Except for a few weeks in spring when the blue bonnets are blooming, the drive along I-10 between San Antonio and Houston is one to be dreaded. Visually boring, deep vein thrombosis creating and three hours in length, one just wants to set the cruise control on the fastest setting that won’t result in a ticket, crank up the tunes and get it over with.
Buc-ees, a service station chain with unbelievable marketing prowess, understands this very well. Spaced every few miles along the route are self-deprecating billboards that promote their pristine bathrooms, show a picture of their beaver logo and make you laugh out loud. I would venture a guess that this ad campaign is only topped in originality by the annual Super Bowl commercials.
They’ve created a cult following and must be making a mint.
The convenience store, located two-thirds of the way from Houston to San Antonio if you’re driving west, is massive. Lured by their compelling billboards and good prices at the pumps, most motorists with a sense of humor and any curiosity at all are drawn here like moths to a flame. Then they have you. Inside, you’ll find a veritable treasure trove of marked-up knick-knacks, t-shirts, bumper stickers (all with that little beaver on them) as well as jam, jerky (really good jerky, I might add), air freshener, and hunting accessories. They’ve got good coffee too.
Kids love the place, adults feel compelled to spend heavily in it and it represents probably the best road stop experience in the United States. Still, I can’t bring myself to give it five stars because Buc-ees is so blatantly taking your money from you.
They soon will be opening a place which is supposed to be twice as large midway between Houston and Dallas on I-45. That drive is about to get more fun.