Chad Gallivanter

Chad Gallivanter Your guide to the overlooked, the historic, and the fascinating corners of travel. Based in Florida, but chasing stories everywhere.

Each episode unfolds in deliberate, well-structured segments, weaving archival research with on-the-ground travel insight. I'm Chad Gallivanter, a former broadcast journalist and current full-time video producer. If you're looking for informative travel podcasts that won't waste your time, you've come to the right place! My content is created for the smart traveler who values facts and research, i

n addition to intelligent opinion and commentary. This podcast is dedicated to offering tips, tricks and secrets to help you plan your next vacation while providing historic background and context on the places featured. I live in Central Florida with my wife Abby. We’re proud parents to Pinkerton, a tuxedo cat. New podcasts are released every week. I'd love to have you subscribe and hear your feedback in the comments!

You did not go to The Island in Pigeon Forge for the dinosaurs.But there they are, scattered along the walking paths, an...
05/29/2026

You did not go to The Island in Pigeon Forge for the dinosaurs.

But there they are, scattered along the walking paths, and you watch a family stop in front of one. A kid points toward the next. A group that was about to leave slows down and drifts deeper into the property instead.

That’s the whole game. The dinosaurs aren’t central to the Smokies. They aren’t even the main attraction at The Island. They’re placed exactly where they need to be to stop you, turn a pause into a photo, and turn a photo into another hour.

In this episode I get into why The Island is one of the best-built tourist traps in Pigeon Forge, how the land used to be Porpoise Island back in the early ’80s, and why the real trap might be the entire Parkway.

Episode out now.

St. Augustine was built for walking in 1565. The streets were designed for human feet because that was the only way peop...
05/28/2026

St. Augustine was built for walking in 1565. The streets were designed for human feet because that was the only way people moved. Four hundred and sixty years later, those same streets are in the running for USA Today’s Most Walkable City to Visit in America.

And they should win.

We put together a full episode on this one. Not just the campaign and how to vote, but the streets and neighborhoods that make the argument undeniable. The ones every visitor finds, and the ones most of them walk right past.

Lincolnville. Aviles Street. The bayfront seawall. The Uptown corridor along San Marco. All of it within a walk of each other in a city that has been doing this longer than the country has existed.

Voting is open now through June 15th. One vote per day. Link to vote and to the full episode in the first comment.

04/29/2026

The Great Food Truck Race from Food Network was at Dollywood today and so were we!

Before Disney, before mega theme parks, Florida had Silver Springs.For decades, visitors came to to look straight thro...
03/21/2026

Before Disney, before mega theme parks, Florida had Silver Springs.

For decades, visitors came to to look straight through the water in glass-bottom boats and see fish, turtles, and ancient trees resting on the spring floor. Hollywood filmed jungle scenes here. Wildlife experts staged snake demonstrations. And across the road, tourists could step into a western town at Six Gun Territory.

But the story of Silver Springs is more complicated than nostalgia.

The attraction helped define early Florida tourism while also reflecting the realities of segregation through the creation of Paradise Park along the Silver River.

Episode one of the Ocala series explores how Silver Springs helped shape the way the country understood Florida.

Listen now. Link below.

Most people have no idea this happened in St. Augustine.In 1963, the Vice President of the United States stood on a balc...
03/19/2026

Most people have no idea this happened in St. Augustine.

In 1963, the Vice President of the United States stood on a balcony on St. George Street and addressed a packed crowd in the middle of the nation’s oldest city.

That man was Lyndon B. Johnson.

At the time, it seemed like a routine visit.

But within a year, St. Augustine would become one of the most explosive flashpoints of the Civil Rights Movement and the man on that balcony would become president.

So why was Johnson here in the first place?

In this episode of The Gallivanter Podcast, we dig into the forgotten story of LBJ’s visit to St. Augustine and the moment most people have never heard about.

Most people have never heard of Mary McLeod Bethune.But in 1904 she arrived in Daytona with almost nothing and opened a ...
03/13/2026

Most people have never heard of Mary McLeod Bethune.

But in 1904 she arrived in Daytona with almost nothing and opened a school for Black girls on land that had been used as a dump. Five students. One small building. A determination that education could change lives.

That school did not stay small.

Over time it grew into Bethune-Cookman University, and Bethune herself went on to advise U.S. presidents and become one of the most influential educators in American history.

It’s one of the most remarkable stories in Florida history, and it started right here in Daytona Beach.

New episode of The Gallivanter Podcast is out now.

Fort Clinch looks like the kind of place where something decisive happened.Heavy brick walls.Gun emplacements facing ope...
02/20/2026

Fort Clinch looks like the kind of place where something decisive happened.

Heavy brick walls.
Gun emplacements facing open water.
A scale that suggests urgency.

But the most important story here isn’t about a battle.

It’s about a war that never came, and how being finished too late ended up shaping Amelia Island in ways no one planned.

They moved Fernandina.Like… packed it up and relocated it.If you’ve ever wandered through Old Town on the north end of A...
02/12/2026

They moved Fernandina.

Like… packed it up and relocated it.

If you’ve ever wandered through Old Town on the north end of Amelia Island and thought, “Why does this feel slightly… disconnected?” There’s a reason.

The Fernandina we visit today is not the original Fernandina.

In the late 1800s, the railroad showed up, business interests shifted, and the town made a decision that most cities never make: it moved closer to the tracks.

New episode is live, and this one explains how and why an entire Florida town picked itself up and started over.

Link in the comments.

Central Florida has a much deeper antique scene than most people realize.Not themed nostalgia.Not souvenir-driven spaces...
02/07/2026

Central Florida has a much deeper antique scene than most people realize.

Not themed nostalgia.
Not souvenir-driven spaces.
Working antique shops that deal in furniture, ephemera, oddities, architectural salvage, and pieces with real age.

I put together a local’s guide to the antique shops around Greater Orlando that are actually worth your time, and what makes each one different.

DeLand has one of the most intact small-city downtowns in Central Florida.Independent shops.Walkable blocks.Museums, the...
02/06/2026

DeLand has one of the most intact small-city downtowns in Central Florida.

Independent shops.
Walkable blocks.
Museums, theaters, cafes, and side streets that still connect to everyday life.

I put together a local’s guide to the places that define DeLand, and how the town has managed to hold onto its center while so many others lost theirs.

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Orlando, FL
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