Everhart Museum, Scranton

If you need to take a break from the summer heat and enjoy some peace and quiet, the Everheart Museum can provide that along with some aesthetically pleasing works of art and taxidermy. I arrived at 2 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, taking refuge from stormy weather. Being a veteran, I was granted free access, otherwise it would have been $5 per person. On the main floor was a display of a couple hundred various birds from all over the world, from ostriches to eagles to hawks to penguins! All were beautifully rendered taxidermically. Also featured was the exhibit "Bold Independence" featuring quilts from the second half of the 20th century made by 11 African American women from Mississippi and Alabama. A bit of local history is told through the paintings by John Willard Raught, who painted vivid pictures of the coalbreakers throughout northeastern Pennsylvania. Other exhibits featured "Meaningful Objects," a statue of Venus, and much, much more. Everheart museum is near Nay Aug park and is a must for those who just want to escape from the outside world for a few hours.

Beautiful Historic Landmark and love the squirrels!