Before I moved to the USA, I heard of this mystical place which originated in Texas, called Buc-ee’s. What is Buc-ee’s you may ask? Quite simply, it’s the largest gas station and convenience store in the whole universe. Well, maybe not the universe, but it’s very impressive, and Buc-ee’s has broken a number of world records; firstly for being the largest convenience store, and secondly, for having the longest car wash. They also won a contest for having the cleanest restrooms in America, and that’s remarkable considering how many people use them!
For my birthday this year, all I wanted was a trip to Buc-ee’s and now that I’m living in Dallas, my darling husband took me. I can’t even tell you how excited I was. It may sound crazy, but I was watching travel vloggers visiting Buc-ee’s over the last few years, and they made it look amazing. I just had to go!
Driving into Buc-ee’s, the first thing I noticed was the staggering amount of gas pumps.There was row upon row of them, but honestly, I wasn’t there for the fuel. I was there for pretty much everything else. The convenience store itself was like a massive warehouse, and it was hard to know where to start; it was also jam packed with shoppers and lookers. Pretty much hundreds of others like me.
Jim suggested we make a plan of how to tackle Buc-ee’s, which was an excellent suggestion, so we started at one end and worked around the store in a clockwise direction. Walls of nuts, candy and a zillion other things. I can’t even begin to list how much stuff was there, and I gave up trying to photograph it all. We grabbed a few bits and pieces as we walked through, and then we reached the coffee section. Now this is something spectacular. There’s a huge counter of coffee machines — and also coffee grinders. You choose what type of coffee you want, the size, and off you go. But then!! And this is amazing— once you have your coffee you turn around, and there’s two islands of creamers, syrups, and every other imaginable thing you could want to add to your coffee. And these are all included in the price of the coffee! I could not believe the choices. It was a beautiful sight for a coffee lover!
A lady stood at a cart giving away samples of pulled pork (cooked onsite), so we made a beeline for it. Delicious! That made it simple for us to decide what to have for lunch, but as there’s nowhere to sit and have lunch, we grabbed pulled barbecue pork sandwiches on the way out, and they were piping hot and tasty. We perused the on-site bakery with the huge cinnamon rolls, the beef jerky counter with all flavours on earth, and then walked through the clothing and gift section. Jim chose a fluorescent Buc’ee’s mug (which I’ve since claimed), I chose a Texas key ring, and then back to the food section. We watched as almonds and cashews were coated in a buttery cinnamon glaze and roasted. The smell was amazing so we bought a small cone of hot cinnamon cashews to share. I chose an ugly Buc-ee’s reuseable drink thing for my daughter, as I knew she’d love how hideous it is, and a few boxes of animal crackers and finally, a packet of the famous Beaver Nuggets.
It’s not all barbecue and Beaver Nuggets though. There’s a fridge section with the most amazing, fresh looking salads. They also have fruits, cut-up veggie snacks, cheese etc. There are so many healthy options that it’s hard to choose. They even sell raw meat you can take home and cook. It would be impossible to visit and not find something to buy.
What an experience! Another thing crossed off my Buc-ee’s list! See what I did there? But in all seriousness, it was worth the visit. Buc-ee’s really does have so much to look at, and despite the crowds, it was a lot of fun. The food is really delicious, the atmosphere is upbeat, the premises are really clean, and yes, those rest rooms are spotless. That in itself is worth the visit!
My Average Travels 