Buc-ees outside of Texas.

[US 89]

If I pass a Buc-ees on a road trip and any of the following are true, I will stop:

1) I need a bathroom break (those bathrooms are really nice, especially if you have to take a shit)
2) I have less than 2/3 a tank of gas (very hard to beat the gas prices)
3) I'm hungry or thirsty (those beaver nuggets do make a great car snack)

The only issue I have with them is the lack of windshield squeegees. But unless it's an exceptionally buggy drive, that's not a compelling enough reason not to stop.

[freebrickproductions]

I actully like Buc-ees, but no chance in hell I'm stopping at one on a busy holiday weekend. Tried the one in Madisonville the Friday before Christmas once — and barely got in the door before I did an about-face. It was nuts.

The one on I-65 near Athens also gets completely slammed during the summer thanks to people driving to/from the Gulf.

[formulanone]

I actully like Buc-ees, but no chance in hell I'm stopping at one on a busy holiday weekend. Tried the one in Madisonville the Friday before Christmas once — and barely got in the door before I did an about-face. It was nuts.

The one on I-65 near Athens also gets completely slammed during the summer thanks to people driving to/from the Gulf.

I made the mistake of visiting it on a Friday in late-June around 4pm for gas, but at least no traffic was headed east on Huntsville-Browns Ferry Road. As mentioned before, the lack of squeegees is an annoyance, but if I'm just headed home, not a big deal.

I took my son to see it for the first time one weekday evening around 8pm after running errands, and it was generally quiet. You actually can hear yourself think, and we discovered that chocolate-covered cashews and key lime fudge exist, and it turns out they're pretty good.

[Rothman]

I'm stunned about the lack of squeegees.

[vdeane]

I'm stunned about the lack of squeegees.

Unfortunately, this isn't just a Buc-ees problem.  It seems like they're getting harder to find, especially good ones.  Cumberland Farms no longer keeps them ready.  Neither does Fastrac (which is the reason I stopped going there).  Nor does Valero.  And the one I used yesterday at Neon Marketplace has to be the worst I've ever seen, with no ability to wipe off the cleaning liquid at all (not just "very heavily streaked and borderline useless", literally nothing, couldn't even tell I made an attempt).

[rlb2024]

I'm stunned about the lack of squeegees.

Here in south Louisiana it's hard to find any station that has 1) squeegees out at all, 2) if there is a squeegee, it's in good enough shape to use, or 3) there's any fluid in the squeegee holder.  I generally don't even look for one anymore.  We don't have the slush that y'all have farther north, so I guess they figure windshield wipers are good enough.  And if it's love bug season the squeegees generally aren't good enough to remove the remnants anyway.

[freebrickproductions]

Honestly, I keep a bucket in the back of my car filled with stuff I may need on the road. In it is a bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels, among other things.

[Rothman]

I'm stunned about the lack of squeegees.

Here in south Louisiana it's hard to find any station that has 1) squeegees out at all, 2) if there is a squeegee, it's in good enough shape to use, or 3) there's any fluid in the squeegee holder.  I generally don't even look for one anymore.  We don't have the slush that y'all have farther north, so I guess they figure windshield wipers are good enough.  And if it's love bug season the squeegees generally aren't good enough to remove the remnants anyway.

I'm finding that squeegee availability is becoming more tightly correlated with the affluence of the surrounding neighborhood.

I'm surprised that Buc-ee's, which is selling itself as the top-notch travel station on steroids, doesn't keep them around.

Then again, have to wonder about how low one has to sink to steal a gas station squeegee.

[jeffandnicole]

I'm stunned about the lack of squeegees.

Here in south Louisiana it's hard to find any station that has 1) squeegees out at all, 2) if there is a squeegee, it's in good enough shape to use, or 3) there's any fluid in the squeegee holder.  I generally don't even look for one anymore.  We don't have the slush that y'all have farther north, so I guess they figure windshield wipers are good enough.  And if it's love bug season the squeegees generally aren't good enough to remove the remnants anyway.

I'm finding that squeegee availability is becoming more tightly correlated with the affluence of the surrounding neighborhood.

I'm surprised that Buc-ee's, which is selling itself as the top-notch travel station on steroids, doesn't keep them around.

Then again, have to wonder about how low one has to sink to steal a gas station squeegee.

Nice squeegees are a good $4 or $5.  If you're at a non-Bucees spending an additional 10 cents on a gallon of gas, might as well make up for the price difference by taking the squeegee.

[Rothman]

I'm stunned about the lack of squeegees.

Here in south Louisiana it's hard to find any station that has 1) squeegees out at all, 2) if there is a squeegee, it's in good enough shape to use, or 3) there's any fluid in the squeegee holder.  I generally don't even look for one anymore.  We don't have the slush that y'all have farther north, so I guess they figure windshield wipers are good enough.  And if it's love bug season the squeegees generally aren't good enough to remove the remnants anyway.

I'm finding that squeegee availability is becoming more tightly correlated with the affluence of the surrounding neighborhood.

I'm surprised that Buc-ee's, which is selling itself as the top-notch travel station on steroids, doesn't keep them around.

Then again, have to wonder about how low one has to sink to steal a gas station squeegee.

Nice squeegees are a good $4 or $5.  If you're at a non-Bucees spending an additional 10 cents on a gallon of gas, might as well make up for the price difference by taking the squeegee.

Like I said, it's pretty low to take the squeegee.

[vdeane]

I'm stunned about the lack of squeegees.

Here in south Louisiana it's hard to find any station that has 1) squeegees out at all, 2) if there is a squeegee, it's in good enough shape to use, or 3) there's any fluid in the squeegee holder.  I generally don't even look for one anymore.  We don't have the slush that y'all have farther north, so I guess they figure windshield wipers are good enough.  And if it's love bug season the squeegees generally aren't good enough to remove the remnants anyway.

How do you clean bug splatter with windshield wipers?  I find that doesn't really work, outside of extremely heavy rains.  Just makes the bug splatter smear.  I would go so far as to say that if you have significant bug splatter on your windshield, you should actually avoid using your wipers if possible until you can clean it off with a squeegee.

[kphoger]

How do you clean bug splatter with windshield wipers?  I find that doesn't really work, outside of extremely heavy rains.  Just makes the bug splatter smear.  I would go so far as to say that if you have significant bug splatter on your windshield, you should actually avoid using your wipers if possible until you can clean it off with a squeegee.

I completely agree with you.

[JayhawkCO]

How do you clean bug splatter with windshield wipers?  I find that doesn't really work, outside of extremely heavy rains.  Just makes the bug splatter smear.  I would go so far as to say that if you have significant bug splatter on your windshield, you should actually avoid using your wipers if possible until you can clean it off with a squeegee.

I completely agree with you.

As do I. When I was still driving my Wrangler (recently sold it), and I was taking it to the Midwest, I'd stop every 45 minutes to an hour just to go squeegee it off at a gas station. Using my wipers made it so my windshield was basically translucent.

[Dirt Roads]

How do you clean bug splatter with windshield wipers?  I find that doesn't really work, outside of extremely heavy rains.  Just makes the bug splatter smear.  I would go so far as to say that if you have significant bug splatter on your windshield, you should actually avoid using your wipers if possible until you can clean it off with a squeegee.

I'm the same way.  But I do have an answer to this question for anyone willing to work hard enough.  The next time you purchase new wiper blades, immediately apply a liberal amount of windshield polish and give your windshield a hard buffing.  (lookup "hydrophobic repellent" to get the brand name, although I tend to use cheaper products).  Then each day for a week, reapply a smaller amount with a soft buffing in order to smooth in all of the abrasions.  Afterwards, you want to reapply every week.  Your wipers will then be able to remove bug splatter, and you end up with total less work than trying to clean off with a squeegee during long Summer trips.  Sadly, I never have time to do this.

[JayhawkCO]

you end up with total less work than trying to clean off with a squeegee during long Summer trips.  Sadly, I never have time to do this.

These statements seem paradoxical.

[kphoger]

you end up with total less work than trying to clean off with a squeegee during long Summer trips.  Sadly, I never have time to do this.

These statements seem paradoxical.

1.  Probably, he never makes time for the initial every-day-for-a-week and subsequent once-a-week applications.  That doesn't mean that, if he were to do so, he wouldn't end up doing less work overall than squeegee-ing the windshield every fill-up for a whole summer.

2.  Or maybe he just meant that he never has time to take long summer trips.

[JayhawkCO]

you end up with total less work than trying to clean off with a squeegee during long Summer trips.  Sadly, I never have time to do this.

These statements seem paradoxical.

1.  Probably, he never makes time for the initial every-day-for-a-week and subsequent once-a-week applications.  That doesn't mean that, if he were to do so, he wouldn't end up doing less work overall than squeegee-ing the windshield every fill-up for a whole summer.

2.  Or maybe he just meant that he never has time to take long summer trips.

If 1), assuming you don't drive a Wrangler with its near vertical windshield, you don't need to make special "non-fill up" stops to clean your windshield from bugs. So, it costs you no extra time to clean it every time you stop for gas. Even if you're accounting for only the "physical work", if you took a long drive every weekend during the summer, and filled up three times on every trip, you're looking at 36 fill ups times ~90 seconds per fill up, or 54 minutes of squeegeeing. I have to think that a hard buffing followed by daily then weekly applications of windshield polish, even just for one summer, wouldn't equate to less than an hour.

[kphoger]

you end up with total less work than trying to clean off with a squeegee during long Summer trips.  Sadly, I never have time to do this.

These statements seem paradoxical.

1.  Probably, he never makes time for the initial every-day-for-a-week and subsequent once-a-week applications.  That doesn't mean that, if he were to do so, he wouldn't end up doing less work overall than squeegee-ing the windshield every fill-up for a whole summer.

2.  Or maybe he just meant that he never has time to take long summer trips.

If 1), assuming you don't drive a Wrangler with its near vertical windshield, you don't need to make special "non-fill up) stops to clean your windshield from bugs. So, it costs you no extra time to clean it every time you stop for gas. Even if you're accounting for only the "physical work", if you took a long drive every weekend during the summer, and filled up three times on every trip, you're looking at 36 fill ups times ~90 seconds per fill up, or 54 minutes of squeegeeing. I have to think that a hard buffing followed by daily then weekly applications of windshield polish, even just for one summer, wouldn't equate to less than an hour.

|Dirt Roads| has been fact checked!   

[JayhawkCO]

|Dirt Roads| has been fact checked!   

Not trying to be a jerk. I just don't get the idea that that process is meant to be a time saver over just cleaning the bugs the old fashioned way.

[kphoger]

|Dirt Roads| has been fact checked!   

Not trying to be a jerk. I just don't get the idea that that process is meant to be a time saver over just cleaning the bugs the old fashioned way.

Hey, I didn't mean to implicate you.  This forum welcomes fact-checking of all sorts.  We are, after all, just a bunch of pedantic nerds.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Groundbreaking is coming to two new Buc-ee's locations...

January 29th for Brunswick, GA (Georgia's third location)
January 30th for Harrisonburg, VA (Virginia's first location)

Both of them will be 74,000 square feet with 120 gas pumps.

[Dirt Roads]

If 1), assuming you don't drive a Wrangler with its near vertical windshield, you don't need to make special "non-fill up" stops to clean your windshield from bugs. So, it costs you no extra time to clean it every time you stop for gas. Even if you're accounting for only the "physical work", if you took a long drive every weekend during the summer, and filled up three times on every trip, you're looking at 36 fill ups times ~90 seconds per fill up, or 54 minutes of squeegeeing. I have to think that a hard buffing followed by daily then weekly applications of windshield polish, even just for one summer, wouldn't equate to less than an hour.

|Dirt Roads| has been fact checked!   

Not trying to be a jerk. I just don't get the idea that that process is meant to be a time saver over just cleaning the bugs the old fashioned way.

Hey, I didn't mean to implicate you.  This forum welcomes fact-checking of all sorts.  We are, after all, just a bunch of pedantic nerds.

I certainly don't mind the fact checking (in fact, my career morphed into a whole bunch of pedantic nerd-style fact checking).  But quite frankly, I don't think that I could have ever done a good job of getting all of the summertime "Betelgeuse" off of my front windshield in 90 seconds, much less at my age now.  But windshield polish was a lifesaver back when I lived in "Love Bug" territory (which occurs not once but twice a year, in April/May and also in August).

[JayhawkCO]

If 1), assuming you don't drive a Wrangler with its near vertical windshield, you don't need to make special "non-fill up" stops to clean your windshield from bugs. So, it costs you no extra time to clean it every time you stop for gas. Even if you're accounting for only the "physical work", if you took a long drive every weekend during the summer, and filled up three times on every trip, you're looking at 36 fill ups times ~90 seconds per fill up, or 54 minutes of squeegeeing. I have to think that a hard buffing followed by daily then weekly applications of windshield polish, even just for one summer, wouldn't equate to less than an hour.

|Dirt Roads| has been fact checked!   

Not trying to be a jerk. I just don't get the idea that that process is meant to be a time saver over just cleaning the bugs the old fashioned way.

Hey, I didn't mean to implicate you.  This forum welcomes fact-checking of all sorts.  We are, after all, just a bunch of pedantic nerds.

I certainly don't mind the fact checking (in fact, my career morphed into a whole bunch of pedantic nerd-style fact checking).  But quite frankly, I don't think that I could have ever done a good job of getting all of the summertime "Betelgeuse" off of my front windshield in 90 seconds, much less at my age now.  But windshield polish was a lifesaver back when I lived in "Love Bug" territory (which occurs not once but twice a year, in April/May and also in August).

And fair enough.

[triplemultiplex]

No squeegee?  Well then the Kwik Trip in DeForest has nothing to worry about when it comes to my business.
Hell, I'd put that up on a billboard if I was a competing gas station.  "Joe Blows Gas: We have squeegees!!"

[SSOWorld]

Two things that will solve your bug problem. Can be used anywhere.