Adventuring with Amelia

BUC-EE’S! We intentionally found a BUC-EE’S on the east side of Dallas today for lunch. Not gonna lie, we had more fun here then we probably should have. It’s a mega gas station/food/ convenience store/ home decor/ clothing/ outdoor goods/ etc… strange combo but fun and fabulous! We can pinpoint wanting to stop because of our favorite travel YouTubers, Kara and Nate. They went to the biggest one in San Antonio during the earlier Covid days, so we were motivated to see the craziness and the hype for ourselves while in Texas.

Apparently, there is a quite the cult following for BUC-EE’S, and rightfully so. They do limited things food-wise and they seem to do them well. First, is their signature brisket sandwich. Jackson got one today and enjoyed it. DJ and I both snuck a small little bite of it, and it was yummy. (We ended up buying their BBQ sauce to try later).

Next, they make their own in-house potato chips. They were awesome. The bag is a little misleading though. They load the chips into a paper cup and place the cup into the bag. It’s not a full bag of chips.

One of the next things they do, is they make their own candied nuts. They had pecans (which we got), almonds, and cashews as options. The candied pecans are the top favorite among the 3 of us!

They also make a huge selection of homemade fudge. We got the dark chocolate sea salt caramel. They had lots of other intriguing flavors that I was tempted to get from red velvet to birthday cake. DJ and I were a little underwhelmed by the fudge, maybe we are just not a huge fudge people? It was good, just not something we would seek out again, unlike the candied pecans, which says a lot…

This place was MASSIVE, and it’s not their biggest location. We made a game plan before we went in… 1st-bathrooms, 2nd-find and order food, 3rd- head to the camper to eat the food, 4th-Jackson and I head back in to shop, 5th- DJ and Jackson head back in to shop. (Amelia was being quite sassy about her shoes and it wasn’t worth it to try to bring her inside again as she was super squirrely the first time).

Sooo many parking spots! That isn’t our truck on the right, (ours is in front of the camper still attached) it’s another truck and camper pulled in at an angle as they are a bigger/longer RV than us. It was quite the spot for lunch. As I’ve said before, I really love road-tripping with the camper. It just makes life so easy to have our home-away-from home with us when we are on big travel days.

All of the food goodies we bought… $39.99!

What we got: veggie burrito, medium Dr. Pepper for $.59, homemade chips, French fries for peanut, brisket sandwich, Beaver nuggets, candied pecans, dark chocolate sea salt caramel fudge, and cookie dough!

Jackson’s brisket sandwich was huge! …and he got the normal size.

The candied pecans… seriously delicious! Definitely our fan favorite out of all of the BUC-EE’S homemade foods. We decided tonight they are pretty much French toast crunch flavored pecans.

Lunch in the camper… so freaking convenient, especially with a sassy Amelia.

The Beaver Nuggets were good. (Jackson looks unamused). As Nate says on the episode of Kara and Nate where they visit BUC-EE’S, it’s like a cross between Captain Crunch cereal and kettle corn/puff corn. Good, but again, definitely not something I’d seek out and buy again.

And then there was cookie dough! I mean seriously, what’s not to like about cookie dough. Easily one of the favorites. How could it not be?

The dark chocolate sea salt caramel fudge. As mentioned above, it was good, but not our favorite.

After over-filling our stomachs with some very high calorie foods, we headed back inside to shop and explore all the crazy things BUC-EE’S has to offer. Again, referencing the episode of Kara and Nate, Nate purchases this beaver suit and wears it during the episode (it also has made appearances here and there in some of their other episodes). Jackson and I found it, and thought it was super funny to see it in real life. BTW- Jackson didn’t want to get one for himself. I don’t blame him.

They sell soo much BUC-EE’s merchandise… from socks, to swim suits, to PJs, to wine glasses, to beach towels, etc… the list is never ending and if you want something with the BUC-EE beaver face on it, they probably have it.

Jackson did decide getting a stuffie of BUC-EE the beaver would be a good idea. So we now have a new travel companion coming along with us the rest of the way to Virginia.

The rest of our goodies Jackson and I picked out while shopping. We got a coffee mug, BBQ sauce, 4 bumper stickers that will go onto our garage fridge, salsa, BUC-EE stuffie, and some flip flops for myself. (I thought I was being smart and only packed a pair of black ones from Old Navy that I can wear in the shower… they are NOT comfortable and I can’t wear them more than waking to and from the campground showers).

Amelia happily waited out the BUC-EE’S shopping time in the camper. DJ found some hot sauce and some fresh chocolate chip cookies. I think we have enough sweets now to last the rest of the trip.

Seriously, hard to show the size of this gas station AND the fact that 18-wheelers/semi-trucks aren’t allowed. It’s crazy! It’s like if Walmart and a truck stop had a baby and then didn’t allow the semi’s.

After all the excitement and lunch, Amelia caught a quick cat-nap in the truck while driving to Caddo Lake State Park, TX.

Our campsite… hot and humid, but gorgeous! (And there’s bugs!) We definitely aren’t in San Diego anymore. We had to turn on our AC for a bit upon arrival to cool the camper down.

Just wait until tomorrow and I post photos of the lake! We drove past on our way in and the boys walked over there quick this evening… but I haven’t walked down. It’s stunning though! AND hopefully we will be finally using the kayaks we brought with. They should be seeing some more use from this point forward in our trip!

… until tomorrow!