Florida Spectacular

By Cathy Salustri & Rick Kilby

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

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FAQs about Florida Spectacular:

How many episodes does Florida Spectacular have?

The podcast currently has 245 episodes available.

Florida Spectacular episodes:

August 14, 2024 Episode 166: Tin Can Tourists, Lance Campers, and Florida State Parks
Send us your Florida questions!
Campers, listen up! From Tin Can Tourist to air conditioned cabins, Florida's a camper's paradise. Rick and Cathy talk about the origins of Tin Can tourists in Tampa, which state parks have the best camping, and how to camp in comfort at them.
Links We Mentioned
Lance Campers (2565)
Lazy Days RVs
Desoto Park in Tampa
Tin Can Tourist websites
Briny Breezes
In Her Shoes

Photo by Britt Fuller/public domain
Texas Together: with Hondo
Ordinary Texans with Extrodinary Stories
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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!
...more
37min
August 07, 2024 Episode 165: Hurricanes, Fossils, and an Elephant Graveyard
Send us your Florida questions!
Along the Suwannee River, there's a treasure trove of fossilized rhinos and elephants. Stephenie Livingston, a science journalist, joins the podcast this week to talk about the Montbrook fossil site, what we can learn about climate change from it, and why it matters.
Links We Mentioned
National Wildlife article about Florida's elephants
More about Montbrook fossil site in Levy County
Stephenie's website and Instagram

Image: Florida Museum illustration by Merald Clark
Texas Together: with Hondo
Ordinary Texans with Extrodinary Stories
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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!
...more
43min
August 01, 2024 Florida Keys Spectacular Episode 16: Sharks vs. Dolphins
Send us your Florida questions!
Brad and Cathy take a look at the state of shark populations in the Keys, explain that the shark's reputation as man-easting beast is undeserved, and why they're a lot better — and nicer — than dolphin.
Links We Mentioned
Brad's post on Facebook about shark finning
Meet the sharks of the Florida Keys
Info about endangered sharks
"Why the Author of Jaws Wishes He Never Wrote It"
"Why Dolphins Are Evil"
Nat Geo video of dolphin-on-dolphin violence
Shark bite statistics
Fins, part of the Sharks Incorporated series by Randy Wayne White
Marine biologist on why dolphins are scarier than sharks
Texas Together: with Hondo
Ordinary Texans with Extrodinary Stories
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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!
...more
34min
July 31, 2024 Episode 164: Dive bars, Lucky Cole, and Mullet Tosses
Send us your Florida questions!
Who loves a good dive bar? Rick and Cathy do. This week they chat about their favorites — send them yours!
Whiskey Lou's in Orlando's Milk District
The Emerald in downtown St. Pete
Tony's Liquors in Winter Garden
Wally's on Mill in Orlando
Joannie's Blue Crab in Ochopee
Last Chance Saloon in Florida City
Mahuffer's on Indian Shores
The Palace Saloon in Fernandina
Flora-Bama Bar
Burton's in Thornton Park
Links We Mentioned
Knuckleheads with a boat in Crystal River (please drink responsibly!)
Lucky Cole
List of "dive" bars in Florida (but not really)
Texas Together: with Hondo
Ordinary Texans with Extrodinary Stories
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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!
...more
38min
July 24, 2024 Episode 163: Florida Crackers, Moonshine, and Florida Cattle Ranching Today
Send us your Florida questions!
Rick and Cathy look at Florida crackers: Cracker culture, Florida cowboys, and cracker villages.
Links We Mentioned
The Secret History of the Word Cracker
Florida Wildlife Corridor and Wild Space Gallery
Florida Cracker Horse
Florida Cattle History
Lake Kissimmee State Park Cow Camp
Florida Cracker entry at FL Memory
Rick's post about Kissimmee/Osceola Co cattle history
Fort Christmas
Rick's post about Christmas
Dade City's FL Pioneer Village
Barberville Pioneer Settlement
Rick's post about Barberville
Cracker Country at the State Fairgrounds
Dunn History: Black Cowboys
Lawrence Silas at Osceola Co History Center
Texas Together: with Hondo
Ordinary Texans with Extrodinary Stories
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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!
...more
38min
July 18, 2024 Florida Keys Spectacular Episode 15: Florida Lobster: Poached, Poachers, and... Lobster Sex?
Send us your Florida questions!
Cathy and Brad talk about Florida lobster. Lobster season runs Aug. 6- Mar. 31, but there's more to this tasty crustacean than meets the antenna! Hear why Brad (and many other Keys residents) thinks the mini-season has gotten out of hand, why spiny lobsters are actually crayfish, and how they reproduce.
“You should have seen the crawfish in the mangrove roots along the shores. They were stacked up two feet – one on top of the other. I’ve had them weigh seven pounds. The whole shore would be red, two or three hundred feet. One time I caught 2,900 crawfish with a small net. My father had a contract with the railroad to supply crawfish to Key West. The last season we worked for them, we shipped 54,000 pounds even though the supply was depleted by that time. That was the only year we kept a record. We found most of them on the lee side of Key Largo, Rodriguez, and Tavernier – wherever there was a mangrove shore. Nothing much on Dove Key.” —Beauregard Albury, Florida Keys
Links We Mentioned
Scorpion sex
How do spiny lobsters reproduce?
Spiny lobster fun facts
Facts about Florida lobster
Texas Together: with Hondo
Ordinary Texans with Extrodinary Stories
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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!
...more
35min
July 17, 2024 Episode 162: The Gadsden Flag, Florida History, and No Step on Snek
Send us your Florida questions!
A look at the history of Florida's role in the American revolution, the history of the Gadsden flag, and why Floridians hated everything for which it stood when it was a symbol of the American Revolution.

Links We Mentioned & Further Reading:

Don't Tread on Me post about the license plate and Florida history
Florida Frontiers podcast about early Florida history

Florida Veterans Foundation

Don't Tread on Anyone version of the flag

Gadsden/Tampa Connection
Texas Together: with Hondo
Ordinary Texans with Extrodinary Stories
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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!
...more
36min
July 10, 2024 Episode 161: Democracy in Florida, Reconstruction, and Gainesville
Send us your Florida questions!
Willett Hancock Museum Assistant at the Matheson Museum joins the podcast to talk about a new exhibit at the Matheson Museum in Gainseville: Voices and Votes. Rick, Cathy, and Willett talk about democracy in Florida, and the historical struggle to make sure everyone can participate in it.
Links We Mentioned
Voices and Votes (and other exhibits) at the Matheson Museum
Ocoee Massacre
Rosewood Massacre
Pork Chop Gang
William A. Shands
Satchel's Pizza
The Top

Texas Together: with Hondo
Ordinary Texans with Extrodinary Stories
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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!
...more
31min
July 04, 2024 Florida Keys Spectacular Episode 14: There be (almost no) pirates: Black Caesar, The Princess Bride, and Pirate Taxes
Send us your Florida questions!
Were there pirates in the Florida Keys? Who was Black Caesar? What does Black Caesar have in common with The Princess Bride?

Brad Bertelli explains it all.
Links We Mentioned
Elliot Key in Biscayne National Park
Florida Keys History with Brad Bertelli, Volume II
Mostly Fake Black Caesar History
General History of Pyrates (1724)
Gasparilla Pirate Fest
Texas Together: with Hondo
Ordinary Texans with Extrodinary Stories
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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!
...more
41min
July 03, 2024 Episode 160: Dinner and Show: How To Do Kissimmee (And Not Look Like a Tourist)
Send us your Florida questions!
This week, the best parts of Kissimmee, from roadside ephemera to the headwaters of the Florida Everglades.
Stay
Legacy Vacation Resorts, Cathy found it to be a great home base for exploring the less touristy areas of the area.
Disclaimer: Legacy hosted most of her stay, but she chose to mention them because of the B Corp certification and location.
Eat
Woodsby's Cafe
Catfish Place St. Cloud
1881 Restaurant & Bar
Explore
Shingle Creek paddling (Read about Rick's experience)
Downtown Kissimmee and the Kissimmee Monument of States
Learn More About Kissimmee
Roadside Kissimmee
Kissimmee Follow-Up
Kissimmee and Shuffleboard
Links We Mentioned
Big Bamboo
Kast Club
Xanadu: House of the Future
Osceola History and
Texas Together: with Hondo
Ordinary Texans with Extrodinary Stories
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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!
...more
34min

FAQs about Florida Spectacular:

How many episodes does Florida Spectacular have?

The podcast currently has 245 episodes available.

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