Florida Spectacular
Take a weekly trip across Florida with authors Cathy Salustri and Rick Kilby and discover a side of Florida you never knew existed. From the scallops in Panhandle bays to the Hemingway cats in Key West, every week's a Florida adventure. Get more Florida goodness with greatfloridaroadtrip.com and rickkilby.com.
Episodes
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With Cathy traveling through what she calls "historic West Florida", she and Rick talk about forgotten parts of Florida's history — and geography, the War of 1812, and some less savory parts of the early history of the United States and why they get left out of history classes.
Links We Mentioned
Map showing Florida and a "contested" area "sold" to the US by France
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Did you know cattle ranchers were the "first intentional conservationists" in Florida? Annie Muscato does. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on it, and this week she joins the podcast to talk — passionately! — about research into how some Florida cattle ranchers are working to protect wild Florida, why Florida cattle ranching isn't nearly as cruel as it is in the rest of the country, ...
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Andrea Conover of Azalea City Brewing and Palatka Mayor Robbie Correa join us this week to help roadtrippers find Palatka's best-kept secrets.
Links We Mentioned
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Rick serves on the board of the Winter Park History Museum, and Cathy lived there for a time in the '90s (and loves to go back). That's why the book written by this episode's guest, Kim Michalak, was so appealing to both of them. Kim shares how she selected her 100 things for her book 100 Things To Do in Winter Park Before You Die.
Links We Mentioned
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Dan Reiter joins the podcast to talk about his career surfing Florida and writing about the same. The trio talks about everything from the best place to surf in Florida to why surfers shouldn't be scared of sharks. Check out Dan's book about surfing (link below).
Links We Mentioned
On a Rising Swell: Surf Stories From Florida's Space Coast (and a link to buy the book)
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"Nature isn't just more complex than we know, it's more complex than we can know."
There's a sadly great chance that the State of Florida is going to build a toll road through the last remaining wild growth of a pretty — and pretty endangered — plant. Here's what's happening, where it's happening, and what you can do about it.
Links We Mentioned
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Historian Holly Baker joins the podcast to talk about her work in preservation in St. Augustine, Vero Beach, and throughout Florida. The trio also talks about what makes a building historic, preserving historic evidence of Jim Crow, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Links We Mentioned
St. Augustine
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in St. Augustine
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Florida author and naturalist Andrew Furman returns to the podcast to talk about his latest book, Of Slash Pine and Manatees: A Highly Selective Guide to My Suburban Wilderness.
Links We Mentioned
Bitten: My Unexpected Love Affair With Florida
Bidens pilosa (aka beggartick, etc., etc.) and its medicinal uses
Frogfruit (aka hatpin)
Photo by Andrew ...
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How Bowers of the Retro WDW podcast joins Rick and Cathy to talk about the not-so-secret-after-all Florida Project, the origins of Disney Springs, and what Cypress Gardens had to do with Walt Disney deciding Florida would be a great place for a theme park.
Links We Mentioned
Lake Buena Vista Historical Society
Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.
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Orlando historian Rachel Williams joins the podcast to talk about Colonial Plaza Mall (now a shadow of its former self and called Colonial Marketplace), and from there the conversation moves to caves in Ocala, coffee roasters we love, and the importance of the shopping mall in Florida culture.
Links We Mentioned
Ocala Caverns (and what's the difference between a cave and a cavern, anyway?)
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TJ Fridrich, with the Save the Manatee Club, joins the podcast to talk about what listeners need to know about when manatee can be dangerous (seriously!), what their mating behavior might look like, and where you can see some excellent documentaries about manatee and their ilk.
Links We Mentioned
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Rick and Cathy talk about the middle basin of the St. Johns River, eco tours, and wildlife seen along the waterway.
Links We Mentioned
Floridiana Festival at the Matheson
Airboat on the St. Johns
Airboat chase sequence in Gone Fishin'
"36 Hours in Orlando" (New York Times)
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Josh Ginsberg, author of Secret Tampa Bay, Secret Orlando, Tampa Bay Scavenger, Oldest Tampa Bay — among others — joins the podcast to talk about his favorite hidden gems in Tampa Bay and Orlando. The trio talks about everything from the Wizard of Oz to taxidermied animals.
Links We Mentioned
Dysfunctional Grace (Ybor City)
Tiger Dust (Seminole Heights)
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Craig Pittman, co-host of the Welcome to Florida podcast, joins Florida Spectacular to talk about his latest book by the same name. This episode takes a roller coaster approach to Florida, and along the way the trio discusses nudist resorts, snakes, where to find dead bodies, and... well, take a listen. It's quite a ride.
Links We Mentioned
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Josh Gunderson, the creative mind behind the popular Oviedo Mall account on Twitter, joins the podcast to talk about mall culture in Florida, his new book, The Lamenting Mall Rats Society, and whether or not Oviedo Mall really is haunted.
Links We Mentioned
@OviedoMall on Threads
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Jon Bortles joins Cathy and Rick to talk about Florida Tiki culture and all things Tiki.
Bahi Hut Meetup with Rick, Cathy, and Jon — April 11, 7 p.m.
Links We Mentioned
Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular...
Send us your Florida questions!
Spring has sprung, the pollen is here, and it's time once again to talk about plants and landscaping. Eric Schmidt, the Botanical Records Specialist for Harry P. Leu Botanical Gardens, talks about a few of his favorite plant places in Florida, his experiences consulting on the Animal Kingdom and Star Wars landscaping efforts at the Walt Disney World Resort, and a special tree he has planted in hi...
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This week, Joe Colucci from Munyon's Paw Paw Liqueur joins the podcast to talk about his Florida-made papaya liqueur — and the fascinating Florida history behind it.
Links We Mentioned
The Great Outdoors in High Springs
Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacu...
Send us your Florida questions!
Cathy and Rick give a whirlwind tour of botanical gardens they have loved, talk about Rick's proposal to his wife and where he hid her ring, how to pronounce anole, and where to find flamingos.
Links We Mentioned
Brown anoles and more about them
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Jack Davis, the Pulitzer-winning author of The Gulf: Making of an American Sea, joins the podcast to talk about what he thinks of the Gulf of Mexico's nomenclature glow-up. The talk migrates to sea level rise, John D. MacDonald's books, and his "Gulf of Mexico" playlist.
Links We Mentioned
John D. MacDonald and his book Condominium
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