping with the judging as well. She did offer free admission to anyone that would help. So, if anyone would be interested in doing this, just send me an e-mail bugbites@goodolevolks.com and I'll let her know. She is requesting this info by this evening, so keep this in mind.

In closing.....again, I'm proud to have been part of our "break the record night" and we really enjoyed hanging out with y'all guys in doing it. Till later.........
Have a VW day,
Bobby

August 15, 2005

Hello Good Ole Volks,
Let me start off with a question......was it hot enough for y'all on Sunday? If not, then you should have been with us at the Rockingham Dragway on Sunday Aug.14,2005. We left Danville, with Jay & Paige following us, around 7:30AM, heading for Rockingham. The morning was fairly cool, and the ride went well, but it didn't take no time at all for the heat & humidity to make itself known. Some of the one's that made it to the "VW's at the Rock" were Eddie & Alex Baker, Tommy Davidson, Jay & Paige Thornton and his parents, Chan Cassell, David Reed & his family, Steve and Michael in their ground slammers, Chad Hicks, Sixto, and I'm sure that there were others that I can't seem to remember. As usual, the Rockingham show was kind of a smaller show, as far as the number of show cars goes, but us VW owners were there to enjoy ourselves, and maybe find us that extra accessory, or car part, or a special decal, or t-shirt, or maybe even watch some of the drag races.

But......man, was it hot and humid! Even with us having our E-Z UP shelter set up and being offered to all in need of some shade, you couldn't help but sit and sweat. We had plenty of water and drinks to help with staying hydrated, but man it was hot! After half a day of being in the heat & humidity, it decided to cloud up and send us a little relief with a rain shower, but it did provide some cloud cover and cooler temperature. After a long, and I mean a long day at the show, the award winner's were Tommy Davidson with 2nd in his Bus class, Steve French won 1st in the Special Interest class, David Reed got a 1st with his '70 Bug, we got 1st in the Type 3 class, and Michael won the drawing for a big toolbox. I'm not sure how Michael got that toolbox back home, because it was a BIG toolbox. We were all proud of our awards, and you should congratulate all of these people for their win.

Now......for another topic of discussion. CAR SHOW ORGANIZATION. This could be summed up by what "the judge" said as he started into his speech......."Well, I can tell who the true VW people are!" Quite a few people who were at this show got irritated by the amount of time that it took to get it finished. Mainly, that it took us to around 6:00PM to receive the awards after spending the day in the heat, humidity, and finally the rain. Now like I said, this was one of the smaller shows, and there was the claim that there was only 1 judge, to judge all of the cars. This "VW's at the Rock" was put on by a different group this year. Even though Hick's VW Service sponsored this show, it was the BUGMANIA people from out of Fayetteville, NC that was running the show. Me, as well as several others that I talked to at the show, have been to their other BUGMANIA shows in Fayetteville, and it always seems that they have the same problem. Even though these are small shows, as compared to other shows like, lets say, the Farmington shows, it takes an excessive amount of time to get the show cars judged. And every time it's the same old thing......"well, we didn't have but the one judge, due to this or that", and then before they give out the awards.......this 1 judge has to give a speech to tell you why it takes so long and how he judges the vehicles. I know that I enjoy the VW shows as much as the next guy, and I have been to quite a few of them over the years, but when it takes as long as it did yesterday, and at the BUGMANIA show last year, to hand out the awards, I don't really care to hear any speech about why it took so long. Just get better organized for next time, AND get more judges. I wont say some of the comments that were made at the show on Sunday, but it was pretty evident that a lot of the car show participants were right irritated and I can't say that I blame them. Then you may ask.......will you go back to the VW's at the Rock again? With 2 other VW shows at Rockingham with the "NORTH VS SOUTH SHOOTOUT" shows........it may be iffy at best! I wont tell you what Susan says, but if you ask her....I bet that she will tell you!

But......I did enjoy being able to hang out with some GOV friends as always, and I look forward to doing so again in the future. After leaving the show, and stopping for a bite to eat with Eddie, we headed back up 220 for a good nights rest, and some A/C.

Let's not forget the "BREAK THE RECORD NIGHT'' this Thursday at Herbie's Place. Talk to or call all of your known VW owners and tell them that you need their support, and lead the way to a "NEW" record. Wouldn't it be great to be part of the largest Good Ole Volks gathering in the world? I know that Susan and me will be there, and I'm doing my best to bring some from Danville too, so help your club out and bring them all. Let's fill up Herbie's, AND Appleby's parking lots with VW's. We'll see y'all there! Till later, this is your roving reporter signing off!
Have a VW day,
Bobby McDowell

August 14, 2005

Our next road trip is Saturday, August 27th.  We will travel the back roads to a small winery north of Elon. They offer a wine tasting for $ 2.00, and you can purchase your favorite wine.  After the visit we will travel a different route back to Greensboro.  Plans are to leave Herbie's at 2:00PM, and the estimated route is 70 miles, round trip.

You can visit their website at  http://www.creeksidewinery.com/ .  If you are interested in joining us for this country drive, please contact either Sheari, or Lee for details.

August 12, 2005

Thank you to both Shearin and Lee for finding the trail and then keeping all the little dubbies on the trail. We all played follow the leader like good little dubbies. Winding and twisting through the North Carolina prairie, the 13 dubs had no stragglers or strays and were escorted from behind by 2 non-VWs. Our first stop for grazing was at Holden Motors. Here the dubs all milled around out in the stockyard - er - parking lot, while the people were treated to a tour of a "verrry interrrest-ink" VW shop. There is ooodles of history and stories to be heard here.

The herd was then rounded up and back on the trail towards a real dairy farm. It was called the Homeland Dairy Farm, so I'm assuming it was approved by the Homeland Security Dept. At least all the shiny dubbies were kept safe from any nasty situations. Here was a chance to look at the VolksVette - a Corvette body on a VW pan. Unusual and very cool. Bev and I had never seen one like that. The farm also had a homemade ice cream parlor! The ice cream was delicious!! As Bobby said, "even with a cup, it runneth over!". After cooling our tummies and flat fours, our intrepid trail master rounded up all the lost dubbies from the pen - er parking lot and we headed off to a beautiful park. It is our understanding that there is a fall evening canoe ride - perhaps in October. Driving through the park was fun as all the picnickers and fisherpersons stared at the multi-colored VWs parading by. Some even waved! Probably all wishing they were lucky enough to have a VW!

Out of the park and on the trail again heading in to western sky. As we drove along, dubs kept leaving for their own homesteads. Bev and I pulled off onto Rt#29 and headed back to the ranch

It was a beautiful day, the company was great, the ice cream terrific (and cold!), and the drive very relaxing and most of all - fun! Thanks again to Shearin and Lee for giving us a great day.

Fweem!!

Bev, Dave & "the Green Hornet"

August 8, 2005

Hello Good Ole Volks,

To the members that didn't get the chance to go with us on our "GOT MILK" club cruise....you missed an interesting trip. The only thing that I would have enjoyed more, was if we had gone on the trip in a VW. With Susan's Squareback getting painted, and mine being checked out, due to that incident coming to Herbie's Place on Thursday, I figured that I should have my Squareback prepared and ready for the upcoming shows. Sooooo.....we drove my Pontiac. I'll have to admit that I did enjoy that air conditioning on a day as hot as Saturday was, but I didn't have the fun that comes with driving my Squareback.

Our trip started at Herbie's Place at 2:00PM on Saturday, August 6th, and you can always count on some driving involved on Lee's trips. I got to see things and places that I wouldn't have gotten to see otherwise. We had a total of 13 vehicles in our little group, with 11 of these being VW's. Those VW's looked mighty impressive going down those back roads, and as usual, we got plenty of attention.

We had Lee & Shearin leading the pack in Quigley, Sixto & Kelly in their new Rail, Bill in his red convertible Bug, Robert & Gloria in his red Firebug, Elliott in his new Rabbit, Steve and Betty in her blue New Beetle, Dave & Beth in his green Bug, Boyd and Vonda in their white "VOLKSVETTE", Phillip and Jamie in their white Oval Bug, Phil in his silver & gray Bug, a Herbie Clone Bug, then bringing up the rear of our group was Stephanie in her red Saturn, and Susan & me in our white Pontiac.

We started off on a good little trek across the North Carolina countryside to quite a few cities and towns that I have never even heard of before, and ended up in Franklinville, NC at Holden Motor Co. This just happens to be the business of Lee's mechanic, Gerry Holden. He has a really nice, clean VW shop. Even though he is mainly doing towing these day's, he still maintains a Bug repair business on the property as well. He entertained our group with an informative discussion about the purchase price of each of our VW's when they would have been purchased, as well as the quantity of Bugs sold in that year. He had a question & answer period, and then the treat of the day, was when he cranked up his 1966 Bug so that we could hear what a VW sounded like. Now.....how much better could it get?

Then it was off on another one of Lee's jaunts to the Homeland Creamery, where some really good homemade ice cream is made. The first thing that I noticed as I got out of my car was the unmistakable aroma of a dairy farm. This brought back childhood memories of my Grandparents farms. They even had a calf in a petting pen under the shade trees. Well.....you know how it goes when you enter an ice cream place don't you? Everyone got to purchase a cup or a cone of their favorite flavor ice cream. I did find out that you should not get the 3 scoops of ice cream however, because these people give you more that your moneys worth. Man.....I ate, and ate, and even ate some more, and I still had ice cream melting all over my hands. And I had mine in a cup too! Well, after a short break for our ice cream treat, and checking out the calf, and taking a few pictures, we were back on the road again for some more cruising.

Lee lead us to the Guilford Mackintosh Park for a cruise through, and some more recognition from the people in the park, and then we started our trips back home. We lost our group members, one by one, as we headed down the road, and when we got to Hwy.29, we took a right and headed home ourselves. I have to say, that the trip turned out really well. It was, to me anyway, as much of an informative trip, as it was a fun one. I got to meet some new people, see some places that I had never been to before, and I finally got to meet Lee's mechanic. I would like to thank everyone involved with our trip, for making it the fun day that it was, and I look forward to cruising with our Good Ole Volks again. In closing....I would like to remind everyone that "VW's at the Rock" is going to be next Sunday, August 14 in Rockingham, "Big Bug Shootout" will be at Piedmont Dragstrip the following Sunday, August 21, in Greensboro, and then 2 weeks later will be our Labor Day trip to BUGOUT 58 in Manassas, VA. All of you VW folks need to check out these VW shows whenever you get the chance, especially with a group of Good Ole Volks.

Have a VW day,
Bobby McDowell

And Break the Record Night is Thursday, August 18th at Herbie's.

July 4, 2005

Our Break the Record meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 18, at Herbie's.  Last year we had 61 VWs from all over the state.  If we get more that we had last year, this will be the largest GoodOleVolks meeting in the World.  In the whole World.  So lets break this record.  See you there.

June 20, 2005

A nasty virus hit us....

Last week someone sent the GoodOleVolks a virus.  This was the type that attaches itself to the email list in ones computer.  This was the work of an outsider, so if you get any email from GoodOleVolks, delete it.  We do not send email from this website.  Any messages are posted on this site, not emailed.

So be careful getting email from someone calling themselves 'GoodOleVolks'. Delete any email you receive from GoodOleVolks.  And check here for all upcoming events and those special trips.

June 4, 2005

Place or Grill?

 For the past few years we GoodOleVolks have met every Thursday evening at Herbie’s PLACE on Battleground in Greensboro.  This is a nice quiet restaurant with half a Volkswagen bug mounted on the front of the building. 

This weekend we took a chance to try a new Herbie’s.  The new place is actually called Herbie’s GRILL, and is located near the intersection of Holden and High Point Road here in Greensboro.  It too, has half a Volkswagen bug mounted on the building. Similar, but different, all slick and new. 

The menus looked almost the same.  The same Volkswagens are printed around the edge of the menu. And the layout of the food items are displayed almost in the same order.  But the prices on some items at Herbie’s GRILL are higher. I ordered the same breakfast special at the GRILL that I get on Thursdays at the PLACE.  And the person eating with me ordered the same item from the menu they get at the PLACE.  We have to compare using the same food. 

It did not seem to take that long to get our food order.  Or so it seemed.  We were too busy reading all the rules posted on the walls of this new restaurant.  The rules were interesting.  ‘Keep your kids quiet’.  ‘If you order late at night there is an additional $ 1.00 added to your bill for gratuity’.  And these rules were posted in bright red signs.  So by the time we read all the rules, our food arrived. 

The hash browns, a routine item ordered by members of GoodOleVolks at the PLACE arrived.  These at the GRILL were not warm enough to melt the cheese.  And it looked like a child’s portion instead of the large amount we normally receive at our Herbie’s on Battleground.  And instead of being the nice cooked toasted tone,  the potatoes were still solid white in color and not cooked through. 

And now my breakfast special arrived.  When my order was placed I told the waitress I wanted to substitute toast instead of the pancake.  She said, ‘Not a problem’.  And there in front of me was both a pancake, and an order of toast.  The eggs were fine.  The bacon was fine, although it reminded me of my Volkswagen by leaving a trail of oil marks on my plate.  The grits were liquid - I could tilt my plate and they would run from side to side.  A large portion of butter came with my order.  But the butter was useless because it would not melt on the cold grits. 

During the meal our waitress came to our table and apologized for the service.  She said there were too many people and they were understaffed.  I just smiled thinking about last Thursday night at our PLACE where there were 49 Volkswagen, and one waitress, Sally.  Our Sally served everyone, and kept on smiling.  At this GRILL I counted 5 waitresses and less than half the tables had customers. 

Then the fun started, I went to pay the bill.  The normal breakfast special costs more at the new Herbie’s.  Because I had an order of toast, there was an additional charge.  And, ready for this, because it was Saturday morning, there was an additional charge.  I think if I told the cashier I used the men’s room, there might have been yet another charge. 

It was interesting to see a note on the wall beside the cash register with the telephone number of Herbie’s on Battleground on it.  Perhaps they know where to call for good food, a great wait staff, and reasonable prices.   Someone in our GoodOleVolks suggested we move from our Herbie’s PLACE to the new Herbie’s GRILL.  I think not. 

May 29, 2005

To   Hi y'all,

Well, we're back from the latest Manassas trip at BUGOUT 57. This was the biggest caravan that we've had yet for our trip to the BUGOUT show's. I had talked to numerous people at Herbie's Place about going, and I knew of several that were going too, but I had no idea that we would have the crowd that we did. Some of our regular members that have been a mainstay on the BUGOUT trips couldn't make it and some other member's that had already made plans to join us, had some unexpected events to take precedence over the trip, but it still turned into a good GOV event.

As usual, Susan & I were waiting at the Kangaroo station on HWY.29 North for the rest of our group to show up, and we didn't have to wait too long before, here they came, up the highway looking just as impressive as ever. These people were..... Susan & me in my Squareback, Eddie in his Bug, Alex in his Bug, Steve in his Bug, Mickey in his Bug, Billy in his Thing, Chan in his Bug, and then Tommy was towing his 21 Window Bus, and Michael was towing his slammed Bug. That's a total of 9 VW's heading up the highway.

After some of us topping off the gas tanks, taking a pit stop, and maybe getting something to drink or snack on, we headed up the road to the latest BUGOUT show in Manassas, VA. A couple of our guys had some minor setbacks with their cars, but none that were anything to really worry about. A loose nut here, a blown fuse there, you know, those kind of things! The first stop that we made was in Lynchburg, VA for some well anticipated breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, and to this day, I don't remember it taking so long to get our breakfast. Of course the food was great......once we got our orders, but it was the wait that kinda irritated some of us. You know how it is when you're really hungry, and are really looking forward to your meal, then you have to wait.....then wait some more..... and still wait some more? Well, that's the way it was on that Saturday morning. And then, it was back on the road.

The next stop was our usual stop at the Crossroad Mart, just before you get to Charlottesville, VA for a pit stop to top off our gas tanks, hit the bathroom, and maybe get a drink or snack. Then we were off again, and didn't stop again till we got to Manassas, VA. Over all...the ride went well...the cars ran well...and there's this one section of the trip where you're coming down the road through some hills and curves that is really great...kinda like a roller coaster in a VW. After a stop for some directions, due to the fact that I hit the #234 bypass, instead of the #234 business route, and we were at our Motel at Days Inn on Balls Ford Road. After getting ourselves settled in, and our cars unloaded, some of our group headed to the VW Restorations & Customs to enjoy some free brunch, check out the sites, and then we got to watch Bob Hicks work on his Ghia hot rod, who had a problem with his fuel injectors. Then it was off to the Olive Garden for supper........Ummmmmmmm! A few of us went to the carwash to remove 4-5 hours of bugs from our cars, and then we were back at the motel to clean and polish our cars some. There were quite a few VW's running around the motel. As usual, there was a large crowd of motorcycles running around, due to the Memorial Day celebration with the ROLLING THUNDER event, and these people are always interesting to meet.

Up the next morning......have a McDonald's breakfast.....then onto the Old Dominion Speedway for BUGOUT 57! There was quite a crowd there to enjoy a day of nice weather, and some really nice VW's. There were those guy's celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Karman Ghia, with a cross country tour, and stopping at the BUGOUT enroute to the east coast. Then there were the guy's with the new "Herbie/Fully Loaded" movie deal set up that was there giving out promotional bags and posters, along with their own "HERBIE" car. They even had some drag racing, and a bunch of show cars. Some of us got some parts deals or just a few new accessories. I even got a free t-shirt for ordering myself a subscription of "Hot VW" magazines from the magazine guys that were there. I did find out that we have a few of our GOV members cars featured in the July 2005 issue of the magazine. Y'all should buy the magazine.....I know that I'll buy several.

Anyway....after it was all over with, and the judging was done, Tommy Davidson got a First Place in the early air cooled vans, as well as the Best Paint Award, Alex Baker got a Third Place in the later Bugs, Billy Dye got a Third Place in the Things, and I got a Third Place in the Type3/Type 4's. I even had a couple to come up to me with a question while we were there too! The question was..... "Could you tell me where I can get one of those Good Ole Volks stickers?" I just said to come to Herbie's Place on a Thursday night and join a bunch of Good Ole Volks.

After a meal at KFC, it was a return trip back home with Eddie, Alex, Billy, and us coming back down the highway. We had a great drive back as well. I think that the trip went well, we had a lot of fun, and we got to hang around with a bunch of VW people. I would like to see a lot more of our members participating in these events, and if they ever get the urge to join one of trips like this, just come on and join the fun. Till later.....

Have a VW day,
Bobby McDowell

April 30, 2005

Today, Saturday, was the Second Annual Habitat Car Show in Greensboro. 

And the winners were:
1. Most Popular VW -- Harvey and Karin (Yippee Clown) Hall -- 1970 Multi-colored Beetle
2. Judges Choice -- Doug Abbott -- 1968 Beetle -- Peachy Orange Chop Top
2. Most Unique VW -- Phillip Parker -- 1974 Karman Ghia -- silver
3. Best VW Under Construction -- Ed Raines -- '73 Super Beetle white

The voting for the cars raised $100.00 including a company matching gift.

In spite of the threat of rain and severe weather, a few hardy souls came to the Habitat Car show. There were 10 cars this year, including a bumper and headlight bucket in a wagon that was referred to as a VW "under construction"

Three participants each won a $15.00 gift certificate for stores in the Four Seasons Mall. Thanks to all who came and supported Habitat for Humanity and Good Ole Volks. I hope for better weather and a larger turnout for next year.

Dave Tosi

April 18, 2005

Hello GOV,
Well, the weekend started out on Friday with a wash job on my Squareback, then progressed to a polishing job on it on Saturday. Then we loaded it up with our things, and was ready for our trip to the NORTH VS SOUTH SHOOTOUT in Rockingham on Sunday. We were talking with 3 other people from Danville about going with us to the show, but Mike and Michelle were the only ones to join us on on trip to meet up with the other GOV's at Herbie's Place early Sunday morning. At 8:30 AM, after spending a little extra time waiting to see if a few more members made it, our group headed out towards Rockingham with Craig, Sixto, Phillip, Keith, Robert, Mike & Michelle, Susan & me, and the maroon Bug and a primered Bug with some of the younger members of our group. We headed on down #220 looking pretty good if I say so myself.

A pack of 9 VW's heading on down the road at a moderate speed until we hit the highway. We were cruising along at a right good speed, and then picked up Tony & Susan in Asheboro for a total of 10 VW's. That's when we decided to let our VW's cruise on down the highway. With either Craig or Sixto leading the pack, we made really good time making it to the track. Even though the morning started out kind of cool, by the time that we got to Rockingham, the weather turned out to be a beautiful day for a VW show. Joining us at the show were Stick Collins and his son Corey, Tommy Davidson, Steve French, Gary Glass, Eddie & Alex Baker, my buddy Reid Tanksley, and several other people that we see at the shows. We arrived, set up the EZ UP and the chairs, and started making our rounds. Tony & Susan brought a big batch of cookies again, and they made sure that everyone enjoyed them too. Gary Glass had a really nice framed "GOOD OLE VOLKS" matted picture frame with some pictures of our "Cruise the Parkway #2" that made for a really nice addition to his show car set up. He said that his brother does these matted frames, and we asked him to get us one. If you were to see these, I bet that you would like them as well.

We got to see some of the Drag cars making some impressive runs, especially the Fisher Buggies car. That car went through the 1/8 mile at better that 137 MPH! Claimed to be the "worlds fastest VW" and if you got the chance to see it run, you would probably agree. As for the car show....our members Tony & Susan had their Ghia, Gary had his Bug, Tommy had his 21 Window Bus, Mike & Michelle had their Bug, we had my Squareback, and even Robert entered his "FIREBUG". Robert shined up his Bug, the whole time telling us that he didn't have anything worthy of a trophy, but he showed it just the same. I'll have to admit that we had a considerable amount of club representation at the show. When it was over with the award winners were all of our group that entered. Yeah.... Tony & Susan, Gary, Tommy, Mike & Michelle, Me, and even Robert (who didn't have anything worthy) all won awards. The "Best of Show" went to Tommy Davidson with his newly finished yellow&white 21 Window Bus. If you haven't seen this Bus yet, I recommend that you check it out. He spent a lot of time on his Bus and it shows. All and all.....it was a small but nice show, and it didn't rain at all this time.

One thing of interest that needs to be mentioned too.....as Tony, Eddie, and me were talking, a guy from "VW CRUISERS OF THE PEE DEE" came up to us, after noticing Tony's "GOV" shirt, and talked to us about getting a lot of these VW Clubs together and maybe taking a cruise to Myrtle Beach. It sounded like a great idea to us at the time. If you take the time to think about this...... there are several VW Clubs in NC as you know......if you only had 10 VW's from each Club.....imagine the group of VW's that would be in this group. Talk about impressive! If any of y'all fellow GOV would be interested in this, I'm sure that a group meeting would be in order. I do have this guys e-mail address and such just in case.

Anyway, after the show, we came back up the road with Alex & Eddie till they hit the Lexington exit, and then onto Danville for a much needed rest. Make sure that all of y'all congratulate all of the winners, especially Robert! I'm sure that you will make his day! We do have the "Circle Yer Wagens" show in Tennessee at the end of the month, and quite a few of the members are talking about going out there, so keep this in mind. In the meantime.....this is your "roving reporter" signing off! 

Have a VW day,
Bobby McDowell

April 9, 2005

I recently received this email concerning a couple of traveling members of GoodOleVolks and I thought I would share it with you.

Hi,
I had the opportunity to meet and serve a couple of “Good Ole Volks” last Sunday at Prime Sirloin in Yadkinville. I mentioned their sweatshirts, and before they left, gave me a card. Ok, the beginning of this story and the end wasn’t very exciting. But the MIDDLE is what gets ya.

If you guys have as much fun outta life as these two, you have a great group. If half (no, I can’t be that lucky) maybe a fourth of my customers were that much fun, I’d be paying the company I work for to work there !!

Always thought the “Bug” was a happy car, and now am glad there’s happy “Volks” out there driving them !!!

Thanks for making my day………

You as a member of GoodOleVolks represent your club by not just the appearance of your VW, but by the way you dress, and the  comments you make.  Lets work to make this club one we can all be proud of.  And thanks to the person who sent us this email.

April 8, 2005

Time is running out to polish up your car! There are only 3 more weeks until the:   
“2nd Annual Habitat Happening” at the Re-Store, VW car show with GoodOleVolks

This will be a great time for the family. Bring everyone to see all the pretty VWs. There will be a clown with a funny VW car, face painting, and a moonwalk for the kids. Early risers and arrivers may be lucky and get the free coffee and doughnuts. There will specials on certain items for that day only inside the Re-Store. Everyone, (including Dad), is welcome to shop and help out the building of houses with out lifting a hammer. All the events are FREE, including the show – NO entry fee!

There will be 5 trophies awarded, and the first 40 registrants receive an adhesive dash plaque. The top trophy – “Most Popular VW” will be determined by the amount of money in the bucket in front of the car. Obviously, the more friends you have the better your chances. All the money collected is donated to Habitat for Humanity.

The other 4 trophies will be decided by the Habitat judges. The classes are: “Most Unique VW” – “Judges Choice” – “Best Non VW” – Best “Under Construction” VW.

There will also be a few door prizes given out. Anyone registered in show
is eligible for the drawing.

So y’all hurry up and polish the tires, wash the engine, shine the paint, and make it look like new. The pavement parking area will be closed off and protected. Bring a chair and seat and visit for awhile. Perhaps we can break the record of 26 cars in the show.

Fweem.

Dave T.

April 5, 2005

The web site, GoodOleVolks has a reporter position open.  A mechanical minded person is needed for a new addition. Starting soon will be a 'Report from the Rack'.  This will be hints and tips written to keep the bug running longer.

If you are interested in being this special person, contact me at bugbites@goodolevolks.com.

April 3, 2005

Hello Y'all,
I must say that it was windy all day today (Sunday at Farmington). I can't remember a time when it was this windy.....all day long. I wasn't about to attempt to put the E-Z up. We would have looked like Mary Poppins with her umbrella, trying to hold that thing down today.

We met up with several other people at Herbie's Place and left promptly at 8:30 AM heading to Farmington Motorsports Park for "Bugs on the Farm 2005". We had a fun time coming down I-40 trying to keep the Squareback in my lane. Man, the wind was cutting up out there....blowing my car all over the road. I especially enjoyed those side drafts. You know, the one's that make you change lanes without even turning the steering wheel! Ahhh, the pleasures we have driving our VW's! We arrived at the dragstrip, and quickly set the cars up. Just took all of the supplies out of the car, opened the doors, trunk, and hatchback, then went to checking things out.

We found a super deal on some parts for our cars, checked out some of the other GOV members and their cars, and braved the wind the best that we could. That wind blew all day long! Lee & Shearin had to leave early due to the wind being so rough on her. We didn't need her having a relapse.

It wasn't long before everybody found out that Stick had his grills up and going again, and we had some good food while hanging around their site. Susan brought a pan of spaghetti that everyone liked, then others came along with several whole chicken's, rib's, hot dogs, and hamburgers. And then here came Tony & Susan with the cookie's. Everyone pitched in and made it a really nice time.

The members that I can remember were there are, Lee & Shearin, Sixto & Kelly, Alan & Jan, Tony & Susan, Billy & April, Stick & Beverly, Pete & Teresa, Alan, Craig, Steve, Chan, Bill, Erhard, Danny, Jack & Debbie, Alex, Tommy, Mickey, Steve, Susan & me. There were others as well, but my memory slips some times you know!

Earning trophies in their class were.......
   Carl Bowman/Stock Bug '68 & up
   Tony Morgan/Kaman Ghia
   Bobby McDowell/Type 3
   April Dye/Thing
   Steve French/Under Construction
   Erhard Kostler/Promoter's Choice for his Schwimmwagen
   Tommy Davidson won a first place trophy in the type 2 class

All and all.... it turned out to be a good day, with all of the VW related activities going on and the crowd being really enjoyable. I would still like to see more of our members participating in these event's with us too. You just don't know what you're missing. The "North VS South" event will be taking place in Rockingham, NC on the Sunday after next on April 17,2005. I hope to see more members there at this event.

Have a VW day,
Bobby McDowell

April 2, 2005

We now have a 'headline news' service for the latest news.  Go to the Members sections, and click on Headlines.

And from Lee, did you know about this?   Subject: Google Info - you should know
 
Google has implemented a new feature wherein you can type someone's telephone number into the search bar and hit enter and then you will be given a map to their house. Everyone should be aware of this! Note that you can have your phone number removed or blocked.

Lee tested it by typing our telephone number in www.google.com . Our phone number came up, and when we clicked on the Map Quest link, it actually mapped out where we live. Quite scary. Please look up your own number. Think about it--if a child, ANYONE gives out his/her phone number, someone can actually now look it up to find out where he/she lives. The safety issues are obvious, and alarming. In order to test whether your phone number is mapped, go to: http://www.google.com/  Type your phone number in the search bar (i.e. 555-555-1212) and hit enter.

If you want to BLOCK Google from divulging your private information, simply click on "phone results" next to your phone number and it will give you an option to remove your number. Removal takes 48-hours. If you are unlisted in the phone book, you might not be in there, but it is a good idea just to check. If your number does come up if you hit map, it will show you a direct map to your house... Please forward on to friends and family .

March 21, 2005

On March 19th, our spring Meet & Eat, at Billy Bob’s Diner, of the Good Ole Volks was a rousing success. There were 16 VWs and 1 other. We had 1 Thing, 3 KGs, and 12 Beetles. Those in convertibles were even convinced to put the lids down for the tour. People started arriving around 8:10 and the parking lot filled up quickly. We even had a short row of 3 Beetles that were Red, White and Blue! People were busy talking VWs and had to be chased into Billy Bob’s for breakfast. We had our separate room and many waitresses. The food was great and served quickly.

The sound level was fairly high (until the food was served) as people talked excitedly about their VWs and of course, where were we going? Many were trying to figure it out. There were at least 4 new people attending, one couple in a pretty red with white roof KG and another in a burgundy SB convertible. Our Hickory contingent was there as well.

The sun was shining beautifully as we mounted up for the mystery route. Each car was given a set of emergency directions in case the leader (me) couldn’t keep all together. Even the emergency directions had no final name on them. As the first in line, I could look back around turns and curves and see a plethora of VWs in bright hues happily fweeming along. It was a beautiful sight and having the orange “pumpkin” near the end of the line helped me keep all in a row. The road meandered through farm land and some beautiful houses. A couple of horse farms with miles of white fence were seen. About half way there, there was a small lake and at the end of it was a wonderful old stone house with a mill pond water wheel attached. It was a very scenic and pastoral view.

All of a sudden, grape vines started to appear along the side of the road. Lots of grape vines! We must be getting close. Hey, there is an entrance with a wrought iron gate and the name. West Bend Winery! At last the mystery was solved, Poi rot would be happy! The grounds were beautified by the VWs parking in the lot next to the vines and the greening grass. One of the owners, Lillian, greeted us and started the first tour of how to make wine. The other half of the group proceeded directly to the wine tasting. We had the opportunity to taste 6 different wines and have each explained to us. There were all so good that is was hard to make a decision as to which one to buy and take home. Oh well, life is full of tough decisions, so we bought 2 bottles. After the tasting, some of sat around talking on a sun warmed stone patio while waiting for our winery tour.

The tour was quite informative and Lillian took the time to answer our questions (and put up with our wise cracks) while educating us in the art of wine making. After the tour, we all took time to sit around and enjoy each other, the day, and the countryside. All too soon it was time to head home. People sort of drifted away towards home one by one.

Thank you to all who brought some donations for the Crisis Control Ministry. They were very appreciative and surprised that a car club would think of them. Thank you.

Bev and I had a fantastic day and really enjoyed seeing the VWs being used as they were meant to be. Thanks to all who attended. The Good Ole Volks group came through and we had a great turnout.

Dave Tosi
Fweem Leader

P.S. There was also talk about a VW overnight to the beach sometime this year. Stay tuned.

March 12, 2005

Happy March, Volks!

What with the wind about to blow us away, and the weather changing every thirty minutes, Mother Nature is really keeping us on our toes. We’ve been really lucky for the past two weeks that the forecasted weather has not occurred and we’ve had some outstanding turnouts for the VW club meetings at Herbie's Place. Thirty and thirty-three vehicles, consecutively, which is really outstanding for a very COLD ( but clear and dry) night. If we can do that many cars on a cold night, imagine what will happen when the weather warms up and we get our daylight savings back!

I’ve mentioned in an article before that if we’re going to do the car show for the American Heart Association, this year I will need some help. Last years’ anxiety attack following the show demonstrated to me that I cannot handle all the stress alone. It’s pretty scary to be driving down a busy road and suddenly feel like you’re having a heart attack. Not something I want to repeat.

Hopefully, I will be into a new job soon and my efforts will have to be divided. Not my dedication to the cause, but I can’t be in two places at once. This is the time to see you step forward to make this effort worthwhile. The show is penciled in for June the 11th. We don’t have a lot of time to get things in order. If you want to do the show this year, see me at the next meeting at Herbie's. Otherwise there will be no show.

This is a wonderful cause that we dedicate ourselves to, but all the work is volunteer. We must have commitment to make it work. What with the Darlington/Rockingham event coming to Piedmont Drag Strip there should be more interest in the area.

Keep in mind the Mystery Tour coming up next week (Saturday, March 19). It sounds like it will be a lot of fun. Let’s hope the weather co-operates.

Remember our “Rule”. DO NOT PARK IN THE ROW IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF THE RESTAURANT! That is reserved for Herbie's “regular” non-VW patrons. Although the food is not Haute Cuisine, we are there by invitation. And it helps both parties out if we at least go in for a cup of coffee or a burger. Don’t forget our faithful waitress, tips are appreciated. Be patient, polite and understanding. If the place is full, she is only one person waiting on the entire place.

Until next time
Drive Safe,
Shearin

March 1, 2005

Spring is almost here, Vee Dubbers. Only 19 days to the next GOV event!

The Spring Meet & Eat at Billy Bob’s Silver Dollar Diner and the mystery winery tour afterwards.

The schedule is roughly as follows:

     * Leave Herbie's at 7:30AM

     * Meet around 8:30-8:45 for tire kicking and tall tales.

     * Breakfast from 8:45-10:00.

     * Drive VWs to unknown winery leaving at 10:15.

     * The drive is about 23 miles and takes about 45 minutes.

     * Arrive at winery at around 11:00 for tour of winery and wine tasting.

There will plenty of time to shop and buy some very nice wines and accessories for your bar area. There is also an outside patio area with a roof and tables. The tour and wine tasting have a small fee of $6.00/person. Bev Tosi will collect the money and turn it in at entrance to help smooth the process. It is not necessary to do the wine tasting and/or winery tour to participate in the breakfast and the VW drive.

We have driven the roads and they will be fun and safe. Twisting and turning through horse farms, by lakes, and one cruise through an expensive development so they can be jealous of our beauties. Bring your cameras as there will be plenty of good views for VW picture taking.

David A. Tosi

February 16, 2005

I'm sure that most of us have noticed that Winter is just about over, and Spring is just around the corner. But what does this have to do with us VW driver's? It gives us a chance to clean....shine....polish....and drive our VW's. It gives us an opportunity to comfortably hang around, outdoors, with other VW people to discuss anything and everything that comes to mind. I'll have you know that I've only driven my Squareback twice since the Christmas Parade, and it is a little depressing. Oh, we've driven Susan's Squareback quite a bit, and we really enjoy that, due to her better than average VW heater. But, you know that I'm not planning on driving mine during all of the nasty road conditions associated with the winter season. There was a couple of Thursday's that started out as a very pleasant day. We were ready to take a cruise to Herbie's Place, and then, here comes the rain. Well, so much for the trip to Herbie's. Then, there was Susan getting sick for around 2 weeks, Christmas, and New Years. Needless to say.....we've really missed hanging out with the GOV, and are looking forward to another exciting season of VW filled activities with our friends.

We've already had Stick to call us, to keep up with what each other is doing, and we had the privilege to participate in Shearin's Surprise Birthday Party this past Saturday. Now, I'll have to give Lee a thumb's up for keeping Shearin's party a surprise. He definitely gave Shearin a once in a lifetime "surprise party", and if you check out the pictures on Shearin's Bug Bites column, you can see her reactions. We got to see Shearin's mother again, as well as her brother and his family, Lee's parent's and brother, and the GOV members that got to make it were Robert & Gloria, Tony & Susan, Rodney, Donna & Nick, Richard, Bev Tosi, and Susan & me. It was really great to see all of these people, and it let us know how much that we have missed the GOV crowd. I have been in contact with a couple of new VW driver's that are showing interest in our GOV group too. I hope that every GOV is looking forward to another great VW filled year as we are. In the meantime....talk to all of the VW driver's that you know and see, and tell them about our club, and our fun filled activities, and invite them to join us on Thursday's at Herbie's Place. Let's make 2005 another year to remember. Alright! Till later........
 

Have a VW day,
Bobby McDowell

February 13, 2005

WOW! What can I say? I am totally overwhelmed.

I have not been keeping up with Bug Bites for a while. Our “roving reporters” have been stepping in to pick up the slack, occasionally, but I really feel like I need acknowledge what a great bunch of friends and a great husband I have.

February 12th was my birthday. Not a milestone in my life, until last night, but a birthday all the same. I made a comm