

On long road trips as a kid, my sister and I always marked our progress by how many times we had eaten along the way.  Our parents would get us a donut, then we would drive for two hours. Then we'd stop for some sort of imitation cheese snack with sticks for dipping, then two more hours of driving, then we'd have lunch at McDonald's, and drive for three hours and before stopping for a fountain drink with good crunchy ice and chase it with beef jerky. Eventually we'd get to the hotel and go out for pizza.  We didn't have screens to command our attention on road trips back then, so we kept ourselves entertained with food.

Convenience stores used to have gas, nuts, candy, and Cokes, and that was about it.  And sometimes, in order to use the bathroom, you had to "see the attendant" for they key and go outside to unlock the door that was so rickety it didn't really need to be locked in the first place and it felt like a film crew from Survivor should be taping the whole thing.  Things have changed.  Now, all the big travel stops have shiny restrooms that don't usually smell like your grandma's attic. And they've got kolaches and deli sandwiches, and sometimes entire sections full of clothing, yard art, and weird signs that say things like, "Keep OUT.  Unless you're dropping off beer or ammo."  Sometimes you can knock out your Christmas list on a July road trip.

Aaron Savage | TSM

Buc-ee's has become a destination in itself, and sometimes we plan trips around all of the Buc-ee's locations around Texas so we can hit them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  There's one on I-20 in Terrell, and I-45 in Madisonville, but know this will add an extra hour or two to your trip because the browsing is endless.

Love's Travel Stops are great too, and those are located in Lufkin, Fairfield, Van, and Shreveport.  Many of the other big ones, including Exxon and Valero have also gotten "uptown," as my granny would say, and made stopping for gas kinda fun.

Aaron Savage | TSM

AAA says more East Texans will be traveling this weekend than ever before, and that's away from home by 50 miles or more.  That's 2.9 percent more than last year, and it's more than any year since AAA has been keeping track.  44.2 million people will be driving across America, and most of them will be looking for the nearest Buc-ee's too.

What's best?  Take the poll and let us know, and have a great road trip!