This is one of my favorite Monty Python lines... and it describes Christmas Day 2008. We woke up to the barest set of presents under the tree. Our commitment was to simplify and boy was it simple. After the shock of this and when the girls had figured out what we were doing... A trip to California! After a flurry of packing (since there was no unwrapping) we headed off to serve at the Salvation Army Community Feed... Talk about humbling. There was an abundance of volunteers, so we got to deliver meals to a couple down in fountain. They were so gracious and appreciative. Next to the airport... and we wait, we fly, we land, we wait and wait for a rental car, but the reward was our car was right outside the door! (The lot was two city blocks big) Once we got settled in the hotel (Very nice) we ran around downtown LA, on Christmas Night looking for fast food. Mixed in with the homeless and the working folk and the santa hats, it was another humbling moment. Thanks to 7 years of Capital One Miles, we could actually afford the basics of the trip and now we just have to eat, sleep and play. What a blessing! Final thoughts for today... When the meal was delivered, the man commented, "Wow, this is enough food for a week!" -- This rings loudly in our memories of Christmas 2008.