Try Scranton, Pennsylvania for a Weekend Break

If you are fan of The Office, that may be reason enough to go for a visit to the site of this popular TV show. The Scranton Electric Company sign shines brightly welcoming you to town, the Lackawanna Train Station building sits majestically as if ready for passengers and other show landmarks pop out as you drive through the city streets. Historic Scranton, PA makes a great weekend destination not just because of the TV show, but because it is less than a 2 1/2 hr drive from NYC and has activities for everyone in your family.

Highlight activities to go to in Scranton, PA:

1. Houdini Museum- http://houdini.org/

2. Steam town USA- http://www.nps.gov/stea/

3. Electric city Trolley museum- http://www.ectma.org/museum.html

4. Everhart museum- http://www.everhart-museum.org

The master magician Harry Houdini died in 1926, but his legacy lives on at the Houdini Museum. The museum is filled with memorabilia from Harry Houdini's past and contains props used during his greatest escapes. After a historical tour and a short video about Harry Houdini's life, Dorothy Dietrich and Dave "Bravo" provide an hour long live performance complete with a straight jacket escape, dove appearances, dog participation and card tricks to entertain the audience. The museum is only open 1-4 pm and admission is $14.95 for both the tour and performance. Reservations are required and must be made by phone

Steamtown USA is now a National Park devoted to the preservation of train locomotion and the lives of those who contributed to the development of interstate transportation across our country. Hour long tours are given twice a day and explain how trains were built and maintained allowing visitors to see the inside workings of trains now past their prime. An hour long train ride can be purchased if desired but time might be better spent visiting the Trolley museum, a tribute to the electric trolley car which is how Scranton became known as "The Electric City." It is located on the same property as Steamtown across the parking lot.

Everhart Art Museum is the local family friendly museum. A rock and mineral room shines an illuminating UV light highlighting the fluorescent minerals in the stones so they glow. A full size stegosaurus is next to a room filled with local stuffed birds and animals. Upstairs is an African art and tool room with a short video, recorded by a traveler, of authentic African dancers in costume. The upstairs also has a number of paintings that are enjoyable choices to view. The side room holds the traveling exhibit which, when I was there, was an exhibit of art in fairy tale stories along with the final printed books to compare. Children activities are held often at the museum and children's art is on exhibit in the basement.

Where to stay:

The Hilton hotel is the nicest and newest hotel in town. Our Jr. suite was upgraded without my request to a regular one bedroom. AAA rates were $134-147 a night in April, before the spring season. The hotel has a modern exercise room, a lap pool and jacuzzi for relaxation. The restaurant on premises is good and another cafe area serves Starbucks coffee and snacks. Our view looked towards where Steamtown is located but the other side of the hotel has a great view of the old Lackawanna train station that has now been transformed into a Ramada hotel.

Across the street from the hotel was a decent bar restaurant called Molly Branigan's that serves reasonably priced meals and down the alley across from the hotel entrance is a hip coffee/jewelry store called "Anthology". It is a great spot for a quick cup of coffee and is also connected to a small art gallery. Dinner inside the Hilton was very good and well priced.

This University of Scranton provides the city with an air of youthfulness and technology as students are frequently servers in restaurants or are found sitting with their laptops in local coffee shops. Numerous cultural events are scheduled in spring and summer that draws a tourist flow and entertains the local residents as well.

For those who feel the need to shop on vacation, Steamtown mall has a decent selection of stores, a food court for a light snack and plenty of souvenirs to buy of "The Office" if you want to take home more than just train memorabilia. A weekend in Scranton will provide your entire family with enough activities to be memorable, educational and generally a lot of fun.