My wife, Jane, tries to get into the big chair at Stonewall Inn. She was successful. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

Have you ever been at a friend’s house and cringed when they brought out the slides of their vacation? This is the same thing, maybe not as good..

My wife and I took a whirlwind trip that included Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe’s home, Greenbank Observatory and other places.

It was a three-day sojourn that started at Stonewall Jackson Resort in Roanoke and ended at The Greenbrier in Lewisburg. I have to clarify the Greenbrier part. We drove into the parking lot at the famed resort to take a picture, then leave, which we were welcome to do. My wife wants to spend a night at The Greenbrier. I don’t know. I don’t travel in the same circles of the rich and famous. I would have been a stranger in a strange land. My wife still wants to go.

Stonewall Jackson Resort was a nice place. It wasn’t cold, but chilly enough to make outside activities uncomfortable. We walked around the lodge adjacent to the lake where a man in a boat was fishing. My wife climbed into the big chair on the grounds. The food in the restaurant was tasty. We both had the buffet and I tried a little of each. I really liked the soup.

The next morning after breakfast, we headed to the Green Bank Observatory in Green Bank where scientists from around the world use the radio telescopes in their research into the secrets of the universe. The tour was most informative as was the presentation by the guide. She said there would be a chance for questions, but that didn’t happen. I wanted to ask two questions. The first was what was the impact on Green Bank, if any, by the space telescopes like the Hubble or Chandra? The other was has the observatory participated in any secret government projects? Like they were going to tell me. If you don’t ask, you don’t know.

On the road entering Virginia. This was perhaps the straightest section of road we traveled over the mountains. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

From Green Bank we departed for Charlottesville, Va., the home of the University of Virginia, where we stayed at the English Inn, our debarkation point for Monticello.

The leg of the journey from Green Bank to Charlottesville was over the mountains and every turn on Route 250 opened a scenic view, and I’m not exaggerating. We must have driven 100 miles to travel 50 miles as the crow flies. Some turns were so sharp, I could have kissed my license plate. Well, that was an exaggeration, but you know what I mean.

We reached Charlottesville and the English Inn, my arms sore from turning left and right more times than I could count. That evening we ate at a pizzeria, the Mellow Mushroom that was recommended by a friend of my wife’s. I had the meats pizza and she had the shitake mushroom. Both were good. Mine was better.

The next morning after breakfast while we were loading luggage into the car a gentleman saw from my front license plate that I was an alumni of West Virginia University, the state’s flagship school of higher learning. Turns out he was from Martinsburg and a graduate of WVU living in Charlottesville. He graduated about 12 years before I did.

After exchanging pleasantries, we left for Monticello where the guides and docents were friendly, informative and helpful, although the bus driver from the welcome area to the Monticello home on top of the mountain didn’t laugh at my joke about a movie on this flight. I didn’t hold that against him. It wasn’t up to my usual standards of joketry.

Here’s a parochial photo of a statue of President James Madison at his home in Virginia. The Highland is near Monticello, President Thomas Jefferson’s home. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

We walked around the grounds a little, enjoying the view, too. I can understand why Jefferson had a home there. If I lived there, I could sit on the porch looking over the hills for hours. The inside tour was informative, but a little pricey. I saw many of the things I learned about in history classes about Jefferson.

From Monticello we left for Highland, the nearby home of President James Monroe. Monroe’s home wasn’t as grand as Monticello, but historic nonetheless. Under Monroe’s tenure we got the Monroe Doctrine, the proclamation that basically said the western world was off limits to European colonization and aggression.

I recognize the contributions these two men made in the formation of our country, but in the back of my mind lingered the fact Jefferson and Monroe owned slaves. How can men so dedicated to the principles of freedom this nation was built upon that they enslaved people? I’ll let the philosophers and historians explain it.

We departed Monroe’s home for our home in Parkersburg, this time Interstate 64 rather than the mountain roads. It was on the way back on I-64 we deviated a short distance and went to The Greenbrier, where the only evidence of me being there is a selfie. My wife asked me to move myself and the car so she could get a clear picture on her phone. A stranger in a strange land.

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This is the front of Monroe’s home, but we had to go in the back door. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

Unless you think this column wasn’t enough of a waste of time, send ideas for “Wastin’ Time with Jess Mancini” to Jess Mancini at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com.

President Thomas Jefferson’s study in Monticello. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

The view from Monticello was most scenic. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

This is where Richard C. DuPont in 1933 launched a sail plane and flew to Frederick, Md., in 4 hours 50 minutes. The flight was 121.6 miles, a record at that time. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

A giant radio telescope at the Greenbank Observatory at Greenbank. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

A device at the Greenbank Observatory in an exhibit room displays a person in the infrared. (Photo by Jess Mancini)