Texan Magazine
By Denise Payne
I’ve travelled to many far away places and I love seeking new cultures and adventures! While it is true that Los Angeles is one of the most famous cities in the United States and offers a sprawling, sunny blend of Hollywood glamour, coastal and cultural experiences, I have to admit that it was never really on my list of places to visit.
But when my youngest daughter Jaimie said she bought us tickets to see the “Gilmore Girls 25th Anniversary Event” in Los Angeles, at Warner Bros. Studios, I said ….sure!
The “Gilmore Girls” was an iconic, popular 2000s comedy-drama series focusing on themes of family, romance and navigating life milestones.
When Jaimie was younger, she was sick for a while and we watched all the episodes of “Gilmore Girls” and became fans. We even went on a backpacking trip to eastern Europe, in between her high school and college time, inspired by a trip the mother and daughter did on the show. It was a great mother daughter bonding trip which included a ton of adventures.
Nineteen years later finds us flying to Los Angeles for yet another mom daughter adventure.
My daughter rented a red convertible, because that’s exactly what you need when you are driving up the Pacific Coast highway. Hugging the coast, it was a beautiful, warm sunny day and the scarf around my neck started waving in the breeze as we drove off.
Malibu was our first stop for lunch. Just ahead of us were orange traffic cones on the road alerting us to the fact that just a couple of minutes before we passed, large boulders fell from the craggy cliffs above. Talk about good timing on our part.
On our left as we drove up Highway 1, majestic waves crashed upon the jagged rocks along the beach creating white spray and foam. A few brave surfers rode white swells into the foaming bubbles along the seashore. Pulling into a parking lot in Malibu, I received my first lesson on how expensive California is, when ordering a sandwich in Malibu Kitchen and Country Market.
After a quick bite we drove back down the Pacific Coast Highway to Bel-Air. We drove our little red convertible along curvy roads through well-manicured posh neighborhoods such as Hollywood and past the Beverly Hills Hotel. Tall, immaculately trimmed palm trees, cactus and gorgeous brightly colored flowers dotted driveways as we explored these super rich neighborhoods. My daughter pulled over and proudly standing up in the hills was the famous “Hollywood” sign. Of course, I jumped out and took a few pictures of the iconic sight. Aimlessly driving around, we saw tall, elaborate locked gates protecting gorgeous homes and we wondered who lived in these secured areas. We decided we would check into our hotel which was right on Hollywood Boulevard. Hotel Ziggy had eclectic art hanging about as you entered the lobby. To our right we passed a metal sculpture of a musician playing a guitar on his knees. It was made from nuts and bolts and various pieces of metal. Colorful guitars hanging on the walls caught my attention as we walked to our room. Throwing our suitcases on our beds we still had energy to explore the Hollywood Walk of Fame which was just a few blocks away. It was exciting looking for our favorite actors and musicians’ stars on the sidewalk. Soon we started crashing and headed to the hotel. We ordered pizza and had dinner in bed. Watching some TV, we caught up on a few Gilmore Girls shows in anticipation of the next day’s festivities.
We had to leave early since our timed tickets were early. Thinking we would be the first in line, this was not the case, though we did get ahead of the mass of crowds. Checking in, we were assigned to a golf cart and driver that drove us around the sets of two of our favorite shows, “The Big Bang Theory” and “Friends.”
After the drive through we went inside to walk around the old sets and were able to take pictures of famous areas such as the couch in the coffee shop in “Friends,” the broken elevator in “The Big Bang Theory” and of course their couch as well.
A special treat was walking around props from the Harry Potter series of movies, checking out the wands, potions and book of spells. Of course, the closet under the stairs where Harry Potter’s bedroom was, thrilled me. Photo opportunities were all over the place and it was great that the studio had people available to take pictures of you on your phone.
As special as that all was, we were here to roam the village of Stars Hollow, the imaginary town in “Gilmore Girls” where Lorelai and Rory Gilmore lived. We also heard that sometimes some of the actors from the show make appearances. Fingers crossed.
It was so strange walking into the actual town of Stars Hollow. Walking over to the center of town we grabbed some pictures of the famous gazebo where many romantic moments happened. Both my daughter and I were overwhelmed and didn’t know where to go first. The decision was made when we saw the Dragon Fly Inn, where the main character, Lorelai, owned and worked. We took advantage of getting some pictures on the idyllic front porch of the inn before it started getting overrun with people. We knew we were coming back later for a luncheon tea which my daughter reserved. Doose’s Market shopping bags were good souvenir purchases and practical as well. Next up was our reservation for tea and coffee at Lukes Place. The famous diner where “Luke,” Lorelai’s friend, who they finally later on got together and started a relationship, owned. Staring through the window while we waited in line, we kept hoping we would see “Luke” played by Scott Patterson. Unfortunately, he did not appear, but our turn came and we had our tea and coffee at the table Luke and Lorelai sat at hundreds of times. This was thrilling for us. My daughter posed against the counter where Luke must have poured thousands of cups of coffee. After we realized we had to continue, Taylors Old Fashioned Soda Shoppe was right next door and we found a table where we could sit and finish our tea. You could see the town was getting crowded as the morning continued. Starting out cool, the day was getting warmer and we stopped to enjoy a margarita in an anniversary Gilmore cup. We strolled around town a bit more, stopping at Lorelai’s mother and father’s place, though it was not what I envisioned it would be. Basically, a room with some of the furniture from their house for picture taking and that was fine too. My daughter Jaimie sat on the steps of Stars Hollow High School for a photo op, and across the street was the Dragon Fly Inn where we stopped before, but now we were having our luncheon tea. Walking into the lobby of the Inn was like walking onto the set.
We checked in and were escorted through “Sookies” kitchen, she was Lorelai’s best friend, chef and co-partner in the Inn.
Seriously, you couldn’t take it all in as you entered the dining area. It was all decorated as it was on the show. Our table had a nice view of the fireplace and the whole room. Our server brought out finger sandwiches of chicken salad, turkey, etc. on a three-tiered serving platter. The top two tiers of the platter revealed desserts where chocolate trickled out of vanilla biscuits, eclairs with sweet creamy fillings and some powered sugar sweets. Our tea was served in a porcelain tea pot with an old-fashioned floral design, this same design encircled our tea cups which were inscribed with the Gilmore Girl logo. And yes, you could buy these tea sets in the gift shop, though we did not. Everything was so perfect, what a wonderful bonding time for us. Jaimie gasped and I looked to see what startled her. Miss Kim, who owned Stars Hollow Antique Shop and was played by Emily Kuroda entered the dining room. She was so cordial walking around the room greeting people and taking pictures. Before I knew it, she was walking over to us. I usually do not get star struck, growing up in New York and having seen actors from time to time, TV shows and movies filmed not far from my house. But here in front of me was Miss Kim. Wrapping her arms around me and giving me a hug was unbelievable. She was so friendly. I believe I had misty eyes, even in the picture she took with me. Gathering my wits, I was able to snap a picture of my daughter with her. Time was fleeting and we had more to see. Our next stop was Lorelai and Rory’s house. Rorys room was open for us to snoop around in, and of course we sat on their couch, their front porch and in the driveway was Lorelai’s jeep. Jeep pictures were a must. Exploring down a pathway I found the fountain where the opening scene from “Friends” was filmed. In the opening scene a couch where the cast of “Friends” sat was placed in front of which later became an iconic fountain. This fountain is also where the actors danced around in the water. The couch was there and so was a long line of people wanting their picture on the couch. We were next in line when all a sudden we heard people yelling, we figured one of the cast members was walking about. I said, “Let’s just wait, we are almost there.” So, after a few pictures on the couch by the “Friends” fountain, we were off and running to see what all the commotion was about. It turns out it was Scott Patterson who played Luke in the show. He was in his coffee shop, and we got some pictures of him just as the lights in the town’s old fashioned lamp posts started flickering on. “Snow” started falling and it was like a magical Charles Dickens Christmas card. Upon closer inspection the “snow” was little pieces of paper they were blowing out of rooftop chutes to give the illusion of snow. But it looked beautiful against the white wooden gazebo surrounded by old-fashioned town lamp posts. It was a perfect ending to a picture-perfect day.
Morning rolled around and we decided we had enough time before heading to the airport to stop by Rodeo Drive to window shop. I’ve never been there and wasn’t sure what to expect. Lavish decorations dotted the street. Memories of a European cobbled stone road flashed before me as we found this posh and quaint area. Of course, high end shops flanked both sides of the street but somehow we found a decent priced place to eat. Fashion first seemed to be the rule of the day with everyone seated around us. We treated ourselves to a mimosa and shared a charcuterie plate. Satisfied with our Rodeo Drive dining experience we started walking back to the car, window shopping along the way. Snapping a few pictures, we found a store my daughter wanted to stop in and look around. The guard at the door asked if we had reservations, which we did not. We said we only wanted to look around but alas we were not allowed to even do that. Back in our car we started driving to the airport already laughing and reminiscing about the fun memories we had just created. We said goodbye at the airport since we were on different airlines. Time flew by as we waited for our flights by texting ideas to each other about our next adventure. They called my flight and I settled into my seat; thankful I had the opportunity to have this time with my daughter.
