Send us your Florida questions!

This week, The Florida Spectacular welcomes CJ Oliverio, who talks about Florida springs, how to enjoy them, and which ones are his favorites. Cathy and Rick also celebrate the 101st episode and talk about why it's ill-advised to scuba dive with gators. 

CJ Oliverio is the CEO and founder of Play Hard Florida Adventures, a team of tour guides who offer adventures across the state.  His business has a mission to support Florida environmental nonprofits. 

Links we mentioned

Play Hard Florida

Water State Festival

The State of Water art exhibit

Florida Springs Institute

Florida Springs Council

King's Bay

Itchetucknee River

Florida's Most Wasteful Crop

Links we didn't mention but you may like

Current problems

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!

This week Rick and Cathy explore a few "truths" about Florida, from the Seminole Tribe's origins to the real story about Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth. 

Things we mentioned

Seminole Tribe of Florida

Fountain of Youth

Florida: The forgotten colonies during the American Revolution

What does it mean to be a cracker?

Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum.

Find Rick on Twitter @OldFLA and online at RickKilby.com.

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!

This week, Rick and Cathy take a trip to Winter Park, talking about their favorite places, things you should do (and eat!) while you're there, and why, despite all the changes, Winter Park's still a special Florida place.

Links we mentioned

Eat

Bosphorous Turkish Food

Austin's Coffee 

Stay 

Alfond Inn

Experience

Casa Feliz

History

The Langford Hotel

El Cortez Apartments
Winter Park Library

Read what Cathy and Rick have written about Winter Park.

Art at the Alfond

Barnie's (and the historic courtyard)

Dinky Dock Park

Mr. Rogers at Rollins College

Morse Museum

Polasek Museum

Rollins College

Scenic Boat Tour

Sunrail commuter train

Winter Park Farmers Market

Winter Park History Museum

Winter Park Sidewalk Art 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!

This week, Florida adventurer, springs advocate, and all-around good guy Ryan Worthington joins Rick and Cathy once again to talk about Florida's springs. The trio talks about challenges facing Florida Springs, how to enjoy the springs without doing any harm, and, of course, a few of their favorite springs.

Find Ryan on Instagram, and check out his podcast, The Florida Madcaps.

Links We Mentioned

The Florida Springs Council 

Has Our Love of Springs Become a Fatal Attraction?

HB 359

Bill Belleville

Springs We Mentioned

Blue Hole

Clifton Springs

Gilchrist Blue Springs

Seminole State Forest Springs (state site to get the code to gain access and a post from Rick about these springs)

Another column from Rick about Florida springs.

Shark's Tooth Spring

Three Sisters

White Sulphur Springs 

Wall Springs

Find Rick on Twitter @OldFLA and online at R

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!

The Angola settlement along the Manatee River lasted for roughly 50 years. Uzi Baram, a professor at New College of Florida, speaks about the enslaved people who escaped to Spanish Florida in search of freedom. They settled near the Manatee River. Here's some of what we know of their stories. 

Want to know more?

Visit Reflections of Manatee, Bishop Museum, and watch this video with Uzi.

Rick's post, Celebrating Sacred Ground

Links We Mentioned

Looking for Angola

Back to Angola Festival

Fort Mose

Prospect Bluff

De Soto National Memorial

Rick Kilby's blog post on Angola.

Find Rick on Twitter @OldFLA and online at RickKilby.com.

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 Bernadette Reeves, who, as a teenager in Lincolnville, marched for civil rights. Today, she gives tours and talks about the civil rights movement – and how what happened in St. Augustine led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act. 

Links & Places we mentioned

The Corner Market

More about taking a civil rights tour with Ms. B.

Lincolnville Museum

Google map of Lincolnville

Rick's post about the Civil Rights movement in Florida and the Quadracentennial

Find Rick on Twitter @OldFLA and online at RickKilby.com.

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!

Rick and Cathy talk about some off-the-beaten-path places in Florida that have not-often-discussed historical significance. Here's their Top 5 places to visit where you can soak in some unusual Florida history.

1. Ma Barker House
2. New Smyrna Beach & The Turnbull Colony
3. Rosewood
4. Micanopy
5. A Concentration Camp at Egmont Key

Links we mentioned
New Smyrna Museum of History

Sugar Mill Ruins 

The Turnbull Colony

Cedar Key Museum State Park 

Cedar Key Historical Society Museum

Rosewood marker

Ocoee Massacre exhibit

Micanopy Historical Society Museum

Herlong Mansion B&B

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park

Wood & Swink General Store and Post Office

Egmont 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!

Send us your Florida questions!

Cathy and Rick take a road trip to Winter Garden, which has a definite back-to-nature-meets-bougie vibe that only a Florida city can have (and we mean bougie in the best possible way!) Take a listen, then grab your keys and go explore Winter Garden on your own!

Eat

Plant Street Market Food Hall (including Crooked Can Brewery!)

Thai Blossom

Yellow Dog Eats

See

Winter Garden "Marina"

Trailer City (next to the "marina")

Do

Central Florida Railroad Museum

Lake Apopka North Shore Wildlife Trail

Oakland Nature Preserve

Ocoee Parking Lot Bluegrass Jam

West Orange Trail (Read Rick's article)

Nehrling Gardens

Winter Garden Heritage Museum

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!

This week Cathy and Rick take a virtual road trip to Gainesville, talking about their favorite things to do, eat, and see when they're in town. They also delve into the history of Waldo/Archer Road (SR 24) that runs from Yulee to Cedar Key, how to stay in an on-campus hotel at UF, and where you can find an elevator with an honest-to-god elevator operator.

Links we mentioned

See & Do: History & Nature

Haile Homestead Homes (and its talking walls)

Florida Museum and the Butterfly Rainforest

Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park

Matheson Museum

Bat Houses

Rum 138 Kayaking

Gargoyles on  UF Campus

See & Do: Music & Culture

The Hippodrome Theater

Lightning Salvage

Harn Museum of Art (check out the Vickers Collection)

4th Avenue Food Park (check for live music schedules)

See & Do: Fests

The Fest 

The Bash

Eat & Drink

Leonardo's Pizza

Satchel's Pizza and Satch Squared

Dragonfly (Sushi/Asian)

Lillian's Music Store

4th Avenue Food Park

Sleep

Reitz-Union hotel on campus at UF

Sweetwater Inn

Find Rick on Twitter @OldFLA and on

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!

A special guest this week as Stacey Matrazzo, Executive Director for the Florida Wildflower Foundation joined the show. She is the co-author of Native Plants for Florida Gardens, which she wrote with botanist/restoration ecologist Nancy Bissett.

Stacey has a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a master’s degree in liberal studies from Rollins College, where she is also an adjunct professor. A native Floridian and certified Florida Master Naturalist, she spends much of her free time kayaking, hiking, birding and photographing Florida’s amazing natural environments.

Find resources on how to select, grow and maintain native plants at FlaWildflowers.org.

Links we mentioned:

noblenativegardens on Instagram

Florida Wildflower Growers Cooperative (order Florida wildflower seeds!)

Green Isle Gardens in Groveland

Find great colorful native plants (like tropical sage) at a Florida Association of Native Nurseries retailer (plantrealflorida.org)

Find resources on how to select, grow and maintain native plants at flawildflowers.org

Find Rick on Twitter @OldFLA and online at RickKilby.com.

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!