We relived 'Gilmore Girls' at a coffee shop in Raleigh

"Gilmore Girls" is coming back. The show ended in 2007 and our hearts have been broken ever since. 

It was recently announced that a four-episode revival, "Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life," was coming to Netflix in November — and it is all we can think about. 

To emotionally prepare, we have been re-watching our favorite episodes, quoting the show constantly, crying along with characters (crying a lot in general) and drinking lots of coffee.

If you’re not a fan of the show, just know that the two main characters — our role models, our guiding lights we have in Lorelai and Rory Gilmore — thrive on coffee. It runs in their veins. And to show our devotion and excitement for the revival, we have also been consuming large amounts of coffee. 

From teaser trailers to behind-the-scenes photos to cast member reunions, Netflix and "Gilmore Girls" producers have been publicizing the new show all over our timelines. In honor of the 16th anniversary of the first episode airing, hundreds of coffee shops across the country turned into Luke’s Diners for the day — the caffeine-infused beacon where we all saw Luke and Lorelai fall in love — giving out free coffee with the beloved “Luke’s” logo on the sleeve. 

When we found out, we knew we had to go. Which led to us rolling out of bed at 6 a.m. — Pop Tarts in hand — and jumping in the car to drive to Sola Coffee Cafe in Raleigh. 

After driving for 40 minutes, blasting “Where You Lead” and “There She Goes,” we finally rolled into the parking lot where a long line of people had already formed out the door. Hundreds of eager fans — many of them in flannel and a backward baseball cap to honor Luke — were waiting, hoping to enter into the sacred halls of the recreated Luke’s. 

After about 20 minutes of fangirling in the parking lot while we waited, an employee came out and announced there were only 100 of the special revival cups left. Our hearts sank. A little girl in front of us — a "Gilmore Girls" novice who has only seen two seasons of the show — began counting everyone in line in front of us.

The number she came back with brought tears to our eyes.

She was 90th in line by her approximation, which didn’t give us a lot of wiggle room. Tensions were strained as more people showed up trying to get a glimpse of the interior — or cut in line. 

These late losers were not going to steal our coffee. We were ready to fight if we had to.

Luckily, we made it inside to the sweet sounds of Carole King and the strong aroma of free coffee. A Luke’s sign hung in front of the register, letting us know that we were home.

Hearts racing, palms sweating, we made it to the register. Three tip jars were set up with photos of Logan, Dean and Jess taped to them — one for each of the men in Rory’s life (#teamjess4lyfe). The beautiful barista, in her Luke’s hat and apron, presented us with the holy grails we had so long waited for. Of course, we had to take a picture — or 20. 

We lived and learned with Gilmore Girls. Rory taught us how to stand up for yourself when someone isn’t treating you right, Lorelai taught us how to be independent when the world is against you, Luke taught us how to be patient for what’s really important, Lane taught us to be true to ourselves, Emily taught us to stand behind what we believe in and Kirk taught us it is okay to be a little weird — or a lot weird. 

For teaching us these amazing life lessons, we are eternally grateful for Gilmore Girls.

swerve@dailytarheel.com