Editor’s Note: Another out-of-chronological-order post. Apologies.
October 8, 2017
As we traveled east from Crestview to avoid Hurricane Nate, we began seeing billboards for “The Busy Bee”. We couldn’t tell what the Busy Bee was, but we passed it on the way to the campground. It’s a mega convenience store. We had to stop in: Not only did we want to see what it was about, we also wanted a Dunkin’ Donut coffee and the Busy Bee had the only one in 20 miles.
Clever song writers would write a novelty song about something-for-everyone at this place. We’ll rely on photographs.
Information about the size of the store and corporate ownership isn’t easy to come by, but it looks to us as if this store may be four times the size of a typical RaceTrac. The Busy Bee Corporation operates Shamrock and Valero gas stations on Long Island and [apparently] a service station in Live Oak, Florida. The website says “Our locations are unlike anything you have experienced before”. We’ll buy that. But not some of this other stuff. For example:
Fancy Soaps.
Candles for men. Note the fart, beach babe, bacon and golf course scents.
Beach decor in case one has a sudden need to redecorate Florida-style
Fancy [and, to us, expensive] cakes
Sparkler candles to go on said cakes (the small ones are $4.99)
Christian-themed jewelry
A Florida State Seminoles silicone cake pan
Serving wear for your next wine and cheese party
Alligator heads
Fluffy-topped socks, Christmas themed
And, speaking of Christmas, get your Elf on the Shelf right here
Gifts for baby, in case you didn’t have time to shop before you left home
And in case of a sudden chill, a stylish sweat shirt from Nepal
The store features LOTS of food. Dunkin’ Donuts, Burger King, a long wall of cold drinks, frozen drinks, coffees. Then there was the food we thought was less common:
A wall of candy
Truffles
A jerky bar (elk, moose, mule, gator, venison, as well as beef and chicken variously flavored)
And speaking of jerky, there are snacks for Florida and Florida state fans. A comparison of the ingredients for these tidbits showed whether we’re Gators or Seminoles, we’re the same inside.
[Spoiler alert: We found these same steak snacks a month later in The Goat Hill Gift Shop at the Alabama capitol in Montgomery in University of Alabama and Auburn University.]
Gourmet sauces and jellies
Frozen yogurt, available with toppings and: Ron and Barbara, neighbors from our former house on River Hammock Lane. They were on their way home from Tallahassee following FSU’s heartbreaking (for some anyway) loss to Miami the day before.
And, to Jane’s relief, prosaic raw vegetables
Some things were expected like these products professional truckers might use
And some things, like the rest rooms, were over the top. [We didn’t inspect the showers and laundry, maybe we should have!]
Check out the website if you don’t see what you’re looking for: www.shopthebusybee.com
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