Travel

Brickvention 2017

April 25, 2026February 2, 2017 by Bill Ward

After the flurry of activity on my blog in December for the Advent Calendars you may have wondered why I disappeared… well the reason was I took a vacation to Australia right after Christmas!

I spent New Year’s in Sydney, did lots of sightseeing, and ended up at Brickvention in Melbourne. I’ll be posting the travel photos soon on a new travel blog I’m going to be starting, and will post a link to it here when it is live so you can check those out if you want. But the photos from Brickvention are now available online, and here they are! (Click images for a bigger one, or see links at the bottom to Flickr albums.)

BrickCon 2013

April 23, 2026October 14, 2013 by Bill Ward

As I have done every year since 2008, I went to BrickCon (the LEGO convention in Seattle, Washington) again this year. Here is my trip report.

Bricks Cascade 2012

April 23, 2026June 7, 2012 by Bill Ward

Last weekend, I went up to Portland, Oregon for the first-ever Bricks Cascade LEGO convention.

Brickworld Trip Wrapup

April 23, 2026June 22, 2011 by Bill Ward

This is the rest of my travel journal from Brickworld 2011 LEGO convention in Chicago. I’ve been home from Chicago for two days now, but it’s time to wrap up the journal. My previous installment took us up to Friday afternoon, before I even started taking photos of the exhibits. Carrying forward from that point:

Brickworld 2011 Photos

April 23, 2026June 19, 2011 by Bill Ward

Here are all my pictures from the Brickworld LEGO convention in Chicago:

Brickworld 2011: Lake Michigan Ballroom Pictures

April 23, 2026June 17, 2011 by Bill Ward

I’ve taken photos of all the LEGO creations on display at Brickworld 2011 in the Lake Michigan Ballroom.

Brickworld 2011 Part 2

April 23, 2026June 17, 2011 by Bill Ward

Here’s the second installment of my trip report to the Brickworld LEGO convention in Chicago, for Day 2 (Friday, June 17). I went to a bunch of presentations and events:

Brickworld 2011: Event Pictures

April 23, 2026June 17, 2011 by Bill Ward

I attended a bunch of events on Thursday and Friday at Brickworld 2011 in Chicago.

Brickworld 2011 part 1

April 23, 2026June 16, 2011 by Bill Ward

I flew to Chicago yesterday (Wednesday, June 15) for the Brickworld LEGO convention. I used my Frontier air miles to travel from San Francisco to Chicago Midway by way of Denver. It was a long trip – I left SFO at 9am and got to Chicago at 6pm local time – but it was very pleasant and had no problems. I shared a cab from the airport to the hotel with two other guys, who had flown in from Florida.

My Video of BrickCon 2008 (Part 2) on LAMLtv

April 23, 2026October 18, 2008 by Bill Ward

As promised, I made a second episode for LAMLtv about BrickCon.

My Video of BrickCon 2008 (Part 1) on LAMLtv

April 23, 2026October 9, 2008 by Bill Ward

At BrickCon 2008, I shot video of a lot of models on display and interviewed a few people. The result has just been released as an episode of LAMLtv, the new video podcast arm of LAMLradio. This episode features interviews with Simon Kent, design lead at Lego Creator in Denmark, and Jenn “The Brick Chick” Wagner, as well as footage of models on display.

My BrickCon Haul

April 23, 2026October 6, 2008 by Bill Ward

When I flew home I was really worried my suitcase would be overweight. Arriving at the airport, I hauled it up on the scale at the check-in station, and my face fell when it came up at 64 pounds and change. Since most airlines have a 50 pound limit for baggage, I feared I’d have to pay a fee for overweight bags. But happy day, Virgin America’s limit is 70 pounds!

Home from BrickCon

April 23, 2026October 6, 2008 by Bill Ward

I got home late last night after returning from BrickCon and slept in until noon.

BrickCon 2008 so far

April 23, 2026October 4, 2008 by Bill Ward

BrickCon is going very well so far. There are tons of great models on display, many great deals to be had on LEGO, and some amazing news

BrickCon here I come

December 23, 2008September 4, 2008 by Bill Ward

I just bought my plane tickets (on Virgin America, natch) and am looking forward to my second brick convention this year! I’ll be arriving at Seattle airport at 11:35am on Friday 10/3 and leaving Sunday evening.

Home from BrickFair, thinking about BrickCon

April 23, 2026September 1, 2008 by Bill Ward

I made it home safely from BrickFair last night around midnight – another pleasant Virgin America experience. I can’t say enough good about that airline. The employees actually smile! When was the last time you saw that?

BrickFair 2008, Day 3

April 23, 2026August 31, 2008 by Bill Ward

I’m writing this during the closing ceremonies. I have packed all of my models into a box, and have my suitcases beside me. “I’m leavin’ on a jet plane….” The final door prize raffle is going on now.

BrickFair 2008, Day 2

April 23, 2026August 30, 2008 by Bill Ward

Well, the first of two public days is over, and the hotel was absolutely swarmed with people. They raised over $8000 for the SladeChild Foundation charity, which is great news.

BrickFair 2008, Day 1

December 23, 2008August 30, 2008 by Bill Ward

I flew from San Francisco to Washington DC on Virgin America, and I have to say that it’s been the best air travel experience I’ve had in decades. Can’t say enough good things about that airline. Here’s hoping when I go home Sunday I have as good of an experience.

Roommate wanted for Brickfair

April 23, 2026August 19, 2008 by Bill Ward

I just bought my plane ticket to Brickfair in Washington DC.

No NWBrickCon for Me

April 23, 2026September 26, 2006 by Bill Ward

It’s official, I’m not going to Northwest BrickCon. Having just gone to BrickFest a month ago I really can’t justify another trip right now, and besides BayLUG is having a meeting that weekend.