Ventnor = Stars Hollow (No, really.)

A whimsical mother/daughter journey in search of a real-life equivalent to the small town in Connecticut from the beloved TV show, Gilmore Girls. Though Stars Hollow only exists in the show, we are dedicated to creating our own Gilmore-esque adventure!

     I've been busy procrastinating recovering, so here's a post recapping the trip... three days later. We got home on the 19th, and since returning to my sofa crease, I realized something. Stars Hollow is everywhere. Everyone has their own version of it. Mine, for example, is Ventnor. It's a small(ish) town where everyone seems to know one another. To be honest, we probably have most of the same places that Stars Hollow does. You name it, we (might) have it! For example, we have the obvious things. Like a supermarket (quite different from Doose's. No cute stock boys named Dean), a library, bakeries (like Weston's), and even dance studios (like Miss Patty's). But of course, we have our own Luke's Diner too. Except its called Hannah G's. The owner, Kevin, is just like Luke. It's kind of uncanny. Although, "Kevin's," as we call it, has WiFi and allows man buns, unlike Luke's.

To be fair, getting some of Luke's delicious pancakes will be quite difficult if you're texting while ordering.

Here's our Luke, irl (right). Let's pretend he's trying to convince Taylor Doose to not build the Ice Cream Parlor next door.

    Since watching GG, I have always wanted a best friend like Lane. Rory and Lane are inseparable, and I totally envied their relationship. Until I realized I have my own Lane. But I call her Jessica. The night we got home, I was pretty upset about something and I texted Jess. She lives in Brigantine, but for some reason, she was already in Ventnor. She was at my house in a matter of seconds so we could talk. Something Lane would do if Rory needed her. Or vice versa. We sat on my porch for awhile, and after she cheered me up a little, we got in her car and drove around. It was close to 10:00 on a Wednesday night, but that didn't stop us from blasting music and driving around Ventnor practically looking for trouble. The next day, we went to the mall and then to Books a Million (I shamelessly spent $16 on a Rory figurine and four GG buttons). When Jess and I hang out, its usually for at least 48-72 hours at a time. Since we see so much of each other, I totally feel like Rory and Lane since they (obviously) saw each other every day. Having Jessica as my best friend is another thing that makes me feel like my life is like a (slightly less interesting) version of Gilmore Girls.

Here's a greasy pic of Jess and I after we played Haunted Mini Golf on the Ocean City Boardwalk at like, 12 am.

Annndddd here's a picture of the most iconic duo in television history.

     Ventnor is my Stars Hollow, Jessica is my Lane, Mom is my Lorelai, and someday I'll find my own version of Dean, Jess, or Logan. But I'm sure that'll take some time. It took Rory quite awhile to find her boys!! For example: (To shorten these next few sentences, I'm going to start speaking Internet Teenager. Bear with me.)
     All of these ships canonically exist in the Gilmore Girls universe. Which means they were written into the original script, and not created by the fandom. The ship names, though, were created by the fans to make the couples easier to post about. Anyway, Narco (D&R) weren't a thing until the ninth episode of the first season, Literati (J&R) got together in the eighth episode of the third season, and Rogan (L&R) didn't technically get together until the 19th episode of the fifth season.

Jess, Logan, and Dean then...

Dean, Jess, and Logan in the revival!!

     Can we just take a moment to appreciate how gorgeous these guys are? And I thought they couldn't get any prettier!! Jared Padelecki played Rory's first boyfriend, Dean, so by default he's the best. Milo Ventimiglia will always be the favorite as Jess, and Matt Czuchry has a spot in everyone's hearts as Logan. Though I love them all, Jess will always be my number one. Actually, its a slight tie between Jess and Logan... Okay this is turning into a "Which of Rory's Boys Do I Love the Most?" blog. Anyway, moving on!

    In summation, I'm well aware that I can't be Rory. But I can be better than that. I can be Ellie. I can create my own Rory-esque adventure in my own Gilmore-esque town. And of course, in true Rory fashion, I'll probably keep documenting my "journey" on this blog. College starts in about two months, so I'm sure I'll be back on here comparing Rory's college experience to mine. To be fair, she went to Yale. I'm going to community college. But that doesn't mean I can't succeed in my future endeavors as well as she did. I don't want to become Rory, I want to be like her. At the end of all of this, I don't want to realize that I followed in a TV character's footsteps. I'm paving my own path. Since I want to be a writer, this blog is a good place to start. Hopefully as time goes on, I can figure out how to write a post without rambling on about random stuff! (And maybe I can learn how to write like a proper adult, and try to remember that I can't attempt to use emojis after every sentence.)

From Mystic to New Milford and Beyond

    A whimsical mother/daughter journey in search of a real-life equivalent to the small town in Connecticut from the beloved TV show, Gilmore Girls. Though Stars Hollow only exists in the show, we are dedicated to creating our own Gilmore-esque adventure!


 We officially arrived in Mystic, Connecticut yesterday evening. After briefly settling in at our hotel, we drove to the first "official" stop of our trip: Mystic Seaport! We found Mystic Pizza, and unfortunately, we didn't get any pizza. We did sit outside and stare at the building. Close enough, right?
     Today was the start of the real adventures. Our first stop was to Washington Depot, one of the inspirations for Gilmore Girls. A nice woman who noticed my Luke's Diner t-shirt gave me a list of places for my mom, aunt, and I to visit that were almost like the businesses in Stars Hollow. And since I'm such a mediocre great blogger, I'm going to write the list below!

Marty's Cafe and Cafe on the Green- Two cafes that could easily have been the inspiration for Luke's Diner. Marty's has the social atmosphere like Luke's, and Cafe on the Green has the matching aesthetic.

The Gunnery School- A local private school. Just like Rory's high school, Chilton.

Mayflower Grace Inn- The Dragonfly Inn and the Independence Inn were based off of this beautiful hotel. Amy Sherman-Palladino (the creator of Gilmore Girls) was rumored to have stayed here while writing the show!!

The Pantry- This small restaurant is supposed to be just like Weston's Bakery in Stars Hollow. Rory and Lorelai go there when they're mad at Luke.

The Washington Food Market- Doose's Market!! We stopped in to see if Dean was working. Spoiler alert: He wasn't. Don't worry, I didn't steal any cornstarch on my way out like Rory.

The Hickory Stick Bookshop- This place is just like the Stars Hollow Bookstore, except there's a lot more to look at.

Newbury Place- This store had Gilmore Girls merch, so of course we stopped in. (You can check my Instagram for pictures later :) #shamelessplug)

The Gazebo- Washington Depot doesn't have a gazebo, so we drove to New Milford to see the one there! (Again, Instagram will have pictures at some point lol #alwaysplug)

     After we took a few pictures in the gazebo, we drove through a few other small towns that could've been part of the inspiration for Stars Hollow. Stars Hollow doesn't exist, but I still felt like I was there. We ended our night with a swim in the pool and then a trip back to Mystic Seaport to get some ice cream. And now we're here! Mom and I are sitting next to each other typing away on our MacBooks. Let's hope our entries don't end up sounding the same. We leave Mystic tomorrow, but can't seem to decide where we want to go next. Hopefully we decide before checkout! Check back tomorrow for more updates! (She says in hopes of having actual readers)

Adventure begins... in like 8 hours.

    A whimsical mother/daughter journey in search of a real-life equivalent to the small town in Connecticut from the beloved TV show, Gilmore Girls. Though Stars Hollow only exists in the show, we are dedicated to creating our own Gilmore-esque adventure!

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  First post, yay!! Welcome to the blog (if anyone's reading)!! It's currently 3:00 in the morning, and I can barely contain my excitement. I'm sure you're thinking, "Ellie, why would you be so excited to drive 3 hours away to some random towns in Connecticut?" I'M GLAD YOU ASKED, IMAGINARY OTHER HALF OF THIS CONVERSATION! Gilmore Girls has helped me get through some stressful things in the past year. Things like becoming a high school senior, mourning my breakup with a guy who I thought was the love of my life, turning 18, and then eventually graduating high school. Thinking about (and possibly rewatching) Rory's journey to Yale can probably really help me when September rolls around and my college classes start. I used to always want to get into journalism, and when that's what Rory chose, I felt so unbelievably connected to her. Though it didn't work out too well for her, I still want to give it a try. I mean, she didn't write her first book until she was 32 (whoops, slight A Year in the Life spoiler). I wrote mine when I was 7. So I got her beat in the book-writing sense. In the college sense? Yeah, she totally has me beat.
     I hope this trip to Connecticut really opens my eyes and gets me thinking more about life and actually existing in the world. I don't like to leave my room too much, and just the thought of going outside gives me severe heebie-jeebies, but I'm really excited to see what new memories I can create on this trip. Of course, in true Rory fashion, I'm going to be writing and documenting the whole trip. My mother, on the other hand, will probably forget to log in to the account and record her side of the trip (in true Lorelai fashion).
     This blog may not interest everyone, but me being the nerd I am, I want to document every second of my Stars Hollow search. I will find a Stars Hollow equivalent, and I will stop for Mystic Pizza on the way. First entry done! Woohoo!! Here's to maybe like four many more!