The Back Mountain Memorial library has an excellent, helpful and friendly staff. They will always…read morego out of their way to assist you. If you want a book or other item that the library doesn't have, they can obtain it from another library in the Luzerne County Library System or make a request through an inter-library loan. The library is comfortable and feels like home. If you don't have the money to buy books, this is the place to go. With a library card, they are free to borrow for one, two or three weeks, depending on the age and other people's requests for a particular book. I have been using the library for all of my life, and if you don't have the money, you can really describe it as the People's University.

Great library with nice librarians/staff! Came here to use the wifi and I didn't need a library…read morecard/membership, just picked up the password by asking the front desk. Plenty of seating and good bathrooms.

This is a hidden gem in Pocono Pines. The library serves Tobyhanna and Tunkhannock Townships, and…read moreyou can use their resources and borrow anything if you are a resident of anywhere in Monroe County. They offer so many free programs like Music on the Patio, adult tap, yoga, watercolor classes, programs about health and about the history of the area. So many programs, and all free. The exterior of the library is delightful with a Story Walk, a patio and picnic tables with umbrellas to enjoy. Come and visit!

This is the library closest to my mother's house, and I've visited it often through the years…read more Somewhere in their archives they have me listed as a library card holder, though it's been a long time since I checked out a book here on my own account. My mother visits the library once a month and checks out any new audiobooks they might have. Thanks to her and a few other book-on-cd true believers, this small library has a sizable collection. I enjoy going with her to help her find books she might have missed, and to check out the community bulletin boards and Friends of the Library book sale shelves. This library is staffed largely with volunteers. They are generally happy to pause for a moment to help you find what you need, or to help you figure out any issues with your account. I've also asked them for help with local knowledge, and I'm guessing they are a wonderful resource for the families that vacation in the area. The library has a decent selection of children and adult books, as well as movies, audiobooks, and a bank of computers for Internet access. They also have an agreement with the Overdrive system, which gives you the ability to download ebooks directly to your digital device. The best part of a digital loan is that there are no late fees. When your loan period is over the book simply disappears. It's a great system! And all of this is housed in a modern, inviting building. Go visit your local library, and happy reading!

We found the Scranton Iron Furnaces by chance as we were driving by to go to another location and…read moredecided to pull in. I'm so glad we did because the stop was educational and unique, even if it was really really cold on the particular day we chose to visit. The original reviewer, actually the only other reviewer at the time of me posting this, gave so much information and history about this location that I will try and keep it quick. There definitely is a lot to read and a lot to learn here. The furnaces are huge, not like anything I expected, and reading the plaques makes you think about how intense it must have been here back when this place was active. Is really interesting. It's also a large open space so it was dog friendly and our dog liked walking around and sniffing the paths. There was a nice grassy area down at the bottom for her to run around in as well. It was also helpful that we were the only people there, with the exception of a city cop who seemed to be sleeping in his car or hiding from the general public. It was definitely a unique place to visit and these furnaces are worth checking out if you're in Scranton, especially if you're a history buff, but between the open space and the stairs, it's also just a good place to wander and get some steps in.

The Scranton Iron Furnaces, aka the The Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company Furnaces, represent the…read more19th century iron industry in the United States at it's finest. The four massive stone blast furnaces are the remnants of a once extensive plant operated by the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company. Started in 1840 as Scranton, Grant & Company, the firm began as a partnership between William Henry (he had already been experimenting in New Jersey will the concept of using a "hot-blast technique" to make steel), his son-in-law Seldon Scranton, George Scranton and Sanford Grant. Henry with help from the Scrantons and other investors bought 500+ acres of land in what was then called Slocum Hollow along the Roaring Brook and set up shop building their first blast furnace in 1841. Initially the operation hemorrhaged money and had numerous production issues that plagued the company for its first few years almost driving it to bankruptcy on several occasions. Eventually by 1844 more investors were brought in so that capital could be raised for upgrades and to take care of any lingering flaws in their production model. By the summer of 1844 the furnace averaged five to seven tons of pig iron a day, but the company soon went into the more profitable business of producing T-rails for the railroad industry as there were no facilities in America where rails were capable of being produced. Everything at that point had to be ordered and shipped from Europe. In 1851, the town of Slocum's Hollow changed its name to Scranton in honor of the majority owners of the iron works for their success. (Scranton had other names in between like Harrison in honor of Presidential candidate William Henry Harrison and Scrantonia but I'm just focusing on what stuck.) By 1865 the company had the largest iron production capacity in the United States and were the second largest independent steel making operation in America.. After a long and successful run the fortunes of the company began to change due to higher labor costs, multiple strikes, higher shipping costs, changing markets and more efficient steel making processes in Europe all of which caused the company to move the operation to the Buffalo area in at the beginning of the 20th century. (The operation in the Buffalo area lasted all the way thru several mergers until Bethlehem Steel shut it down in the 1980's.) In 1903 the Scranton property was sold to the Wyoming Valley Railroad, which contracted with a Philadelphia company that scrapped all of the equipment, and tore down all the structures except the stone blast furnaces that you still see today. From the Internet: "In the late 1960s the furnaces were acquired by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and were administered under the State park system. The furnaces were transferred to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1971. Today the four connected stone blast furnace stacks are surrounded by 3.84 acres. The furnaces are set into the south side of a hillside with a 10 foot wide bridge, supported by masonry arches connecting them to the rock cliff. The two easternmost furnaces, dated 1848-1849, are built of smooth dressed stone blocks and stand 40 feet high and are 40 feet wide at the base. No. 3 and No. 4 furnaces were constructed c.1852 and c.1857 respectively, and are constructed of rough dressed stone blocks and also stand 40 feet high. Furnace No. 3 is 46 feet wide at the base, and furnace No. 4 is 48 feet wide at the base. All of the furnace stacks still contain vestiges of their firebrick linings. The first, third and fourth stacks contain ruins of their 19th-century hearths." If you go today what you see quite honestly isn't a whole heck of a lot. The entrance to the furnace site has two small brown NPS style signs that lead you up a narrow driveway to the parking area which has space for maybe 15-20 cars. You've got what's left of the four blast furnace stacks, an example of a T-rail along the walkway the leads from the parking lot to the upper viewing platform and an acre or two of grassy park land that sits along Roaring Brook. Worth mentioning is that there are plenty of displays at the site explaining what you're looking at but if you need more your best bet would be to head over to the Anthracite Heritage Museum which is about four miles away over in McDade Park on the other side of town. If you go: The site itself is free and open to the public daily from sunrise until sunset. There are no amenities on site although you are very close to all the fun (LOL!) that downtown Scranton has to offer including the foamtastic fun over at Steamtown. There are a few special events that occur on the grounds annually. Most notably would be the Scranton Bonfire Festival which happens every year in October.

Tobyhanna Army Depot is the largest, full-service electronics maintenance facility in the…read moreDepartment of Defense (DoD). The depot's mission is total sustainment, including design, manufacture, repair and overhaul of hundreds of electronic systems. TYAD is DoD's recognized leader in the areas of automated test equipment, systems integration, and downsizing of electronics systems. The Army has designated Tobyhanna as its Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for communications involving electronics, radar, and missile guidance and control. The Air Force has designated Tobyhanna as its Technical Source of Repair for command, control, communications and intelligence systems.

Best kept Army secret. Wanted to take a trip out to PA and didn't want to drive back so I stayed at…read morethe Tobyhanna Depot. It was a delight to have such a spacious one bedroom apartment style lodging and the cost was around $70. Where can you get such a deal these days? It was quiet and the post itself is very beautiful. Pocono mountains and Casino are not too far away and Hersey park isn't too far of a drive either. Definitely worth staying here.

Stellar services for the community! We had weekend access through staying at the Mountaintop Lodge…read moreand I was very impressed with the facilities- huge lists of events and activities, crafts rooms, great changing rooms and large pool with kids and adults areas. Outdoors with pavilions and play areas, and a very nice walking path with a few fun surprises if you're paying attention. Parking was easy, entry was fine, this was an excellent vacation spot to enjoy without the lines or crazy water park madness. Indoors or out, this is a gem of a spot!

We have been members for the past 5 years -- it's a great community for families with kids. Tennis…read moreis top notch.

The Berwick Historical Society is located on the property of The Jackson Mansion…read more I took a tour of the Mansion with my family. The price is inexpensive for a tour. If you enjoy the Victorian style-themed era, this house will be enjoyable to tour. For locals, it will give you a glimpse back into that time in Berwick which is neat to hear about our local history. Check out their website for special events such as Christmas time. I hear it is beautifully decorated at Christmas time.

We just returned home from a wounderful tour of this beautiful mansion. I planned a trip to visit…read morethis house, which was over an hour from our house, for our 2 year wedding anniversary and it was better than we even thought it would be. This historic house is set up with a lot of Victorian era items and our tour guide Jen was knowledgeable and very friendly. Thank you for a wonderful day.

Blakeslee is a very welcoming town. A local even shared that their population has grown over the…read moreyears to a whopping, more than 73% since the early 1990s! Currently, Blakeslee's population is about 4,800. There is a mall plaza, including a huge grocery store called Ahart's Market. They sell most of the things you'd find in your local supermarket including organic fruits. There is Wawa (it's an upscale 7 Eleven) open 24 hours. There are also several good comfort food places to eat in Blakeslee. One that comes to mind that I ate at was "Chat-N-Chew." Our waiter "kinda" knew I was probably from California especially when I asked, "Could I have a side of fresh fruit instead of English muffin?" Hahahah... He responded and said, "There is no healthy eats here, just fats and gritz!" I just love him!! Here's the best part though.... Blakeslee is not far from Lake Harmony where you will enjoy cycling, hiking, fishing, nature, and indoor water slides to snow skiing. While UBER was scarce in the area, we did managed to meet "Jess," who drove us to the airport (about a half hour drive to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport). Jess was born and raised here in Blakeslee. She works part time for UBER when she is not helping launch technology startups. BTW, according to Jess, there are AirBNB here so do check them out on your vacation at Blakeslee. Oh in case you might be wondering, "So what brought you to Blakeslee?" Work actually, and I feel fortunate to have had this fantastic time during my short stay. Cheers! .

I finally visited the gigantic cow located along the 309 highway and it was good! :) This is one of…read morethose things you got to do while sitting either visiting or living in Wilkes Barre, PA.

"The cow is of the bovine ilk; one end is moo, the other milk."―Ogden Nash…read more What better way to celebrate my Firstie #600 than with a review about a 51-year-old, 14'x17' 2000lb. brown cow statue? Originally purchased by the Gorman family in 1967 for $5,000 (the price of a Caddy at the time) in order to draw-in visitors to their farm. They held a contest that year to name her and the winner was "Three-O-Nina" (named after the 309 Highway she's situated next to) and they received a brand-new color TV! She is now currently owned, and maintained, by the Krugel family, who owns Krugel's Deli & Beer next door. Nina is one of those fun roadside attractions that one must stop to visit when traveling through Central PA. After all in 2010 she was named in Parade Magazine's top roadside attraction in PA! I particularly enjoy silly things like this―as it always puts me in good mooood. Sorry. I had to go there... ;-p