Excess in Texas

[mellicious]

Huh, well, apparently the Galveston (County) Buc-ee's that's currently under construction is not going to be the biggest one ever. Darn. Well, we just went in the brand-new Waller location this afternoon, and I think a little smaller might actually be better. It was a LONG way (from the side door where we came in) to the restrooms. I assume that this newer one is not going to actually be small by any stretch of the imagination, so I'm sure it'll be plenty big to suit me.

Buc-ee's is a thing in Texas. I wasn't sure, but looking at their website, apparently they are still confined to Texas. They started out as just normal convenience stores that were maybe a little on the large side. They were in mostly rural areas around here - the first one I ever remember seeing was at Highway 646 and Highway 3, which is in League City nowadays, and maybe it always was, technically, but 20 years ago was totally the middle of nowhere. I'm not sure if that Buc-ees is still there - I guess it is. I also remember seeing one down around Brazosport, which actually could have been the original one, or one of the original ones, because apparently they started in Lake Jackson, and that's another one of those areas where the city limits are amorphous - Lake Jackson/Freeport, which is down across San Luis Pass, just south of Galveston. (Big Bang Theory fans may know that that's where Sheldon is said to be from.)

Anyway, we went in the Cypress location yesterday - which is smallish, by Buc-ee's standards - and got fudge, because I've had it before and knew it was really good. (Buy 4 chunks, get 2 free - the chunks are about a quarter pound, I was told, and they're 3.50, so you end up with a pound and a half for $14 and change, which is not cheap, but heck, it was Christmas Eve.) I also got gas - I've already forgotten how much the gas was, exactly, but it was pretty reasonable. Then we got about 15 or 20 miles down the road and found the new one in Waller, that they have built since we last came through there last year. We didn't stop there yesterday, but today on the way back, it happened to fall about right coming home from Bryan, since I'd had a lot of tea at lunch, and after about an hour of driving, I was absolutely ready for a bathroom break. So we took care of that at the giant Waller store, and I bought more tea to go in my refillable mug that I bought yesterday (I think it was $3.99, if you want to know, and refills are 99 cents), and Rob got a Coke, and we poked around the t-shirts and such a bit on the way out, too. Want a Duck Commander shirt? Buc-ee's has lots.

(I don't even know what Duck Commander is. I assume it's different from Duck Dynasty, right?)

Comments

[dinda.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I get the whole Bucees craze. Some are nice, bathrooms are clean - enough but nothing special and didn't particularly see anything for sale I couldn't live without.

I think the one in TX City will be huge and geared toward shoppers at the outlet mall or maybe the hordes traveling to Galveston. Dunno.

[mellificent.livejournal.com]

I think you're right that it's geared toward tourists to a large extent. However, since I drive to Galveston a lot it's probably geared to me too, to some degree! I don't think I'll be stopping there constantly, but I think reasonably-priced gas and those nice clean bathrooms will get me in there from time to time, since I'll be driving right by it.

[mellificent.livejournal.com]

Also, you're right about the merchandise. Everything was either emphatically NOT stuff I would buy (Buc-ee's brands, Duck Commander etc.), or it was stuff I might possibly buy if it wasn't so expensive (cute leather purses which were over $100, some of the jewelry). And the food I've had other than the fudge was just okay.