I can truthfully say I believe in the maxim that it’s good to get away every once in a while. The trick is in making me do it.

    Renate and I have just returned from our annual excursion to Europe and South Carolina, where we visit family members. Being frugal (read “cheap”), I had wanted to put off this year’s trip, but ultimately deferred to that immutable force to which I’ve been married for 33 years, who decided otherwise. You’d think I’d have some sort of say in such matters, but then you’ve probably never been married to a German.

    However, I’m more than glad we went. It gave me a chance to see some things I’d not seen before and to perhaps appreciate, just a little bit more, the country we live in.

    While in Germany, I met Smyrna native Col. Braden “Al” Shoupe, an Army physician stationed at Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Center, just a few miles from Ramstein Air Base. Ramstein is the other end of the “air bridge” that connects Dover Air Force Base to Europe and the Middle East.

    LARMC is the first major stop wounded military personnel make on their way back to the United States, and like the fictional 4077th MASH, its motto could be “Finest care, anywhere.” The men and women at LARMC tend to those who have suffered serious, even life-threatening injuries while fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. While I spent only two hours there, it was obvious the dedication of Landstuhl’s medical staff to their patients was nothing short of phenomenal. They are a credit to their professions and we all should be proud of the work they do.

    We also were reminded of the ongoing war by the sight of an Air Force cargo vehicle (a “K-loader”) carrying seven flag-draped cases across Ramstein’s tarmac and to a waiting aircraft. Whether those cases contained the remains of the seven soldiers killed earlier that week in a helicopter crash or were those of others, we knew they soon would be here in Dover, where they would eventually be returned to their families.

    Those of us waiting to board our flight to the U.S. and who saw the K-loader driving past could not help but be affected by the sight.

    We later made a very leisurely trip through Virginia, stopping to spend a full day at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and James Madison’s Montpelier. What surprised me about both homes was that although they are called mansions, they seemed small, not at all the large homes I had expected.

    Jefferson designed Monticello himself and it was in a constant state of construction for years. From the clock that bore only an hour hand (he felt that was sufficient for his purposes) to a device used to copy letters, Jefferson’s genius was apparent from the moment we walked onto the grounds.

    Madison’s home is a different story. While Monticello never underwent any major changes, Montpelier was expanded almost three-fold following Madison’s death, turning it into something the Father of the Constitution would not have recognized. A massive restoration project has demolished all of the later additions, restoring the building to its 1830s condition.

    As Jefferson is generally more well known than Madison, Monticello was an absolute beehive of tourist activity, while Montpelier was almost deserted by comparison. But that should not dissuade anyone from visiting either historic home. Both will provide an idea of what life was like for two of our Founding Fathers and both give a hint of what drove these men in shaping our nation.

    And in the “It’s a small world” department, we were surprised when chatting with a restaurant employee in Appomattox to find she was from Delaware. She was Rebecca Killen of Felton, who attended Lake Forest High School and used to run track there. Although she’s been away for the past six years, Rebecca’s parents still live in Felton.

    Whether you’re in Germany or in the place where the Army of Northern Virginia was surrendered, it goes to show you never know when you’ll run into a fellow Delawarean.

Email Jeff Brown at jeff.brown@doverpost.com.