A lonely new existence.

Orlando is lonely. It feels so quiet here, without my five. Three just left, and two are coming permanently in a few days. It won't be lonely for long.

The end of two eras.

I moved to Orlando. On my last night in Panama City Beach, I

hung out with the five best people on this earth. We karate kicked each other, visited to all my favorite places, and went out with a bang.

It was also time for the end of another era. We hit up the bookstore and partied until the book came out.

Most of the time was spent reading from a book on flirting, however.

I finally got the book, though. I shed tears for the end of two eras.

A mild landmark.

I turned 18. This ritual involved



cake,



blowing out candles on cake,



destroying cake,



and the game of cups.

Cooking.

I guess it's in my crazy Italian blood, but I love cooking. It's what I do when I'm stressed, upset, or just bored.

So today I was reading the label on a soup can. Sounds pretty uninteresting, right? There was an advertisement for Campbell's recipe website, so I gave it a go. I like trying new things. Here's what my search came up with:



Some concoction of cheesy, vegetable-laden pasta. Pasta is my favorite. I thought I'd whip it up. Plus, it included chopping.



I love the chopping.

Anyway, the end result was pretty good. I'm sure the cheese and cream cheese and everything delicious in there made this completely unhealthy, but I was still proud of it.



The only problem was that the recipe made enough for a bajillion people. I probably should have downsized it, but whatever. That just means I have...

LEFTOVERS!

Cheesy Vegetable Pasta
From: Campbell's Kitchen
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups uncooked pasta
1 1/2 cups broccoli flowerets
1 1/2 cups cauliflowerets
2 medium carrots, cut into 2" strips
1 pkg. (3 oz.) cream cheese OR cream cheese with chives, softened
1 can Campbell's® Condensed Broccoli Cheese Soup
3/4 cup milk
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

COOK pasta according to pkg. directions. Add broccoli, cauliflower and carrots for last 5 min. of cooking time. Drain in colander.

STIR cream cheese in same saucepot until smooth. Add soup, milk, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Add pasta mixture and heat through.

A day at the beach.

Panama City Beach is beautiful.

It's hard to see the beauty of it underneath the obnoxious tourists, beer can-littered beaches, and blocked intersections. Deep down, there is something worth appreciating here.

I'm slightly saddened that it took me until the dawn of my departure to realize this. I love the state park, I never knew there was so many secret places to explore. And by secret, I mean hidden from the eye of the ever-destructive vacationer.


Point A of interest the the turpentine mill. Yeah, that already sounds boring. But, this tunnel and the staircase to the second floor make everything worthwhile.

The best part, however, is the trail next to the mill. It looks ordinary, paved with wood chips and well-worn. The secret is an easily overlooked sand path branching off the main trail. After some galavanting through thickets and wild animals (sightings so far: birds, squirrels, rabbits, deer), a glorious sight meets the eye.

An empty beach.

Yes, that's right. A beach with no lazy vacationers, airhead tourists, screaming demon children--just aquamarine water in a prime location between the open water and the crowded jetties.

The masses of people at the main beach entrance are just within sight. This remote section of hidden beauty is all the locals have left of the glorious Gulf.