For September, my Wanderlust Wednesday posts will be themed around major American cities — mostly inspired by this photo I took in Chicago about six years ago.

I’ve always loved the red of the Navy Pier ferris wheel mixed with the blue of the water, and the colorful spirit of the wheel mixed in with the silver, businesslike skyline. Large cities are always a juxtaposition of fun and serious, touristy and functional, and this photo captures that. 

Unfortunately, I’ve only made two trips to Chicago, and both were very short; neither involved an overnight stay. So, today I’m both reminiscing but also wishing for a more extended visit. For once, I actually made it to a literary landmark — that is, if you consider Veronica Roth’s Divergent series literary — before it was cool for once. And Chicago definitely set this trend of having a huge ferris wheel before it was cool. Nowadays it seems like tons of cities have wheels of some type gracing their skyline.

And right about now, as we ride out the last wave of the hot southern summer, I think I’d be okay with a little snow or that wind the city is so famous for. I’m ready for colder weather, or a trip north!

Wanderlust Wednesday is a weekly travel post, featuring places I’ve been and places I want to go that fuel my wanderlust. Love travel? View all my travel posts!