So I don't know when the idea started or why, but my friends Heather and Erin and I are all HUGE "Gilmore Girls" fans. Heather was living in Connecticut, and not long ago I was idly Googling what towns "Stars Hollow" was based upon (knowing it was fictional and shot on built sets and backlots, for the most part). There was a good amount of information I found, and one day we gals decided that Erin and I should go up to CT for a visit and drive around some of the small towns, getting a "Gilmore Girls" experience. The date was set for October of 2015.
Simply by Googling "Gilmore Girls experience" or "Gilmore Girls Road Trip" brought up a few suggestions. In fact, one of the blogs I stumbled upon was titled "How to Create the Perfect 'Gilmore Girls' Road Trip", by Ally-Jane Grossan and Molly Oswaks. This was my main point of reference for planning our trip, although I also picked up a few more tidbits from an entry on Trip Advisor.
So here is a breakdown of what we did and where we went. And I can't stress this part enough - so much of the fun things we found weren't planned. One of the delights of driving around CT is the state itself and the towns are not large, so you can cover a lot of ground in a day. We had a general plan, with a few "definites", but we were open to stopping in here and there where we saw something interesting or charming that intrigued us. Also, going in the Fall is, in my humble opinion, the way to go, as you get the added delight of seeing New England in its amazing Fall Color glory.
We started out with breakfast at Dottie's Diner in Waterbury, CT. This wasn't the original diner we had planned on hitting (as a tribute to Luke's Diner), but Heather had known of this place and thought it would be perfect.
And as it turns out, look what was RIGHT next door to "Dottie's Diner" -
I mean, it's PRACTICALLY "Al's Pancake World", and if THAT isn't a sign, I don't know what it!!
Dottie's was awesome. Bigger than Luke's but still smallish and small-town. We sat at the counter and the waitresses were all very "homey" and fun. Food was delicious. Dottie's is known for their homemade donuts and do NOT pass them up! Sooooo good and better than anything you'd get at a conventional donut place. We also couldn't resist buying Dottie's mugs as souvenirs (and a few donuts to take with us in the car for the rest of the road trip).
Okay, with full bellies we headed back out. Our next "planned" destination was the Mayflower Grace Inn in Washington Depot, CT. Amy Sherman Palladino (the creator of GG) had stayed there and says it was the inspiration for the Independence Inn and "Gilmore Girls" in general.
But so much of the fun was in the journey, not the destination, and we definitely had some great times along the way.
We saw amazing foliage and small-town scenery, and stopped in at a Barn Sale and some tiny little antique stores along the way, just to check it all out.
Lots and lots of fun, but then we finally arrived - the Mayflower Grace Inn. It was GORGEOUS and set way back from the road and surrounded by stunning fall foliage. (We looked into staying overnight there but rooms start at $500 so yeah, it was out of our range). As soon as we pulled up, the doorman came over to the car and he was incredibly nice. In fact, every single person we met who worked there was OVERLY nice. He asked if we were there for lunch (which would have been a good idea had we not been stuffed still from breakfast at Dottie's) and I said we weren't but could we just take a look around. He didn't hesitate to say "of course!" I get the feeling they get more than a few "GG" fans come by to "take a look around."
Inside was just as wonderful as outside. Elegant but also very cozy and not ostentatious. My absolute favorite room was the library...I could have sat there in front of the fire for hours.
Also loved that every room had a fireplace and they were all lit, making it warm and wonderful.
The restaurant was nice, and I loved the little "tap room"/bar area...wouldn't have minded sitting at the bar having a few cocktails, had it been a little later in the day. Walked through the tap room onto the gigantic and gorgeous sun porch. Could imagine sitting out there for hours too!
Enjoyed looking at the gorgeous grounds outside, including the "Shakespeare Garden."
Just loved everything about it. Definitely wouldn't mind going back for a weekend with my husband at some point if we could swing it financially!
It was hard to leave that beautiful place but we had more things to see so we finally tore ourselves away and drove into what I guess would be "downtown" Washington Depot. Very charming and small-town. We stopped at a little coffee place called "Marty's" and spent some time in a lovely little bookstore as well (we felt Rory would have wanted us too).
We even spied a giant open "studio" across the street that we dubbed "Miss Patty's" and saw a sign that said "Sushi & Gift Shop"...which seemed like the kind of place "Kirk" might have opened at some point.
Next it was time for our 3rd "planned" stop - the gazebo in New Milford, CT, since the Stars Hollow gazebo was like another character itself in "GG" and the sight of so many wonderful moments, like the Picnic Basket Auction and the catastrophic Knit-a-Thon (which stupid Christopher ruined!).
Let me just say that if you want to do a GG Road Trip - New Milford MUST be on your list! We absolutely fell in love with this little town and it definitely was the most evocative of a Stars Hollow feel out of all the places we stopped in. There was even this "old-timey police car" parked on the street that I just loved; it even had a "fake convict" dummy in the backseat!
It seemed perfectly appropriate to our journey that there was a "Come Stuff the Gazebo" event coming up, as that SO seems like something they'd do in Stars Hollow (with probably comedic results).
We took the above pics on iPhone timer, and then this lovely couple approached us and said they'd been eating ice cream across the street (of course) and had been watching us and offered to take a group shot for us.
Then the couple got into the old-timey police car and pulled away and...the car had a speaker which played the theme from "The Andy Griffith Show" as they drove!!!! (I got a video but was having issues uploading it here, so you'll just have to use your imagination).
I mean...it was just BEYOND perfect and we all screamed like lunatics.
We walked around and took a few more pics of this awesome little town, then finally had to get back in the car and move on. We love you, New Milford!!
So our next "planned stop" was - YALE! But first, there was some more awesomeness along the way. Stopping on the side of the road for some foliage shots -
And stopping in a semi-scary-looking double-wide antique place to look around, where we saw things like this -
Eventually though, we reached the final stop - Yale. I was excited not only because it was Richard's and Rory's alma mater, but also because it was my first time on an Ivy League campus and it was gorgeous and cool and awe-inspiring. We took sooooo many pictures!
We stopped in at "Blue State Coffee" so we could walk around campus as a Gilmore Girl would (with coffee) and of course we had to hit the Yale Bookstore for some souvenir Yale tee shirts!
And so ended our long and most excellent day, and our Gilmore Girls Road Trip. We had SO much fun and, as I said, so much of what we loved were things we just stumbled across along the way, so if you ever do this yourself, leave plenty of time for those unexpected things you may find!
And as it turns out, look what was RIGHT next door to "Dottie's Diner" -
I mean, it's PRACTICALLY "Al's Pancake World", and if THAT isn't a sign, I don't know what it!!
Dottie's was awesome. Bigger than Luke's but still smallish and small-town. We sat at the counter and the waitresses were all very "homey" and fun. Food was delicious. Dottie's is known for their homemade donuts and do NOT pass them up! Sooooo good and better than anything you'd get at a conventional donut place. We also couldn't resist buying Dottie's mugs as souvenirs (and a few donuts to take with us in the car for the rest of the road trip).
Okay, with full bellies we headed back out. Our next "planned" destination was the Mayflower Grace Inn in Washington Depot, CT. Amy Sherman Palladino (the creator of GG) had stayed there and says it was the inspiration for the Independence Inn and "Gilmore Girls" in general.
But so much of the fun was in the journey, not the destination, and we definitely had some great times along the way.
We saw amazing foliage and small-town scenery, and stopped in at a Barn Sale and some tiny little antique stores along the way, just to check it all out.
Lots and lots of fun, but then we finally arrived - the Mayflower Grace Inn. It was GORGEOUS and set way back from the road and surrounded by stunning fall foliage. (We looked into staying overnight there but rooms start at $500 so yeah, it was out of our range). As soon as we pulled up, the doorman came over to the car and he was incredibly nice. In fact, every single person we met who worked there was OVERLY nice. He asked if we were there for lunch (which would have been a good idea had we not been stuffed still from breakfast at Dottie's) and I said we weren't but could we just take a look around. He didn't hesitate to say "of course!" I get the feeling they get more than a few "GG" fans come by to "take a look around."
Inside was just as wonderful as outside. Elegant but also very cozy and not ostentatious. My absolute favorite room was the library...I could have sat there in front of the fire for hours.
Also loved that every room had a fireplace and they were all lit, making it warm and wonderful.
The restaurant was nice, and I loved the little "tap room"/bar area...wouldn't have minded sitting at the bar having a few cocktails, had it been a little later in the day. Walked through the tap room onto the gigantic and gorgeous sun porch. Could imagine sitting out there for hours too!
Enjoyed looking at the gorgeous grounds outside, including the "Shakespeare Garden."
Just loved everything about it. Definitely wouldn't mind going back for a weekend with my husband at some point if we could swing it financially!
It was hard to leave that beautiful place but we had more things to see so we finally tore ourselves away and drove into what I guess would be "downtown" Washington Depot. Very charming and small-town. We stopped at a little coffee place called "Marty's" and spent some time in a lovely little bookstore as well (we felt Rory would have wanted us too).
We even spied a giant open "studio" across the street that we dubbed "Miss Patty's" and saw a sign that said "Sushi & Gift Shop"...which seemed like the kind of place "Kirk" might have opened at some point.
Next it was time for our 3rd "planned" stop - the gazebo in New Milford, CT, since the Stars Hollow gazebo was like another character itself in "GG" and the sight of so many wonderful moments, like the Picnic Basket Auction and the catastrophic Knit-a-Thon (which stupid Christopher ruined!).
Let me just say that if you want to do a GG Road Trip - New Milford MUST be on your list! We absolutely fell in love with this little town and it definitely was the most evocative of a Stars Hollow feel out of all the places we stopped in. There was even this "old-timey police car" parked on the street that I just loved; it even had a "fake convict" dummy in the backseat!
It seemed perfectly appropriate to our journey that there was a "Come Stuff the Gazebo" event coming up, as that SO seems like something they'd do in Stars Hollow (with probably comedic results).
We took the above pics on iPhone timer, and then this lovely couple approached us and said they'd been eating ice cream across the street (of course) and had been watching us and offered to take a group shot for us.
Then the couple got into the old-timey police car and pulled away and...the car had a speaker which played the theme from "The Andy Griffith Show" as they drove!!!! (I got a video but was having issues uploading it here, so you'll just have to use your imagination).
I mean...it was just BEYOND perfect and we all screamed like lunatics.
We walked around and took a few more pics of this awesome little town, then finally had to get back in the car and move on. We love you, New Milford!!
So our next "planned stop" was - YALE! But first, there was some more awesomeness along the way. Stopping on the side of the road for some foliage shots -
And stopping in a semi-scary-looking double-wide antique place to look around, where we saw things like this -
Eventually though, we reached the final stop - Yale. I was excited not only because it was Richard's and Rory's alma mater, but also because it was my first time on an Ivy League campus and it was gorgeous and cool and awe-inspiring. We took sooooo many pictures!
We stopped in at "Blue State Coffee" so we could walk around campus as a Gilmore Girl would (with coffee) and of course we had to hit the Yale Bookstore for some souvenir Yale tee shirts!
And so ended our long and most excellent day, and our Gilmore Girls Road Trip. We had SO much fun and, as I said, so much of what we loved were things we just stumbled across along the way, so if you ever do this yourself, leave plenty of time for those unexpected things you may find!
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