Buc-ee's

Wat kan er nu zo bijzonder zijn aan een tankstation? Dat dachten wij toen wij vorig jaar naar South Padre reden en iedereen ons lichtelijk dwingend vertelde dat we onze stops onderweg bij de Buc-ee's zouden moeten maken.

Nou, die Buc-ee's, wij snappen 'm inmiddels. Het is wel een dingetje hier in Texas. En wie kan dat mooier vertellen dan ons eigen ABC News:

BUC-EE'S: MEET THE "BEAVER" BEHIND THE BRAND

BAYTOWN, TX (KTRK) --

From the gas pumps to the restrooms, beef jerky to Beaver Nuggets, Buc-ee's is a true Texas institution. With 35 in all, the stores are big. The ideas is even bigger and they all come from one focused and driven "beaver."

Born Arch Aplin the third, his mother started calling him "beaver" as a baby. The nickname stuck. So, when Beaver dreamt up what was to become his very first store in Lake Jackson, Texas back in 1982, the name and the mascot were a no-brainer. The concept was based on cleanliness and good service.

The stores grew and so did their size -- from the 3,000 square foot stop in Lake Jackson to the the 60,000 square foot traveler's mecca in Baytown.

"It's so big, you can get everything here and the restrooms are lovely and clean," said Aplin of the Baytown location.

Buc-ee's has become a bit of Texas legend with a cult following. There are plenty of gas pumps but none for 18-wheelers. Buc-ee's is not a truck stop. What it is, is a road-tripper's dream complete with famously clean facilities, countless bathroom stalls and gleaming counter tops.

Earning bathroom and service supplier Cintas' title of "cleanest restrooms in America" doesn't happen by accident. A full-time employee does nothing but keep the enormous facilities immaculate.

If the bathrooms are the reason so many stop, the reasons why roadtrippers can't leave are hard to count. Endless candy aisles, signature fountain drinks, the Texas round-up barbecue and more than a dozen kind of gourmet beef jerky and fresh-made fudge. That's on top of the highly addictive Beaver Nuggets corn puff snacks and all of the Buc-ee's-themed items you can imagine.

Wij hebben na bijna een jaar in Texas inmiddels de nodige Buc-ee's stops gemaakt. Die in Baytown bezochten we afgelopen weekend nog, op weg naar New Orleans. En alles wat ABC News schrijft is waar: de bever doet het goed naast manlief op de foto, de fudge is fantastisch, de kalkoen jerky is een aanrader en alles is smetteloos schoon; de toiletten zijn schoner dan bij ons thuis. Dus voor iedereen die gaat reizen in Texas: GO VISIT BUC-EE'S, it's worth the trip.