(Buc-ee’s in New Braunfels, Texas.)
My mom had knee replacement surgery this week, and Ryan and I drove down to San Antonio yesterday to visit her. She’s doing incredibly well, and will be back to her old self in no time flat!
On the way down, we stopped at Buc-ee’s, the enormous convenience store chain that is appearing all over Texas. My dad encouraged us to go, informing me that Buc-ee’s has the lowest gas prices in the area and the biggest selection of beef jerky he’s ever seen. Well, I just had to say the word jerky, and Ryan gladly pulled off the interstate to check it out.
I’m familiar with Buc-ee’s from our many years of driving I-10 to Houston to visit Ryan’s parents, but I had never been inside one until yesterday. And let me tell you, it really is the biggest convenience store I’ve ever seen! Buc-ee’s boasts that it features the cleanest restrooms anywhere, and that is definitely true. The stall I used actually had hand sanitizer inside, and there were rows upon rows of soap dispensers, sinks, paper towels, and more hand sanitizer, so you never have to stand in line. In fact, the entire store is extremely clean, and organized in a way that is incredibly efficient and easy-to-use. Since we were traveling on a weekday morning, Buc-ee’s was fairly empty, and there were clerks stationed at each of the three entrances/exits, with bags in hand, ready to check us out.
Ryan asked one woman where the beef jerky was, and she replied, “In bags or fresh?” She then showed us the bagged jerky AISLE and the entire COUNTER of freshly made jerky. There’s also a fudge counter, an ice cream counter, a bakery, and row after row after row of every snack food you can imagine. It’s really a truck driver’s paradise.
I only had my phone with me and wasn’t planning to take any pictures, but I couldn’t resist, so I snapped a few.
(Buc-ee’s Texas Round Up, or, what most people call a meat counter.)
(Buc-ee’s Fudge, Sugared Nuts, and Dippin’ Dots. Remember those?)
(The infamous beef jerky aisle.)
($30 for the large bag of jerky.)
(The fresh jerky counter.)
Ryan bought some bagged jerky and the fresh, and he and my dad snacked on it all afternoon. I was impressed with the fresh salads and produce, as well as the enormous gift shop at the front of the store. Seriously, you could spend hours shopping and looking around, since Buc-ee’s is the size of a big box store.
Oddly enough, there’s not a single table or chair in the entire store, so you can’t sit and eat your food anywhere but your car. Since it’s located on IH-35, a major highway in Texas, it’s ideal for travelers and truck drivers passing through, just don’t expect to stay for lunch.
I feel kind of strange writing about a convenience store, but once you go, you’ll get it. Buc-ee’s is sort of a Texas phenomenon, and proof that everything’s bigger here.
Have you been to Buc-ee’s yet? What did you think?
(The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller.)
I didn’t plan for this to be Book Week here on my blog, but that’s how things have turned out. And I don’t consider myself particularly romantic either, but for some reason, I picked up The Bridges of Madison County recently, and, if you’ll excuse the pun, fell in love. I was in middle school when the book was first released, and the well-known film appeared a few years later, so I remember the hype surrounding the story of two strangers who fall in love over a period of four brief days, but I was too young to read or appreciate it. Now, as an old, married woman, I can.
The book is really what you’d call a novella, since it’s fairly short and really focuses on the two main characters, but it’s lovingly written. I don’t read romance novels (Maeve Binchy is about as romantic as I get), and though I’ve seen The Notebook, it’s not on any of my top ten lists. But somehow, The Bridges of Madison County touched a nerve and I’ve found myself thinking about it a lot lately. Especially about Robert James Waller, the author, who writes with a sweetness and honesty usually reserved for women writers. After finishing the book, I bought his other two works, A Thousand Country Roads (the epilogue to The Bridges of Madison County) and Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend. I’ve yet to read them, but I’m looking forward to starting.
And I know that Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep played the lovers, separated by time and circumstance, but I can’t bring myself to watch the movie. Eastwood just doesn’t seem right for the role of photographer Robert Kincaid, in my opinion, (Kris Kristofferson, maybe) so I’ll leave the characters alone in my mind.
If you haven’t read the book, it’s a lovely way to spend a couple of evenings, and I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Just don’t expect me to try Nicholas Sparks any time soon!
(My Brother’s Book by Maurice Sendak.)
When Maurice Sendak passed away last year, he left behind one final manuscript that was published recently. My Brother’s Book is, at once, both the frightening and whimsical story Sendak wrote so well, and also something much darker and deeper. While it’s billed as a book for young adults, I see it more as a love poem penned by an aging author at the end of his life. Tony Kushner, who wrote the screenplay for Lincoln, was also a close friend of Sendak’s, and you can read and listen to his NPR interview about the book here.
I purchased the book to add to our Sendak collection, but soon discovered it isn’t for children, at least not as young as mine. The story is really a metaphor, with powerful images that can frighten the youngest readers. Still, I enjoyed its words and pictures, and the beautiful text deserves to be read aloud.
(My favorite page in the book.)
(Its accompanying illustration.)
(The illustration for the title page.)
All of Maurice Sendak’s books are treasured classics, but My Brother’s Book surpasses the rest, and truly conveys the author’s talent and purpose at the end of his long life. Are you a fan of Maurice Sendak? Have you had a chance to read this book?
