Discover Florida in a new light through little-known moments from its fascinating history

If when you think “Florida” you don’t think “spectacular,” Cathy Salustri is determined to change your mind. Explaining why the state is more than the “Florida Man” stories and the politics that so often make national news, and looking beyond the crowded beaches and theme parks, Salustri celebrates what makes the state worth a deeper understanding in this lively trip through its natural beauty and fascinating history.

Journey with Salustri through centuries of forgotten Florida lore, into the Everglades and through the springs and over ranchlands and scrub habitats to discover a state rich in environmental wonders and unique human stories. Florida Spectacular lifts the curtain on multiple facets including the legacy of Zora Neale Hurston and the Black community at Eatonville; the bravery of Emateloye Estenletkvte, a Seminole woman who escaped from captivity back to her homeland; the two “frenemy” Henrys, Flagler and Plant, and their projects in transportation and tourism; the three “Marjories,” the influential environmentalists and writers; and people working to solve issues facing the state today, such as those who have used Florida’s hurricanes to make storm forecasting better for the whole world and those who have helped show the critically endangered Florida panther a path back from extinction.

Along the way, Salustri brings to light lesser-known moments from Florida’s history that help illuminate the state’s significance in American and world history. Salustri tours readers through the hidden-in-plain-sight Florida, the overlooked treasures, the cultural complexities, the environmental challenges and successes. Her stories show that with curiosity and an eagerness to learn, it doesn’t take much to discover the spectacular in Florida’s past and present.

In the 1930s, the Federal Writers' Project sent mostly anonymous writers, but also Zora Neale Hurston and Stetson Kennedy, into the depths of Florida to reveal its splendor to the world. The FWP and the State of Florida jointly published the results as Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State, which included twenty-two driving tours of the state's main roads. Eventually, after Eisenhower built the interstates, drivers bypassed the small towns that thrived along these roads in favor of making better time. Those main roads are now the state's backroads―forgotten by all but local residents, a few commuters, and dedicated road-trippers. Retracing the original routes in the Guide, Cathy Salustri rekindles our notions of paradise by bringing a modern eye to the historic travelogues.

Salustri's 5,000-mile road trip reveals a patchwork quilt of Florida cultures: startling pockets of history and environmental bliss stitched against the blight of strip malls and franchise restaurants. The journey begins on US 98, heading west toward the Florida/Alabama state line, where coastal towns dot the roadway. Here, locals depend on the tourism industry, spurred by sugar sand beaches, as well as the abundance of local seafood. On US 41, Salustri takes us past the state's only whitewater rapids, a retired carnie town, and a dazzling array of springs, swamps, and rivers interspersed with farms that produce a bounty of fruit. Along US 17, she stops for milkshakes and hamburgers at Florida's oldest diner and visits a collection of springs interconnected by underwater mazes tumbling through white spongy limestone, before stopping in Arcadia, where men still bring cattle to auction. Desperately searching for skunk apes, the Sunshine State's version of Bigfoot, she encounters more than one gator on her way through the Everglades, Ochopee, and the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters.

Following the original Guide, Salustri crisscrosses the state from the panhandle to the Keys. She guides readers through forgotten and unknown corners of the state--nude beaches, a rattlesnake cannery, Devil's Millhopper in Gainesville--as well as more familiar haunts--Kennedy Space Center and The Villages, "Florida’s Friendliest Retirement Hometown." Woven through these journeys are nuggets of history, environmental debates about Florida's future, and a narrative that combines humor with a strong affection for an oft-maligned state.

Today, Salustri urges, tourists need a new nudge to get off the interstates or away from Disney in order to discover the real Florida. Her travel narrative, following what are now backroads and scenic routes, guides armchair travelers and road warriors alike to historic sites, natural wonders, and notable man-made attractions--comparing the past views with the present landscape and commenting on the changes, some barely noticeable, others extreme, along the way.

There's more to Gulfport, Florida than what you see at first blush. Sure, you may know about GeckoFest and O'Maddy's, but do you know who ArtJones is? Have you found the secrets in the brick streets? What about the best Cuban sandwich in Florida?

No matter what sort of adventure you seek, Gulfport Bucket List: 25 Things To Do in Gulfport, Florida will show you new adventures, places, and people.

New to Gulfport? On vacation? Here are 25 creative, fun ways to explore Gulfport, Florida and learn more about the people and the city by the sea's unique history as fishing town turned waterfront arts destination.

Love B movies? Love Florida? From Creature from the Black Lagoon to Sharkansas Women's Prison Massacre, the Sunshine State has a rich legacy of wonderfully bad movies.

In this mini-book, Cathy Salustri gives readers a closer look at some of the more notable — and also some of the least known — B movies made in Florida. It's a fun, quick romp through the not-so-scary-movie culture of the Sunshine State.

In the 1950s, Florida state biologists said Boca Ciega Bay was dead. The last remaining estuary on Boca Ciega Bay, Clam Bayou, had a role in that death — and also the rebirth. This braided narrative tells the story of Clam Bayou. The first in a two-part series, this short read looks at local perception of the estuary, historical depths, environmental challenges and other issues that make Clam Bayou a political powder keg. Owned in part by Gulfport, part by St. Pete, part by the state of Florida and part by the homeowners along the estuary, finding a solution to the problems that plague the estuary is only one of the issues.