Send us your Florida questions!

Shana Smith joins the podcast to talk about her book, Islands of Cedars. Shana based the book on actual events, but is a well-researched book of fiction. It's a beautifully written piece of history and Shana talks about what motivated her to write the book, what happened, and what's next. 

Links We Mentioned

Islands of Cedars

FloridaRAMA

The Rosewood Massacre

Voice and Pen nonprofit

Zora Seasonal Events

Image via Shana Smith

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!

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Looking for things to do that most people miss in Ormond Beach? Historian Randy Jaye has a lot for you to explore.

Links We Mentioned

Tomoka Mound Complex

Legend of Tomokie (and that ridiculous statue Rick loves)

Old Kings Road

Three Chimneys

Dummett Plantation

The Loop Scenic Drive

McRae Plantation and Addison Blockhouse

The Ormond Hotel

Fortunato Park

Birthplace of Speed

Anderson-Price Memorial Building

The Casements

The Casemente Annex

The Dix House

The Lippincott Mansion (aka Melrose Hall)

Ormond Fire House

Ormond Yacht Club

The Porches

Talahloka

Joy Postle murals at Rowallan

Florida Bucket Li

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!

Joy Wallace Dickinson, author of the old Florida murder mystery, Secrets of the Flamingo Café, joins the podcast to talk about her book, the history in which she grounded it, and her writing process. There's a rare snowfall in North Florida as we taped this podcast and of course Cathy has some big feelings about that.

Links We Mentioned

About Joy Wallace Dickinson

Secrets of the Flamingo Café: An Old Florida Mystery

John D. MacDonald

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!

Ever heard of a zero-magnitude spring? It's a spring that has "historic flow" — meaning it doesn't have any water anymore (usually — some get water during times of heavy rain). Rick and Cathy talk about some of Florida's lost springs.

Links We Mentioned

Mosaic Peace Park

Wakulla Springs State Park

Daytona's Atomic Tunnel

White Sulphur Springs

Hampton Springs

Newport Springs

Suwannee Springs

Worthington Springs

Benjamin Dimmitt: An Unflinching Look

Around Enterprise, Florida Jan. 18? Come see Rick!

Image of White Sulphur Springs via Suwannee River Water Management District

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!

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Cathy and Rick talk about their favorite parks that aren't state parks.

City and County Florida Parks You Need To Visit

Fort De Soto (St. Petersburg)

Greenwood Cemetery (map showing GAR) (Orland)

Mead Botanical Gardens (Winter Park)

Boyd Hill (St. Petersburg)

Moss Park (Orlando)

Shingle Creek (Kissimmee)

Princess Place Preserve (Flagler County)

Brooker Creek Preserve (North Pinellas County)

Weedon Island (St. Petersburg)

Clam Bayou (Gulfport)

Juan Ponce de Leon Landing (Melbourne Beach)

Sand Key Park (Clearwater)

Venetian Gardens Park (Leesburg)

Links We Mentioned that Aren't Parks

Lake Placid

The Florida Excursionist

Pictured: Fort De Soto

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 Florida adventures for the new year and talk about kayaking. They also look ahead to 2025 and some possible new benefits for podcast subscribers. 

Links We Mentioned

Earth Kinship bioluminescence kayak tours

Florida State Parks camping reservations

Harvest Hosts

Florida Bucket List scratch-off adventures 

Keaton Beach

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!

AyoLane Halusky talks about possible changes at Marineland, why you shouldn't be afraid of alligators, and favorite paddles in St. Johns area.

Marineland

Unusual gator behavior in Big Cypress

My Life as a Turkey

Earth Kinship Kayak Tours & Nature Education

Geotripper

Local Lorax

Top  Kayaking Spots in the St. Johns Area 

Deep Creek

Welaka (Dunn's Creek to Murphy Island or Mud Springs)

Guana Lake at the dam (bioluminescence tour)

Mantanzas Inlet

Durbin Creek

Hontoon Island

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!

Kimball Love makes an appearance on the podcast to talk about her new book, Florida Is Not For Sissies. 

Links We Mentioned

Florida is Not for Sissies

Florida Is Not for Sissies merchandise

Florida Is Not For Sissies on Facebook

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!

Chris Meindl, associate professor or geography and the director of the Florida Studies Program at USF-St. Pete, joins the podcast to talk about his new book, Florida Springs: From Geography to Politics and Restoration. Cathy, Rick, and Chris talk about the springs, the Florida Studies Program, and the politics of water.

Go see him at the Sulfur Springs Museum in Tampa: Jan. 12, 2 p.m.

Links We Mentioned

Florida Geological Survey: Florida Springs

Water's Journey: The River Returns

Fenholloway River

Florida Swallets

Florida Studies Program

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!

What started as an episode on gratitude for Florida things meandered as much as the Kissimmee River in the 1920s. Rick and Cathy talk about what they're grateful for in Florida, and — naturally — that turns to talk of finding dead bodies and how to kill someone. It's the most nontraditional Thanksgiving episode ever. Take a listen.

Links We Mentioned

White Gate Court

Drawdown on the Oklawaha River

Birding in Florida

Crescent Moon Mysteries by Tara Lush

Bury me under a tree and let me be part tree

(Untested, but Cathy's buying it): Florida Adventure Bucket List)

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!