A very special day

We'll start with last night, when we had a casual dinner ordering-in at the hotel with the Baileys. The kids (Zachary and Alivia) played together and the adults ate pizza (Hawaiian) and watched a movie (Bourne Ultimatum). Another opportunity to spend time together with other families, which is always fun!

Today, though, much happened. The morning started with a return visit to the immigration office in Hanoi, where Chad picked up Zachary's passport!!!

Then, we took in a tour of the Hoa Lo Prison (aka, Hanoi Hilton), which is a famous site here in Hanoi, and located right next to the hotel. Actually, only a portion of the original prison even exits today, because a majority was razed, to make room for the hotel where we are currently staying. It does not seem altogether that unusual, considering how fast Hanoi seems to be growing, with high rises being built at many locations. The prison itself was originally constructed by the French in the late 1800's to house Vietnamese political prisoners, but was later used by the Vietnamese to house captured U.S. soldiers (like John McCain, for example) during the U.S.-Vietnam conflict. Like a visit to Alcatraz, a visit to the Hanoi Hilton is a way to see the horrors of prisons in general and the hell experienced there by the prisoners.

After lunch, we took Zachary to his final medical appointment as a prerequisite for obtaining his Visa. We got to spend time with Cherie at the medical clinic, which is always nice. The doctor that checked Zachary out told us that he is in good overall health (still with a lingering congestion issue, which we are treating with a prescription inhaler now). His vitals: he is a little over 2 feet tall, and weights just over 14 pounds! He has gained a little under half a pound since a week ago!

With Chad fighting a little head-cold himself, we played it very casual tonight at the hotel, and are looking forward to going to bed early. Zachary is sleeping for 2-4 hour stints, and falls back asleep quite quickly after his nighttime bottles.

OK, hope this hasn't been too boring - but as we are teaching Zachary, sharing is fun! :)