What a Month! In Edmonds, Washington and Cannon Beach, Oregon, a Great Family Adventure

Good news. Instead of reading a long story, you just LOOK -- and see pictures of my visit to Edmonds, Washington and Cannon Beach, Oregon.

Well, to be honest, there are captions. If that is too much, sorry. I'm trying to please! 

A panorama of Cannon Beach, taken by my wife Barbara, with the famous Haystack Rock in the distance.

We spent nearly a month in Edmonds, Washington visiting our daughter Misha, her husband Ed, and four grandkids, Mia, Bella, Max, and Talula. While there, we all piled into two cars for the 4-hour drive to Cannon Beach.

Now photos from Cannon Beach:

The gang --from left, Misha and Ed, holding Talula, myself and Barbara, and Bella, Max, and Mia (far right).

At night on Cannon Beach, the fun goes on. Here we roast marshmallows.

For more on Cannon Beach with all the links you need, click here.

While in Cannon Beach, Mia, Bella, and Max competed in an Irish dance competition, or Feis, at nearby Seaside. It was fascinating. Irish dancing is Gaelic in origin, high-stepping, and intricate. The Feis drew dancers from many states and Canada to Seaside's big convention center downtown.

The competition was fierce. But Mia, Max, and Bella all did well! Max was awarded a First Place for one of his dances, at his first Feis! Mia and Bella were awarded medals and trophies for most of their dances, both placing First in at least one dance each! Here they are below displaying their awards with their proud mom Misha.

Winners all! Misha altered and sewed Mia's dance outfit and made Max's vest. Next she'll make a dress for Bella!

In Bremerton, we went to the storied century-old Kitsap Forest Theater where we saw Mia and Bella perform as orphans in the musical "Annie," both with speaking roles. Deep in the forest and accessible by a quarter-mile dirt footpath, the show was, amazingly, of professional-quality.

Annie, Daddy Warbucks and his household staff belt out a song.

Mia, standing left, and Bella, sitting second from the right, play their roles as orphans.

After the show, we got to chitchat with the performers, including Daddy Warbucks himself.

We even got a chance to pose with "Annie," the star of the show, played by Sophie.

After the performance I went on a hike with Sophie's dad, Mark, to check out Kitsap's famous Big Tree. Mark had performed in the production, a first for him. He had no problem playing a small part while Sophie starred. He was proud of his little girl. (In the photo of the ensemble above, Mark is the servant second from left in the formal black suit.)

Now that is one big tree! It's also over 500 years old!

Kitsap Forest Theater is a magical place. For its remarkable history and operation, click here.


I also had a great time playing with the grandkids.

"Bald is beautiful," I told the kids. They said I needed hair and gave me some. A scary monster behind me! I had no idea. 

Through it all, Talula was, well,  all grown up. To her. 

The girls enjoy a nearby playground where I took them.

Max went flying from the neighborhood swing.

Max displays blackberries that he and I picked. We ate as we picked. Yummy!

 Ed is a great cook. His salmon dinner was delicious. His eyes are closed just to annoy me. It worked.

I also annoyed Ed. Here he is getting ready to toss his grumpy father-in-law in the ocean.

As is my habit, I also took off wandering here and there. On one such outing, I ended up at the beautiful Edmonds shore. I came across a few scenes I just had to capture.

When the divers seen in the first photo emerged, they kindly let me take their picture.

 Now was that too much to read?

What? I hear moans and groans! People, people, you can't be serious!

Now what the hell am I gonna do?

So long and keep moving.

NOTE:  I have a new short novel, Something Tells Her. Jane is abandoned at birth and then placed in ever-changing, uncaring, and often abusive foster homes. At age 12, her latest foster father makes a sexual advance on her and, with something telling her this is not right, rears back and kicks him you-know-where. Leaving him grabbing his crotch and yelping like a hurt dog, Jane runs out the door. On the street, alone, no family, nobody, not even a last name, how is she going to survive?  The E-book, is now available on Barnes and Noble and  Amazon. 

E-Books by George Pollock

"State Kid: Hero of Literacy" is fiction based on his real-life experiences growing up in foster homes; "Last Laughs," is the true story of how five foster kids (he and four younger siblings) found their way in life and each other. "Killers: Surprises in a Maximum Security Prison," is the story of his being locked up for 23 hours with killers in a maximum security prison; "I, Cadaver" is about his postmortem adventures and mischief in the anatomy lab at UMass Medical School. “A Beautiful Story” demonstrates the art and process of creative writing as a 16-year-old boy goes all out to write a story that literally saves his life. "Unlove Story," is the true story of a husband -- writing anonymously as "Elvis" -- who is dumped after 38 years of marriage and lets it all out on love, marriage, life, everything. A guy doing this? It's unheard of.