I have come to realize throughout our travels that murals and graffiti define the vibe of places. The peoples art told me if the residents loved their area or were seeking improvement. I, also, visit the local library branches in each neighborhood and ward to observe who lives there, musical taste, and discover local events through chats with the librarians. Librarians are a wealth of information in a safe space.

This is our dog walk along Elgin’s Riverwalk. Similar on a smaller scale to upper and lower Wacker Drive in Chicago, Elgin has an upper and lower riverwalk option as well. We chose the lower riverwalk this time. We captured several beautiful murals along the way.

We continued our walk down to the Walton Islands on the Fox River. Eventually, we ended up at the Kimball St dam where The Gail Borden Library now resides overlooking the water. The parking area adjacent to the Walton Islands now used as an overflow for the Hemmens events and other local events used to house the original library. While I see the modern, I can still visualize my childhood and teen days there. The entryway with a quick jog to the right and down the stairs one could find the basement with a great collection. Or walk right up to the main desk where I originally obtained one of my first golden tickets to the world aka library card. The teen and children section across the way. The adult collections in front that supplemented my K-12 education. The days of sifting through the card catalog before computers were the way…

The bonus video is Lillie greeting an Elgin figure along the way. Those of you who follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BX68QpaBX3b/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link will recognize this guy from the bronze series.