Right now there are 3 main GTGs for New Beetles/2012+ Beetles:
Talimena Scenic Drive (this one) is the newest and was started by myself and 2 other Orgers, Oh Randi, and Matty D 2009 back in 2012. Only 3 of us made it that first year, but the following year, we were up to 10. Last year saw a slide back down to 6 Beetles, but the weather was lousy and a lot of people had other obligations, but I'm hoping to bring this up for 2015 and beyond. This GTG was started to complement the other 2 main events for our cars. Modern Bugs don't get much respect at all-VW shows and those of us who drive them are also much more civil and family-knit. This is what it says: a scenic cruise through the Talimena Mountain range of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. We are also exploring the idea of a very informal 'show' where we just park our Beetles for an hour or two and socialize.
Roswell is a bi-annual event held every odd-numbered year in the beautiful New Mexico desert. This was once a huge New Beetle event back in the early 2000s, but for reasons that still puzzle me, the fanfare of the re-born Bug only lasted a few years, and those of us who still do Roswell are the Die-Hards. There used to be over 200 NBs that would make the pilgrimage to Roswell, but for the past few GTGs, the number has steadily been around 40. It's a blast, anyway. We have a show at night and do a parade down Roswell's main drag after it's over. All the while, we tie in the alien theme to the cars.
Tail of The Dragon is another big event that's growing fast. This is held in North Carolina the first weekend in May every year. It's a challenging road rally through an 11-mile stretch in the Smoky Mountains with over 300 curves. Lots of other car enthusiast groups and even bikers do "The Dragon" all throughout the warm months.
All 3 of these are an excellent way to bond with other like-minded people that love modern-day Beetles. You will make friends for life. I guess the easiest would be to start with whichever GTG is closest to where you live. I drive hundreds of miles to all of them, but I'm unable to do Tail of the Dragon this year. I do Talimena and Roswell every time they come around.
