Cousin Eddie's RV and Castle Noel
"Merry Christmas! Sh!tter's full!" Bahahahahahaha! (Wipes eyes) That is, quite possibly, the best line ever in any Christmas movie! One random day I wondered, "what ever happened to that RV?". A quick Google search later (is there anything that Google can't find?!) and I learned the final resting place of the original RV, sh!tter and all, from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, is at Castle Noel in Medina, OH. It was perfect! I had already made plans with my sister and cousin to visit The Christmas Story House in Cleveland and Castle Noel is located in Medina, OH, only a 35 minute drive away! What are the chances?! The clouds parted, a light shown down from the heavens and a course of Hallelujah broke out! It was meant to be!
Now, if you live outside of OH, you have probably never heard of Medina but you should because Medina looks like it was featured in a Hallmark movie. The square is surrounded by shops and restaurants/pubs and it has an amazing wine and whiskey bar which I could spend all evening in (when are you opening a b&b there? Hint hint). The buildings are lined with white lights and in the center of the town square stands a beautiful gazebo with the most picturesque Christmas tree you could imagine. When we visited last year, folks were selling Christmas trees in that square so we stopped to chat. We stayed, laughing with our new friends while keeping warm beside a roaring fire for a good half hour. It was a spontaneous and perfect moment in time.
Ok, now back to the museum and R.V.: Castle Noel is the brainchild of fellow Christmas affectioado, Mark Klaus who, if you've ever been plagued with the stomach flu around Christmastime and are up all night with limited cable options, you'll instantly recognize from QVC. The building, which used to be a church, contains an impressive collection of Christmas-related movie memorabilia: costumes from ELF, the sleigh and numerous props from The Grinch, window displays from NYC, retro toys in the , "I had that" display! Oh, I can go on and on but the highlight for me was the RV, parked out back in all its glory! We took turns posing for pictures in front of it wearing white bathrobes, his famous hat and socks while holding a hose attached to the back of the "tenement on wheels". These pictures were used for our Christmas card making us the envy of family and friends that year!
If you do go to Castle Noel, get your cameras ready to capture your kids expressions as the door to the slide room with Santa ("I KNOW HIM!") opens. Also, be sure to make reservations if visiting around the holidays because Castle Noel gets SLAMMED (like bus tour slammed). Once you visit, you'll see why.
Website: http://castlenoel.com
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