I am in Texas! Tara and Jerry flew me down because after his stem cell transplant in November (well, December now), they will have to go into Covid-style lockdown for 100 days.
Visiting Texas is a treat and with Jerry having great insurance from his employer and easy access to the M.D. Anderson Center, probably the best place on the planet to get treatment for leukemia, I have never been so happy for people I love to be living so far away!
They are both in pretty good spirits and well-supported by their health providers, so we have been relatively unrestricted in terms of activities, pending Jerry’s energy levels and overall stamina, of course. So on Saturday, following his check up at MDA, we decided to take a trip out to the Johnson Space Center, but made a critical detour along the way.
We drove maybe ten miles past the NASA HQ to Texas City and a big gas station right next to the highway, because no trip to The Lone Star State is complete without a trip to Buc-ee’s.
You are no doubt curious, as I was, as to why a highway rest stop would be warranted as a tourist destination, and the truth is, it is hard to explain what makes Buc-eee’s so distinct. After all, we have some big gas stations and Flying J truck stops to marvel at here in Canada, don’t we?
Well, to begin with, there’s the scale of it: where a big gas station in Canada might have a dozen pumps, the average Buc-ee’s has close to (or over) a hundred. And there are no semis or big rigs allowed, all private vehicles.
The size difference extends to the store as well - it isn’t just big for a gas station shop, it has a footprint similar to many Canadian Tires I have shopped in.
What do they do with all this space? Well, a lot of it is dedicated to a large, clean, bank of washrooms, one of the biggest draws for those travelling the Texas highways, but I felt inappropriate photographing it so I didn’t.
But like all such store, a large part of the floor space is taken up by racks of snacks, including the (in)famous Wall of Jerky.
Oh, you are a vegetarian? No problem, there are trays of fruit and salads in a cooler like you would find in your grocery store. There is also a roastery serving up paper cones of hot glazed pecans, cashews and almonds. Need more than a snack? No problem, grab a hot, freshly made BBQ brisket sandwich or chicken on a bun from the sandwich stand.
There are racks and racks of fountain drinks of all varieties and a stand of slushies to select from, as well as coolers full of bottled and tinned beverages (including beer and wine, of course). But even then you are still only halfway through the store!
Next you hit all the Buc-ee’s branded merchandise; an astonishing array of stickers, tshirts, badges, hats and all that sort of thing of course, but also loungewear, sweaters, pyjamas, jackets and more, much of which is is high demand in my household.
.And not just clothing - Buc-ee’s has a wide selection of branded home decor, including wall hangings, yard decorations and even charcuterie boards.
There are also unbranded apparel and decor items as well, most of which evoke a certain rustic or good ol’boy/girl/person sensibility.
And lastly, you will find a certain a decent selection of outdoor equipment and hardware, suitable for replenishment or possibly fully outfitting a camping trip or fishing expedition, it which I didn’t think to document.
So there you have it - we really have nothing in .Canada to match it, and while it don’t think we need it, it is always a treat to visit Buc-ee’s, and once you know what it is, there is a weird sort of charm that makes it appealing.
But now that I think of it, the idea of something so massive, so pervasive and so instantly recognizable within Texas but being virtually unknown in Canada (and even in much of the U.S.) is probably a big part of its appeal to us…
Please feel free to disregard the preceding blog post - unless you visit Texas. Then I hope you visit a Buc-ee’s and see for yourself! I’m certainly grateful that Tara and Jerry insisted on taking us to one, and making a detour on this trip so I could revisit it.
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