We’re not Christmas people. Aside from hanging up stockings and exchanging gifts it’s not a really big personal holiday we celebrate although we do enjoy the day off. In the year following the pandemic, we were feeling tied down to San Diego itching to explore more places far from home and decided to do something different that Christmas.
It started in mid-2021 when we sold Paul’s 20+ year old Subaru Forester to make room for a slightly used Kira Niro with low mileage. Our intentions were to make it The Road Trip Car. With its sometimes 50+ mpg, it’s proven us well around town and we can only imagine how it would do on the open road where gas was far cheaper than what we get in California. So at the end of 2021, we set off for Texas where they also happen to have a slew of Buc-ee’s, North America’s answer ultimate gas station convenience store.
Arizona to New Mexico
We left with rain in our rearview mirror stopping in Tucson for our first taste of a Sonoran hot dog from BK Carne Asada & Hot Dogs. If you like TJ dogs, a hot dog wrapped in bacon, the Sonoran dog is its pumped up cousin. Usually embedded in a bolillo, a bacon-wrapped hot dog frank is topped with pinto beans, chopped tomatoes and onions, with mayo and mustard usually with a grilled pepper on the side. It’s a worthy competitor to a Chicago hot dog and, in my opinion has an edge on deliciousness.
After we ate our hot dogs, we aimed our car straight into New Mexico. The flat, nearly barren landscape was packed with billboards that kept us entertained the duration of the trip. Our goal was for the first day was Las Cruces where we had friends who welcomed us into their home last minute on Christmas eve, fed us pizza and brownies, and let us play with their pups, Kirby (the tiny black and white dog) and Ditko (the white dog).
Unending Texas Roads and Buc-ee’s
Las Cruces, NM sits a few miles from the Texas border and once we crossed state lines, the first and possibly last major city we saw for miles is El Paso. After going to high school at the mostly southernly part of San Diego before it official crossed the border into Tijuana, El Paso seemed familiar. We drove on tall freeways with clear views of its sister city, Cuidad Juarez across the U.S.-Mexican border.
Continuing on I-10 was just endless freeways interspersed with rest stops and small towns. Late into the night, we finally arrived at our Christmas destination: Buc-ee’s in New Braunfels, which was at that time the largest Buc-ee’s in the U.S. until the location in Sevierville, Tennessee pushed it out of its top standing.
It’s hard to say what it was like to arrive after hours of driving with nothing but snacks to eat but we were famished and everything sounded so good. The entire ride was talking about what we were going to eat: a BBQ brisket sandwich for Paul and a pastrami sandwich for me. No photos as we devoured it in our dark car with intentions to go back inside the store and get more if needed to fill our provisions at our Airbnb nearby.
If you’re not familiar with Buc-ee’s, there are countless articles, video and posts about this Texas-born convenience store’s name branded candies, sodas, selection of BBQ sandwiches, gas pumps, etc. But all that doesn’t prepare you for the immensity of Buc-ee’s. It is H-U-G-E.
With so many items calling out to us, what didn’t we buy or eat? We tried beef jerky from the beef jerky count, ate samples of freshly coated cinnamon nuts, a selection of fudge, sausage wrapped in a tortilla, salami in a cup, their infamous Beaver nuggets that reminded me of Corn Pops cereal, pudding, Beaver tots (their branding for tater tots), freshly Beaver chips (what they call potato chips), and even filled our car up with cheap gas from one of dozens of pumps lining outside. We had a little bit of everything and food souvenirs to share with friends back home.
Exploring Austin
We’ve been in Austin before but had flown in our previous visit many years ago including a side jaunt to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre house. We knew the BBQ was great and after filling up on breakfast tacos at Buc-ee’s headed to Austin to reacquaint ourselves with the city. We visited the state capitol again (where Doctor was mesmerized by the squirrels), ate a shrimp po’boy and beignets from a food truck, and even spotted an old relic of a bygone era.
The weather started to turn cold and the sundresses I had packed for New Orleans, the next stop on our trip, seemed like an omen to change our plans. Instead of going further east, we made our way back to New Mexico the day after.
Roswell, Meow Wolf and Staying on a Crane Farm
To avoid retracing our way from Texas into New Mexico, we headed north driving though the more rural part of Texas, passing spent cotton fields and small towns where fraking and oil drilling seemed like the main source of income for the town. Since Roswell was on the way, why not? My first road trip with Paul was to Area 51 so it only made sense.
To no surprise, the entire city of Rosewell completely bought into the alien theme. There were restaurants, shops and statues throughout town but our plan for that day was to head north and bunk down for two days at a tiny home outside of Albuquerque next to a crane farm.
This was our first experience with a tiny home was basically a gloried shed with no door to the toilet facilities and just a space heater to keep us warm. But Doctor was amused with new sights and smells, and especially intrigued by the cranes who would fly away when he approached.
Albuquerque itself was foodie wonderland where we drank piñon coffee (a brew flavored with pine nuts), ate biscochitos (New Mexico’s official state cookie), and ate a few food items features green chiles.
We also headed further north to Sante Fe where we met up with one of Paul’s long time friends who worked Meow Wolf at the time. Due to packed crowds, we didn’t get to experience the museum but she let us into the museum shop where we could pursue the art souvenirs. The weather started to turn on us again and it began to snow. We were eager for our trip back to Southern California.
Tucson and New Eats
Tucson was between us and San Diego as we proceeded on a southern route to avoid more inclement weather.
Having taken this route multiple times and our goal for visiting the city was to rest up, take a shower (the tiny home has insufficient hot water during our stay), and try more new eats like steak fingers.
So thing about being on the road, especially if someone else is driving, is doing research on upcoming destinations and I read about steak fingers from Lucky Wishbone, basically breaded beef that’s been coated in batter and deep fried. The concept seemed solid but first bite revealed a tough cut of unseasoned beef.
On the way out, we also also managed to squeeze in Eegee’s, a Phoenix and Tucson chain known for their subs and ranch fries topped with bacon. Meh. Both Wishbone and Eegee’s are fine but doesn’t necessitate a stop. Stick with the Sonoran dog.
My Burning Kitchen... on the road 
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