Trail Lures Me Out

I had notions of sleeping in this morning before putting in a full day at a Back to School event at a local mall to provide our fine Central Florida families some information in advance of opening day next Monday (8/8). Yeah; I thought eight or more good hours of shuteye and a breakfast and paper read would work out just fine.
Then C., son #2, asks me last night around 900 whether I want some pancakes in the morning. I thought for a minute and said, "Yes. I think I will make pancakes in the morning."
"No," he says. He means at somebody else's house after a trail run with the cross country team. Ah ha. It's a trail run day in Chuluota.
I hesitantly said, "No. I want to sleep in."
So 0500 rolls around and I'm wide awake. I think about it. Yeah, I'm not feeling that need to roll over and dream of Rhode Island. Shoot. I could get up, have breakfast, go for a run and then call Rhode Island if I wanted to get my fix.
So I got the boy up and off we went to the woods. He hates it because he doesn't like getting stung by horse flies. I told him he needs to be running, not walking. He is also deathly afraid of spiders and most anything else that is not a dog or cat. I tell him he can stick with me :)
The team convenes and warms up. We head out in what was 79 degree temps and the sun just coming up. The trail is a little sandy/soft in a few places, firm in most others. We follow a trail into the woods. There's a shallow creek to cross with a few branches arranged so that it is possible to get over without taking on water in your shoes. C. makes it. I caught some wet in my left shoe. I let it slide (literally) and kept on.
We followed a trail C. knew. We crossed some bridges and saw typical Florida fauna. At 25 minutes out we came to the end of the line as he knew it. We could turn back or - as I insisted - be adventurous and try any one of three horse trails that were before us. I said I was going to the right which I argued was towards the east and our car. Either as a nice buddy or for fear of spiders and flies, he stuck with me.
The grass was very wet and I found myself sloshing in my shoes such that the brief dunk in the creek was totally irellevant. We crossed an open field and then into tree line at which the creek was before us again. It was too wide and deep to ford so we kept running along another fork of the path and came upon a pair of deer that went bobbing off away from us. Very cool.
The trail ended again at the creek and there was only one choice. Turn back. We were at 40 minutes out and the prescribed run for the morning for the team was 90 minutes so we were in good shape to just retrace our steps. Along the way an otter or beaver scampered across the trail and into the deep stuff.
I loved the trail run. Missed the pancakes. Called Rhode Island. Showered and had a cup of Dave's coffee before zipping over to the mall with two minutes to spare.
Not a bad day at all.