I'll take $40 on pump 425

This is going to come as a major shock to most of you, but this week, I went into a Buc-ee’s convenience store for the first time in my life. I’ve driven across this great land of ours twice and drove past many Buc-ee’s locations on those drives and never once saw the desire to check one out. Sure, the 850 gas pumps are eye catching as you drive by, but I figured one day, when I had a vacation day, I’d make it a “destination trip.” But this week, I purposely stopped in at the Royse City location and let me tell you, I wasn’t disappointed.

When I first pulled in, I tried to get a pump closest to the front door and luckily there was one close to where the shuttle bus picked me up to drive me to the actual convenience store. It was an easy 15-minute drive, and I met some wonderful people on the shuttle bus. Bob and Nancy from Ft. Lauderdale were just driving thru on their way home and were also curious about the store with “all them gas pumps,” as they put it. But I felt bad for Nick and Monica from Atlanta. They were there looking for their 19-yearold son who got lost earlier in the day when they stopped for some M&M’s, stuffed animals, t-shirts, ice cream and a new sprinkler system for their backyard. He promised to meet them right at pump 745, but he didn’t show up. Luckily, when the shuttle pulled up to the store, Timmy ran to them, and they all embraced. It was like a Hallmark movie, but with fuel and beef jerky.

When I walked in, the store was the size of a Costco. Luckily, they had those moving sidewalks, like at the airport. That made my experience so much more enjoyable. I jumped off about five minutes later when I saw the fountain drinks. I was happy to see that they had all 250 different types of sodas available. I asked the Soda Steward what he recommended, and he said the Mr. Pibb, Vintage 1989, was perfect for a cool January evening. Once I got my soda, I didn’t want to jump back on the moving sidewalk again, so I went over and asked the Concierge what time the next movie was starting. She said it was in an hour and I didn’t want to wait that long, so I headed to the register to check out. I told the young lady that I wanted “$40 on pump 425 and when I left the store, wouldn’t you know it, I missed the shuttle, but luckily they have them running every five minutes. And once I got back to my truck, it didn’t even feel like 4 ½ hours had gone by. I’m so glad I stopped in.

OK, some of you may have picked up on my slight use of sarcasm that I sprinkled ever so lightly throughout my story. But seriously, I asked the girl at the checkout stand just how many gas pumps they had, and she replied, “96.” I always respond the same way when I’m shocked, I said, “shut up???” She said, “no, really, and we’re one of the smaller Buc-ee’s.” The store was the size of an actual Costco, and you could honestly spend an entire day there. When it comes to stores, I’m an in and out kind of guy, which is why I never had the desire to stop in and check out one of these stores, but I’m glad I did. I’m treating this like I treated my visit to the famous, Gateway Arch, in St. Louis. I’m glad I went up in it, but I’ll never do it again. If I ever go missing, tell the guy from Dateline to start his search at the nearest Buc-ee’s because I more than likely became delusional and wandered in and was never seen again.