By: Mackenzie Byerlee
Features Editor
On Sunday, Nov. 1, I had the pleasure of visiting an American staple for the first time.
Buc-ee’s in Rockingham, Virginia was truly an amazing experience. While visiting a friend in a nearby town, I was able to cross this off of my bucket list.
As much as I knew how popular the franchise was, I was not anticipating the amount of signage leading up to our arrival.
There was a sign 100 miles away indicating where the nearest Buc-ees was which was insane to me.
Buc-ees is much more than just a gas station, as this location is 74,000 square feet. They sell such a wide range of items that I had to wander around just to take it all in.
I will say that it was very busy and honestly felt like I was in a crowded grocery store. People had carts full of items and were waiting in line for brisket.
But this did not take away from my experience. It just made me realize how many other people have wanted to visit Buc-ees as badly as I have.
Bucky the Beaver was on just about every item in the store. They had T-shirts, phone holders and even ice cube trays that honored the famous mascot.
As someone who loves a souvenir, this was genuinely my dream.
Naturally, I wanted to purchase almost everything that I saw. But I controlled myself and only bought a T-shirt and some snacks that I obviously needed to try.
As my friends and I were about to embark on an eight hour drive, stopping here to pick up everything we could possibly need was great. It also gave us another activity.
I think the part that surprised me the most was the section of the store that resembled a normal gas station.
After passing through the home and food sections, it really caught me off guard to be reminded where I actually was. I think that the feeling that there is nothing else truly like this was what drew me in the most.
Another section that I was fascinated by was their famous wall of beef jerky, which displayed a plethora of flavors. This was one part of the store that really put into perspective the fact that something like this would never be found outside of the U.S. or honestly even anywhere near Connecticut.
Being able to visit a place that I heard such rave reviews about, both from friends who have been previously as well as from people online, was a really fun way to end my weekend trip to Virginia.
I would certainly recommend taking a trip to Buc-ee’s for anyone driving on the highway that sees that they too are in a 100 mile radius of one.
