When I think of fall I think of warm sweaters, hot cider, vivid leaves, and Gilmore Girls. The first episode of Gilmore Girls aired October 5, 2000, when I was only 13 years old. From the first episode I saw so much of myself in both bookish Rory and ambitious Lorelai. They were the perfect combination of witty, quirky, and coffee obsessed. I’ve seen every single episode more times than I can count and have even helped John fall in love with the show. I’ve always loved the complex mother daughter-dynamics that are explored in the show as well as the female-led cast. I’ve learned countless lessons from the Gilmore Girls and grew up watching them navigate their way through adolescence and motherhood.
Early rumors of the Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix had me doing cartwheels and I was even more excited when I realized that I will actually be watching it in Connecticut. When I found out about Luke’s Diner’s popping up all over America, I was in line to buy some supplies for Hurricane Matthew. John and I had just moved and I hadn’t been on the internet as often as I usually am so I missed the memo that Netflix had decided to celebrate the anniversary of the pilot with fans. Upon realizing that there was a location close to me at Holy Grain Coffee, I quickly checked out, jumped in my car, and headed to Luke’s.
The line at Luke’s was long but everyone in it was as friendly as your regular Stars Hollow resident. I’m usually a bit shy about meeting a lot of people at once but the excitement of the event coupled with other Gilmore Girls obsessed people led to easy conversation, laughs, and a line that felt faster than it was.
The coffee shop was set up with cute little Gilmore Girls signs and free Luke’s cups with a secret snapchat filter were given out with free coffee to the first 500 people in line. My favorite detail though, was the staff dressed in plaid shirts, Luke’s aprons, and backwards baseball caps that said Luke’s. I also loved the Gilmore Girls themed soundtrack playing through the speakers.
I can only hope that Netflix continues to do awesome events like this for fans in the future and that I can find my own version of Luke’s Diner one day.
