It was 8:00 a.m. on Easter Sunday morning near the corner of Parktrail Drive and Summerfield Road. Only when familiar faces abandoned their car heaters to join the growing huddle of runners and greet each other was I reminded of why I pulled myself out of bed on a weekend morning. Not long after we were off running, onto the fire road, over the bridge by the owls’ trees, up Canyon and then off into the Annadel Hills near Lake Ilsanjo. Tony Passantino, Brad Zanetti, Frank Cuneo and I found ourselves running with each other for much of the time and let our conversation gravitate towards the exciting adventures we’ve had – or plan on having in far off places like Spain or the remote wilderness of the Sierra Nevada – specifically the Camino de Santiago and the John Muir Trail. Maybe it was the sense of possibility that comes along with sharing hopes and dreams with others or maybe because it was Easter, but that morning reinvigorated my zest for life. I think my running mates would have agreed. After eight miles we found ourselves back at our cars well-excercised but with smiles on our faces. Before parting ways, however, Frank produced a loaf of Portuguese Sweet Bread from his car for us to share, a childhood treat of mine. It was the perfect way to sweeten an already wonderful morning and remind us of the joys of breaking bread with companions.