Florida Spectacular

Send us your Florida questions! 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...

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 Dicki...

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 S...

Send us your Florida questions! 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 P...

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 Ques...

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 Cre...

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 cathy@floridaspectacular.com . Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter , and k...

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 Ta...

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...

Send us your Florida questions! Chris Beachum and Rich Robinson created a TV series, Crazy, Florida! — and the first episode is live now. Rich and Chris join Rick and Cathy to talk about the inspiration for Crazy, Florida! , what makes it special, and what's next for the docuseries. Links We Mentioned Crazy, Florida! S1E1 on YouTube Crazy, Florida! YouTube Channel Fast Channels include RokuTV...

Send us your Florida questions! Rick and Cathy talk about what to do at Wekiwa Springs, along the Wekiva River, at Rock Springs Run, and the surrounding waterways. Links We Mentioned Wekiwa Springs State Park Wekiva Island Wekiva River: a Wild & Scenic River Friends of Wekiva River Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park Emerald Cut Rock Springs Run Kelly Park/Rock Springs Run Katie's Land...

Send us your Florida questions! This week, Florida Spectacular takes a deep dive into DeLeon Springs. Rick and Cathy talk about the first people who lived in the area, EuroAmerican settlers, and the history of the sugar mill and plantation that formed around the spring. They end the podcast talking about the more "roadside Florida" aspects of the spring, including, of course, waterskiing...

Send us your Florida questions! Robert the Doll isn't the only ghost in the Florida Keys. Hear a few more tales from Brad and Cathy. Links We Mentioned Haunted Key West Key West Theater Robert the Doll Support the show Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com . Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter , and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip....

Send us your Florida questions! Brendan O'Connor, of Bungalower and Orlando Magazine , joins the podcast to talk about his intense knowledge of Orlando neighborhoods and hidden Orlando. He's the author of 100 Things To Do In Orlando Before You Die and, as we mentioned, a bit like an onion: He has layers. Brendan's Top Five Hidden Orlando Experiences Winter Park Boat Tour Dickson Aza...

Send us your Florida questions! With scary season in full swing, Cathy and Rick talk about some of the creepiest — and most fun — places they've visited along the roadside. Potter's Wax Museum Hall of Presidents in Clermont , what's in the gift shop , and a blog post from Rick The Sandman Motel Casa Marina Jungle Adventure Barberville Produce Support the show Question or comment? Em...

Send us your Florida questions! "Art is not for everyone, but it can be for anyone," so says today's guest, freelance arts writer and Fernandina Beach resident Chadd Scott. Art Basel Gasparilla Festival of the Arts Sarasota Modern Highwaymen Art Weekend Purvis Young Robert Rauschenberg Appleton Museum Norton Museum of Art Vickers Collection at UF Rollins College Museum of Art The Al...

Send us your Florida questions! With Hurricane Milton approaching Florida, Brad and Cathy talk about historic hurricanes in the Florida Keys, including Labor Day 1935 and Irma. Support the show Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com . Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter , and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com . Keep up with Rick at stu...

Send us your Florida questions! In the path of Hurricane Milton, Rick and Cathy talk about the history of hurricanes, what Milton could mean for Florida — and Gulfport, and the value of the National Hurricane Center. Links We Mentioned New experimental cone Support the show Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com . Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter , and keep up...

Send us your Florida questions! In wake — the literal one — of storm surge from Hurricane Helene, Cathy and Rick talk about what Gulfport looks like, what's next for the 25% of Gulfport residents who no longer have a home, and who's been helping. Links We Mentioned The Gabber Newspaper's Helene coverage Gulfport web cameras World Central Kitchen Shawarma King Support the show Questi...

Send us your Florida questions! Brad wrote a (mostly) fictional book, The Florida Keys Skunk Ape Files . While many of the narratives in the book came from the depths of his imagination, not all of them are false. Brad and Cathy talk about real stories of people who believe they saw a skunk ape. They also talk about why they both believe the Skunk Ape — and other bigfoots — exist.   Cathy's f...

Send us your Florida questions! Florida has a treasure trove of Folk, or Self-Taught, Artists. Bailey Wright, with Jeanine Taylor Folk Art in Sanford,  joins the podcast to talk about Florida Folk art and the gallery's upcoming exhibit (featuring Rick!), Florida Gothic . While the show runs a limited time, there's no shortage of arts, food, and culture in Sanford. Rick, Bailey, and Cathy...

Send us your Florida questions! Just in time for the start of the scary season, Florida cozy author Tara Lush joins the podcast to talk about her three mystery series — all set in Florida. One has a haunted cookie jar, one has a decades-old disappearance, and one has a gator. Well, technically, they're all set in Florida, so there are probably gators in all of them, but one specializes in gat...

Send us your Florida questions! Brad and Cathy talk about the origins of Key West — and the chapter in Cathy's new book about how Key West came to be the place we know today. Support the show Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com . Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter , and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com . Keep up with Rick at...

Send us your Florida questions! Florida conservation biologist Gene Kelly joins the podcast to talk about the proposed Withlacoochee land swap. We talk about some of the best things about the area (Red-cockaded woodpeckers! Wilderness! Sand hill habitat!) as well as why the area's significant and deserves continued protection.  The notes from this episode are too detailed for this space, but...

Send us your Florida questions! Rick and Cathy talk about what went into researching Cathy's new book, Florida Spectacular . They also talk about how to approach Florida history that challenges traditional interpretations of historic events, what Cathy learned from the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and why the ideas of "Florida Man" and "Real Florida" both hurt the Sunshine S...