How to Travel Like A Gilmore Girl

Photo via Flickr/David Fulmer

Not surprisingly, "Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life" is still one of Netflix's top trending series. Even I admit I'm on my third viewing and, as I watch Lorelai take off on that "Wild" adventure or see Rory book a last-minute flight to London again and again I keep thinking, is any of this even possible?

Come to find out, some of the trips the Gilmores embark on in "A Year" are even easier than they make it seem.

The biggest journey in "A Year In The Life" is Lorelai's life-affirming trip out west where she decides to follow in Cheryl Strayed's footsteps and embark on a "Wild" hike along the Pacific Coast Trail. As she points out several times, she is doing the book, not the movie and, according to Luke, she starts out in California, just as Strayed did 20 years earlier.

On her quest to "look at the wilderness, and stare at the trees, and bathe in the crystal clear lake, and think super deep thoughts" Lorelai checks into a cheap motel near the trailhead and spends her first night away from home trying to fit everything in her pack, a struggle that most hikers know is very real. What isn't real, is the trouble she has getting on the trail after misplacing her trail permit.

In California, "overnight permits are generally obtained from the agency that manages the trailhead that you’re starting at" and most trailheads don't require a permit at all. We can assume Lorelai is near Tehachapi Pass, as this is one of the most popular starting points in California and where Cheryl Strayed initially struggled to lift her heavy backpack, one of the more memorable scenes in "Wild."

Wilderness permits are not required at all on this trail, and it is unlikely a park ranger, let alone one who looks like Peter Krause, would be standing at the start of the trail.

Not only is it much easier to get on the trail than Lorelai makes it out to be, there are also plenty of nice motels in the area, unlike the sketchy place where she stays. The local Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield Inn & Suites and Best Western Plus all get good reviews so, there's no need to rough it, at least not until you're actually out on the trail.

The one element of the Loralei's story that is very real is the charm of the Halfway House Cafe, where she stops to get a coffee before deciding to head home. The world famous cafe, located in Santa Clarita, CA, has been featured in dozens of TV shows and movies including "Hand of God," "Criminal Minds" and the Clint Eastwood movie "Heartbreak Ridge," and is still a popular breakfast spot for both locals and tourists.

As for Rory, she spent most of her time flying back and forth to London, on a freelance writer's salary. As HelloGiggles.com points out, flying back and forth to London seven times, as Rory does in the new series, would cost about $10,745. As someone who actually is a freelance writer I can tell you, most of us don't have that kind of cash hanging around. Of course, we don't know if she's using miles, or if Logan's picking up the tab. After all, he does offer to give her a house in Maine so it doesn't seem crazy to think he'd pick up a flight or two, especially if she's flying across the pond to see him.

After searching for a few flights myself, I did find one easy way Rory (and the rest of us) could cut the cost in half - fly out of Boston. It is assumed Rory would have flown out of Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford, CT, which would probably be the closest to Stars Hollow. But, if she wanted to take the train to Boston and catch a flight from there, she could get a round trip ticket for as low as $464 on Icelandair.

Granted, she would have to factor in travel time to Boston, which would mean missing that last cup of coffee with her mom and Luke, but if it means saving almost $7,500, I'd say it well worth skipping that second cup!

"Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life" might not be 100 percent realistic, but that doesn't mean we all can't strive to at least try to travel like a Gilmore in the new year.

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