A picky eater with lots of allergies and her husband visit the South End Market

Addictions

I’m going to share a secret. Can I trust you? Are you sure? Ok. Here goes. I have an addiction. I’m not a gambler, but my vice is expensive. I can’t believe I’m admitting this. I feel like such a child. Why, you ask? Because my addiction is Lego. No, not Legos. Any true Lego addict knows that the plural of Lego is Lego. Anyway, it’s true. I know there are worse things I could be addicted to, but this addiction is pricey. I like the big sets. The ones with over 1000 pieces. The ones with motion. The ones that take days to put together. Although, they should probably take weeks to assemble, but once I start, I can’t stop. The pieces sorted, the directions splayed open on the floor. I can see your eyes roll. I know. I’m a grown adult. And also, shouldn’t I be designing my own masterpiece instead of relying on prefabbed sets? Probably. I do have several bins of loose Lego in the attic. And, in fact, I am currently devising a plan to submit to the Lego Ideas division 😉

Enabler

Dan loves Lego as much as I do, but he has restraint. But actually, maybe he doesn’t. Afterall, he’s the one who buys me the ginormous Lego sets. And obviously I am always appreciative. Recently, I read about a Brick Convention, I flipped out, and Dan ordered tickets. There were going to be vendors for sure, but also Lego Masters. Like from the TV show! In addition, there were going to be Lego artists, and massive displays, and trains, and cities, and a build zone, and photo ops, and a Bricker Builds Experience. I was stoked! I gushed about it for weeks. Right up to the moment we entered the convention center.

Disillusionment

Disappointment is not a strong enough word. We stood in line for ten minutes waiting for the doors to open and were back in our car twenty minutes after that. Sadness. Expectations shattered. Barely a quarter of the massive hall contained anything Lego related. We strode past all the vendors selling used sets at a 50% markup. Continued on past displays of minifigs, then wandered in the second and last row of booths. We did in fact meet a “Lego Master”. Even though he had never appeared on the show, the Brick Convention folks considered him a master. His displays were pretty amazing, but I wanted photo ops with the show’s stars. Speaking of photo ops, there were two options: a large banner decorated with minifigs or a monster size blow-up Lego man. There were other Lego designers there showing off their models, but they didn’t work for Lego. I did see a large table with maybe three or four handfuls of random Lego pieces, but I would never consider this a Build Zone. For us the event lasted twenty minutes. And it only lasted that long because of the huge crowd of people. Next time, I’ll simply go to the Lego store which is free and much more fun.

A Gamble

Before our Lego experience, we enjoyed a quick lunch at the casino across the street. My expectations were very low for the South End Market housed inside the MGM Casino in Springfield, Massachusetts. However, Dan and I were pleasantly surprised to find a large variety of cuisine – Chinese, Mexican, seafood, a diner. This meant we could choose from any restaurant we liked and meet at a booth with our trays. Dan eyed Jack’s Lobster Shack and I beelined to Bill’s Diner. We reconvined at a booth in the middle of the warehouse style dining area with concrete floors and steel beams. We clinked our plastic drink cups and hoped for the best, and, all things considered, I am happy to say this food court was definitely worth the gamble.

Click the meal to read all about it

Dan – Lobster Roll Platter & New England
Clam Chowder

Lis – Cheeseburger Deluxe

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