Read no history — nothing but biography, for that is life without theory – Benjamin Disraeli

Tis a pretty interesting thought.

It seems that biography forces writers to deal with topics they would prefer to ignore.  John Adams was full of death and sickness in ways that I would have skirted if I was simply trying to write a compelling tale.

Biographies also always link broader historical themes to concrete events in individual lives.  Much better from my perspective.

I think I’ll start reading more of the genre.

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I never expected there to be so many flowers blooming in the dead of winter but they were there: deep purples, bright pinks and reds, radiant whites.

And so many amazing textures and shapes . . . rough and smooth, spiky and round, patterns of stripes and squares, giant radiating fronds and more.  Trees 60 feet tall (indoors!) or 270 years old.

Pretty much three straight hours of wow.

It’s hard to think of a more impressive display of God’s creation.  Plus it was all surrounded by the amazing Victorian greenhouses.

I could easily spend two days there every season for a year.  What a place.

Wow.

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They say half the adventure is getting there right?

Of course the irony is that we’ve been pre-jetlagging so we can sleep on our 7:30pm flight.  Now we’ll have to be awake for a 11pm flight to enjoy the benefits.  I’m willing to try!