December 2, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

I hope that everyone had a great time over the Thanksgiving holiday. As usual, I ate my share of all of the good food, dessert, and leftover's, and I enjoyed every bite. The weather has been mild for awhile as you know, and this has given us a chance to get out and about for all of those family & friend get together's and visit's. It has also had us driving our Square back's more often. Yeah....it will be kinda cool in the mornings, but when that sun comes out, it makes for such a great reason to lose the heater and climb in a VW to enjoy what we like to do with our little car's.......drive them! We have missed the GOV cruises this year, and had to make it up by enjoying a ride through the countryside around Danville when we get the chance. This is always enjoyable, but it's just not the same as doing it with the group of GOV. I know that the price of gasoline seems to increase on a daily basis here lately, and this is just as rough on us as it is on just about everybody else, but I sure do miss those GOV cruise's of previous year's! Especially the Parkway Cruise!

Susan got a call from another one of our female member's just the other night, to have a talk and reminisce about the good ole day's before life took a different turn, and the gas prices went through the roof. The sad thing about the gas price's, is that when they go up, just about every other thing or service goes up as well. This makes life just a little more complicated. It was good to hear from another GOV member too. It let us know that we aren't the only person that has problem's today. You have heard the old saying, "life goes on", haven't you! You know that the price of gas is a factor on thing's when Lee ads a "Gas Prices" column to our web page! LOL!

On top of all of the other thing's that's going on......Christmas is just a little over 3 weeks away! Oh, how I love this season! As you know, this is the season to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and we do celebrate that fact, but it's also the hustle-bustle of the crowd's, the decoration's, the get together's with family & friend's, and being able to go to Wal-Mart to see all of the people that you haven't seen since last year at this time. I hate that we missed the GOV Christmas Parade yesterday! I hope that you were as impressive as you were in the previous year's, and that we got plenty of recognition from the local's. Due to both of us having to work on Saturday's......we don't ever get the chance to enjoy the parade these day's, so we hope to catch it on the TV when they broadcast it on WFMY!

Just a reminder of thing's to come! The first VW show of 2008 will again be in Greensboro, NC! On February 3,2008, the SEVWA's "2nd Annual Shriners Winter Volksfest" Indoor Carshow & Swap Meet will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum. The inaugural event that was held last year went over so well that the Shriners wanted to do it again next year. They just about ran out of room last year, which was really good for a first time event such as it was, and they are expecting a larger crowd next year. so make sure that you get registered early by going to www.sevwa.com  or you can call Kathy (229)896-4957 or Keith (919)616-1039! In the meantime Susan and I would like to wish the Good Ole Volks and all of our member's a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Till later..........................................................................................................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

November 15, 2007 

Check our newest project-  Click here.   This was created by our member Kristy.  Good job Kristy!

November 6, 2007 

Alan & Jan's stew was great as usual. The BEST!

The Goodolevolks turned out for a good time, and great food for all. We had members come from Asheboro, Siler City, Stokesdale, Kernersville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Reidsville, as well as Alan & Jan's kinfolk, and neighbors. James Parks, and Robert Johnson Performed with Guitars, and singing. The bon fire was a welcome heat source, stories, laughter, and fun.

Everybody had a great time, and when you get to go to someone's house, the feeling of a personal connection becomes a bond of friendship. I encourage anyone in the Goodolevolks club to get to know each other, by going on a outing like this. We've had a long Hot summer, and a dry spell in attendance, so this was a refreshing change from the norm.

Sometimes we forget how much of an effort it might be for some folks to come to Herbie's on a regular basis, because we never know how far they travel to get there, until you go the their house.

After all, We are just Good Ole Folks!
Bill

November 4, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

I would like to apologize for us not making the Thursday gathering's lately. Just so that you know......Susan has herself a new job that has an awkward work schedule, that has her working on non-regular hour's. This has been quite a transition for us to say the least, and it even interrupted my plan's to attend Alan & Jan Tickle's Brunswick Stew Gathering on Saturday evening. But I do have a report on a local car show that I attended yesterday that was right interesting.

For several month's now, while going into one of our favorite restaurant's, there was a flyer posted about a local car show. This was the "Tank Museum 4th Annual Indoor Car & Bike Show", which was held at the AAF Tank Museum in Danville, VA. This AAF Tank Museum was founded in 1981 as a not for profit charitable organization, with a mission to educate, collect, preserve, and display as varied a collection of military tank and cavalry artifact's as is possible, so that present and future generations will have a significant part of military history available for them to learn from and explore. I have been riding by this place for year's, and had had friend's to tell me how neat that this place was. The car show has been being held for 3 year's up until this year, and I had never attended this show for a variety of reason's. But this flyer on the restaurant door stated that they were having a" VW "class this year, and I figured that I would check it out this year.

So, on Friday evening, during their pre-show set up from 5-8 PM, after we had supper, I pulled my Squareback indoors into this huge structure, and had just enough time to apply a coat of polish on my VW before I had to leave. I didn't even have the time to remove the polish before it was time to vacate the premises. I was back at 8:00AM on Saturday morning, November 3,2007 for the pre-show set up #2 to remove the polish, and finish the last minute detail's before having to go to work for half a day. Then I was back at 1:00PM to see what happens at one of these car show's. I got to see quite a few car's (3 of them were VW's), a bunch of tank's, rocket's, troop carrier's, gun's, uniform's, and all kind's of thing's that I had no idea were in this place. I will have to admit that I was impressed with this place, and I didn't even get the chance to see it all. This place is huge! The other VW owner's were our latest GOV Car of the Month, Reggie, in his green '73 Bug, and another local guy with a grey'70 Bug. Both of these Bug's were clean & shiny and would make any owner proud. There were also plenty of other great car's and truck's, as well as some motorcycle's. There were car's & truck's from the 40's,50's.60's,70's,80's,90's,and into the 2000's! Quite a range of model's and styles! But the VW's were all from the 70's, including my "71 Squareback.

After a couple of hour's they decided to hand out the raffle prizes, and they had 2 large table's full of item's from tool kit's to ball cap's. I bet that it took them almost an hour to give away all of these item's. There was the 50/50 drawing, and then the award's were given out. In the VW class......3rd Place was Reggie with his '73 Bug, 2nd Place was the '70 Bug, 1st Place went to my Squareback! There was a couple that were transferring digital picture's of your favorite car to a t-shirt, and I had to get me one of those. They done a really nice job too! It was pretty neat watching the process of that being done, and I got a cool t-shirt with my Squareback on it in the process! It turned out to be an interesting day! Then, it was time to head on home to take care of everything else! Till later..........................................................................................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

October 18, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

If you noticed your website and the 'Car of the Month' you did not see a members car posted.  The reason was simple.  No one suggested a Volkswagen for the month of October.  Certainly you have seen a car at Herbie's you feel should be on the website, or better, how about your car?  Get those pictures to us, get the name of who you want to be car of the month.  This is your website. 

Lee

September 23, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

Well.....those nice cool day's that we had last weekend decided to go back into hibernation for this past weekend. Yeah, the heat was upon us again! As fate would have it, we had 2 car's to clean up this weekend! A 1970 and a 1971 Squareback had to be cleaned and detailed, and this kept Susan & me occupied most of Friday & Saturday. Susan figured that she might be able to sell her Squareback better if she got it some exposure, so she drove it to the show along with me, and found out what it's like to drive to a show as far away as Rockingham, NC!

We got up early on Sunday to get ready, and took off towards Asheboro to meet the other member's at Biscuitville for a back road cruise to the North VS South Shootout at Rockingham Dragway. But after a series of wrong turn's and the time it took to correct these wrong turn's, we missed our meeting with the guy's and had to drive to the show with just ourselves. When we left for the show, it was still dark and cool. Perfect driving weather for VW's! But after the sunrise, all of that changed, and the window's had to come down. After some more driving, we pulled into the Rockingham Dragway, and found us a parking spot. I cleaned the bug's and such off of our VW's and then found us a shady spot under our E-Z Up!

There was a nice crowd of VW's there this time, and the GOV member's that were there in attendance were Tommy Davidson in his Thing, Tommy Joyce in his Bug, Gary Glass in his Bug, Dean Underwood in his Dune Buggy, Jeremy Coble in his Bug & his brother Jonathan in his convertible Bug, Bunk Parrish and his son in his Bug, Tim Flinchum with his wife & son's in his Bug, Johnny Walker in his Bug, and Susan & me in our Squareback's. It didn't take long at all to find out that it was going to be a scorcher out there on all of that asphalt, and the crowd felt it as well. All of us with shelter's got to meet some new people, who just happened by and wanted some shade and relief from the sun for a few minutes. I know that all of us that was there improved our tan and heat tolerance! As usual, there were those drag car's making some pretty impressive runs down the track, and sounding great doing it too. I was glad that we packed our cooler's with our lunch and plenty to drink. We got to stay out of the sun more by doing it, and it was cheaper too!

When the award's were given out awhile later, everyone of our GOV member's won an award, and out of the 5 "best of show", 4 of those were our GOV member's........Tommy Davidson, Dean Underwood, Johnny Walker, & Gary Glass! After the award's were over and done with, everybody was in their VW's and getting on down the road for what little relief they could get from the heat. We had us a 9 car caravan going back up the road from the show with Dean, Gary, Tommy, Tommy, Jeremy, Jonathan, Susan, me, and a nice Sand rail. We did get to take that back road cruise anyhow, but it was leaving, instead of heading to the show. And we got to see that there are still some disrespectful idiot's on those back road's too. Here we were......... 9 VW's in a row........heading towards Asheboro.......looking mighty impressive....... cruising the speed limit on a 2 lane road..........and then, here comes a big diesel pick up truck in a hurry up behind our group. This guy hit's the overdrive and starts passing us 2,3,4 VW's at a time, on non passing solid lines, and in blind spot's at hill's and such. I was wondering, as I was watching all of this happen, if he would hit a car heading in the opposite direction at the top of one of those blind spots, and take out some of our VW's. It probably wasn't 6-7 minute's later, and here came a Toyota pick up doing the exact same thing. I guess that they were in a hurry or something and had little or no disregard to other driver's, be it a VW or any other vehicle. But, after those two idiot's were gone, the rest of the trip went well. We caught up to Bunk Parrish on HWY.220 as we got to Asheboro and started losing everybody esle, and after passing Bunk, it was just Susan & me on our way to Danville for the rest of the way. We arrived home hot, sweaty, and tired! But after a great shower, supper, and some air condition, everything was alright.

The next two upcoming VW show's are going to be the Circle Yer Wagens show in Sevierville, TN on Oct.6-7,2007, and Fast Times At Farmington on Oct.14,2007! We will not be able to attend these 2 show's due to my daughter getting married, and us having to be in Florida during this time. If there is anybody that would like to send us a report about either or both of these show's, we would be glad to hear about it. In the meantime, stay cool, drive Volkswagen's, and save gas! Till later..........................................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

September 16, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

What a great weekend we had this week! It was a perfect time to get in our beloved VW's and have us a cruise. Sunny skies and cool temperature's. We drove Susan's Squareback to one of her coworker's surprise birthday party yesterday afternoon, and found ourselves wanting to just keep on going down the road for our own little cruise. Man.....it was great to be out and about on a VW on a day like this. When the weather gets like this.....usually after Labor day, when the sun is just as bright as ever, and the sky's are so blue that you wonder why you can't see the star's, and the temperature's are in the low 70's, we need to have us a Good Ole Volks cruise. It doesn't matter where we go as long as it has some of those back road scenic route's, and a great bunch of great looking VW's for everybody to see. I have noticed that we haven't had a single GOV cruise this year yet, and I find myself wondering if we will even have our annual Parkway Cruise this year, since I haven't seen it scheduled on our Events section. Now I realize that the gas price's might not be as low as they once were, and most of us do have a life with everyday things going on, but don't we deserve a break every once in awhile? I can still remember back in the 70's......I believe that the year was 1976, there was nothing like getting in my first Squareback with several of my friend's and heading out for a cruise in the country. This was back when I still lived with my parent's, worked a 40 hour a week job, and when I wanted to do something to really enjoy myself, I would pick up one or a few of my friend's, and head out to the country in my VW, to listen to the jam's on my 8 track player (Yeah, that was the day), and to get out of the hustle bustle of the city. There was always less traffic, cooler temperature's, and more to see and enjoy. You could fill up the gas tank for just a few dollar's and drive around all day. Oh how I miss those day's!

How about some exciting news! Volkswagen of America headquarters is leaving Detroit - the nation's automotive capitol, and heading to Virginia. Yeah, that's right.......Virginia! They are moving their headquarters to Herndon, VA which is about 30 minute's north of Manassas, VA. The move will begin in April 2008 and should be completed by the end of the next year. The company scouted 14 different locations but ultimately settled on northern Virginia. This would give some of us GOV member's an extra incentive to attend a BUGOUT wouldn't it! Hey, take an extra 30 minute's and cruise by the VW plant while you're up that way!

On a more somber note........some of you may know, and some may not. On September 11, 2007, the Good Ole Volks lost Frances Walters, who was Shearin Wimbs mother. I'm sure that a lot of us can remember her visit's to Herbie's Place to sit around and carry on conversation's with us about a variety of subject's. Let's all remember her, and also Sheari at at time like this. I know that I, for one, will miss her!

OK Good Ole Volks! This coming Sunday, September 23,2007, the" North VS South Shootout #16" is being held at Rockingham Dragway in Rockingham, NC. There is a group of us to be meeting in Asheboro, NC at the Biscuitville on HWY. 64 East, to take us a back road cruise to the show. If any other member's would like to join us for this great cruise, you can meet us there around 7:00AM. Till then.................................................................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

September 5, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

Well. we had a decent weekend for a change for the Labor Day BUGOUT in Manassas, VA. There had been shower's on Friday night, and it was still drizzling on Saturday morning as our GOV member's left home and headed north for the show. There were cooler temperature's for a change, the rain was leaving the area, and the day was great for a cruise in your VW! But.......there wasn't too many GOV member's going to this BUGOUT this time. As you know, we usually have a right good group of member's going to this twice a year event, but not this time. We only had 1 Bug heading north, and this was Chan Chassell's blue Bug. It seems that only he & Bill Hampton road together to the show. They did stop at the Kangaroo Station to top off the gas tank, then grabbed some breakfast at Bojangles, and were back on their way by 9:15AM. Their trip went well to Manassas, and they were joined at the motel by Matt Thompson and Kevin(?) who arrived in Kevin's Nissan pick up with a load of part's to sell at the swap meet. Craig Walker went to Richmond, VA to visit a friend and then showed up at the show on Sunday.

At the BUGOUT on Sunday, there was about half the crowd that was at the Memorial Day show, but they did have a big swap meet with a great bunch of bargain's. Matt & Kevin sold a few part's and Chan & Bill came back home with a car full of part's. Chan & Bill left the show around 1:00PM to come home, and it seems that none of our GOV member's brought home an award this time. The member's that did attend this show enjoyed their trip and came back home with some good memories.

The next event will be at the "North VS South Shootout" at Rockingham Dragway on September 23, 2007. I hope to have my Squareback back on the road by then and I plan to make the trip down for this event. I look forward to seeing how many GOV member's will join us there. In the meantime...................................................................................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

August 21, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

What an eventful time that we had this week. We got to enjoy ourselves at our GOV Break The Record Night on Thursday. I got in the carport on Saturday, where I had me a shady spot, some good tune's, and my cleaning supplies, to see if I could put a little more shine to Susan's Squareback. Yeah.....I had to get her VW ready for the Big Bug Shootout being held at Piedmont Dragstrip on Sunday. A good washing, a new coat of Liquid Glass, a good vacuuming, some polish on her wheel's, and some Armor All on the
rubber. Hey.....I believe that it's ready!
 
Sunday started out being the kind of day that was great for a cruise, and a VW show. Cool and overcast! After a stop for some breakfast, then to gas up, and pick up a few supplies, and I was off to Greensboro. Yeah, I was by myself again, but I wasn't in my Squareback this time. I'll have to say this about Susan's Squareback.........not only is her VW a considerable bit quieter than mine, but it has a lot better ride that mine too. Her VW was really running great going to the show, the weather was ideal, and the only thing that would have made the trip down any better would have been if Susan was there with me. Well, you know how it is sometimes!
  
After no time at all, I pulled into the track, paid my admission, and found me a place to park. It wasn't no time before we had Dean, Dave, and me putting our shelter's up and side by side, to have us a big ole shady spot. I had no more than got out of the car when the sun popped out of the cloud's. The weather report was saying that it would be around 85 degree's with less humidity, but it didn't turn out that way. Even if the temperature may have been lower, and that is up for debate, the humidity sure wasn't. This Big Bug Shootout turned out to be a really good show this year. There was a good amount of show car's that turned up for this show, as well as the race car's. The was a good size crowd of spectator's, and quite a few vendor's too. Our member's that were showing their pride & joy's were Tommy Davidson with his Thing, Dean Underwood with his Dune Buggy, Dave, Syndie, and Kendra Reid with his Bug, Alan & Jan Tickle with his Baha Bug, Bunk Parrish in one of his Bug's, Matt had his "Under Construction" Bug in that class, and then there was me in Susan's Squareback. Other member's that were there for the event was Craig Walker, Phillip Parker, Sixto & Kelly, Billy & Daniel Dye, Steve French, Stick, Bobby & his son Daniel, Pete, Teresa, & boy's, along with a few other's. Then Tommy Fletcher and his crew, along with Chad Hicks from Durham were there with their sand rail's.

Tommy Fletcher brought his large cooker to the show, and in between him, Bobby, & Daniel, they cooked up a mess of some tasty chicken and a pork roast. Then Stick, Pete, and Teresa added a roast, hamburger's and hot dog's. Ad some potato salad, bean's and the rest of the trimming's and we had a great lunch while at the show. Yeah, this was a really great show. Clean shiny VW's, fast VW's, VW part's & accessories, good food, and great friend's. Everything that a great VW show should have.

The award's for our GOV member's were.......Tommy Davidson-1st Place-Thing Class...Dean Underwood-1st Place-Dune Buggy Class...Bunk Parrish-1st Place-Early Bug Class...Dave Reid-1st Place-Bug Class...Alan Tickle-1st Place-Baha Bug Class...Bobby McDowell-1st Place-Type 3 Class. Make sure to congratulate our award winner's.

OK......the next VW event is going to be the Labor Day BUGOUT in Manassas, VA on September 2,2007. We always leave the day before to caravan up there, and have a great time the night before the show. Plan on joining one of our Good Ole Volks favorite cruises, and ride with us to Manassas. Till then.......................................................................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

August 18, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

As a lot of you know, Susan & me haven't been able to hang around with y'all guy's lately, due to a lot of various reason's that has prevented us from joining our weekly gathering's. I will let you know that we had no intention of missing our annual "Break The Record Night" this past Thursday though. And what a night we had! Even though we didn't get to drive both of our Square back's like we had planned, we did get the chance to ad one more VW to the total count. And, look what happened......the Good Ole Volks joined together for a common cause, and ended up setting another record for our club. 98 VW's! How many other VW club's can claim that distinction? I'm not sure as to how anybody else feels, but I'm proud and honored to be a part of group of VW minded people such as the Good Ole Volks.

As fate would have it, quite a few of our Danville VW driver's had thing's to happen that prevented them from joining us. We did have the luck to have my local mechanic, Cabel Cobbs, to check us out for our event, and he even drove his New Beetle to keep with the theme. Another one of our local's decided to leave his VW at home and ride with us. I can't say what the reason was for him leaving his VW at home, but he was still there for support.

We weren't there hardly any time at all, till we found out that Steve had some new style GOV t-shirt's. So, we had to pick us each up one in our favorite color. Then there was Leah walking through the crowd, offering people a slice of her orange slice cake. That's something else that seems to have become the normal routine at our "Break The Record Night" event's........... Leah bringing some type of tasty desert's! I don't mind that at all! That cake sure was tasty!

We got to see a lot of our member's that we haven't seen for awhile, as well as the one's that we see at the other VW event's from time to time. I had the opportunity to finally give Jonathan Schorr his award from the "BUGWILD" show in Roxboro. I sold out my latest supply of Good Ole Volks window sticker's while we were there, so I'll have to be getting another batch of them made up for us. And with all of this excitement going on, we got to enjoy that 102 degree heat wave. According to the Herbie's Place marquee, it was still 92 degrees when we left Herbie's after 9:00PM!

The only problem that I have with a crowd as large as we had, is that I didn't get the chance to carry on any lengthy conversation's with any of our friend's. Yeah, I got to speak to a lot of y'all, but then someone else would walk up, and another new conversation got started. Really though.........I was happy to see all of y'all! It has been awhile since we seen a lot of you! We can honestly say that we got to participate in our GOV biggest annual event......our "Break The Record Night"! Let's us all pat ourselves on the back for breaking our previous record, and look forward to breaking it again next year.

This coming Sunday, we have another local VW show to check out. The SEVWA is holding their BIG BUG SHOOTOUT #3 at Piedmont Dragstrip on August 19,2007. There was quite a bit of talk going on at our gathering about this show, and it looks as if we should have quite a few of our GOV member's attending this show. So.......come on out to the show and join us for this event. Clean shiny VW's.........fast drag VW's.......VW part's & accessories......and cooler temperature's too. An ideal time for a VW show! For those thrifty minded individual's........Kathy is offering free admission to anyone willing to volunteer their time to help with parking & judging. Till then, let's go clean up a VW, and we'll see you later!

Have a VW day,
Bobby

*Look at the pictures in the activities section.

August 16, 2007 

We did it! Thanks to everyone for making the effort to arrive at Herbie's when the sun was shinning, and the temperature was 102.  The new record for a Thursday night at Herbie's is now 98 Volkswagens.  How many car clubs can say they had that many members show up on a night when the weather was so hot?

Lee

August 9, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

How about the heat! I don't know about y'all, but I'll be glad when it warms up! This past weekend turned out to be right hot as you know. I got an e-mail from Gary Glass about him and some other of the Asheboro guy's going to the "VW's At The Rock-BUGMANIA #6" in Rockingham, NC, and he was wondering whether we would be going, so we could enjoy that back road cruise with them to the show. Unfortunately, we didn't get to make this show due to some situation's with our VW's. We were under Susan's Squareback on Saturday morning installing a new starter on it, and the clutch on my Squareback went to slipping right bad to & back from the Roxboro show. So we didn't get the chance to attend the show in Rockingham this past Sunday. I'm supposed to be checking with my mechanic on Wednesday about getting my clutch replaced, and with some luck, I'll have it ready for our GOV Break The Record Night. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting excited about our Break The Record Night coming up next Thursday at Herbie's Place. I've got several of the guy's from Danville talking about making this event, and we're looking forward to seeing our GOV friend's too.

I have a report (below) about the "VW's At The Rock-BUGMANIA#6" from Dean Underwood that I hope you will enjoy. This was another one of Warren Hill's VW show's, and even though it was another small show, one of our GOV member's did earn an award. So, enjoy Dean's story about the show, and we will see you on Break The Record Night. Till then......................................................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

Bobby,

Hate I didn't see you at the show Sunday. Tommy D., Gary Glass, and Me in my orange dune buggy made it. Yes I drove my buggy to the show. It was really hot!!!!!!!!!!!. Tommy and Gary left before 11:00 it was to hot for them. I stayed . It was a pretty low turn out for both show and Drags. Around 20 drag cars and a few more show cars I didn't count them but I would guess 30 to 35. Lots of dune buggies and rails. Tommy Fletcher and his gang. It was so hot. When they gave out awards it was very unorganized. Some people got upset and said they would not be back. I got a big surprise and WON BEST PAINT. I got a 47 inch trophy.  I didn't place in my class though. Richard Cash won best of Show and didn't place in his class either GO FIGURE.
DEAN UNDERWOOD

July 15, 2007 

Hey Good Ole Volks,

I hope that everyone had a great weekend. Ours was quite eventful, and right busy as well! We had one of our long time friend's to visit us on Friday for a nice get together. She is a Danville girl that has been living in Titusville, Florida for year's. Her & her husband work for NASA where they send off the Space Shuttle's and various Atlas rocket's. Anyway, it's always nice to have those long distance friend's in for a visit. Yeah......she arrived, just as I finished washing my Squareback. And after drying it down, we all went in for our visit!

Saturday started out cool and overcast on Saturday, and I liked that a lot. But.....by the time I got off work, and started cleaning on my Squareback, it had warmed up quite a bit. With the car cleaned, a good supper, and a well earned shower, we had our own "little" caravan down to one of our local Cruise In's. As we pulled into the parking lot at Mama Possums, among all of those hot rod's, early muscle car's, motorcycle's, and pickup truck's, we could hear people say......"here comes the VW's, and there's two of them!" Could you imagine what they would say if the entire GOV membership were to cruise through! It never hurts to keep people aware that the VW's are still around!

Sunday brought even warmer temperatures to the area, along with an increase in the humidity. Due to Susan still feeling under the weather, as well as not wanting to have to endure the heat, she stayed home. So.....off I went to the "2nd Annual - BUG WILD" at Roxboro Motorsports Park, all by myself! I got a little turned around as I got into Roxboro, and as I was getting back on the right track, I met up with Jonathan Schorr in his convertible Ghia. I just fell in behind him and went the rest of the way to the track. We pulled into the track behind a fellow pulling his Dune Buggy, and paid our gate fee. We were the first 3 show car participant's! I don't know what to think about this guys VW show's this year! This is the 2nd of his show's that I have attended this year, and the number of the show car's has been about half the number of his last years show's on both event's. Jimmy Jarrett was the only dealer that was there. There were less drag car's as well. But......did you think that this would discourage the few VW minded people that did show up for this event? No....of course not! We got to meet up with some of the newer participant's as well as the regular's and had us a good time. The GOV member's that showed their VW's were Jonathan Schorr in his blue convertible Ghia, and me in my blue Squareback. The other one's that showed up was David Stultz, Stick, Bobby, and his son Daniel. Tommy Fletcher had his family and friend's there with their Sand Rail's. And something else worth noting! The majority of VW's in this show were the Dune Buggy's and Sand Rail's. They made up more than half of the show car's, and all of them were really nice. I liked one of the Dune Buggy's in particular. It was a black one with a lowered look to it. It had a chopped windshield and the roll cage was shortened too. I think that it got more attention that any of the rest of them because it wasn't the regular look that I was used to! I bet that Quigley would have liked this show too!

The guy that puts this show on, Warren Hill, wasn't around due to him being in the National Guard, and was on duty! So, he had one of his other volunteer's to hold the show for him. Yeah.....just one guy, to register, judge, and run the show by himself! It did take some extra time as a result of this, and some of the show car participant's left before the award's were given out. On top of that, it was hot & humid and some of them had better thing's to be doing. Like taking their kid's to the pool! Man, I could have been real happy with a pool yesterday. But, around 4:00, the guy finally had the award's ready and called people over to collect their plaque's. The GOV member's that received an award was Jonathan...1st Place in convertible Ghia Class, & Bobby...1st in Type 3 Class! Make sure to congratulate these member's for their award's.

There are quite a few VW show's that are coming up! Next weekend will the "Knoxville Expo" in Knoxville, TN on July 21-22,2007. I haven't been to this show personally, but I hear that it's a really great show. And it's put on by the AVWA ( Appalachian Volkswagen Association), which is the same ones that put on the Circle Yer Wagens show's. Then Warren Hill has his next show at Rockingham Dragway with the "VW's at the Rock - BUGMANIA #6" on August 5,2007. But the main event that you should post on your "to do" list, happens at Herbie's Place in Greensboro, NC on Battleground Ave. on Thursday August 16,2007. This is our Good Ole Volks/Break The Record Night. There were quite a few people at the show Sunday that were making plan's to show up at this annual event with more than 1 VW. We had an all time high last year with 92 VW's, and that's with 165 GOV member's. I believe that we can pass that number this year with very little effort. So, how about it! Tell everybody that you know, to tell everybody that they know, to tell every VW owner out there, to join us on this special night. Till then..........................................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

June 20, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

Well, after a day of cleaning and polishing my Squareback, it was ready for another road trip. Then, all that needed to be done was to ride to our local Sheetz to fill up the gas tank, and to pick up a bag of ice for my cooler. And the evening wouldn't have been complete without cruising Riverside Drive to profile in a clean shiny VW. On back home to load up with the rest of the essential's, and I was ready to head to the show in the morning.

I was up early, which is usual when heading out to a VW show. After packing the cooler, loading up the E-Z UP, and telling Susan good bye, it was off to get a bite to eat, and then hit the road to Radford, VA for the SEVWA Northern Challenge #2. I did run into quite a bit of fog when I first got started on that 2 1/2 hour ride. As a matter of fact, there were a couple of time's when the fog was so thick that you couldn't see any further than 10 feet in front of you. I went ahead and turned on my headlight's so that I would be a little more noticeable. I don't know about you, but I prefer to see where I'm going, and I would rather you at least see my light's to know that I'm there too! But after about a hour, the sun had burned the fog off, and the rest of the day was clear. It was a nice cool morning for the cruise up to Radford, but once again, Susan didn't go with me on this trip, and it makes for a lonesome ride. Yeah.....it was just me and my VW heading up the road. But anyway, 2 1/2 hour's later, I pulled into Motormile Speedway for the Northern Challenge #2!

I was pleased to see that the number of VW's had increased since last year's inaugural show. There was still only a few of our GOV member's that were there. There was Dean Underwood with his orange Dune Buggy, Bunk Parrish and his son, with one of his Bugs, Billy Dye was there with Daniel & Matt, Chad Hicks came from Durham with a group of his buddy's in their Sand rail's, and then there was me in my Squareback. There were at least twice the amount of show car's at this year's event as there were last year, and with that comes quite a few more really nice VW's. There was a really impressive turbo powered 1950 Bug there, and then the fellow that wanted to buy my Dr. Pepper cooler at the last year's VW Invasion, was there with his newly completed Thing. I also noted that quite a few more women are getting into the VW scene these day's too! There was one woman that was parked beside Dean & me with a really nice red 1965 Bug. She had went out and bought this Bug, after someone had restored it 2 year's ago, and she was showing it off in the heat with the rest of us. And speaking of the heat........it was rather warm in the mountain's of Radford on Sunday. Not a cloud in the sky, but there was a breeze blowing most of the day to make the day a little more bearable.

I did pick us up another set of pop out window's, and a set of the rear quarter window's was included in that purchase. I did pick me up a few new decal's that I had been searching for, and I did notice that quite a few other people were carrying new part's around with them too. Ahhhh......the thing's that we do for our VW's! After awhile, you tend to get a little hungry, so it was off to the snack bar for some lunch. And while you're grabbing a bite to eat, we got to check out the drag racing that was going on. Man, those race car's sound good. There were quite a few good run's being made down the track too. Well after checking out all of the show car's, drag race's, and the part's vendor's in the heat, it was back to my shelter for some shade, relaxation, and some good conversation's with other VW minded people.

When the award's were given out, our GOV winner's were.... Dean-2nd Place in Dune Buggy Class, Bunk-1st Place in the Early Bug Class, Bobby-1st Place in the Type 3 Class. Make sure that you congratulate our member's for their award's. After leaving the show, and stopping in the Radford Sheetz to top off my gas tank, it was time of the ride back home. Thank goodness for those vent window's. By the time that I headed home, the weather was cooking. Even with the vent window's fully opened, and cruising at highway speed, it was still hot. But, I made it back home......my VW done good up there & back......and Susan had supper waiting on me when I got home, in the air condition!

The next VW event will be a lot closer to us, and I hope that a good group of our GOV will be able to make this show. It will be the 2nd Annual BUGWILD at Roxboro Motorsports Park in Roxboro, NC on July 15,2007. I look forward to seeing who makes it. Till later......

Have a VW day,
Bobby

June 2, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

As some of you know, Susan has recently had some surgery. As a result of this and her recovery, she has been out of work for over 3 months. She's doing a lot better now, and I'm really thankful for this. However......since I was the only one that was working during this time, our fund's were a little low, and this made for our decision to cancel our plan's to attend BUGOUT 61 in Manassas, VA. on the Memorial Day weekend last week. It was a hard decision, due to the fact that we have enjoyed so many previous GOV cruises to the BUGOUT show's. I'm here to tell you, that this event, the BUGOUT, is one of the largest VW show's that you will ever see. And our GOV caravan to the show is a sight to see as well. Just think for a minute.......you're going down the road on your favorite VW, and you meet another VW along the way. You feel a certain kinship, because it's another VW! Now, imagine that you're going down the road, and you meet 2 VW's, and then 2 more, and maybe even 4 more after that. I'm here to tell you that that is impressive. All of the look's and wave's that you get makes you feel special.

Well, even though I knew that we would not be going this time around, I knew that I wanted to know who was going, as well as how many VW's were in our Memorial Day Good Ole Volks caravan to this BUGOUT 61. So I made a few call's, and sent out a few e-mail's to some of our member's, to make some arrangement's to meet them as they went through Danville at the Kangaroo Station that we usually meet them at.

We actually got a call from one of our member's, early Saturday morning as they were waiting at the HWY.150/HWY.29 intersection for the rest of the member's to arrive for the GOV caravan. I was told that we should just pack some bag's, get it my Squareback, and join them on this trip, and they would pay for our trip to the BUGOUT this year. Now, as much as we appreciated this gesture, and as bad as we would have liked to have went, I just couldn't accept this offer. You can call it stubborn pride if you would like, but on top of that, I had to work that day too.

An hour later, we were at the Kangaroo Station with a bunch of great looking VW's, and an even larger crowd of GOV member's. Man, I love this type of event. We got to see member's that are a regular on these cruise's, and quite a few new one's that were attending their first BUGOUT! The one's that were going were Craig in his white Bug, Jordan in his red Golf, Bill & Linda in his black Bug, Tommy in his green Thing, Mickey in his white convertible Bug, Gary in his red Bug, Jim&Courtney in his green Bug, Fred & Carol in his silver Golf, Jeremy in his burgundy Bug, Stevie in his red Corrado, Eric in his red Jetta, Ian & Amy in his green Golf, Dean in his white convertible Bug, Stephanie & Elizabeth in her green Rabbit, Chan, Kim, & Caley in his blue Bug, Phillip & Jeanie in his white Oval Bug, Darrell in his silver New Beetle, and in support vehicle's, Billy, Daniel, and Matt in his pick up truck, Jack & Debbie in his pickup truck, and Derrick & Yvonne in his black Porsche Boxer. Now that is quite a group of people!

Now here is the surprise that the group had for Susan & me. Craig called for the whole group, including us, over to have an announcement from Billy. It turns out that the group had took up a collection for Susan & me to help us out, since we have been going through our ordeal lately. This was unexpected to say the least, and Susan got all teary eyed, as a result of this. I told them that this wasn't necessary, but they said that it was a done deal and they wanted to do this for us. I will tell you this about the Good Ole Volks! We are proud to be associated with a bunch of friend's such as the y'all.

After all of this excitement, we joined the caravan down the highway a way's to take a few picture's and see them on their way to the BUGOUT 61 in Manassas, VA. We missed this trip, but hopefully we'll be joining the next one. In the meantime, I got a report from one of our newest member's, on how he and his daughter enjoyed their first BUGOUT (see below).

I have recently learned that our GOV member's that won award's are Tommy-1st in the Thing Class, Mickey-2nd in the Modified Convertible Class, Gary-2nd in the Late Bug Class, and Stephanie-3rd in the Rabbit Class. Make sure to congratulate these member's for the award's. Till next time........................................................................................................................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

June 2, 2007 

The following is from Jim  and Courtney Matherly:
 

Hello Good Ole Volks, and Bobby
 

Bill Hampton asked me to send you some information about the trip to Bugout 61. Since this was my first trip, I may not have all of the information you want, but I know that others will probably send you details as well. My 14 year old daughter, Courtney, who has been bitten by the “Bug” wanted to attend the Bugout with me. Since my wife was working this past weekend, it was the perfect opportunity for some father – daughter – Volkswagen bonding. We purchased “Irma” a turquoise ’63 Ragtop Bug from an advertiser on the Good Ole Volks website a few months ago. The Bugout was a good excuse to put some miles on her and get to learn more about her personality during the weekend excursion. Bill Hampton was the Good Ole Volks member who pointed out the car when it was advertised on the site and he went with my son and I to Sanford to look her over and make the purchase. A previous owner had named the car “Irma” so we had no reason to rename her. She has made numerous trips to Herbie's in the past couple of months and my daughter has fallen in love with her.

We met at 8:00 am on Saturday morning to leave on the trip to Manassas. There was a good collection of VW’s in a wide range of colors and years. No busses, but just about everything else. There were around 24 vehicles (hopefully you have the list from when you met us at the stop – I never got two counts that came out the same). There were air cooled, water cooled and a couple of support vehicles, which would come in handy, also one “upgraded” VW, a Porsche Boxer which added a little extra to the caravan. The sight of that many VW’s heading up Highway 29 was an impressive sight. Being Memorial Day Weekend there were a tremendous number of motorcycles headed to Washington for the ride to the Vietnam War Memorial. The bikers always gave us the “thumbs up” and many took photos of the VW’s on the highway and at gas stops. Many of the bikers were fans of the VW’s, with a lot of them telling us stories of ones they had owned. It seems like almost everyone you meet on the road has a Volkswagen story to tell. The cars always drew onlookers and admiring glances. There is just something about the charm of a vintage VW.

Most of the ride to Manassas was pretty uneventful, which is a good thing. Traffic was building but did not get heavy until around Charlottesville. One of the water cooled vehicles was experiencing overheating problems and the group had gotten fragmented from some of the stops, but everything was going well. Everyone met up again at the last stop about 15 miles from Manassas and we even picked up some extra vehicles. On this last stretch of highway things got a little interesting when one of the convertible bugs had ignition system trouble and stopped along the highway. The leading group of cars pulled off and while we were waiting so that a few of the cars could go back and assist, some other motorists evidently were distracted by the sight of all of the VW’s and there was a three car bump up at the intersection in the traffic lane beside us. Fortunately the accident was relatively minor and there were no injuries, just some bruised wallets, and none of the VW’s were involved. After a flat tow by one of the support vehicles, the slightly dead bug was resurrected at the hotel later in the evening. Even the water cooled car having the heating problem made it to the hotel later.

The group headed over to the Bugout on Sunday morning and got ready for a hot day (literally) of VW fun and festivities. The weather cooperated, and although it was very hot, it did not rain during the Bugout. There were a wide variety of cars at the Bugout and the parking area inside the track was full. Many of the club members took home awards (you will need to get the details on who won what from someone else…we left during the awards to try and beat an approaching storm but ended up running through the middle of it, while it just skirted the Bugout). Everyone had a good time and found some bargains on parts and even a car. The pickup trucks that had been driven to the show were pressed into service to deliver a car, which was bought and sold????? within a few hours and to haul parts home. My daughter had a good time looking at the bugs, busses and single cab and double cabs that were there. We also enjoyed watching some of the drag racing action. The people in attendance were almost as interesting as the vehicles. There are not too many shows where you see men, women and children of all ages, colors or nationalities coming together and sharing a common love for the a single brand of vehicle. It’s amazing to watch teenagers talking with the senior citizens about the same car that they share a passion for. It doesn’t matter whether they are clean cut, tattooed, pierced or just left over 60’s hippies, everyone was there to share the love of the VW.

The ride back home was also hot and seemed to go by quickly, probably because for many of us the holiday weekend was ending and soon it would be back to the real world.

Jim and Courtney Matherly

May 7, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

I hope that all of you are enjoying this mixed up weather situation that we've been experiencing lately. We had actually made plan's to join our weekly gathering at Herbie's Place this past Thursday, but the weather wouldn't allow for it. On Friday, and even on Saturday, there were period's of rain in Danville. I was beginning to wonder if we were going to have a wet or dry weekend. I did get to get out Saturday morning to investigate some of our local yard sale's, with some decent result's, before going in to work for half a day. After a bite to eat for lunch, it was time to clean up my Squareback. Isn't it amazing what a wash, wax, and armor all will do for a VW! And then you break out your Rainbow vacuum cleaner to suck out all of the undesirable dirt and filth that made it into your VW the last time you were out & about. After a couple of hour's of doing all of this, you could convince yourself that you were ready for the next VW show! And then.........along comes some sprinkling of rain! That's one of the good point's to having a carport! Anyway, I did finish cleaning my Squareback. I still had most of the essential's in it from the "rained out" North VS South Shootout event, so all that had to be done was stocking the cooler, and going to the Station for gas and ice.

I woke up early Sunday morning before the sun had come up, and got online to check out the weather. I kid you not.......the weather in Danville said "sunny & clear", but the weather for Mooresville, AND Greensboro said, "sprinkling rain" around 9:00AM. And who do you think would be heading through both of these cities around that time but me! I decided that I was heading to the "VW Invasion #2" anyway. If I did get to go through any of those sprinkle's, then that's just the way it had to be! It was a sunny cool morning by the time that I headed out. I stopped for a bite to eat, and to get some gas & ice, and then headed on to ward's Mooresville, NC for the show. I had to take this trip alone again, due to Susan not feeling that great, and my friend's either had to work or had other plan's. I will have to admit that my Squareback was running great going to the show! I don't know if it's due to that extra bit of cleaning, or if my Squareback was just trying to impress me, but it ran great. I will tell you that I never seen any of those sprinkle's that they were calling for at 9:00AM. I did have quite a bit of wind that I had to deal with however! As a matter of fact, the wind was blowing all day. To the show......all during the show.......all the way back home.......and even after I got back home. I did get to notice that summertime is upon us now, with everything being green and all. I got to appreciate the historic charm of Spencer & Salisbury as I cruised through those cities. Then I pulled into Mooresville Dragway for the "VW Invasion #2"!

I will say this about this show! I thought that the inaugural show last year was small by comparison to some of the other show's that we've attended, but this year's show had less show car's, dealer's, and spectator's. It may have been that the "Circle Yer Wagens" show was being held in Sevierville, TN this weekend too, and I know that some of our GOV member's had made plan's to attend that show, but when I pulled into the show area, and parked my car, I made car show participant number 8! Yeah, that's right.....8! Now, the sun was shining the whole day, with hardly any cloud's to speak of, and even though the wind blew all day, it was a great day for a VW show. By the end of the show, a total of 20 VW's were in the show, and quite a few of them actually left before the award's were given out. Even with the low turnout of show car's, I'll have to say, it was still a good show. You got to meet some new people, and get to see some VW's that you haven't seen before, and with less people involved, it seemed to have more of a family get together type of feel to it. One negative point to the whole event.........I lost one of my wheel trim band's en route to the show! I actually had one spectator come up to me at the show to tell me......."Yeah, I was behind you when you lost it going through Salisbury!" When I asked him if he stopped to pick it up for me, he said," no, the last time I seen that trim band, it was in the middle of the road in my rear view mirror!"

With such a small crowd in attendance, you have to make some excitement some time's to keep from being bored. So I kept going from having some good conversation's with the crowd, to checking out the drag car's making their run's down the track, then back to sit around for awhile, then back to the track to watch some more run's, then over to the snack bar for something to eat, and then back to sit around some more. Due to the wind, I never came out of my jacket, and quite a few people had worn short's and t-shirt's! I'm just glad that I brought my jacket, because that wind was cool! I will say something else positive about this show too! They had event t-shirt's for only $5.00. Yeah......$5.00! I bought both me and Susan one! I did find an old magazine advertisement for a Squareback at one of the swap meet booth's, and I tried to find me another trim band to replace the one that I lost, but didn't have any luck with that. I met this one car show participant with a 1971 Bug that had a computer programmed stereo set up in his car that was great. He said that he had 20 gig's of music storage for his system, and if needed, he had an ipod with an additional 30 gig's of music that he could use with his system too! There was a Black Ghia with right hand drive that was pretty neat. And there was a red Dune Buggy that Quigley would have liked to rub elbow's with there too. There was a yellow Thing that the guy had just completed, and other that another Dune Buggy, a Sand rail, and my Squareback, all the rest of them were Bug's, with 2 of them being Baja's. As for other GOV member's.........they were Craig, Steve, Phillip, and Dean. They showed up, checked out the show, and were gone in hardly no time at all. 

After awhile, the judging was completed, and the award's were handed out. Since I was the only GOV member that was competing in the car show, I will have to say that I was the only member that won an award, and this is where a surprise is in order. Now, I did get 1st Place in the Type3/Type 4 Class, BUT, I also was surprised when they called out my name for the "Best Of Show" award, and presented me with this big, heavy trophy. I was really surprised.......................

Well, after the award's were given out, I put my award's in my Squareback, and headed back to Danville with a big smile on my face. I had an even bigger smile on my face when I got home and showed Susan what I had won. All & all, I enjoyed my ride to and from the show, as well as my time spent there with all of the VW related activities, and would recommend other VW driver's to check out the next "VW Invasion".

The next VW event is the "BUGOUT" show that is scheduled for Memorial Day weekend on Sunday May 27,2007. There will be a crowd of GOV member's that will be going to this event, and are planning on leaving to go up to Manassas, VA on Saturday May 26,2007, so if you are interested in joining what has become the "show to attend", check with the other GOV member's to get the detail's, and join us for a great event. Till then...............................................................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

April 18, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

Well, I for one was disappointed that the North VS South Shootout was cancelled this past Sunday due to the rain and thunderstorm's. I had e-mailed the guy that run's this event around the middle of the week, to ask about the impending rain that was forecast for the weekend. He sent me a reply with his cell phone number to check with him on Sunday morning, and even e-mailed me again with a couple other number's just in case I couldn't reach him. I really appreciated this, because I wouldn't have wanted to travel for around 2 hour's, just to find out that the show had been cancelled, and then have to ride all of the way back home. I also missed the opportunity to get together with some member's from Asheboro to take that back road cruise to this show in Rockingham. To the member's that have taken this cruise.......you know what I'm talking about. This route is off of I-40, on a 2 lane road, with a bunch of country and long needled pine tree's along the way, but it sure is a great road for a cruise in a VW. I reckon that I'll have to wait till the next show in Rockingham for this cruise. If any member would like to participate in this great cruise with some good ole Volks, just join us on our next trip to the show in Rockingham.

Yeah........I had my Squareback all cleaned up and parked out of the rain in my carport. It was already loaded with the essential's, and all that I had to do before heading to the show was to stop and get me some gas. I had just gotten up from the bed to get ready, and it was still raining in Danville. Then the telephone rang. It was Tommy Davidson on the other end, and he was ready to head to the show. He told me that it wasn't raining in Asheboro, and wanted to know if the show was still a go. After I called the telephone number that Kevin had given me to check on the status of the show, I had to call Tommy back with the news that the show had been postponed due to the weather. What a bummer! So......I done the best thing that anyone can do on a dark rainy day! I went back to bed!

I did get to take Susan for another cruise in her Squareback however, so the day wasn't a total bust. And I got to take a short cruise with her as well. It is so much nicer when I have her riding with me in one of our VW's. It now appears that we'll have to wait till May 6,2007 for the next show that's scheduled to be in Mooresville, NC. This will be the 2nd Annual VW Invasion to be held at Mooresville Dragway. I'm hoping that there will be a larger crowd than what they had at the inaugural show last year too. I do plan on checking out this show again myself, and I would love to have the entire membership of Good Ole Volks to join me. Till then..........................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

April 4, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

How do you like this spring time weather? We had a really nice week this week didn't we? We had some perfect VW driving weather. I had been contemplating cleaning up my Squareback all week, but there always seemed to be some sort of distraction that prevented that from happening till Friday. It started off with a coat of paint on my header pipes to cover up that rusty look, but afterwards I had to mow the grass. We can't have a crappy looking yard for the weekend......now can we? After having to work for half a day on Saturday, I got to start on cleaning 2 month's of dust and pollen from my Squareback. It actually still had some shine to it afterwards. As I had just gotten through with the vacuuming, a friend of mine stopped by our house to help me with something else that had to get done. I went to pick up Susan's Squareback from our mechanic. She now has a rebuilt engine in her VW, and as soon as we get some "break in" mileage on her car, and have her recover some more, she will be ready for some cruising with our Good Ole Volks friend's. The main situation that I didn't like about getting my VW ready for Fast Times At Farmington #7 on Sunday April 1, 2007, was that Susan wouldn't be with me, due to her still recovering from her recent surgery. As hard as I tried to persuade her, and as bad as she would have liked to have been there, she just wasn't up to the trip. She did say to tell everybody hello!

Well, I was up early on Sunday, to finish up some last minute detail's that had to be taken care of before heading to the show, like loading up the shelter, chair, cooler, etc........then to fill up the gas tank, and get a bite to eat, before heading to Farmington Dragstrip. Now.......I will admit that I didn't like going to the show by myself! It's a right long trip to make by myself, and Susan has always been with me before for conversations and such, so as the old saying goes.....it just wasn't the same. I will say this however! Even though it was an overcast sky most of the trip, it never did rain a drop on the way to the show, and the redbud and dogwood tree's were bloomed out all along the highway, along with the forsythia bushes and other spring flowering bulb's. It was a really pretty colorful day for a cruise, and I really did enjoy the scenery. My Squareback ran great down to the show and back too! I will admit, that due to the overcast sky, I couldn't help but wonder whether or not I would be caught driving in the rain. But other than a couple of sprinkle's during the show, and a couple of drizzle's while coming back home, the day ended up being a mainly rain free day.

Well........I pulled into the show with a fewer than normal amount of show car's. This was probably due to the uncertainty of whether it was going to rain or not. But, it didn't take long before the late arriver's got there, and it turned out to be a right good size group of show car's to show up. The GOV member's that I know were there were Tommy, Annessa, & Luke, Mickey and his son, Gary, Betty & Alfonso, Chan, Jeremy, Steve & Betty, Carl & Tami, Alan & Jan, Craig, Dean, Steve French, Alex & the rest of the "hood ride" bunch, Pete, Teresa, and family, Allen, Jonathan, Bunk & David, Billy, Daniel, & Matthew, and then a few other's that I never can seem to remember their name's. Our friend's, Stick & Beverly was planning on coming, but Beverly's sister Patricia happened to have a heart attack on Saturday night, so they didn't get to come. Pete did pull Stick's BUG GRILL to the show for some great grilling though. I got the opportunity to sample some of their spaghetti while visiting their site. Yeah.......I got me a "big ole" plate of that spaghetti, and I wolfed it down like I was hungry, which I was, and then I was asked how I liked it (???????????). I said that I liked it just fine! That's when they told me that it was made with deer meat. I told them, "Well, that was good deer meat spaghetti then!" And.....it was some really good spaghetti. Betty had some scrumptious brownies & apple sauce muffin's too. Then, a little while later, I took some hamburger's that I had brought with me down to Stick's grill, and cooked those up for a late lunch. Needless to say, I didn't have to wait in that long line at the concession stand.

There were quite a few more vendor's and swap meet dealer's at this show than what's normally there. One of them was, in his own word's "downsizing" and he was selling decal's for only $1.00 each. So I had to pick up a couple of those decal's and I went ahead and got me a couple of extra part's that I may need sometime in the future. Billy Dye brought him a pickup truck load of part's to sell this time. They had several extra vendor's selling VW toy's too. I really liked checking those toy's out, and it looked like Luke did as well when he came over showing me his new HOT WHEELS Drag Bus. I seen another buddy of mine at one of the dealer's buying all type's of part's to finish up on his Bug project. He actually had his wife, 2 kid's, and himself toting part's back to his vehicle. This same guy is talking about taking 3 VW's to Manassas on Memorial Day......a Bug, a Bus, and a Fastback! Yeah, there was quite a bit of conversation going on about the upcoming BUGOUT in Manassas on Memorial Day weekend. There was one of our member's that bought himself a Dune Buggy too! As usual, around 12:00, the drag car's cranked up their engine's and started blasting down the drag strip. Some of them were making some impressive run's today too. I have always loved to hear those soup-ed up VW's blasting down the track. All of that raw power from an air cooled engine. Yeah, it makes for a really enjoyable day. We did have a few sprinkle's of rain today, as most of us were expecting, but it never did have a heavy rain at all till just about the time I got to my house.

I will have to say that since the SEVWA has started the "pre-registration" at their show's, the show seems to go along a whole lot smoother, and it didn't seem like no time, and the award's were being given out. Our member's that won award's at the Fast Times At Farmington #7 were Tommy with his Thing, Mickey with his Ghia, Betty with her Super Beetle, Tami with her convertible Bug, Bunk & David with their Bug's, Jonathan with his Bug, Dean with his Dune Buggy, Steve French with his Hood Ride Bug, and me with my Squareback. In the "Best Of" categories, Tommy got the Best Paint award, and Mickey got the Best Interior award. Make sure to congratulate these member's on their award's.

I was expecting more of our GOV member's to be around since the show was close to Greensboro, and we had quite a few of us there. I know that Lee & Sheari were vacationing at the beach, and they didn't get the chance to join us, but how about the rest of y'all! Well........I will have to admit that this did turn out to be one of the best turnout's for the Farmington show. After it was over and done with, the one's that were there seemed satisfied with the event, and I'm sure they're looking forward to the next show, which just happens to be 2 week's away with the North VS South Shootout at Rockingham Dragway on Sunday April 15, 2007. So for the rest of our GOV member's........get that VW out of the garage, or out from under that cover, and clean it up and join us for a day of VW fun. If you're not into the show scene, you can check out one of our famous GOV Cruises that can happen about anytime to a winery, or a cookie factory, or one of the big one's like our annual Blue Ridge Parkway Cruise. It's all fun! Till later..........................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

March 3, 2007 

For those who attended the SEVWA Greensboro Volksfest then you know what a great event this was.  And for those of you who missed the event, too bad, it was perfect.  Kathy Jacobs from SEVWA sent me a movie clip showing the event.  If you would like to see what a great event this was, click here.

Lee

February 24, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

I hope that everyone is enjoying this cold spell that we've been having these last few day's. It's not a very good day to drive your air cooled VW unless you're on a good cruise........if you know what I mean. There's a few thing's that I have been noticing lately that may, or may not interest some of our GOV member's. Just a few thing's from a wondering mind.

In the latest HOT VWs magazine, we get to see the coverage of the Oct.2006 "Circle Yer Wagens" show in Sevierville, TN, as well as picture's of Tommy Davidson's Bus & Thing winning each of those Classes. We have been to a few of these Circle Yer Wagens show's ourselves, and would recommend any VW minded person to check out one of these show's. They are held twice a year, in the Spring and Fall of each year at the Sevier County Fairground in Sevierville, TN. Once again......the Good Ole Volks won the "Club Participation Award", so we should consider ourselves special. Be sure to congratulate Tommy on his award's!

I also checked out a new movie that is now available for anyone to rent. It is the movie, "Little Miss Sunshine"! Now before you go out and rent this movie....I need to tell you that it does have some colorful language, and certain situation's that may not be suitable for younger kid's. But, it is about a family that drive's a yellow & white VW Bus cross country, to a talent show for the daughter to participate in. And the thing's that they have to endure with this VW is hilarious, and something that just about any VW owner has had to happen to them at one time or another. It makes for a couple of good laugh's, and the story line is about families sticking together in stressful moment's. If you get the chance to check this movie out, it's worth it.

I had one of my local VW buddy's to send me an e-mail with a "You Tube'' web site that has some really neat VW video's that people have submitted, and I think that quite a few of them are worth checking out. If any of our GOV member's would like to check this web site out, just drop me a line and I'll make sure that you get it.

And also.......some member's already know that my wife Susan has been having some problem's lately, and some surgery was needed to take care of these problem's. Just last week on Thursday, she had to go to UNC Chapel Hill Hospital to have a rather large cyst removed. She had this done by laparoscopy surgery, and was released to go home on Friday. She noticed by Sunday that she hadn't been able to go to the bathroom for any bowel movement at all since the surgery. She called the hospital staff with this information, and she was transported back to UNC Chapel Hill Hospital for emergency surgery due to a "hole" in her bowel's that more that likely was a result of her recent surgery. She is at this time, still in the hospital trying to recuperate, and going stir crazy. I wont go into detail about what she has had to endure while at the hospital, but she's had a rough go of it. I hope that you will remember her in your prayer's, and that she will be coming home soon.

In the meantime.....I'm at home typing a story on the computer for us Good Ole Volks. I'll be heading back to the hospital tomorrow, and I hope to hear some good news for a change. Till later.................................................................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

February 9, 2007 

The number is 165.  This morning I checked the membership roster and there were 165 members of GoodOleVolks. Welcome to our newest members, and thank you to the 'faithful' who have been here through the years.  Now is the time.  It is now time to RENEW your membership to GoodOleVolks.  Or if you are not a member, to join your favorite VW club.  All you have to do is click here and complete the form.  This application form will be emailed automatically and you will receive a confirmation email within 48 hours.   I sent our email to all the members that had a valid email address.  This is the best way for GoodOleVolks to get information to you as soon as possible.  If you did not receive an email from me, then please click here  and enter your email address in the application form.  There are a lot of members who have changed their email address, or have not indicated they have an address.  Make sure if you are updating your information to select 'A Renewal with updated information'.  Join now, this is YOUR VW club.

Lee

January 30, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,
How did y'all like that nice day on Saturday? Sunny & warm.......a nice day to get outside and clean up my Squareback. Susan and I went to the carwash with my Squareback and her Nissan for a thorough washing, and then came back to the house to finish up with the detailing. I always enjoy it when I get the honor of having Susan helping me with the cleaning of our car's. She doesn't mind getting in there helping with the cleaning, and she's good at it too! We got finished before it got dark, with 2 clean car's, went to get us a bite to eat, and settled in for a leisurely evening to just hang around and do whatever we wanted to do, and then we turned in early for the activities on Sunday.

We got up early on Sunday morning, got everything ready with my Squareback, like loading it up with what we needed, then headed to McDonalds for some breakfast, then Sheetz to fill up with gas and get some ice for the cooler, and then we headed off to the Greensboro Coliseum for the inaugural show of the "Shriners Winter Volksfest". This show was also hosted by the SEVWA! I will have to admit that I was impressed with this show. With it being a 1st time event, it was done up right. It might have been something about it being held inside in the middle of winter, but it was an all around great event. There were 67 pre-registered, and quite a few more showed up on the day of this show. We had a great bunch of VW's, along with a great bunch of VW minded people hanging around for the day.

This "Shriners Show" was actually a 3 day event with Friday & Saturday having a show for drag car's and hot rod's, and then on Sunday, they had us VW's on one side, and on the other side of the wall, they held a different car show for the other show car's. You know, the type of show car's like "tuner's", 4X4's, and all other type's of car's. As a matter of fact.......while we were at Sheetz getting our gas, we had 2 pick up truck's & 2 car's that looked like the show car caliber type, filling their vehicle's with gas. One of the pick up's had the "strobe" headlight's going, and I asked him where the show was that they were going too, and he said the one at the Greensboro Coliseum. I didn't even know that there was going to be anything other than us VW's there. That goes to show you how much I knew about it huh! We had plenty of car's to check out at the show's, but I'll have to admit.......I liked the VW's better.

The Good Ole Volks member's that were showing their VW's were Tommy with his green Thing, Gary with his red Bug, Tommy Joyce with his brown Bug, Jeremy with his maroon Bug, Betty with her black Super Beetle, Bunk with his tan Bug, Dean with his orange Dune Buggy, Tami with her red Convertible Bug, Alan with his orange Baja Bug, Daniel with his orange Bug with the horn's, Phillip with his white Oval Bug, Alex and Michael with their Hood Rides, and me with my blue Squareback. There were also quite a few other GOV member's that showed up at the event like Mickey, Craig, Chan, Stick, Pete, Corey, Ian, Billy, Robert & Gloria, Alfonso, Steve & Betty, and a few other's that I can't never seem to remember their name's. I know that Chad Hick's had his red Bug there, and Tommy Fletcher and his crew had their sand rail's there to show them, and maybe even sell some of them. I believe that Carl may have sold his white Convertible Bug. There were so many really nice VW's there, that you got to see what could be done with a VW and some imagination. There were the usual vendor's there, and a lot of people found that particular part, or accessory, or maybe even a new decal. I got into quite a few conversation's with people that were in the process of doing this or that to their VW's, and what they had left to do till their VW was ready to show it off. And then there were some other's that were interested in checking out us Good Ole Volks at Herbie's Place in the near future. Then there was the conversation that I had with Billy & Daniel Dye about Daniel's Bug, and what all he had done to it to get it on the road, as well as what it's like to have his own VW. And then there was all of the thing's that Betty had done to her Super Beetle, like her new wheel's and bumper's. It was just a great show! We really had a good time hanging around with all of these people, catching up on what everyone has been doing, and even meeting a lot of new people.

Just before the award's were given out, they had the 50/50 drawing, and the door prizes were handed out. Some of us got a door prize, or in some cases, prizes, and our own Billy Dye won the 50/50 drawing, which made his day. The award winner's were Tommy, Gary, Betty, Tami, Alan, Bunk, Jeremy, and me. The award plaque's that were given to each of us was a really nice award. This has to be the largest plaque that I have ever received, and I was really impressed with it. I believe all of us were! The man with the Shriners Club said that he was so impressed with the turn out, and us VW owner's, as well as the money that we helped to generate, that they would be doing it again next year. So, keep this in mind when the weather gets cold again next year, and join us for the 2nd Winter Volksfest.

In closing, I would like to say, that the ride back home from the show was an experience. It wasn't anything like the nice ride down to the show. The wind had picked up, and as most other VW driver's will know, we were getting blown all over the road. We did get home though, and after getting us a bite for supper, we settled in to relax for the rest of the evening. Make sure that you congratulate all of our winning member's, and till next time......

Have a VW day,
Bobby

January 21, 2007 

Hello Good Ole Volks,

It's been awhile since I have written anything as you know. Although life goes on, the everyday excitement doesn't. We haven't been to any VW related happening's lately, including our weekly gathering's at Herbie's, due to the time of year, and all of the other thing's that has been keeping us occupied. I will say that we have been spending a lot of time at Wal-Mart during the last couple of month's. There is another company out here that is making some really cool VW toy's. The name brand is JADA TOYS, V-DUBS, and I have found 2 different size's. The smaller one's come in a blister pack, the larger one's have their own box, and most come with a surfboard. I have also found some new Maisto G-Ridez VW's. These 2 toy maker's have quite a few VW model's. The first G-Ridez were mostly Bug's & Bus's, but then they came out with Notchback's, and now Ghias. These new Jada V-Dubs have Bug's, Bus's, Ghia's, Thing's, Hebmuller's, and even a Meyers Manx Dune Buggy for those who like Quigley! Yeah, I have got quite a collection of VW toy's here lately, and they keep on coming. It kind of makes you wonder why the toy maker's are creating all of these amazing realistic toy's of some of our favorite car's. As we all know.....the air cooled VW's have been around for over 50 year's now, and they are still being driven today. I guess that it was only a matter of time before these toy maker's hopped on the wagon. If you like some really neat VW toy's, you need to keep an eye out for these. You may even find a model that look's similar to your own VW. Now......if i can only find me a Squareback!

In other thing's going on.......once again, a fellow from the state of North Carolina has come to our aid. As some of you know, we have been having a heck of a time getting, or should I say keeping, Susan's Squareback on the road. Once we get the body and paint done, and take it for its first VW show, then it's time for some engine work. We found out that she had a cracked block in her Squareback, and our mechanic was quoting us $250.00 just for a used case. Then, he found out that both of the head's were pretty much shot as well. And then, he was having trouble finding a suitable engine. Well, back during the Christmas season, during a conversation with our friend Stick, he mentioned the name of a Danville, VA export that just so happens to live in Conover, NC now, and he had several Type 3 engine's that were for sale. It didn't take long for me to call this fellow up......make some arrangement's.......and then get my brother to drive his pick up truck down to Hickory, to pick up a complete engine for a considerable less amount of money that what just the case would have cost. Yeah, it was a good trip down.....I got to catch up with what's happening in my brother's life, and we got to see another Type 3 part's source, that just happens to have come from Danville. As a matter of fact......he even bought a car from my brother in the '70's. Now, if only we can get our mechanic to finish Susan's car.

WOW.......another Good Ole Volks record has been set! Only 1 VW showed up at the gathering at Herbie's Place this past Thursday. That's right........1 VW, and it was a Bug.

Onto more important thing's now! This coming Sunday, January 28, 2007, we will have another first. A VW show during the winter month's. Yeah, the first annual Winter Volksfest is going to be held at the Greensboro Coliseum, and what does this mean for us VW driver's? We get to drive our beloved VW's into a "heated" structure, during the cold weather, to clean and show off our VW's. I got an e-mail from Kathy Jacobs of SEVWA just yesterday, and they already have 60 people that have pre-registered for this show. I hear that there will be quite a few vendor's there as well. Maybe they will have a great swap meet too! I need to get the dust off of my Squareback, so I can get ready to join y'all other GOV member's, and to make this an event to remember. Let's show the SEVWA as well as the Greensboro Coliseum, what a bunch of Good Ole Volks looks like. Why not have another "BREAK THE RECORD NIGHT" inside the coliseum! Wouldn't that be great? Well, that's about it for right now, but I look forward to seeing at least some of you at this show next Sunday. Till then....................................................................

Have a VW day,
Bobby

January 18, 2007 

A new record!  Yes, it was wet, but it has been wet before.  And yes, it was cool, but it has been cool before.  But on Thursday night we had one VW.  Just one.  This is about as low as it can get and still count.  Where were you?  Make the effort to join us next Thursday at Herbie's.  This is your club.  Let's see if we can at least double the VWs that were there last night.  Lee

January 13, 2007 

Another year is here.  And what is a great way to start the year.... A VW car show.  Our friends at SEVWA have a car show in our back yard!  On the week end of January 28th, the VWs come to the Greensboro Coliseum. And the show is inside.  Warm. Plenty of room. And the vendors are going to be there also.

There are drives being planed for this year, and we hope more road trips will bring more VWs to GoodOleVolks.  If you have a suggestion for a road trip, just email us with that suggestion.

And how about reading during the winter months?  Check the VW books in the 'book' section in the 'nuts and bolts' section of the website.  There are some excellent books available with wonderful pictures.

See you Thursday at Herbie's.

Lee

Bug Bites - 2005

Bug Bites - 2004

Bug Bites - 2003