I wish that I had lots money to travel more often and to take lavish world tours regularly; unfortunately, I don't. Therefore, I resign myself to scoping out local interesting places to visit, most often either in my own state (Maryland), or in those that surround it. I just returned from a weekend in Pennsylvania where I was visitng a former student who is at college in Wilkes-Barre, PA. I am fortunate that this student, despite being an electrical engineering major, has a deep appreciation for history, and is quite a source of knowledge to boot! We are both fans of various styles of Victorian architecture and Victoriana, in general, so what better place to visit than Jim Thorpe, PA? First on our agenda was the beautiful Asa Packer mansion. A marvelous example of Italianate architecture, the house is pretty much intact from the days when the Packer family lived there. It's interesting that when people of comparable wealth today build a home, that home tends to be on a large property in a remote area, but Victorian business tycoons built their houses right in town (and in Packer's case, on steep hill) for all to admire. I used to give tours of the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT, in the mid 90s, and I was told that my tours were "legendary," so I know the differences between a good house tour and an average or poor one, and I must say that our tour guide at the Packer mansion was of high caliber. The tour contained a perfect balance between the history and the material culture of the house, and even included the occasional humorous anecdote to keep it fun. When the tour was over, we were walking around the town and stopped to admire the beautiful St. Mark's Episcopal Church when we saw that tours of it were being given. Again, the tour guide was very knowledgeable. What made this tour even more interesting is that the church was the parish of Asa Packer and his family, so it was like another chapter of the story we heard back at the house. If you get to Jim Thorpe, these attractions are not to be missed. http://www.stmarkandjohn.org/