Western Kentucky Getting a Buc-ee's Travel Center

Raise your hand if one part of your vacation fun when you were a kid was stopping at Stuckey's.

BOTH of my hands are in the air.

FAVORITE TRAVEL CENTERS

The iconic teal roof of that legendary roadside gas station/diner/convenience store/gift shop is etched firmly in my memories. And as much as Dad hated stopping on road trips--he was always all about getting down the road--he never minded if he asked to stop there. That's because he liked it too.

I don't think I've ever had a Stuckey's Pecan Log that wasn't stale.

To this day, I'm a big fan of those big travel centers we see lining our interstate highways--Pilot's and Love's are the ones I see most frequently.

BUC-EE'S HISTORY

But when we were driving through Texas a few years ago, we stopped at a Buc-ee's Travel Center. It was roadside nirvana.

For nearly 40 years, the Texas-based company has been an oasis for travelers across the south. They're mainly concentrated in the Lone Star State, of course, but you may have also seen them in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

HERE COMES BUC-EE'S

Businesses like these make my vacations. And now, I'll have to make a special trip to southcentral Kentucky when an all-new Buc-ee's Travel Center opens in Smith's Grove, Kentucky.

It will be located on Interstate 65 at exit 38, already a rapidly-area for roadside restaurants and shops. It will join the new Buc-ee's location on Interstate 75 in Richmond.

And, yes, I'm the guy who would plan a quick day trip to southcentral Kentucky or along I-65 JUST so I could check out Buc-ee's.

Hey, I come by it honestly; my dad would have done the same thing.

How Many of These Kentucky Attractions Have You Visited?

Let's see how much you've traveled the Bluegrass State. Go through the list and see which attractions you've visited and which you still have on a "to-do" list. I need to get busy, too.

Guntown Mountain in Cave City, Kentucky -- Inside and Out

Once a thriving tourist attraction, Guntown Mountain has been closed for many years, even though the haunted attraction at the BOTTOM is still operable. The owners are willing to sell the top and bottom separately, which I think is a good idea.