Jim: Dwight, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Dwight: I can travel anywhere, except Cuba, and I will travel to New Zealand and walk the Lord of the Rings trail to Mordor and I will hike Mount Doom.
Even though Dwight may dream of traveling down under to bond with his Hobbit friends, there are plenty of sights to see right in his own backyard. In honor of The Office being back, I thought I'd do a round-up of the must-see (cough, cough) sights of the greater Scranton area.
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Here they are in no particular order:
1) Archbald Pothole State Park
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Whether they take Michael's Sebring, Andy's luxurious-yet-rugged Xterra, or Dwight's '87 Trans Am, The Office staff is just 20 minutes down the road from this state park. The main attraction is...a pothole (the natural kind), which is 38 feet deep and elliptical in shape!
2) Lackawanna Coal Mine
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Located right in Scranton, this mine was first opened in 1860. The website describes the tour best: "Accompany a miner in the winding underground gangways and rock tunnel past three different veins of hard coal, past the mule boy and the nipper, past the monkey vein and the dead chute." Mule boy anyone?
3) Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum
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First made famous by hip-hop training video "Lazy Scranton," the Anthracite Museum has become a household name for many Americans. And why not? With its Iron Furnaces and Miners' Village, it has been educating and entertaining visitors for years.
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You don't need to spring for an exotic vacation to Peru to have a close encounter of the alpaca kind. Just 40 minutes from Scranton, you can tour this family-run alpaca farm and meet lovable fellows like Bingo, Ashton, and Chesapeake.
5) Sno Mountain, aka Montage Mountain
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Also mentioned in "Lazy Scranton," this ski resort was recently renamed Sno Mountain and is just 20 minutes from downtown. The main lodge is currently being renovated and will soon be named Moose Lodge. And don't worry. The website notes that "the appropriate moose will be displayed depending on the season."
6) The Electric City Trolley Museum
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If you're heading to this neck of the woods, don't even think about missing the "premier electric railway museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania." You can even take a ride on a historic trolley car. (Okay, that part looks really cool.)
7) Houdini Tour & Magic Show
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Did you know that Harry Houdini hails from Scranton? Yeah, he doesn't actually. And yet, Scranton boasts the world's only building devoted to Houdini! Still dubious? Well, you might be interested in this tidbit from the website: "The New York Times, the most critical paper in the world, called their events 'high quality entertainment.' " Have an ax to grind Houdini Tour?
8) Miniature Memories
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Feeling overwhelmed by the bright lights and big-city environment of Scranton? Then take it down a notch...then another notch...and another. Zip over to nearby Dunmore and visit Miniature Memories, a tiny version of Lackawanna County. (Seriously, it's pretty amazing.)
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This sometimes bed-and-breakfast and fulltime house of horrors is both Dwight's home and "the #1 beet-related agro-tourism destination in northeastern Pennsylvania." Guests can enjoy a rigorous regimen of outdoor exercise (farm chores), German language lessons with the staff (Mose), and a nutritious beet-intensive menu. Closed-toe shoes are recommended.
10) The Office Tour
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Don't miss your chance to eat lunch at Cooper's and sip suds at Poor Richard's. Heck, you'll even get to see Lake Scranton. Watch out Lost tours of Kauai! The Office Tour of Scranton is coming for you!
