Buc-ees: A Texas Rest Stop On Steroids

When I lived in Washington DC,  for about the first ten years or so, I took my kids regularly to visit my parents.  They were retired and lived on Marsh Island in Beaufort, SC.  Now, some of  those years were our one car periods, where we happily jumped on the Amtrak in Alexandria and hopped off in beautiful downtown Yemassee (If you've been there you know.  Tis a crossroads only-albeit it has a Le Creuset outlet).

Other times though, we drove.  I still remember the first time, driving south. Beaufort is basically nine hours from the DC area-being fairly equally divided between the great states of Virginia, North, and South Carolina, as Beaufort is almost to Savannah. The first time I drove I was not really familiar with this area-I had flown a couple times and trained but didn't know the geography-or as it appears, the signs.  You see, about an hour out of DC and heading South, the first sign appeared. And then, another perhaps five miles, no more, another sign appeared. Yes, fellow east coasters, Pepe was calling me to South of the Border. 

 Since that time the signs have become fewer and more PC for lack of a better term, but the sign below was typical in the nineties. And while it's not as big as it was, it still takes in tourists all the time (and the fellow who owns it actually goes out of his way to make this place very diverse-probably why the signs stayed for so long.

Now, since this missive is actually about a different rest stop, I'll simply share the link here and say that South of the Border is the ultimate tourist trap with games, rest stops, food, gambling and more-in pretty much the middle of nowhere,  (or right across the I-95 North/South Carolina border heading south). And yes, to my eternal regret, said kids did talk me into stopping-one time.  

Since then I've experienced a variety of weird and strange and normal rest stops. I've driven by (but never stopped at) THE THING on route ten, and generally seen some odd cross country visions.  And then, my friends I met Buc-ees. Buc-ees is not strange, it's not weird. But like many things in Texas, it's really, really, really big. And it also has lots of signs.

Imagine if you will, from 60 to 120 gas pumps-for cars only, no eighteen wheelers allowed, they fill up down the road. Everything from Kolaches to fudge to tacos to serious food to beer and Texas wines and candy and clothing and-where to begin.  And that beaver logo?  The owners nickname is Beaver.  Hence the beaver nuggets ( a kind of popped corn sorta) on the menu.   

In certain parts of Texas you can wait quite some time to hit a town, relying on rest stops and machines and tiny gas stations on the way.  That space in southwest Texas between Midland an El Paso is especially empty (hence the 85 mph speed in that section). So when people reach Buc-ees, they are generally in need-of really clean bathrooms, really good food and more.  Buc-ee's largest location (not where we were today) clocks in at 68000 feet of building.  

Now, lest you think this article is all tongue in cheek, I can tell you that other than size, I can think of not a bad thing to say about Buc-ees. They regularly get rated as having the cleanest restrooms in the country. The folks are clean and friendly and yell out "Welcome to Buc-ees" no matter how many people are there or the time of day. Admittedly they sell seriously hokey Tshirts, with sayings like "How do you like my overbite". And they are deliberately situated around the major towns like Austin so that it is your last stop out of town, if you will.  

Bucees is also a chef's dream, according to this article about gourmet Austin chefs and where they choose to shop on the road.  **In and Out fans should note that for burgers, Whataburger is in fact universally the choice of most, no questions asked. In fact, nationally, both Whataburger and Five guys are rated higher. And with good reason, says the burger afficionado.

 Our trip today was for more prosaic reasons-my son had never been and I wanted a gourmet Texas gift for my sister and brother for fall celebrations. Yep, a rest stop that has gourmet food. There were candied peppers, marinated quail eggs, unique sauces and more.  A plethora of goodies, I'm telling you!  (of course, as always good Texas wine is in the mix). 

And so, after a quick walk around the cavernous building (for exercise as well as viewing), a bathroom break and a fill up, we headed out. With our spicy peach pecan barbecue sauce, marinated quail eggs (was that the right choice?) and kettle corn for the ride, we left the massiveness that is Buc-ees and headed for Killeen, Texas.  A rural military town which also houses my retired brother and sister in law.

Where, by default, my semi handicapped deep discount room is immediately in front of the pool. This evening (at admittedly only 9PM) I'm being serenaded by a boom box, children play and splashing and more.  

Thankfully, It's classic rock. As opposed to Rap, or Country. Hopefully it's not an all nighter........