an unexpected mini adventure
Last weekend I went away for my annual-ish getaway with several of my close friends since middle school. We started this the year we collectively turned 50 and every year or two we choose a central-ish location (mostly in the southeastern US), rent a house, and converge for a long weekend of connection and laughter.
For the trip south, I carpooled with one of my friends and our drive was lively and full of conversation. We talked a lot about my friend’s travels to Amsterdam and Paris, as well as her upcoming work trip to Italy, and compared notes on our respective visits to all those locations.
As we were talking while also zipping down the highway, we started seeing signs for a tourist attraction we knew that we could not pass up.
Y’all, my friend and I had our first experience with Buc-ee’s.
For those who do not know, Buc-ee’s is a chain of gas stations and rest stops, but that does not even begin to describe the experience of stopping at one:
First off, there are easily 100 gas pumps for fueling your vehicle.
Second, the bathrooms there are known for not only being really clean but also for having actual private toilet rooms and not just partial stalls.
Next, there’s the food situation: all sorts of road trip snacks (much of it with Buc-ee’s branding), a massive deli counter filled with different flavors of jerky, a bakery, a delicious selection of BBQ sandwiches, and so much more. (Except for fresh fruits and vegetables; not so much of those.)
And finally, a generously sized shopping area for all sorts of budgets: Buc-ee’s branded merchandise — shirts, hoodies, hats, bathing suits, pajamas, water bottles, coffee mugs, home decor, waffle irons, toys, and so much more. There’s also non-Buc-ee’s merch, including home decor, kitchenware, and tchotchkes of all kinds. You could spend a few dollars or you could go big and buy, for example, a barbecue smoker, for I kid you not, $500, which is not really within my comfort zone for an impulse road trip purchase.
The shopping area was so large that my friend and I didn’t even cover all of it. We gassed up her car, made use of the wonderful bathrooms, did some looking around at the shopping options, picked up snacks and lunch, and then continued on with our journey. Who knows what kinds of things we missed out on by not going into that final third of the store?
But no worries, I’ll go back at some point. I have since learned that two are being built here in Virginia and I can envision a day trip just for that adventure.
The dichotomy of talking about Paris and Amsterdam with my friend, followed by experiencing this uniquely American phenomenon is not lost on me. I’m not a snob, I contain multitudes and definitely appreciate both Paris and Buc-ee’s — just in different ways.
(That might be the understatement of the year, no?)
Who reading this has also been to Buc-ee’s? I would so enjoy hearing about your experience.
Alas, I have never experienced Buc-ee’s nor South of the Border. That you can “appreciate” a Buc-ee experience and a Paris experience speaks of your sense of adventure
My wife and I recently had our first Buc-ee's experience. I was amused the entire time as we wound through crowds of otherwise normal-looking people who had succumbed to this particular form of American showmanship known as Buc-ee's. With touchless credit card payments now being common, the smell of burning plastic is largely gone from the experience. But it wasn't long ago that it mixed in with the roasted side of beef and the unmistakable scent of newly arrived Chinese made t-shirts and keychains. Like New Orleans and Las Vegas, every American should make a visit just to say you've been.