Inspired by the cooler weather — well, cooler for Florida! — Rick and Cathy talk about Florida's passionate college football scene. 

Links We Mentioned

Servant of the Bones by Anne Rice

Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Fearsome Creatures of Florida

University of Tampa football (historic)

Rick and Cathy's Top Five Favorite Florida Sports Things

1. Tom Petty played at UF games between 3rd and 4th quarter
2. FSU's partnership with the Seminole Tribe of Florida
3. UCF Space Week
4. Reitz Union
5. USF Tampa architecture

Honorary least-favorite Florida college sports thing: New College's Mighty Banyans

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Steve Barlow, a former US Fish and Wildlife Services wildlife biologist pilot and co-host Palm and Pine podcast, joins the podcast to talk about one of the least-known Florida critters.

Links We Mentioned

Native Tongue by Carl Hiaasen

Florida salt marsh vole

Florida bonneted bat

Podcast about fossils near Suwannee

Steve-Approved Bat House

Want a bat house Steve built? Reach out to him at biologistbarlow@gmail.com or buy one here.

Support the Palm and Pine on Patreon.

Top Places To See Bats and Bat Houses in Florida

Micanopy Post Office and ballfields

Water Works Park in Tampa

Newberry Road, west of Jonesville, at West End Animal Hospital

University of Florida bat houses

Image courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Ryan Worthington grew up in Florida's State Parks and loves Florida's wild spaces. And he's the subject of an FWC investigation — but no one will tell him why.

Links We Mentioned

Craig Pittman's reporting on the secret investigation 

Ryan Worthington on Instagram

Ryan's Top Five Things To Do in and Near Green Cove Springs

1. Ocala National Forest — Salt Springs, Alexander Springs, Juniper Springs, Silver Glen Springs and others
2. Spring Park in Green Cove Springs
3. Payne's Prairie Preserve State Park — Rim Ramble Saturdays at 10 a.m. in cooler months
4. Big Talbot Island State Park
5. Safe Harbor Seafood (Take the ferry)
6. Odd Todd's Tacos in Salt Springs

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Jen Bannan, author of Tamiami Trail: Miami Stories, joins the podcast to talk about her book, Miami, and the Taimiami Trail.

Links We Mentioned

Jen Bannan's website

Monroe Station

Buy Tamiami Trail: Miami Stories

Support the podcast!

Five Things To Do in Miami that are Less "Miami"

Everglades National Park

The Pit BBQ

Vizcaya

La Carreta

Calle Ocho

Coral Gables Miracle Mile

The Biltmore

Crandon Park 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Rick and Cathy talk about what it costs to live in paradise, whether they'd do it all over again, and what Florida's "brand" is.

Links We Mentioned

Scott Maxwell's column in the Orlando Sentinel (note: this link is behind a paywall)

Nine Nations of North America 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Doctor Tom Hoctor joins the podcast to talk about the Florida Wildlife Corridor's origins, how money flows to conservation lands, and how people can learn more. Then they talk Florida birds and birding.

Links We Mentioned

Florida Wildlife Corridor

Florida Ecological Greenways Network

Florida Forever

Center for Landscape and Conservation Planning

Hub for the maps at Center for Landscape and Conservation Planning

Wild Waters at The Harn 

Tom's Top Five Birds to See in Florida

Florida scrub jay

Painted buntings

Swallow-tailed kites

Limpkin

Tom's Nemesis Bird: Mangrove cuckoo

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Rick and Cathy meet fans and talk roadside Florida attractions at FloridaRAMA, one of the most interesting pro-natural-Florida, immersive art experience in Florida.

(About that episode art: Do not ever feed a monkey. Do not ever pet a monkey. Do not ever attempt to interact in any way with any monkey.) 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Links We Mentioned

Palm Harbor Museum

Wall Springs County Park

Palm Harbor Library

Detour Charters

Presnell's RV

Hurricanes.gov

Mike's Weather Page

Stephanie Stuckey

Okahumpka Service Plaza 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Angela Sayre brings crabs to the podcast! She's with Crustacean Plantation and wants to encourage people to "leave the shell — take the memory when you visit the Florida Keys (or any coastal community).

Links We Mentioned

Crustacean Plantation

An example of a "broken home" for a hermit crab

Cynthia Barnett's Sound of the Sea

Jonathan Livingston Hermit Crab

YouTube live feed of hermit crabs

Things to Do in the Upper Florida Keys/Tavernier

• Harry Harris Park
• Dive Bar on the Bay
• Florida Keys Wild Bird Center — look for the hermit crab tank!
• Old Tav (ask for the pizza — it's not on the menu — they do a fantastic spinach, bacon, and mushroom)
• Dive Museum
• Dry Tortugas National Park

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Cozy mystery author Lucy Burdette joins the podcast to talk about her Key West Food Critic Mysteries, her favorite places in Key West, and yes, how she figures out how and where to kill people. 

Don't forget — Orange Blossom podcast members have their members-only t-shirt, created by Rick and printed by Yaint Local in production. We need your size!

Links We Mentioned

Key West Food Critic Mysteries

Golf Lovers Mysteries (Roberta Isleib, aka Lucy Burdette)

Advice Column Mysteries (Roberta Isleib, aka Lucy Burdette)

More Florida writers at the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America

Azur restaurant in Key West

David Sloan

Bum Farto

Lucy Burdette's Favorite Things To Do in Key West

Lucy's blog post about this very thing!

Truman Little White House

Latitudes sunset dining on a small island off the coast of Key West (take their boat out to the island )

Cuban sandwiches at Cuban Coffee Queen

Books and Books Key West (Judy Blume's bookstore)

Key West Island Books

Seven Fish

Louie's Backyard

Hemingway House

Robert the Doll

DJ's Clam Shack (but, Lucy cautions, only if you want fried conch)

[https://www..cityofkeywest-fl.gov/819/Historic-Key-West-City-Cemetery]Key West Cemetery 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

While Cathy's camping lagoon-side in Brevard County, she and Rick talk about what they love about the Indian River Lagoon area and things to do while you're in town.

Links We Mentioned

Indian River Lagoon

Did Ponce de León land in Melbourne instead of St. Augustine?

Ponce de León and other myths

Columbus' voyage map

Florida Historical Society

Kayak with giraffes at the Brevard Zoo

Bioluminescence

Jonathan Dickinson's God's Protecting Providence

Highwaymen Museum

Top Five (OK, Top Many) Things To Do Near the Indian River Lagoon

Melbourne

Melbourne Beach Supermarket

Long Point Campground

Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge (Turtles!)

Long Doggers (Hot dogs and more — and gluten free buns!)

Backwater (Make your own pancakes)

Indian River Roadside Citrus

Space Coast

Dixie Crossroads

Siam Orchid

I Dream of Jeanne at Lori Wilson Park

Black Point Wildlife Drive

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Stephen Cabebe, of Fit for the Magic, joins the podcast to talk about how to enjoy Florida's natural spaces without withering in the heat — even in the summer months.

Stephen's Top Five Disney-Adjacent Things To Do

Paddle the canals in Winter Park (Dinky Dock)

West Orange Trail (And Cathy's travel article about Oakland Nature Preserve along the trail)

Rock Springs at Kelly Park

Horizon West Regional Park

Poke Hana

Mills 50 District (Mills Market)

Links We Mentioned

Fit2Run

Robinson Preserve

Fort De Soto

Veggie Garden

Sampaguita

Flatlands Bar & Grill 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Rick and Cathy talk about Florida mystery writers. Curl up with your next summer read after listening!

Links We Mentioned

Race of the Gazelles

Striptease (also a book; this links to info about the film)

Carl Hiaasen (website has links to Striptease, Tourist Season, Squeeze Me, and Stormy Weather)

Cathy's 2017 interview with Carl Hiaasen

Randy Wayne White (website has link to Dark Light)

John D. MacDonald (not John D. MacArthur!)

Condominium

Tim Dorsey and Serge Storms books

Travis McGee movie

Lucy Burdette

Randy Wayne White's Gulf Coast Cookbook

Tara Lush

Carol Perry

Kristen Arnett podcast episode

Tara Lush podcast episode about Florida cozies and another about her haunted mysteries

Book cover via Tara Lush; used with permission.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Chadd Charland fills in for Rick and talks about how Nassau County was able to stop AI data centers — and what every community can do to stop them! Cathy talks about why eliminating single-use plastics makes a difference and why July is the month to try it in your home, office, or school.

Links We Mentioned

Nassau County's temporary moratorium on AI data centers

Florida Native Plant Society

Project Tango in Palm Beach County

SB44

Plastic-Free July

Refill your litter box at Petco

Byron Donalds on AI data center

James Fishback

Chadd Charland's Top Five Things To Do in Fernandina Beach

1. Learn about American Beach at the Abraham Lincoln Lewis Museum

2. Head to Old Town Fernandina Beach for some Spanish history

3. Visit Centre Street

4. Wander through or camp at Fort Clinch State Park

5. Eat! Try: Happy Tomato (for ribs and barbecue), First Love Brewing (for beer and pizza), Drunken Noodle, and Curry Island 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Rick and Cathy showcase the state of journalism in Florida and talk about hyperlocal papers. 

Five of our Favorite Hyperlocal Weekly Newspapers

The Community Paper (Orlando area)

The Gabber Newspaper (Gulfport and South Pinellas)

Winter Park Voice (Winter Park)

West Volusia Beacon (West Volusia)

The Herald (Gadsden County)

Keys Weekly (Florida Keys)

Links We Mentioned

Donate to The Gabber Newspaper

Florida Phoenix 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Florida poet Heather Sellers joins the podcast to talk about why alligators are the best, her latest poetry book about Florida, Women in Tampa Talking About Alligators, and things she thinks everyone should do in Tampa.

Links We Mentioned

Eureka Springs

Heather Sellers

Hike Hillsborough

Hillsborough Hiking Spree

Buy Heather's book!

Former guest Mark Barrow's book about alligators

Heather's Favorite Five Things To Do in and Near New Tampa

Bookends in Ybor

Eureka Springs

Lettuce Lake Park

Hang out at the USF Tampa campus

Ride your bike along the Riverwalk (Don't miss Ulele spring!) 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Lisa Moore, president of Save Crystal River, joins the podcast to talk about their efforts with the Kings Bay Restoration Project. Kings Bay is the second largest spring system in Florida.

Links We Mentioned

SaveCrystalRiver.com [a 501c(3) organization]

Three Sisters

Mertailors

Lisa's Three Things Must-Do Things in Crystal River

Bird watching

Manatee tours

Scalloping 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Florida artist Blair Petersen Updike joins the podcast to talk about why she created the Florida Gallery, Florida art, and what she thinks everyone should do in Polk County.

Links We Mentioned

Wild Space Gallery at the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation

Benjamin Dimmitt An Unflinching Look: Elegy for a Landscape

Blair Petersen Updike website and Instagram

George Snow Hill — WPA muralist

Hollerbach's in Sanford

The Florida Gallery (check out their art merch, too!)

All Florida 

Blair Petersen Updike's Top Five Seven Things To Do in Polk County

Bok Tower Gardens

Tiger Creek Preserve

Lake Wales Ridge State Forest Arbuckle Trail

Circle B Bar Reserve

Red Chilly's Indian Restaurant

Kualao Lao Thai Food

Andy's Igloo

Mark Catesby image from The Florida Gallery; used with permission 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Mark Mustian, author of Boy With Wings and founder of Word of South, talks about his book, the wildly popular Word of South festival, and what it means to be different.

Mark's Top Five Things To Do in Tallahassee

1. Go to Cascades Park
2. Sausage Dog at Bradley's 
3. Blue Tavern for music
4. Bike trails at Piney Z
5. Buy a book and eat pie at Midtown Reader

Links We Mentioned

Mark Mustian's website

Boy with Wings

Word of South festival

Gibtown's Showmen's Club 

Clown is Not a Bad Word (Florida Spectacular episode #235)

Annie Laura's Triumph

The Gendarme

Wacissa Slave Canal 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Rick talks about his new book, Shaping a Sense of Place. 

Links We Mentioned:

Shaping a Sense of Place by Rick Kilby.

Florida artist Joy Postle.

More about Joy.

Florida artist Sam Stoltz.

Little Red Riding Hood mosaic mural in Winter Park.

Why Mid-Century Modern matters in Florida.

Hannibal Square in Winter Park.

The Rhea Marsh and Dorothy Lockhart Smith Research Grant.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Kristin Hemphill, the Creative Director for FloridaRAMA, an immersive Florida art experience with a conservation focus, joins the podcast to talk about the art, the artists, and why the experience focuses on Florida.

Links We Mentioned

FloridaRAMA

Florida Wildlife Corridor

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Florida State Representative (District 60) Lindsay Cross joins the podcast to talk about Florida Forever, environmental challenges in Florida, and what she's doing to help make Florida a paradise for everyone instead of an elite few.

Links We Mentioned

Lindsay Cross

Chadd Charland filled in for Rick Kilby on this episode, he is running for State House in District 15 (Nassau and portions of Duval counties).

Florida Wildlife Corridor

Florida Forever

Florida Communities Trust

Find your Florida Representative

Find your Florida Senator

YIGBY

Campaign Finance Information

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Florida lesbian author Kristen Arnett joins the podcast to talk about her favorite lizard, what led her to set her debt novel in a taxidermy shop, and other special Florida experiences. 

Links We Mentioned

Mostly Dead Things

With Teeth

Stop Me If You've Heard This One

KristenArnettWriter.com 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Dawn Shirreffs, with the Environmental Defense Fund, talks about Florida's Coastal Resilience Bill. The bill protects Terra Ceia, the Skyway Fishing Pier, and the Santa Fe, among others.

Links We Mentioned

Environmental Defense Fund

Coastal Resiliency Bill

Protect Florida's Future

Florida's Climate Future

Why mangroves matter

Mangroves 

FloridasClimateFuture.org

Find your elected official and tell them to approve funding for the Resilient Florida Grant Trust Fund or Resilient Florida:

Florida House of Representatives and Florida State Senators 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Rick and Cathy talk about writing about Florida in front of an audience at their first-ever live podcast taping. 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Cathy and Rick talk about only a few of the many Badass Florida Women in our history.

Women We Mentioned

Emateloye

Commodore Rose

May Mann Jennings

Mary Lee De Pugh

Mary McLeod Bethune

Joy Postle (and more about her, too!) 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Florida author John Fleming joins the podcast to talk about his latest book, Wonders of Shadow Key.

Links We Mentioned

Wonders of Shadow Key

Review of Wonders of Shadow Key

Connections TV show (BBC)

John Fleming's website

Follow That Dream (movie)

The Legend of the Barefoot Mailman

Fearsome Creatures of Florida (and the website)

Dave Barry's Swamp Story

Songs for the Deaf

The Book I Will Write

Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Hilary Flower, author of The Kite and The Snail: An Endangered Bird, Its Unlikely Prey, and a Story of Hope in a Changing World, joins the podcast to talk about what prompted her to write the book. 

Links We Mentioned

Review of The Kite and The Snail

Limpkins

Snail kites

Apple snails

Slugs

Merlin bird app

iNaturalist app

HilaryFlowerAuthor.com

How To Spot a Snail Kite

Image courtesy of University Press of Florida

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Ryan and Cathy talk about Santos' Black history and how it's been erased, and put out a call for help from anyone who knows the history of the people displaced for the Cross Florida Barge Canal.

Links We Mentioned

The Zorg

Santos historical marker

Historic Santos Recreation Area

Negro League Baseball

Saving Santos

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Springs artist and activist Margaret Ross Tolbert joins Rick Kilby and guest co-host Chadd Scott to discuss her artwork and advocacy on behalf of Florida's springs.

Links we mentioned:

Aquiferious.com

AQUIFERious Facebook group

Margaret Ross Tolbert on YouTube

Proje SU coffee table book

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

 Cathy Salustri and Ryan Worthington talk about Sundown Towns, apologies, and the problems the racism of the past still creates.

Links We Mentioned

Tougaloo College's Sundown Town database

Was Gulfport, Florida a Sundown Town?

South Pinellas Sundown Towns

Florida Sundown Towns 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Buckle in for a wild ride... this episode starts in Bithlo, detours through Orlando Speed World, gets chased by a cobra, and then goes on an adventure through the springs. 

Links We Mentioned

Bithlo

Bithlo real estate

Orlando Speed World

Swampy

St. Cloud Serpentarium

Barberville Yard Art Emporium

DeLeon Springs State Park

Queenie the Waterskiing Elephant

Ginger Ale Springs

Green Springs

Sam Stoltz houses

Orlando Shine

Giant inflatable pigeons in Orlando

Photo of Orlando inflatable pigeons by Rick Kilby.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Rick and Cathy talk about gentrification, the difficult relationship white people have with Black history, its place in Florida's history, and how Florida's Black history impacts modern-day Florida.

Links We Mentioned

Lincolnville

Fort Mose

Axe Handle Saturday

The Zorg

Eatonville's Zora Neale Hurston Museum

Kingsley Plantation

Carter Woodson Museum

Lincolnville Museum

Historic Hampton House

American Beach

A.L. Lewis Museum 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Eliot Kleinberg, a journalist whose career spans five decades, has turned his talents to fiction. His first book, Hypocrite's Row, is due out February 26.

From Eliot:

Hypocrite’s Row, the first book of my “Adventures of Nate Moran” novels about the Roaring 20s Miami police detective, comes out next month. The setting is the real battle between gangsters and law enforcement during the mostly failed effort to enforce Prohibition in South Florida.

Florida native Eliot Kleinberg, creator of the Civil War historical novel "Peace River," the"Adventures of Nate Moran" novels, and the original "Weird Florida" books, spent nearly a half-century reporting on local news and writing about Florida and Florida history. He produced two history columns and wrote fourteen books -- and co-wrote or contributed to several more -- all of them about Florida. Son of longtime journalist Howard Kleinberg, he lectures regularly on Florida topics and runs a blog on better writing called "Something Went Horribly Wrong." 

Links We Mentioned

Eliot's website

Eliot's newsletter

Level Best books

Planner or Pantser?

Hypocrite's Row

Bookshop.org

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Ann McCutchan's book, The Life She Wished To Live: A Biography of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Author of The Yearling, focuses on Rawling's life. Ann, Cathy, and Rick talk about Rawlings' life, how she learned not to be a racist, her struggles with alcohol, and why The Yearling is not the best of her works.

Links We Mentioned

Ann McCutchan's website

Here is Home: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Cross Creek

The Life She Wished To Live: A Biography of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Author of The Yearling

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society annual conference 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Author Holly Sprinkle joins the podcast to talk about her book, Florida Natural Springs: A History. The trio talks about — among other things — Naked Ed, the historic marker at Manatee Springs, and why fat mermaids are the best mermaids.

Links We Mentioned

The William Bartram plaque at Manatee Springs

Buy Holly's book!

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

While working as a journalist, Pete Gallagher investigated Florida stories that made a difference. He joins the podcast this week to talk about two of those stories, people buried under Tropicana Field, and his book (in progress) about his life in journalism.

Links We Mentioned

James Richardson

Emateloye Estenletkvte: Polly Parker Got Away

Florida Folk Show

radiostpete.com

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Florida has a significant history with enslaved people escaping their oppressors in the United States. If you want to see history, these are places you can visit to learn the real history of Florida's underground railroad.

Links We Mentioned

Fort Mose

Bill Baggs State Park

Gulf Islands National Seashore in Pensacola 

Podcast episode about Prospect Bluff

Fernandina Plaza Historic State Park

Kingsley Plantation

Fitzpatrick Plantation Ruins

Angola Settlement (more about Angola)

The Fort at Prospect Bluff by Dale Cox

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Nichole Delafield-Bromme and Lief Bromme talk about their book, Little Wekiva Memories: Kayaking & Other Adventures.

Links We Mentioned

Little Wekiva Memories: Kayaking & Other Adventures

NicholeDelafield.com

Maffrey's at Ivanhoe Village

Brick and Mortar Places Selling Little Wekiva

Sunshine Book Co. 

647 Lake Ave., Clermont, FL 34711 

Maffrey’s  (see link above)

Barnes and Noble

B&N  Sand Lake, 7900 W. Sand Lake Road, Orlando 

B&N Colonial Plaza Market Center, 2418 E. Colonial Dr., Orlando

B&N Altamonte Mall, Altamonte Springs

B&N 331 N. Alafaya Trail, Orlando

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Mary McLeod Bethune founded the school that became Bethune-Cookman University, but why — and how? Ryan and Cathy take a look.

Find Submerged Stories on Facebook.

Find Ryan and Cathy on Instagram.

Links We Mentioned

Bethune-Cookman University

The Zorg

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

As Rick and Cathy look to the new year, they talk about the podcast's origin story, what Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings would have sounded like as an influencer, and the ways social media can help Florida research.

Links We Mentioned

Ann McCutchan

Desperately seeking information on:

Mary Mae Campbell (Most likely: South Florida/Homestead, ca. 1967)

Donald W. Sill (Winter Park artist /Altamonte Springs)

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

A search for legendary Key West fire chef Bum Farto led historian David L. Sloan down a path that led to how Key West played a large part in the assassination of JFK in Dallas. His detailed research helps prove a conspiracy that has long plagued Americans.

Links We Mentioned

David's website telling the story of JFK, the CIA, and the mafia in Key West

Bum Farto

Buy the book

Cover image courtesy of David L. Sloan. 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Tibbals Curator of Circus, Jennifer Lemmer Posey, talks about the history of the circus in Florida, where it's going, and the state of things today.

Links We Mentioned

The Ringling

Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil's Drawn to Life

International Independent Showmen's Association

Showmen's Club

The Ringling collection at FSU

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Ross Allen's daughter, Betty Allen Bashaw, talks about growing up around her father's menagerie, some of her most interesting tasks at the Ross Allen Institute, and how to get a gator to take a nap.

Pictured: A young Betty Allen with her father Ross Allen. Photo courtesy of Betty Allen Bashaw.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Have you been to Havana? No, not that one — the one near Quincy, in North Central Florida. Mark Pettus, co-owner of 16 newspapers in North Florida, gives insider tips for visiting Havana and Quincy.

Things To Do in Gadsden County

Visit Quincy

Havana Main Street

Antiques in Havana

Havana Main Street

Sist3r Chicks

Oscar's in Havana

Heroes and Villains

El Jalisco

Weezy's Cottage

Red Door Wine Bar

Planters Exchange

Havana History and Heritage Society

Coon Bottom Farms Country Store

Off the Rails Irish Pub

Gadsden Historical Society

Links We Mentioned

Ray Charles in Florida

Attapulgite

The Herald

Florida Newsline

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

This week, Ryan Worthington and Cathy Salustri talk about their forthcoming podcast, Submerged Stories: Florida's Other History.

Find Submerged Stories on Facebook.

Find Ryan and Cathy on Instagram.

Links We Mentioned

Prospect Bluff: Part of the Underground Network to Freedom

Dale Cox YouTube Episode

Fort Gadsden and the Underground Railroad

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

The Florida Wildlife Federation calls Karen Chadwick a conservation hero. She's spent her life on and around the waters of Central Florida, and she talks about her passion for the Ocklawaha, the impacts of keeping the dam, and the splendor of the regular drawdowns.

Links We Mentioned

Ocklawaha River

Rodman Reservoir and Dam

Cross-Florida Barge Canal

Kenwood boat ramp

Buckman Lock

North Star Charters

Karen's YouTube channel about the Ocklawaha 

A Cruising Down the River

Photo of Karen Chadwick by Alan Halaly.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Jason Vuic (rhymes with Buick!) talks about his latest book, A Town Without Pity: Aids, Race, & Resistance in Florida's Deep South. In it, he delves into two notorious cases from Arcadia: the Ray brothers, and the James Richardson case. 

Links We Mentioned

A Town Without Pity

Swamp Peddlers

Wheeler's Cafe

Florida's Peace River Frontier by Canter Brown, Jr. 

PHOTO:  In 1987, Arcadia brothers Ricky (left), Robert (center), and Randy (right) Ray suffered from hemophilia and contracted the AIDS virus through tainted blood factor. Ostracized by their community and thrust into the national spotlight, they were the victims of intense anti-AIDS hysteria (courtesy Tribune Publishing).

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Robin Mimna talks about the darker side of Henry Flagler, Stetson, and other "founding fathers" in Florida. We also talk about the women behind the men, and how the men controlled the narratives about them.

Links We Mentioned

Lake Helen

Flagler's Law

Arthur Hamlin

Mary Grace Quackenbos

Annie Laurie's Triumph 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Elizabeth Randall, author of Florida haunted history books, joins the podcast — this week only, we've changed the name — to tell us some fantastic Florida ghost stories. 

Links We Mentioned

Elizabeth Randall website

Bosque Bello Cemetery in Fernandina

Amelia Island Museum of History (the old jailhouse)

Robert the Doll by David Sloan

David Sloan ghost tour and VIP Robert the Doll Experience

Robert the Doll Florida Spectacular episode

Books from Elizabeth Randall 

Women in White

Murder in St. Augustine: The Mysterious Death of Athalia Ponsell Lindsley

Haunted St. Augustine 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

To celebrate the 25th annual issue of Saw Palm, the editors came on the podcast to talk about what sorts of things to expect in the anniversary issue, a book from the man who started Saw Palm, and things to do in Ybor City.

Links We Mentioned

Saw Palm

Fearsome Creatures of Florida

Columbia Restaurant

The Castle

Kress Contemporary 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Can AI make Florida better? Bess Auer joins the podcast to talk about AI, being a UF cheerleader during the Danny Rollins serial killings, and her Orlando treasure hunt.

Links We Mentioned

Cherry 2000

"How Ted Bundy Ended Our Innocence" by Diane Roberts

Second Harvest Food Bank

Fenn's treasure

HoundsHouse Orlando

The Secret: A Treasure Hunt (Byron Preiss)

HaveIBeenTrained.com

Bess' SubStack

Can AI plan a decent Florida road trip? Here's what happened when Rick and Cathy tried to get AI to do just that.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Haley Moody, the director of the Florida Springs Institute, joins the podcast to talk about the idea of creating a National Springs Heritage Area in Florida.

About Haley

Haley’s passion for the springs began during her first visit to the Ichetucknee River. Her love of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was born during her time at the University of Florida, where she graduated with honors in Landscape Architecture. After a GIS Internship at the Florida Springs Institute, she transitioned into managing FSI’s outreach efforts and now focuses on the direction of FSI. Her dedication to the springs continues to grow as she communicates the challenges that face the Floridan Aquifer.

Links We Mentioned

The VRBO Cathy mentioned in the Orlando area

Florida Springs Institute

Reach out to Haley to be a stakeholder: hmoody@floridaspringsinstitute.org

Learn about how springs work and who controls what with the FSI Pocket Guide 

Springs photo by Rick Kilby.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Florida nature photographer Matt Keene talks about how he uses large-format film cameras to create his portraits. Matt has an exhibit at the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine (through Jan. 18, 2026), and this episode offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how much work, forethought, and effort goes into this extraordinary body of work. 

Links We Mentioned 

More about Matt Keene 

River Be Dammed

Lost Springs

Echoes of the Wild at the Lightner Museum Oct. 3, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026

Image: Gores Landing on the Ocklawaha River, Florida, Aluminum, 2024, by Matt Keene 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Brandy Carlisle, a tour guide at St. Augustine's Fountain of Youth Park, is fascinated with the woman who bought the land that is now the park. So much so she's published a book about her: Luella. The trio talks about Luella, prostitution, and the Fountain of Youth.

Links We Mentioned

Luella

Fountain of Youth Park in St. Augustine

Find out more about Brandy — and her fascinating hobbies — on her website.

 Unearthing St. Augustine: America's Oldest City, by Kathy Deagan. 
 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Rick and Cathy talk about Rick's trip to St. Augustine, then answer a letter from a listener about whether or not moving to Florida is a good idea. 

Things To Do in St. Augustine

St. Augustine's Fountain of Youth (visit with a critical eye!)

The San Marco shops in St. Augustine, including Duddington's

Columbia Restaurant in the St. Augustine Historic District 

 Don't forget to check out Spinster Abbott's. 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Mikita Brottman, author of Guilty Creatures, joins the podcast to talk about the Tallahassee murder that scandalized the town when Denise Williams and Brian Winchester plotted and executed the murder of Denise's husband, Mike.

Mikita Brottman is a writer and psychoanalyst. Her latest book Guilty Creatures was published by Simon and Schuster in 2024. She has a D. Phil from Oxford University and is a professor of literature at the Maryland Institute College of Art, in Baltimore.

Links We Mentioned

Vilano Beach

Cap's on the Water

Guilty Creatures

Mr. & Mrs. Murder

Springs of Florida

Image via Simon & Schuster 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

 The face behind the super-popular Florida's Folk History Instagram account joins the podcast this week. Aubrey Naulin talks about her art, her hopes for Florida's future, and Florida's Indians.

Links We Mentioned

Florida Folk History on Instagram

Rosewood Remembered

Islands of Cedars by Shana Smith

Submerged Stories: Florida's Other Histories on Facebook

Lake Hourglass Studio 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Mark Barrow grew up around gators — both the real one and a certain Florida college that pays homage to them. Now, he's written a book about alligators, and he joins Rick and Cathy to talk about why alligators deserve respect, not fear. The trio also talks about the gator's place in Florida's culture, roadside Florida gator attractions, and why gators are amazing creatures.

Links We Mentioned

Mini-Lights and Black children used as gator bait?

Mini Lights proof of concept trailer from Vitale Brothers

Nature's Ghosts (this is the one we mentioned with the dead Carolina Parakeet on the cover)

William Bartram's alligator

"Alligator Capital of the World": A post by Rick Kilby

The alligator engravings some call DeMoyne, but are not 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

This week Rick and Cathy talk about Punta Gorda

Links We Mentioned

Warm Mineral Springs

Things To Do in North Port

Myakka River State Park 

Royal Order of Ponce de Leon Conquistadors

Radioactive Fountain of Youth in Punta Gorda

Sunseeker Resort

DeSoto Veterans Memorial Park

Ponce-apalooza

Ponce-y Scheme

Revisiting Warm Mineral Springs

Old World Meets New Age at Warm Mineral Springs

(Image via Google Maps/Fair Use) 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Florida icon Lars Andersen joins the podcast to talk about his passion: Florida waterways. 

Links We Mentioned

Payne's Prairie: A History of the Great Savanna by Lars Anderson

Book a river tour with Lars at Adventure Outpost or email him.

Lost Springs in one minute with Margaret Tolbert

Wacissa Slave Canal 

Big Blue Spring.

Haulover Canal.

Photo: Canon Springs during drawdown.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!