Chad Gallivanter

Maximize your time in the nation’s capital

If you had only one day in Washington, DC, just 24 hours to take in the monuments, museums, and stories that define America’s capital, where would you go? This episode lays out the definitive plan to see the very best of DC without wasting a minute. From sunrise at the Lincoln Memorial to standing under the dome of the Capitol, we’ll show you how to fit a week’s worth of history and culture into one unforgettable day.

Along the way, we’ll explore the highli...

Step into the vineyard and uncover the story of America’s forgotten grape, the muscadine. Native to the Southeast, this tough little fruit has been part of Southern life for centuries, long before European grapes ever took root here.

In this episode, we explore Florida’s muscadine heritage, its surprising history, and why this grape matters more than you think. Along the way, you’ll learn how muscadines shaped agriculture, culture, and even survival in the South. 

From backyard vines to sprawling vineyards, muscadines have a legacy that connects deeply to the land, and to the peo...

Clermont, Florida may not be the first town that comes to mind when you think of Central Florida travel. But tucked between Orlando’s theme parks and the rolling hills of Lake County, Clermont is a place with a story to tell.

This episode takes you from one of Florida’s quirkiest roadside icons, the mid-century Citrus Tower to the unlikely arrival of a White Castle that drew lots of attention when it opened. Along the way, we dive into Clermont’s hidden gems, its historic roots, and the landmarks that shaped its identity as one of Florid...

Step back in time inside one of North Georgia’s most fascinating landmarks, the Old Sautee Store. Opened in 1872 and preserved with its original counter, shelves, and artifacts, this country store is both a museum of mountain life and a modern stop for travelers exploring Helen, Georgia. 

In this episode, we dig into the history of the Old Sautee Store, its role in the Sautee Nacoochee Valley community, and why it remains one of the most authentic detours near Helen. 

From the front room with its open hearth to old-fashioned candy in the back room, disc...

The Magic Beach Motel in Vilano Beach has been approved for demolition, ending decades of neon-lit history along Florida’s coast. Once made famous by the TV series Safe Harbor and later revived after a devastating fire, the motel has been a beloved landmark since 1951. 

But with state laws overriding local protections, its fate is sealed. 

In this in-depth video podcast, we dive into the motel’s history, the preservation fight that fell short, and what this loss means for Vilano Beach. We also look at Haley’s Court, a sister retro motel that’s been resto...

How a fading mountain town reinvented itself as an Alpine village in the Deep South.

Nestled in the North Georgia mountains is a place that looks nothing like the South. Half-timbered chalets. Bavarian beer halls. Gingerbread rooftops. It’s called Helen, Georgia, a town that once teetered on the brink of collapse, until a handful of locals decided to gamble on a wild idea: transforming a former logging town into a Bavarian Alpine village.

In this episode, we dig into the improbable reinvention of Helen, from its boom days of timber, to its de...

In the winter of 1896, something massive and unrecognizable washed ashore in St. Augustine, Florida. It was pale, rubbery, and the size of a whale - but no one could say for sure what it was. Local newspapers called it a sea monster. Scientists debated. Speculation spread far beyond Florida’s coast. More than a century later, the St. Augustine Monster remains one of the most puzzling episodes in maritime history.

In this debut episode of Chad Gallivanter, we dig into the true story: the eyewitness accounts, the photographs, the scientific analyses, and the lasting legacy of...