It is cold and rainy and miserable in Dallas, Texas today. I may not have mentioned this before (you know more than 1,000 times), but I am not a fan of cold weather. Mix cold weather with wet weather and I just become miserable to be around. My whiny factor kicks up to about a 9.9 when it is cold and rainy. I suppose things could be worse. My nephew's wife posted on Facebook this morning that in Lubbock they are getting something called "snow pellets" whatever that is. Rain MUST be better than snow pellets. With this bad weather I am having trouble getting motivated this morning so I'll just cover a topic that I have been saving for a few weeks now.
After years of hearing about it, I finally made my first ever stop at a Buck-ee's a few weeks ago! I didn't get all of the hoop-la before and I am not sure that I get it now. But I'm much closer to understanding it. My first stop there was while driving from Dallas to Galveston last month for the cruise. We stopped at the store in Madisonville on I-45. We didn't have a lot of time, so basically we just stopped to use the restroom and get a Coke. There was no time for shopping or exploring. I didn't understand why there were beavers everywhere. It was just a quick stop. But I will say that I was impressed by the size and cleanliness of the restroom.
On the way back from the cruise, there was a little more time for exploring the store. Also, we parked on the end this time so we were forced to walk all the way through the store to get to the restrooms which insured that we would see a lot and have multiple distractions. Friends let me tell you.... you could spend hours in Buck-ee's just looking at all of the crazy stuff and watching other people react to it all. I decided to get trail mix as a snack for the rest of our drive. Who knew there were so many choices when it came to trail mix? Not I! Then as I got closer to the register, I ran across a section of chocolate covered nuts and things..... I have never been the sort of person to pass up chocolate covered anything. So, I ended up with chocolate cover peanuts. Yum!
As I milled about, I found all sorts of preserves and jellies among other homemade looking things. I saw more Texas souvenirs than I think I have ever seen. Want one of those little Texas license plates with your name on it for your bicycle (like we used to get a Six Flags)? Go to Buck-ee's! This is also where the beaver paraphernalia comes in. Since my return, I have done a little bit of Buck-ee's research and I found out that one of the co-owners was nicknamed Beaver as a child. So, that is the reason for the beaver stuff in the store. There were countless beaver tee-shirts, boxers, caps and so on. I'm sure you could buy a complete wardrobe of beaver themed merchandise there.
There is an entire section of home decor in the store. I just don't think I could bring myself to buy a piece of "artwork" at Buck-ee's to hang in my living room. When someone comments on the lovely wall hanging, do you say... "Yeah, that jeweled cross? I got that at Buck-ee's. It was right next to the Beaver Nuggets display." Speaking of Beaver Nuggets, I didn't get any but since returning home and doing a little bit of Buck-ee's research, I wish I had. I might load up the car this afternoon and drive back down to Madisonville just to get a package of the stuff. It sounds really good. Also, how can you not be interested in a snack that has it's own Facebook page? The description on the FB page is as follows: "Beaver nuggets are like super sugar coated puffed cereal....or just plain AMAZING!" Stop trying to convince me.... I'M IN!
While walking about, I finally discovered the world famous beef jerky bar. I don't know if that is what it is called. But that is what I am going to call it. Basically it looked like a meat case at a really big grocery store. But instead of having steaks, roasts and chickens behind the glass, there were countless varieties of beef jerky. Now, I'm not a beef jerky kind of girl. In fact, I think the last time I had beef jerky my age was probably still in single digits. But I have to say that I was intrigued and with just a little more time spent in Buck-ee's I could see myself trying out a few varieties of the stuff.
I don't mind telling you that in the time we were there I was so absorbed in what I was seeing and what was going on around me that I got separated from my friend who was traveling with me and it took a while for us to find each other again. When you are a nearly 50 year old adult and you get lost in a convenience store, that is bad. But I think if you explain that the convenience store was a Buck-ee's most Texans will probably understand.
I could spend a lot of time describing all of the amazing things in Buck-ee's to you. But you really just have to see it for yourself. For those of you who don't live in Texas.... Come on down! There is lots to do and you don't even need to pack a bag. You can buy everything you need once you get here at the first Buck-ee's you pass on the interstate!
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