Florida Spectacular

Send us your Florida questions!

Craig Pittman, co-host of the Welcome to Florida podcast, joins Florida Spectacular to talk about his latest book by the same name. This episode takes a roller coaster approach to Florida, and along the way the trio discusses nudist resorts, snakes, where to find dead bodies, and... well, take a listen. It's quite a ride.

Links We Mentioned

Welcome to Florida

Dawn Lee McKenna

God's Trombone's 

Florida Phoenix

Flamingo Magazine

FORUM Magazine

Reptile World Serpentarium in Kissimmee

Nowak's Swamparium is gone but there's a book by the owner. 

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!

Josh Gunderson, the creative mind behind the popular Oviedo Mall account on Twitter, joins the podcast to talk about mall culture in Florida, his new book, The Lamenting Mall Rats Society, and whether or not Oviedo Mall really is haunted. 

Links We Mentioned 

@OviedoMall on Threads

The actual Oviedo Mall

The Lamenting Mall Rats Society

B. Dalton Booksellers

District Oviedo

Paddler's Guide to the Sunshine State

Top 3 Oviedo Experiences

Crazy Cork Wine Bar

Pinball Lounge

Find the chickens!

Take the Central Florida Mall Tour

Mall at Millenia

Altamonte Mall

Florida Mall

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!

Jon Bortles joins Cathy and Rick to talk about Florida Tiki culture and all things Tiki. 

Bahi Hut Meetup with Rick, Cathy, and Jon — April 11, 7 p.m.

Links We Mentioned

Tahitian Motor Lodge Tarpon

Tahitian Inn Tampa

Hawaiian Inn Daytona

Best Western Aku Tiki

Peking Palace in Clearwater

Mai Kai

Julian's Ormond Beach

The Honu

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!

Spring has sprung, the pollen is here, and it's time once again to talk about plants and landscaping. Eric Schmidt, the Botanical Records Specialist for Harry P. Leu Botanical Gardens, talks about a few of his favorite plant places in Florida, his experiences consulting on the Animal Kingdom and Star Wars landscaping efforts at the Walt Disney World Resort, and a special tree he has planted in his own yard.

Links We Mentioned

What Hurricane Michael Did to the Torreya Tree (non-paywall link)

Mail Order Natives

Charles Bronson

Kilbee Trail

Seminole State Forest

Rock Springs Run State Reserve

Tosahatchee

Native Butterfly Wildflowers

Sand Live Oak (Eric suggested this tree for residential landscapes) 

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, Joe Colucci from Munyon's Paw Paw Liqueur joins the podcast to talk about his Florida-made papaya liqueur — and the fascinating Florida history behind it.

Links We Mentioned

Munyon Island

Munyon's Paw Paw Liqueur

Mai Kai

The Great Outdoors in High Springs

Ottos High Dive

Copper Rocket

Munyon Hope Association

Tiki A Go Go

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 give a whirlwind tour of botanical gardens they have loved, talk about Rick's proposal to his wife and where he hid her ring, how to pronounce anole, and where to find flamingos. 

Links We Mentioned

Florida Botanical Gardens

Harry P. Leu Gardens

Orlando Exploration Gardens

Brown anoles and more about them

Selby Botanical Gardens (and the George Harrison exhibit)

Boiled books 

Botanical gardens at Cypress Gardens

Bok Tower Gardens

Kanapaha Botanical Gardens

Sarasota Jungle Gardens

McKee Botanical Gardens

Sunken Gardens

Wonder Gardens

Growing bamboo in Florida

Yellow trumpet tree

Image by Rick Kilby 

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!

Jack Davis, the Pulitzer-winning author of The Gulf: Making of an American Sea, joins the podcast to talk about what he thinks of the Gulf of Mexico's nomenclature glow-up. The talk migrates to sea level rise, John D. MacDonald's books, and his "Gulf of Mexico" playlist.

Links We Mentioned

General Jesup and Lake Jesup

Pork Chop Gang

John D. MacDonald and his book Condominium

Cathy's article about paddling with Jack

Brian Woodall's Instagram

Tillie Fowler Park

Kerry McNulty's Florida Totem

Betts Boys Adventure

Brigadier General Thomas Sidney Jesup

Jack Davis' Gulf of Mexico Playlist

All song titles are simply "Gulf of Mexico"

Alabama

Clint Black

Shawn Mullins

Tracey Lawrence

Steve Earle

Larry Foley

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!

At the Florida Springs Council, the Florida Madcaps podcast host Ryan Worthington and Florida Spectacular host Cathy Salustri taped a crossover podcast in front of a live audience. Their guests are Max Chesnes, the Tampa Bay Times environmental reporter; TJ Fridrich, a biologist with Save the Manatee Club; and Federico Acevedo, of the Florida Wildlife Federation. 

The podcast subjects — a definite variation from either's usual format — ranged from the 2024 "golf courses in the parks" debacle to manatees cavorting (we'd call it reproductive behavior, but according to TJ, the way these sea cows cavort, reproduction isn't possible when they do), and then — logically — to other not-safe-for-work environmental fun facts. Just what are they? Take a listen and learn.

Links We Mentioned

Sign up for Florida Wildlife Federation updates

Florida Springs Council

Florida Springs Passport

Florida Madcaps Podcast

Save the Manatee Club

Image via Florida Springs Council

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!

Ken Breslauer joins the podcast to talk about collectible Florida ephemera, his annual Floridiana show, and his favorite roadside attractions.

Links We Mentioned

Floridiana Fest (Sarasota, April 11-12)

Florida Attractions History

Atomic Tunnel

Sarasota Jungle Gardens

Bongo Land

Pinecrest Gardens

Sunken Gardens

Silver Springs

Ken's Feb. 19, 2025 talk in Winter Park about Florida souvenirs

Image by Ken Breslauer

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!

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!