Florida Slice, the sister publication of Lake Wales Guide, documents Florida cities one at a time — the built environment, local history, culture, institutions, and people that make a community distinct. Each edition is designed as a lasting city record rather than a disposable travel list.
The current record: Islamorada
Published September 19, 2026, the newest record covers Islamorada in the Florida Keys — five keys strung along the Overseas Highway where Florida Bay meets the Atlantic. The village carries a title no other place claims: the Sportfishing Capital of the World, earned over a century of anglers working grounds between the bay and the ocean. The record also digs into the genuinely disputed origin of the name — Spanish sailors' Isla Morada, the 'purple isle,' or townsite founder William J. Krome's 'island home.'
The archive so far
Before Islamorada, the archive included Dunedin — Scottish roots, a craft-brewery boom, and the causeway out to Honeymoon Island — and Crystal River, with its manatees, springs, and Nature Coast character. Each record adds to a growing account of how Florida communities were formed, how they changed, and what makes each one distinct.
Why it matters here
Lake Wales Guide applies the same method at a smaller scale: one Ridge city, covered in depth, with verified listings, civic records, and field reporting. Florida Slice is the statewide counterpart — the same editorial family, founded and edited by Jason T Wade, with support from BackTier. If you like how this site covers Lake Wales, the Florida Slice archive is the same care applied to the rest of the state.
Read the Islamorada record and the full archive at floridaslice.com.