Florida Spectacular

By Cathy Salustri & Rick KilbySociety & Culture Leisure History Places & Travel

Florida Spectacular episodes

February 08, 2024 Episode 139: Florida Springs, Politics, and the Profanity Manatee
Send us your Florida questions!
Ryan Smart, the executive director of the Florida Springs Council, joins the podcast to talk about threats facing springs, some recent victories for Florida's environment, and how people can support the work that protects Florida springs.
Image of the Profanity Manatee courtesy of Florida Springs Council; used with permission.
Links We Mentioned
Manatee Profanity t-shirt and other merch that supports Florida Springs Council
Become a sustaining member
Ditch the plastic water bottles for hurricane prep: Get reusable five-gallon glass water jug and USB-powered pump dispenser

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!
31 min
February 01, 2024 Florida Keys Spectacular Episode 3: Bahia Honda and Long Key State Park
Send us your Florida questions!
Brad and Cathy take a deep dive into two of the best Florida State Parks in the Florida Keys: Bahia Honda and Long Key.
Links We Mentioned
Florida Keys Eco-Experience Trail app for exploring the Florida Keys.
Bahia Honda State Park
Long Key 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!
34 min
January 31, 2024 Episode 138: Fort Mose, Black History Matters, and Florida's Underground Railroad
Send us your Florida questions!
Today's guest, Charles Ellis, who serves as the Fort Mose Historical Society president, talks about the reconstruction of the Fort, what’s happening in February, and Florida's place on the Underground Railroad.
Links We Mentioned
Fort Mose State Park
Flight to Freedom
Fort Mose Historical Society
Jazz and Blues at Fort Mose
Support Fort Mose and Black History in Florida
Gullah Geechee Heritage Trail
What is a "ring shout"?
How To Be an Anti-Racist

Middle grade offering from Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi
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!
38 min
January 24, 2024 Episode 137: Hidden Sarasota, Things to Do You Might Not Know About
Send us your Florida questions!
If you want to explore Sarasota, Rick and Cathy have plenty of favorites.
Places to Eat
Owen's Fish Camp
Yoder's of Pinecraft and The Gabber Newspaper's feature on Yoder's
Bali Hut Tiki Hut
Outdoors and Nature Experiences
Myakka River State Park
Warm Mineral Springs
Selby Botanical Gardens
Mote Marine Aquarium (kayaking and the February Farm to Fillet)
Venice Beach and Shark's Teeth
Roadside Attraction: Sarasota Jungle Gardens

Arts
Ringling
Sarasota School of Architecture
Urbanite Theatre
Sarasota Art Museum
Shopping: St. Armand's Circle
Links We Mentioned
Orchid scandal at Selby and Craig Pittman's The Scent of Scandal about that scandal
Feld Entertainment

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!
39 min
January 18, 2024 Florida Keys Spectacular Episode 2: The Most Beautiful Drive in America, State Road 4A
Send us your Florida questions!
Flying into Key West is super-convenient, but people who fly into Key West miss one of the best parts of the Florida Keys: The Overseas Highway, which connects mainland Florida with the Florida Keys. The road didn't always look the way it does today, however. Brad and Cathy explain it all.
Florida Keys Extras
No Name Pub on No Name Key used to be a brothel
The Pineapple Express? Yup, pineapples in the Florida Keys!
The Seven-Mile Bridge in True Lies
A pictorial trip across the Overseas Highway
Last Train to Paradise
Hurricane of 1935
Have you met Fred?
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!
40 min
January 17, 2024 Episode 136: Where to See Manatee in Florida
Send us your Florida questions!
It's January! It's cold! It's the best time to see manatee! Where can you see them?

Rick and Cathy name their favorite spots (see the links) and talk about whether manatee resemble sea potatoes or zaftig mermaids, manatee flatulence, and manatee nipples (when an animal has armpit nipples, you have to mention it.)
Links We Mentioned
Is it a manatee or a mermaid?
How smart are manatee?
The year almost 800 manatee died
Panther attacks?
Where to See Manatee
Crystal River
Blue Spring State Park
Haulover Canal
TECO Viewing Center
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!
39 min
January 10, 2024 Episode 135: Florida Trails: Hiking Shoes, Stepping on Snakes, and Sloughs
Send us your Florida questions!
A reader question about hiking shoes leads to a discussion about best places to hike in Florida. The Florida Madcaps' Chelsea Stevens joins to talk about hiking and water shoes, that time she stepped on a copperhead, and her favorite hikes.
Links We Mentioned
FloridaHikes.com

Shoes for Hiking Florida Trails
Altra shoes
What are shoe gaiters and do you want them?
Fit2Run
Track Shack
Astral hiking shoes
Hikes in Central Florida
Little Big Econ State Forest
Chelsea's favorite Central Florida hike: Charles Bronson State Forest
Chelsea's favorite hike in Florida: Torreya State Park (and the nearby Apalachicola Bluffs)
Salt Springs
The Yearling Trail with Jody Spring and Long Cemetery
Rick's favorite Central Florida hike: Lyonia Preserve
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!
39 min
January 04, 2024 Florida Keys Spectacular Episode 1: Florida State Parks We Love in the Upper Keys
Send us your Florida questions!
Florida does an amazing job with state parks, and perhaps this is best showcased in the Florida Keys. In the inaugural episode, take a tour of some of Brad and Cathy's favorite state parks in the Upper Keys.

State Parks to Visit in the Florida Keys
• Dagny Johnson Key Largo Botanical State Park for hiking and the chance of seeing the endangered woodrat.
• Windley Key Fossil Reef State Park for the hiking and the history (they have ranger-led tours)
• Indian Key State Park for the history, solitude, lack of mosquitoes, and snorkeling. Paddle out to the island (which has no facilities). Snorkel the patch reef and grass flats by the island.
• Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park for ranger-led tours, history, and the chance to see one of the last virgin West Indian hardwood hammocks.

Links Brad & Cathy Mentioned
Key Largo woodrat (but is it a rat?)
Bayside Gourmet
Robbie's Islamorada
Matheson home at Lignumvitae
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!
37 min
January 03, 2024 Episode 134: Into the Woods: Swamp Hikes, Snakes, and Stories
Send us your Florida questions!
Take a hike in the swamp! Cathy and Rick talk about hiking in Florida swamps, venomous snakes, and other things you might find as you experience Florida's wilderness. Also, Cathy talks about the time she got lost in the swamp and almost stepped on a venomous snake.
Pictured is the juvenile cottonmouth from Cathy's hike in Big Cypress. No, it's not a Magic Eye; look closely and you'll see him. Or her. Cathy didn't want to check.
Links We Mentioned
Clyde Butcher's swamp walk
Wild hog
Ranger-led tours at Big Cypress
Monroe Station
Cottonmouth facts
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!
44 min
December 27, 2023 Episode 133: Mermaids, Manatee, and Many, Many Paddling Trips
Send us your Florida questions!
Rick and Cathy talk about Florida places they want to visit in 2024. Unsurprisingly, many of the trips involve kayaking.
Quick Travel Guide to St. Augustine
Meehan's Irish Pub
Osteen's
Casa de Sueños
Quick Travel Guide to West Volusia Heritage Corridor
Cassadaga
DeLand Memorial Hospital Museum
Main Street DeLand
Hontoon Island
The Forgotten Mermaids: Jacques
Quick Guide to Paddling Ocala National Forest
Juniper Run
Juniper Springs (Campsite info)
Salt Springs Recreation Area
Black Water Creek
Paddling the Wekiva River Area
Wekiwa Springs State Park
King’s Landing
Kelly Park/Rock Springs Run County Park
Emerald Cut

Paddle Rainbow River
Swampy's at the end of the paddle
Paddle Weeki Wachee Springs & the Chassahowitzka
Weeki Wachee Springs State Park
Upper Deck Restaurant
Paddling the Chaz, Chassahowitzka camping, Miss Maggie's Crack

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!
43 min

About Florida Spectacular

From the publisher's feed

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…