Lions, Tigers and Magic… Oh my!

Day One

Take a scenic drive with the kids on I-84 towards Hamlin, PA, the home of Claws and Paws Wild Animal Park.  Spend the day visiting and interacting with 120 different kinds of animals.  Children can hand feed the giraffes just over the fence or walk into the Lory Parrots area and have the birds eat apple chunks out of their hands.  Walk through the petting zoo and dig for fossils in their large Dino Dig area; don’t forget to catch one of the several animal shows throughout the day.    www.clawsnpaws.com

On your way back to Wilkes-Barre consider stopping at Mohegan Sun Casino, not necessarily for the gambling but for Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream.  Yes that’s right, Mohegan Sun is more than a casino with an array of kid-friendly restaurants including Johnny Rockets, Hot Dog Hall of Fame or Wolfgang Puck Express.  You can also choose to eat at the buffet at amazing reasonable rates.   Walk around the Casino and never step foot on the Casino floor with the kids.  End your day by browsing through such stores as Brookstone, Crossing Vineyards Wine and Cheese Shop and MOGO, Mohegan Sun’s own logo gift store. www.mohegansunpocono.com

Day Two

What do Orange, Cream, Grape, Black Cherry and Root Beer have in common? The Lion Brewery where Old Philadelphia and Lion Brewery Soda and Root Beer Brands are produced.  The Lion Brewery is the second largest brewery in Pennsylvania and the 15th largest American owned brewery.  Tours are offered year round on Saturdays and reservations are required by the prior Thursday. Reservations can be made at www.lionbrewery.com and click on “Tours”. This 1905 building still brews both sodas and beer using gravity.  The brew master explains the process which takes place throughout all three stories in this building.  There are no elevators, so be prepared to tour the facility with the comfortable closed toed footwear.   Samples are available at the end of the tour and products can be purchased to take home.  

If there is any time left in your day visit the world’s only building devoted to Houdini and his magic.  This fabulous fun stage magic show takes place in an intimate theatre with noted professional magicians and live animals such as doves, rabbit, duck and poodles. The performers have starred on HBO, Discovery, Biography & Travel Channels, as well as ABC, CBS & NBC.  The historic tour includes an amazing collection of artifacts and the rarest film footage of Houdini doing his tricks in one of Scranton’s oldest buildings.  Performances have been seen on hundreds of national television shows.  The Houdini Museum and magic show is family friendly for all ages.  http://www.houdini.org/

Miners, Trains and Coal

Day One

Eckley Miners Village, a living history site, is dedicated to the lives of the immigrants who toiled in the coal fields.  Tour the museum, company store and a miner’s home.  Special events are scheduled through-out the year including Civil War Re-enactments, Living History Demonstrations, Halloween Lantern Tours and Holiday Programs. Get more details at www.eckleyminers.org.

Not to far away is the Lattimer Massacre Memorial.  In 1897 the deaths of 19 men resulted from those who protested the racially unfair practices of the mining owners and operators.  They protested the unsafe working conditions, low wages and ethnic rivalry that contributed to the uneasy state of affairs in this region.

Enjoy lunch at one Hazleton’s many ethnic restaurants and browse the downtown shops.

Day Two

The Lackawanna Coal Mine takes you on a journey 500 feet below ground.  Start your adventure by riding a coal car down into the tunnel and listen to a miner tell the tales of the winding underground of gangways and rock as you tunnel past three different veins of hard coal, the mule boy and the nipper and the monkey vein and the dead chute. Listen as he explains the fascinating methods used, and the heroic efforts involved, in deep mining’s history.   For more details visit www.lackawannacounty.org/attractions_coal.asp
 
After lunch head out to Steamtown National Historic Site and relive the era of steam as the engines come back to life. Feel the heat from the firebox and the ground vibrate under your feet.  Hear the bell and whistle. Smell the hot steam and oil. See the one ton drive rods turn the wheels. Hear the chuff-chuff-chuff of the smokestack. The cinders, grease, oil, steam, people and stories of railroading have returned. 

Scranton was one of the first cities to have a successful trolley line in 1887.  The history of how this mode of transportation changed the dynamics of eastern Pennsylvania can be experienced at the Electric City Trolley Museum on the grounds of Steamtown National Historic Site.

View Steamtown information at www.nps.gov/stea/index.htm; view The Trolley Museum at www.ectma.org/museum.html.

Paddles and Bikes

Day One

Families with children of all ages will enjoy a day on the Lehigh River, a classic class II, III River that gives everyone a thrill.  Choose a dam release date and do some whitewater rafting with Whitewater Challengers.   A full day of getting wet, riding the rapids and sometimes swimming guarantees to keep everyone entertained and exhausted by the end of the day.   River trips are typically seven to nine miles long with a stop for lunch and action photographs of your day.  Try your hand at the zipline at the end of day.  Climb 30 feet, strap in and zip yourself to the other end.   Your kids will love to see mom and dad “high flying”. www.whitewaterchallengers.com 

Day Two

Head back to White Haven and rent bikes to ride the Lehigh Gorge.  Twenty three miles of Rails to Trails will get you from the White Haven to Jim Thorpe.  For a shorter trip there are several points where you can begin your adventure: Tannery, Rockport and Glen Onoko.  Pack a picnic lunch and stop anywhere along the trail and relax on the river bank. You may want to bring a fishing pole, take in the views or watch the kayakers and rafters paddle down river.  This is a great area for lots of picture taking. 

Horses, Farms & Amusement Parks

Day One

Farms and farm animals are always a hit with children.  The Lands at Hillside Farms is not just a working dairy farm but it is an educational venue of how farms are feeding America.  Visit pastures and fields alive with crops and livestock; where cows produce milk without the use of hormones and crops are grown without the use of pesticides.  Feed carrots to the Clydesdales, see goats and sheep and have some of the best homemade ice cream.  Other farm fresh goodies are available at the Café and the Dairy Store.www.thelandsathillsidefarms.org  While in the area head over to Braces Stables, saddle up on a horse and trot through the woods with the family. www.bracesstables.com

Day Two

For some food, fun and fantasy head out to Knoebels Amusement Park, the largest free admission park.  Take your bathing suit for some swimming in their Crystal Pool, water slides and diving boards.  Dry off on one of the several roller coasters, kiddie rides or their famous Haunted Mansion known far and wide as one of the best traditional haunted rides anywhere.
www.knoebels.com/

Day Trips

Hiking and Riding

Luzerne County’s premier state park, Ricketts Glen, is home to the challenging Falls Trail named “Best Hike in PA” as part of the magazine’s 2009 Reader Choice Awards.

Ricketts Glen is one of the most scenic areas in Pennsylvania and is comprised of 13,050 acres which it shares between Luzerne, Sullivan and Columbia counties.  The Falls Trail is located in the Glens Natural Area comprised of 21 free flowing waterfalls ranging from just over 11 feet to its highest resident waterfall of 94 feet; Ganoga Falls.  Falls Trail is 7.2 miles long when doing both the upper and lower sections and is rated as difficult.  An easier and shorter route of 3.2 miles is available and allows you to view most of the waterfalls including Ganoga Falls. This trails runs directly alongside the waterfalls, so picture taking is plentiful and the vistas are spectacular.  Well worth the effort. Good hiking shoes are strongly recommended.

This area is also the meeting ground of the southern and northern hardwood types, creating an extensive variety of trees. Many of the magnificent trees in this area are over 500 years old and ring counts on fallen trees have revealed ages as high as 900 years. www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateParks

Braces Stables, only five minutes from Ricketts Glen Park offers guided individual or group rides, buggy and sleigh rides and pony rides. Choose from a beautiful four mile ride to Fishing Creek and back, shaded by trees on the trail (lasts over an hour) or an exciting six mile ride to Sullivan Falls.  This popular scenic ride is available only once a day at 9:00am.  This ride takes about two hours.  Four or more people are required.   www.bracesstables.com

Planet Walk and the Spaceship

PPL Riverlands Recreation Area located along Route 11 in Berwick, PA, offers 400 acres recreation space that includes hiking trails, Fishing in Lake Took A While, an imaginarily interplanetary journey through the solar system on “Planet Walk” and the Susquehanna Energy Visitors Center which features interactive displays, hands-on exhibits and educational programs about nuclear energy. www.pplweb.com/susquehanna+riverlands/things+to+do/overview.htm

Down the road from the Riverlands is the Children’s Museum in Bloomsburg.  A museum dedicated to educate children on science, nature, space, food, history with interactive displays and hands on projects.  The Children’s museum has traveling exhibits so there is something new each time you visit. Children can sit in a giant birds nest, take an imaginary ride in a spaceship dressed as an astronaut, narrate their own weather broadcast on live TV and crawl underground in simulated animal habitats.  www.the-childrens-museum.org