Attached are photos taken from the kids play area next to a rooftop tennis court connected to our hotel here in central Hanoi. The yellow building next door is the infamous Hỏa Lò Prison, known by American POWs as the Hanoi Hilton. Notable inmates included James Stockdale, John McCain, and others.

One morning this week, Max and I went out playing catch on the empty tennis court. Well, more a game of “throw”, as there wasn’t much catching going on.

Anyway, it occurred to me that when I was his age (in 1973) the Vietnam war was at its peak and I don’t think many people would have predicted that we’d be doing family travel in North Vietnam today.

So now I wonder where Max may vacation in the not-so-distant future. Backpack in Baghdad? Camping in Kabul? Seems improbable given the current situations, but so did Tennis in Hanoi a short while ago.