The Great Ballpark Chase: Buc-ee’s is a Solid Substitute for Baseball in a Pinch

Buc-ee's Exterior — **^{A ill-timed rain storm washed out our game action in Biloxi, MS, but there was still Buc-ee’s! (Photo by Tim Russell)}**

You don’t often look forward to a visit to a gas station.

But Buc-ee’s is more than just a gas station. So it was with great anticipation to get to this part of the Southern Slam tour with Coast 2 Coast Sports Tours in July.

For those that don’t know, Buc-ee’s is a chain of mega-sized convenience stores, based in Texas with many locations throughout the South, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado, Texas, and Virginia.

They are known for many, many gas pumps. Most have between 100-120 pumps, along with electric vehicle charging stations. They also have a reputation for spotless bathrooms, even winning “Best Restroom in America” in 2012.

The stores are about 65,000 to 75,000 square feet.

Buc-ee's Pickup Truck — **^{It’s not every gas station convenience store that fit a full-sized pickup trick inside. (Photo by Tim Russell)}**

But a stop here is more than just a gas stop. You might spend anywhere from $20 to $500.

You can shop various tchotchkes, including Buc-ee the Beaver souvenirs, clothing, home décor, fishing gear, and barbecue grills.

The most popular item would be the Beaver Nuggets, which is a corn pop snack with several flavors. Other food items are the brisket barbecue sandwiches, breakfast tacos, fudge, pecans as well as jerky (either freshly made or hanging on the 30-foot jerky wall).

There is a whole wall of fountain drinks, with any combination of flavors. And there is a wall of equal length for the coffee connoisseur, with a small section devoted to tea or hot chocolate drinkers.

Despite the size, everything runs fairly smooth at the pumps and inside at the registers, with very little wait times.

It’s definitely something to experience, if you happen to be travelling down south.

As you enter or leave, you can shake hands with the Buc-ee Beaver statue outside each entrance.

We were also there to see some baseball. It was supposed to be the Rocket City Trash Pandas vs. the Biloxi Shuckers at Biloxi’s Keesler Federal Park. We had club level seating for this game, which included all-you-can-eat seats in the Yacht Club.

^{The Trash Pandas and Shuckers didn’t work the day of our visit, but the Shuckers’ chef was in fine form! (Photos by Tim Russell)}

An in-house chef put together a nice spread of a Banging Shrimp and Crab sauce over rice. There were also huge homemade biscuits, as well as hot dogs, fresh vegetables, and desserts.

The food was great but, unfortunately, the game never started due to rain and was eventually postponed.