Duck Commander Store Visit
#1
07-20-2014, 08:33 PM
Duck Commander Store Visit
Weather Friday in Baton Rouge area was really bad, total wash-out. However, the forecast improved significantly for Saturday/Sunday – which was good news for me and a group of HOG friends. We had planned a weekend ride up to Monroe, LA, to visit the Duck Commander store. Some of the group are apparently serious fans; personally, I am not a fan, never have actually watched an episode all the way thru, but I figured I would keep an open mind, and anyway it would be a fun way to spend a weekend.
We assembled at the local HD dealership Saturday AM, 11 bikes and 2 trikes, and pulled out at 7 AM. By the time we got out of the city, we were in fog so thick I could hardly see the bike in front of mine(!) And with humidity at 100%(+) it got darned chilly -- I was soon wishing I’d worn something more than a mesh jacket over t-shirt. After a couple of hours we were pretty much clear of the fog, but it was still ugly – heavy overcast, chilly (for LA in July), occasional spatters just to remind us that we could get wet at any time <g> The ride up was otherwise uneventful, decent two-lane roads – Hwy 61 up to Natchez, Hwy 15 on to Monroe, about 200 miles total. After lunch at a Logan’s steak house (typical chain food), we headed for the Duck Commander store just down the street a ways.
I was a bit surprised at the crowd. The parking lot was full, with a steady stream of traffic leaving and arriving; I saw license plates from all around the country. There was a line across the lot in front of the store, maybe a hundred people; I thought at first it was a line to enter the store, but quickly realized the line was folks waiting to take their photo under the “Duck Commander / Buck Commander” sign on the front of the building. With great anticipation, I proceeded to enter the store…
Blaaah!!! The store is just a big tacky shed, stuffed with all that tacky stuff – which the faithful were eagerly gathering up. The line at the registers never seemed to go down, and I can only imagine what the daily take is. I walked out of there shaking my head at the American consumer <g>, and wondering why the Robertsons don’t at least put some of their millions back into fixing up the store!
OK, so much for the Duck Dynasty…
When all of my group gathered back outside by the bikes, one member noticed that the taillight on her Softail Deluxe seemed to be about to fall off. Her husband (an aircraft mechanic) took a look at it, and proceeded to apply the universal fix (duct tape); however, she was really not pleased with his efforts. So, we all rode a few miles to Bleu Bayou Harley-Davidson to see if a proper fix could be obtained. This was at about 2:45 PM. We were a bit surprised to find out that the dealership normally closed at 3 PM on Saturday(!). After some discussion and examination, it was determined that the base plate of the whole tail lamp assembly was cracked and literally falling apart. The owner/ general manager found a used Deluxe in the back from which they could cannibalize the needed parts, and he offered to stay open as long as needed to do the repair. It actually only took a bit over an hour more to effect the repair, and the bill was quite reasonable – no premium time, and discounted price for the used parts.
By then, we all were in the mood for some relaxation and refreshment, so we retired to our hotel (Best Western) where we spent the evening around the pool, drinking beer, eating pizza, telling stories and generally getting wasted. For some reason, we soon had the pool area all to ourselves...
This morning (Sunday), once all members were up and moving we all walked across the parking lot to Waffle House for some good coffee and not-so-good breakfast, then headed south. We just followed the same route (in reverse) coming home, and the ride was uneventful. We stopped for a lunch of excellent BBQ at the Pig Out Inn in Natchez, MS, and rolled back into BR about 3 PM.
In summary:
Duck Commander store: THUMBS DOWN!
Bleu Bayou HD: THUMBS UP!
We assembled at the local HD dealership Saturday AM, 11 bikes and 2 trikes, and pulled out at 7 AM. By the time we got out of the city, we were in fog so thick I could hardly see the bike in front of mine(!) And with humidity at 100%(+) it got darned chilly -- I was soon wishing I’d worn something more than a mesh jacket over t-shirt. After a couple of hours we were pretty much clear of the fog, but it was still ugly – heavy overcast, chilly (for LA in July), occasional spatters just to remind us that we could get wet at any time <g> The ride up was otherwise uneventful, decent two-lane roads – Hwy 61 up to Natchez, Hwy 15 on to Monroe, about 200 miles total. After lunch at a Logan’s steak house (typical chain food), we headed for the Duck Commander store just down the street a ways.
I was a bit surprised at the crowd. The parking lot was full, with a steady stream of traffic leaving and arriving; I saw license plates from all around the country. There was a line across the lot in front of the store, maybe a hundred people; I thought at first it was a line to enter the store, but quickly realized the line was folks waiting to take their photo under the “Duck Commander / Buck Commander” sign on the front of the building. With great anticipation, I proceeded to enter the store…
Blaaah!!! The store is just a big tacky shed, stuffed with all that tacky stuff – which the faithful were eagerly gathering up. The line at the registers never seemed to go down, and I can only imagine what the daily take is. I walked out of there shaking my head at the American consumer <g>, and wondering why the Robertsons don’t at least put some of their millions back into fixing up the store!
OK, so much for the Duck Dynasty…
When all of my group gathered back outside by the bikes, one member noticed that the taillight on her Softail Deluxe seemed to be about to fall off. Her husband (an aircraft mechanic) took a look at it, and proceeded to apply the universal fix (duct tape); however, she was really not pleased with his efforts. So, we all rode a few miles to Bleu Bayou Harley-Davidson to see if a proper fix could be obtained. This was at about 2:45 PM. We were a bit surprised to find out that the dealership normally closed at 3 PM on Saturday(!). After some discussion and examination, it was determined that the base plate of the whole tail lamp assembly was cracked and literally falling apart. The owner/ general manager found a used Deluxe in the back from which they could cannibalize the needed parts, and he offered to stay open as long as needed to do the repair. It actually only took a bit over an hour more to effect the repair, and the bill was quite reasonable – no premium time, and discounted price for the used parts.
By then, we all were in the mood for some relaxation and refreshment, so we retired to our hotel (Best Western) where we spent the evening around the pool, drinking beer, eating pizza, telling stories and generally getting wasted. For some reason, we soon had the pool area all to ourselves...
This morning (Sunday), once all members were up and moving we all walked across the parking lot to Waffle House for some good coffee and not-so-good breakfast, then headed south. We just followed the same route (in reverse) coming home, and the ride was uneventful. We stopped for a lunch of excellent BBQ at the Pig Out Inn in Natchez, MS, and rolled back into BR about 3 PM.
In summary:
Duck Commander store: THUMBS DOWN!
Bleu Bayou HD: THUMBS UP!
Last edited by PPBART; 07-21-2014 at 03:50 AM.
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