Friday May 5th I got off work and headed to Paso Robles for Bugs Buses and Burgers. Met everyone at the 5th Street Drive-in formerly A&W Rootbeer and still the best float in town. Had a float and then we all cruised over to Atascadero Lake Park. There were three of us going to camp for the night, Meagan in her Poet bus, Rich Cantu and I . Brian parked the raffle bus for next years event and the notchback for this years and we encircled them in a VW huddle in the parking lot. We talked a bit and got to know one another as allways there was very interesting conversation. Meagan had spent the last 20 years of her life in the Orient and recently returned to America to take care of her Mother. Being a love child from the 60's and having gone to Woodstock when she was 19 it was very romantic listening to what she had to say about the experience. While the music from the festival played we sat amongst the VW cars they  just set the mood. I offered a movie to watch for the night but when it got late I had to retire. I had been up since 4am and was tired by the 3 hour drive so at 9:30 I turned in for the night. I set up the player for Rich and Meagan to watch a movie called "Off the Map" I reccomend it. The next morning we went into the show. Meagen said "You can't believe the people out in a park at 1:00 in the morning walking dogs and driving through the parking lot" thinking what kinda of strange people do that? Then imagining what they must think driving through seeing a huddle of old Volkswagens and two people bundled in blankets sitting on lawn chairs at 1:00 AM out in a parking lot watching a movie. I'd like to know what they probably said to folks when they went home. Classic. Any how the sun came out with all the Volkswagens and people, close to a 100 cars. There were some really nice cars I haven't ever seen before and I got to meet some new friends. Allways a pleasure. The raffle car went to a guy in Chicago and a check was presented to the Fallen Heroes Foundation in the sum of 15,000.00 dollars. This is a fund for children of soldiers lost in the war. The 15,000.00 dollars is then matched by a private person for a total sum of 30,000.00 dollars going to the children. I believe it was also said that this person covers the operating and administrative costs as well so the children get all the money raised. Each child gets 5,000.00 dollars. It enables the dependent children of these soldiers that have given thier lives something to be able to move on with after such a great loss. It was a really great day. This is a 3 day event I was unable to stay for the Sunday poker run. I was going to go and see some other friends but after the cost in gas I was unable to do that. At $3.57 a gallon for 91 my 400 mile roundtrip jaunt cost 80.00$ OUCH! that hurt I wasn't about to say Can I have some more please! Sorry my friends.  The thing that I love the most about being a proud owner of an old VW is being able to attend functions like this that benefit another human being in a good way your able to make an inpact on anothers life. But it's also about the friends you meet along the way and there is something about these cars that do that for us. Even if they don't own one, they have a memory of one. You get alot of people saying things like  "I remember the guy next door had one of theses things" or "my first car was a bug" one of my venders is allways telling me "when are you going to get a real car?" he had one when he was trying to date his wife and it would never start she told him "get a new car or a new girlfriend I'm never going in that thing again" everybody has a story about one anyway bringing me to my point. I stopped in Ventura for gas when a guy drove up besides me wanted to talk to me  about buses we talked for awhile but there were custommers waiting so we exchanged cards. In the short time spent in the gas station I got to know a little about someone just a moment ago I didn't know existed and vice versa a friendship may form or not, but an introduction was made. Had I been in the Honda that wouldn't have happened. I met my good friend Olive the very same way. Owning one is like having a neverending surplus of new people entering your life. It is very interesting how a car can literally just bring people together to meet. They called it the Peoples Car very appropriately and over 50 years later it is upholding that tradition. Life is a journey take it in a Volkswagen. See everyone at Blackstar. Who will I meet there?