“The emptiest places in the world are the best for observing the storms when they march.” – Old Sean
Settle Time
After several nights of rushing through the southern expanses of Canada and the northern portion of the United States, I settled down for a few days visiting Mattoon, Illinois.
If the name doesn’t ring a bell, that’s understandable. Mattoon is a small town which boasts spacious plains for storm-watching and not too much else. There’s a main street, numerous farms, a tiny outdoor hiking spot and more fields.
The Original King
Interestingly, Mattoon is also home to the world’s first Burger King. This title doesn’t refer to the expansive franchise, but rather a singular restaurant which had the name prior to the franchise’s development.
According to town legends, the Original Burger King dealt with protracted legal battles with the larger franchise. Eventually, there was a settlement which involved the Original Burger King being the only restaurant with the name in town, while allowing Franchise Burger King to continue using the name. There’s also a story about the Original Burger King getting a penny for every Whopper sold, but that right was eventually sold.
Regardless, it’s a surprisingly excellent restaurant. Their soft-serves are delightful. Visitors are recommended to order their treats with “eyes” which are a type of small, chocolates embedded in the ice cream.
Road Trip Reasons
While Mattoon might seem like an odd place to stop, I have an old friend living in the area. During university, I was close to a master cook named Hank. Every time I’m roaming the vast Midwest, I make a point of swerving to visit him, his girlfriend Em and a wrinkled bulldog named Butters.
Hank and I met during university Arabic courses, where Hank quickly proved himself one of the most heroic and genuinely good people I know. It was nice sitting back in Illinois, relaxing and slowly regaining my energy.
We did the usual. We cooked, or rather, Hank cooked and coached me through the most basics of basics. We tossed dice around playing D&D and, during evenings, we gleefully hacked our way through TV shows and movies. During rush hours, we ran errands and visited Hank’s nearby family. I often slept in with copious amounts of snoring. Hank and Em politely pretended not to notice.
Overall, visiting Mattoon was the most relaxing few days of my trip.
But time hasn’t waited on me yet. I packed up my stuff once more and prepped to head out. Soon, I’ll be driving towards St. Louis, where I’ll enjoy another round of road trip events.
So until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written January 21st 2019
Read more about visiting Mattoon and seeing the world by visiting Leftfade Trails Destination Info.
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