Florida Spectacular

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

Florida Spectacular episodes

June 18, 2025 Episode 209: Insider's Guide to Winter Park
Send us your Florida questions!
Rick serves on the board of the Winter Park History Museum, and Cathy lived there for a time in the '90s (and loves to go back). That's why the book written by this episode's guest, Kim Michalak, was so appealing to both of them. Kim shares how she selected her 100 things for her book 100 Things To Do in Winter Park Before You Die.
Links We Mentioned
100 Things To Do in Winter Park Before You Die
Winter Park History Museum
Barnie's Coffee
The Imperial
Ten Thousand Villages
Tyler Gillespie
"Because This is Florida" by Campbell McGrath
Umi Japanese
Park Plaza
Ancient Artifacts and Treasures
The Hurston Museum in Eatonville
The Enzian
Prometheus Esoterica
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!
30 min
June 11, 2025 Episode 208: Surf's Up, Florida: Surfing, Sharks are Fun, and the Best Place To Surf in Florida
Send us your Florida questions!
Dan Reiter joins the podcast to talk about his career surfing Florida and writing about the same. The trio talks about everything from the best place to surf in Florida to why surfers shouldn't be scared of sharks. Check out Dan's book about surfing (link below).
Links We Mentioned
On a Rising Swell: Surf Stories From Florida's Space Coast (and a link to buy the book)
Ron Jon Surf Shop
Kelly Slater
Surfing Upham in Pinellas County
Beach renourishment and why it's bad for surfing (and so many other things)
Florida Surf Festival Film Festival June 13-14, 2025
Siam Orchid Thai food in Cocoa 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!
40 min
June 04, 2025 Episode 207: Polk Parkway, an Endangered Mint Plant, and What Listeners Can Do
Send us your Florida questions!
"Nature isn't just more complex than we know, it's more complex than we can know."
There's a sadly great chance that the State of Florida is going to build a toll road through the last remaining wild growth of a pretty — and pretty endangered — plant. Here's what's happening, where it's happening, and what you can do about it.
Links We Mentioned
Background on the dangers to this endangered mint
Sign up and get involved to protect this mint
Article by Rose Schnabel, WUFT on the mint and the road
Background article on the threats to the genus Dicerandra in Florida
President Eugene Kelly's interview about this issue
Horse Creek (where you can see the last remaining stand of this wild mint)
More about the mint
FDOT details on the project
Photo by Gene Kelly
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!
52 min
May 28, 2025 Episode 206: St. Augustine's More Recent History, Why All Old Buildings Are Not Historic, and St. Augustine's Black History
Send us your Florida questions!
Historian Holly Baker joins the podcast to talk about her work in preservation in St. Augustine, Vero Beach, and throughout Florida. The trio also talks about what makes a building historic, preserving historic evidence of Jim Crow, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Links We Mentioned
St. Augustine
Davis Shores
Bridge of Lions
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in St. Augustine
Lincolnville Museum
Where is Lincolnville?
Cathy's article about Lincolnville
Rick's post about St. Augustine and the battle for civil rights
Vero Beach
Pocahontas Park
The Driftwood
Elsewhere
More about the Orlando Public Library
Photo: Orlando Public Library
Casa Feliz
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' home
Image via (State Archives 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!
35 min
May 21, 2025 Episode 205: Native and Wild Florida Landscapes, Yellow-Crowned Night Herons, and Weeds That Aren't Weeds
Send us your Florida questions!
Florida author and naturalist Andrew Furman returns to the podcast to talk about his latest book, Of Slash Pine and Manatees: A Highly Selective Guide to My Suburban Wilderness.
Links We Mentioned
Bitten: My Unexpected Love Affair With Florida
Bidens pilosa (aka beggartick, etc., etc.) and its medicinal uses
Frogfruit (aka hatpin)
Who invented the grassy lawn?
Yellow-crowned night heron

Photo by Andrew Furman
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!
35 min
May 14, 2025 Episode 204: Walt Disney Didn't Buy Land in Secret, and Other Disney Myths
Send us your Florida questions!
How Bowers of the Retro WDW podcast joins Rick and Cathy to talk about the not-so-secret-after-all Florida Project, the origins of Disney Springs, and what Cypress Gardens had to do with Walt Disney deciding Florida would be a great place for a theme park.
Links We Mentioned
Retro WDW
Lake Buena Vista Historical Society
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!
51 min
May 07, 2025 Episode 203: Ocala Caverns, Colonial Mall, and Joffrey's Coffee
Send us your Florida questions!
Orlando historian Rachel Williams joins the podcast to talk about Colonial Plaza Mall (now a shadow of its former self and called Colonial Marketplace), and from there the conversation moves to caves in Ocala, coffee roasters we love, and the importance of the shopping mall in Florida culture.
Links We Mentioned
Ocala Caverns (and what's the difference between a cave and a cavern, anyway?)
Rachel's article about Colonial Plaza
Florida Historical Society conference in Orlando (May 15-17 in Orlando)
Remembering Ronnie's Restaurant
Rick's post about living on the former Datson Dairy land
Who created the shopping mall?
Secret Mall Apartment
Joffrey's Coffee
Barnie's Coffee
Orlando Milk District
Happy Mother's Day to a fierce Florida mom
Roadhouse movie

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!
59 min
April 30, 2025 Episode 202: Forgotten Mermaids, Manatee Sex, and Killer Manatee!
Send us your Florida questions!
TJ Fridrich, with the Save the Manatee Club, joins the podcast to talk about what listeners need to know about when manatee can be dangerous (seriously!), what their mating behavior might look like, and where you can see some excellent documentaries about manatee and their ilk.
Links We Mentioned
Save The Manatee Club
The Disturbance Theory
Mating herd in Haulover Canal
Report a manatee sighting
Amazonian manatee and Last Chance To See
Last Chance To See documentary
Swimming Through Air with the Springs Eternal Project
Forgotten Mermaids (Jacques Costeau)
Save the Manatee 5K
Attack of the Killer Manatee
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!
54 min
April 23, 2025 Episode 201: St. Johns River: Baby Birds, Tiny Gators, and Goat Island
Send us your Florida questions!
Rick and Cathy talk about the middle basin of the St. Johns River, eco tours, and wildlife seen along the waterway.
Links We Mentioned
Floridiana Festival at the Matheson
Squarehouse Pizza
Love Vine?
Welaka Florida
Lake Jesup
St. Johns River info
Airboat on the St. Johns
Airboat chase sequence in Gone Fishin'
"36 Hours in Orlando" (New York Times)
Bill Belleville's River of Lakes
Florida's American Heritage River: Images From the St. Johns River
St. Johns Riverkeeper

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
April 16, 2025 Episode 200: What's So Secret About Florida?
Send us your Florida questions!
Josh Ginsberg, author of Secret Tampa Bay, Secret Orlando, Tampa Bay Scavenger, Oldest Tampa Bay — among others — joins the podcast to talk about his favorite hidden gems in Tampa Bay and Orlando. The trio talks about everything from the Wizard of Oz to taxidermied animals.

Links We Mentioned
TerriblyOdd.com
Josh Ginsberg books
Dysfunctional Grace (Ybor City)
Tiger Dust (Seminole Heights)
Wizard of Oz Museum (Cape Canaveral)
Ripley's world headquarters (Orlando)
Prometheus Esoterica in Winter Park

More info on Josh
SecretTampaBay.com
Facebook
Instagram

Books and Publications
Secret Tampa Bay: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure (Reedy Press)
Tampa Bay Scavenger (Reedy Press)Oldest Tampa Bay (Reedy Press)
Secret Orlando: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure (Reedy Press)
Haunted Orlando (Arcadia/The History Press)

Coming soon
The Ghostly Tales of Orlando (Arcadia)
Tales from the Dusty Tiger (Independent)
Amazing Florida (Reedy Press)
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!
35 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…