Book Review: Emma Cline's Daddy: Stories

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of Emma Cline’s short story collection, Daddy: Stories, in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Cline’s debut novel, The Girls, and I was thrilled to be given a copy of her latest work, Daddy: Stories. I love a good short story collection and as much as I was impressed by The Girls, Cline truly shines in the short story format. They are all page-turners. I bet you can’t read just one without going to the next. Cline is masterful with tension in the short story format. She grips the reader, ending her stories at the exact perfect moment that leaves a lingering sense of wonder about the character’s next move. This collection is haunting.

Cline’s stories are incredibly uncomfortable. They deal with queasy, taboo topics like adultery, addiction, and the sexualization of children. None of her stories are easy. Reading Daddy: Stories is an experience akin to watching a horror movie, where I physically felt my body curl into a ball and my eyes turning to slits, to protect myself as I continued with the horrific situations that the characters were placed in.

Thank goodness not every story or character was relatable, but those that were, added another level of cringe. I guarantee that you will see some of your own terrible, dark traits reflected back to you in Cline’s characters. I felt it most in Marion, where an innocent preteen girl gets wrapped up in the deceptions of an older teen.

Daddy: Stories is one of my top reads for 2020 and a must if you gravitate towards short stories. Cline is a fearless writer with complex characters. Steady yourself for a bumpy, uncomfortable ride. Also be prepared to have these stories linger in your mind for a good week after finishing.

Florida 2020: Hilton Grand Vacations at Sea World Orlando

Dan has achieved diamond status at Hilton Hotels, so we usually prefer to stay with the brand. In recent years, we’ve discovered Hilton Grand Vacations. Grand Vacations is Hilton’s timeshare properties. We have zero interest in buying into a timeshare, but we have learned that you can still rent timeshare properties, without having to be an official timeshare owner.

The Hilton Grand Vacation resorts are fabulous. The rooms are suites and the amenities are plentiful. For three nights, we stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacation at Sea World Orlando. The hotel is just minutes from Sea World, practically walking distance, and a very short drive from Universal Orlando. It’s in a great location.

Here is a picture of the lobby.

The only minor inconveniance of staying at a Grand Vacation resort is there will be an obligatory sales pitch. They will offer you theme park tickets and other perks for attending a timeshare presentation. Luckily, they usually take no for an answer. At this resort they didn’t even try calling the room with a second pitch.

Our experience with Grand Vacations has been consistent. The rooms have all looked the same. This time we booked a one room suite ( we get a two room with the kids)- it has a large kitchen that is stocked with all of the utensils, a washer/dryer, soaking tub, large living room, and a balcony. It’s really an apartment with plenty of room to spread out. I love having the ability to do our laundry and Hilton includes enough detergent for two loads.

The resort is huge, but we were given a prime spot near the pool. With various Covid restrictions in place, the pool was a pleasant experience. It’s hard to believe, but it was our first time in a pool in 2020. We had no problem finding lounge chairs, which were sanitized between guests. Announcements were made to stay spaced out, so we had a sense of privacy while sunbathing and we pretty much had our own little corner of the pool. The only difficulty with social distancing was keeping kids from playing near us. It’s easy to forget about distancing when you’re outside and having fun. Luckily, most parents were vigilant.

We used the concierge to purchase one-day tickets to Sea World. They made it seem like they were giving us a special rate, but the deal was no better than anyone could purchase online. If you stay here, I’d recommend purchasing tickets in advance, rather than waiting to do it at the hotel.

The hotel is surrounded by every conceivable type of dining option. On our first night, we were in the mood for Italian food and discovered Mia’s Italian Cuisine. I had never heard of Mia’s before, but it is part of a chain of restaurants that includes one of my other favorites. Cafe Tu Tu Tango. We happened to visit Mia’s on the first day that they had opened for dining since Covid. They were low on staff and very apologetic. The restaurant is glamorous with Italian art on the ceiling and chandeliers made from wine bottles.

We pigged out on pasta, cannolis, and a chocolate soufflé. It was absolutely delicious and we look forward to dining here again in the future. The manager at Mia’s personally served us and she was awesome.

There was a seafood restaurant near Mia’s that had the best delivery vehicle. Orlando has it all!

This was my first time staying on the opposite side from Walt Disney World and it was a pleasure. I would definitely consider staying at the Hilton Grand Vacations at Sea World on our next Orlando vacation.

Florida 2020: Midway Airboat Rides

Visiting Florida in the summer of 2020 was a strange experience. Due to Covid, many attractions were either closed or significantly altered. It was simply not possible to be spontaneous, as places like Disney World, required advanced reservations and had capacity limitations. When we couldn’t manage to book a day at the theme parks, we shifted gear and went on an airboat excursion.

An airboat ride has long been on my Florida bucket list and I was thrilled to have the chance to experience it. We booked with a company called Midway Airboats, located in central Florida. It wasn't exactly the Everglades, but it was close enough.

The tour cost us just under eighty dollars (total, not each) and lasted over an hour. While waiting for our excursion to begin, we went out on the large screened porch to meet Coco the parrot and Park Chop the pig. Coco kept lifting her foot, desperate to climb on Dan. We realized that she often gets treats when people hold her, and since we didn’t have treats, she wanted back in her cage. We were dead to her. Pork Chop was so sleepy, he didn’t even open his eyes when we petted his tummy.

The airboats have four rows, and although the tour was completely outside, it was not exactly socially distanced. We were seated on the top row, next to our boat captain, there was a family of four adults and a toddler in front of us, and an older couple in the very front row. This said, being outdoors with the wind whipping around us as we flew through the water at high speeds, made me feel generally safe.

We all had headsets, so that we could hear our captain’s narration. She kept an eye out for gators and points of interest. One Covid change was we did not have microphones on our headsets to communicate with her and the tour guides did sanitize the headsets between tours- we saw them cleaning!

Selfie of Dan and I.

The tour was more amazing than I could have imagined. The speed was thrilling and the views were magnificent. We visited on a perfect blue-sky day with fluffy clouds. It was serene.

I couldn’t have anticipated that we would see more cows than gators. We learned that summer is not the best time to see gators. Since they have to regulate their own body temperature, they often stay under water and in the shade to keep cool in the heat of the day. It also doesn’t help that they are nocturnal hunters.

Cows were everywhere. Naturally, this caused us to wonder about the cow/gator situation. Apparently, they mostly live in harmony, with gators hanging out near the cows feet. The cows really being too big to be seen as prey for the gators.

Can you see the gator? This is one of three gator sightings of the trip.

My favorite part is when we slowed down and coasted through a heavy thicket of trees. It was exactly what I imagined the Everglades or a bayou in Louisiana ( where I’ve never been) would look like.

On the way back to the docks, we went under a very low bridge, saw some palm trees in the swamp, and enjoyed plenty more cows!

After our ride, we had the opportunity to hold a baby gator. The gator’s snout was strapped for safety reasons, but we saw our boat captain handle her without the strap and she was very gentle. She allowed the boat captain to hold her, much like we hold our cats. The skin on her belly was unbelievably soft, but she was heavy. I could only hold her for a few minutes.

Of course, as we were leaving, we noticed these warning signs.

An airboat ride is the quintessential Florida tourist activity and it didn’t disappoint. We look forward to taking the kids on our next trip to the sunshine state.