Florida Spectacular

Send us your Florida questions!

Rick and Cathy talk about mangos, Matlacha, and a different type of Florida paradise. Pine Island and Matlacha don't have high rises, chain hotels, or franchises. This small island haven has plenty of small pleasures on offer, especially for people seeking a less-traditional type of paradise.

Things To Do in Matlacha

The Perfect Cup

Tarpon Lodge (lodging and dining alike)

Randell Research Center

Leoma Lovegrove galleries

Bokeelia Art Gallery

MangoMania

Links We Mentioned

Randy Wayne White's Doc Ford series (check out Dark Light) 

John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series

Calusa Heritage Trail

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

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!

Send us your Florida questions!

On this week's podcast, Jenny DeWitt talks about why she left Florida, where she traveled when she did, and why she came back.

Links we mentioned:

Eau Gallie Arts District.

Backwater restaurant.

Downtown Creedo.

Green Gables, Melbourne, FL

Lil Bit of Life, Mount Dora, FL

Grow Lake County - Local Farm & Food Map

Architecture SRQ - Home of Architecture Sarasota MOD Weekend

Townie Tourist (2016-2020)

Slow Travel Society Guide to Orlando (2021)

Find Jennifer online at: https://cultura.travel

Instagram: https://instagram.com/jennyintransit

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

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!

Send us your Florida questions!

Everyone loves the Florida Keys — but not everyone has discovered the sheer magnificence of the wilder and more natural parts of the island chain. The Florida Keys tourism board wants to change that; they created an an app that lets anyone earn points (and swag) for checking out an eco trail that runs from Key Largo to Key West. 

Ashley Serrate joins Brad and Cathy to talk about why the Fla-Keys.com  created the Eco Experience Pass, how it works, and some of the more intriguing experiences along the Florida Keys Eco Trail. 

Links We Mentioned

Florida Keys Eco Experience Pass

Slice of Paradise Coral Fragging Experience (Look for "Hands On Experiences) toward the bottom

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

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!

Send us your Florida questions!

Meet Shilpi Rawat, who left Mumbai for a life in Florida. As a new Floridian, she planned a Florida lighthouse road trip. Learn about her experiences from the panhandle to the Dry Tortugas, the time she swam with a barracuda (not on purpose), and hear about some of her favorite lighthouses.

Links We Mentioned

About Dooder and the Lighthouse short film (and trailer)

List of Florida lighthouses

Check out Shilpi's travel photos here and here.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

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!

Send us your Florida questions!

Leslie Kemp Poole, author of Tracing Florida Journeys: Explorers, Travelers, and Landscapes Then and Now, comes on the podcast to talk about recreating Florida journeys made by famous Floridians and Florida-fans such as John Muir, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. She gives life to these journeys — take a listen!

Leslie's books

Watch Leslie follow Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' journey

Book cover courtesy of Leslie Kemp Poole/University Press of Florida.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

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!

Send us your Florida questions!

Looking for places to snorkel in the Florida Keys? Brad's the expert. He explains not only how snorkeling ignited his interest in Florida Keys and Monroe County history, but where anyone can snorkel in the Florida Keys. 

Brad's Florida Keys snorkeling spots

Bahia Honda State Park

Looe Key

Key West Marine Park (you can walk/swim to this one)

Garden Key and Dry Tortugas

Links We Mentioned

At Robbie's: Sundance Watersports often goes to Alligator Light reef

Your guide to reef-friendly sunscreen

What does a Caribbean reef shark look like?

Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

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!

Send us your Florida questions!

Cathy and Rick talk about how nature influences their writing, Cathy's camping experience at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park, Rick's upcoming keynote at the MKR annual conference, and where to find wild citrus.

Links We Mentioned

Matheson Museum, with the anniversary exhibit Rick designed

Squarehouse Pizza in Gainesville (Formerly Satch Squared, partly owned by Satchel's Pizza)

Rawlings Society and annual conference in May

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park and its Citizen Support Organization (also called a "friends group")

Sour Orange Pie and Sour Orange Margaritas

Volunteer at a Florida State Park

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

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!

Send us your Florida questions!

People love pirate lore — but what did it mean to be a pirate in Florida? According to Cathy, a lot more bureaucracy than you'd think. Rick and Cathy talk about pirates, real and imagined, and make a few Florida detours along the way.

Links We Mentioned

Legend of Jose Gaspar

Sir Francis Drake and privateer Robert Searle

Florida Pirate Festivals

Pirates in St. Augustine

A history of pirates in Florida

Sir Frances Drake in St. Augustine

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

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!

Send us your Florida questions!

Did the Florida Keys have pirates? Brad and Cathy debate. Brad unearthed an 1829 Keys newspaper and talks about an article warning of land sharks and advertising a house for rent for $20 a month in Key West. 

They also chat about the San Carlos, the Key West Firehouse Museum, and Carysfort Reef.

Links We Mentioned

Key West Firehouse Museum

San Carlos Institute

Carysfort Reef National Marine Sanctuary

The U.S.S. Schooner Alligator and Alligator Key

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

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!

Send us your Florida questions!

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings made Cross Creek famous through her writing, and if you want to experience Florida as she did, there's no better place. From free-range venison starters at a Cross Creek restaurant to paddling the same creeks she did, immerse yourself in the world of Cross Creek. Here's how!

Spoiler alert: Cathy gives away the ending of The Yearling at the start of the podcast, because she says everyone knows. Rick disagrees, so if you don't know the story, consider yourself warned!

Links We Mentioned

The Yearling Restaurant

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park

Cross Creek paddle trips

Wood & Swink general store in Evinston

Ocean Grill in Vero Beach

Cathy Salustri's Writer's Talk at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park (Feb. 24, 2024)

Salt Springs

Real Florida? The Ocklawaha River

Explore More of the Area

Exploring Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' homestead

Where's Waldo?

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

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!